Role of a Domiciliary Care Worker

Emma Trowbridge

Domiciliary Care Worker

There has been an outstanding amount of service users using the service of social work, there has been up to the amount of 100,000 people in Wales alone receiving social care, this service used over 70,000 workers. ‘Rhian Huws Williams, Social Care Wales.’

Sector

A domiciliary Care Worker works within the statutory sector of social services, this is run by local authorities, such as Bridgend County Borough Council, this is funded by council tax, income tax and national insurance tax. Domiciliary Care Workers can be employed by voluntary organisations, social services or private care providers. A small contribution from the clients is made to pay part of the service cost, (this is only a small contribution and does not pay the wages of the domiciliary care worker.) Therefore the funding will be provided from the social services budget. There has been a huge growth within private agencies, an example of these agencies is ‘Angels,’ this is based in the Cowbridge area; this organisation could be working for social services. (Commissioned)

Role

A domiciliary care worker provides vital care for clients within their own home. A majority of Domiciliary Care Workers work with elderly clients, however not all the service users are elderly. This carer is put into action to help the client retain their own independence within their own home; another name used for this practitioner is also a ‘home carer.’ The Domiciliary Care Worker will enable to client to improve their quality of life. This care includes such care as personal and also domestic care. This type of care is put into place to help clients with daily living tasks which may prove difficult for the service user; these tasks could include things such as;

Providing choice
Toileting
Dressing
Undressing
Changing of clothes
Shopping
Preparing meals
Washing
Bathing / showering
Cleaning and maintaining the home
Getting up
Reminding of medication / collection of medication
Supervising whilst eating or drinking

Some of these tasks may vary depending on the level of independence of the service user.

Many more tasks are involved within this job role. The domiciliary care worker will also provide comfort for the client, safety, dignity and above all confidentiality wherever possible, however if there are any changes in the clients physical or psychological wellbeing this will have to be reported to the care workers senior member of staff to be evaluated and assessed. Care workers have to work widely within a large team; this may be with fellow employees, being a good team worker is important as a client may need to be visited at least three times a day, seven days a week or three hundred and sixty five days a year. In some cases two care workers may visit one service users house a day at different times. It is vital for the carer to keep a record on the service user and their progress throughout their visits, this may become vital to other carers who are also visiting the service user, this will tell the carer how the service user is progressing and how independent they are, as the carer is working in these circumstances a good understanding of effective communication is necessary, some communication which may prove to be very useful could be verbal communication, written communication, which requires clear neat writing, this is so it is possible for other carers to read. As the carer is entering the clients own home they treat themselves as a ‘guest,’ this is out of an act of respect for the client.

The care workers will be working very closely with Social Services, following care plans informally managing situations that may change, for example, the heating may need to be turned down, or to be turned up to tailor the clients own personal needs. A social worker would have assessed the needs of the client and produced a care plan. The domiciliary care worker is a vital key worker in the care plan.

The role of a Domiciliary Carer Worker is quite repetitive which may prove to become boring as the same tasks are used for a number of the service users. The carers are required to meet a lot of caring skills to meet the service users every day needs, for example dignity should be present, social contact is provided for by the carer, confidentiality should above all be provided unless circumstances need to be shared. The service user should also experience choice and also have a certain level of autonomy.

Status

Qualifications

Home carers are not required to obtain ...

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Status

Qualifications

Home carers are not required to obtain qualifications to start this career, however initial training, which is also known as an induction will take place. In Wales the entry requirements for a Domiciliary Care Worker (Social Care Worker) is to obtain either a S/NVQ level 2, 3 or 4 qualification, this is depending on the nature of the position applied, a S/NVQ level 4 is required in all aspects of social care. A certain amount of training will be given whilst on the job.

Things which the career should have a basic knowledge about are;

Equality and rights, communication, health and safety, preventing and managing abuse, personal hygiene and personal care, supporting people when distressed and also improving mobility.

Some basic knowledge about caring for service users are also needed, for example the carer may be working with elderly people who may need constant support from their carer, this would be very demanding for the carer physically and also emotionally, and therefore skills are needs to become aware of these situations. The carer will need to ensure that a client’s privacy and also the clients dignity is respected, the carer will need to be respectful and non-judgemental towards the client, maintain and also do as much as possible to promote the clients independence, strictly keep all confidential information confidential and generally do all that is possible to help the client feel safe, comfortable and happy.

Job Opportunities

It seems that there is a high demand in the amount of domiciliary workers needed within the UK. A lot of elderly people within the community are dependent on the care of domiciliary workers, (home carer.) As the aging population of clients grow the amount of jobs on the horizon increase. As many clients are encouraged to be more independent in their lives inside their own surroundings, this then makes more job opportunities available in care within the client’s home. More and more clients are insisting on choosing to stay in their own homes, they seem to prefer this to moving to a residential care home, this is a legal right for the service user to choose their appropriate living conditions. Approximately 15% of reductions have been introduced to residential care in the Bridgend County Borough Council area. () This shows that more carers are caring for clients in their own homes, supported by informal carers.

Domiciliary Carers are a valuable member of the community to both the service users and many others within the community. The NHS and Community Care Act of 1990 encouraged older people to stay in their own homes, and to be supported by a package of care, after they are assessed by social workers. This influenced the closure of some LA homes with only a few becoming respite care homes, this then lead to the establishment of private homes and nursing homes. If the carer wishes to progress and become more of a supervisory or management role then this is possible, the carer however will have to gain further qualifications and also experience.

Job security for Domiciliary Care Workers proves to be very good as more and more service users rely on careers support, therefore more carers will be needed as there is the forever growing population of service users.

Local and Political Factors

The local demand for home carers are very high, this is due to the increase in number of clients needing home care and also the area in which these clients may be situated. As the Bridgend area is a large area there is a lot of distance between client’s houses, this then makes the journey for the carers more time consuming, this then also gives the care worker less time to spend on doing tasks for the client, visits are not timed meaning that the carer could lose track of time and be late for another service user. Until fairly recently this care was free within the Rhondda Cannon Taff area,(RCT) and users in Bridgend County Borough Area (BCBC) had to pay. This has however come to a halt, all services users now make a contribution to the carers and this depending on how many visits a day the service user is likely to receive.

Within the Porthcawl area there are a lot of retired people, these people may be in need of care, therefore producing more job vacancies for home carers. Areas of poverty, for example areas within the valleys are likely to have clients with many different health problems, this then may make the clients required social care support, these areas may need this type support rather than areas like, Cowbridge and the Vale Of Glamorgan.

Public Approval

Most people within the community are not aware of exactly what Domiciliary Care Workers do. The public perceive Domiciliary Carers to be doing a great deed for those in need, this then boosting morale for the carers to do their absolute best to carry this statement out within their roles as carers. Many members of the public see Home Carers as respected members of the community, and value their hard work. People who have or whose family members receive home care appreciate all the hard work and also the long hours in which the carer puts in, these people can see what the carers do for those close to them and are very grateful for the extra help in which the home care provides, they also appreciate that their loved one is receiving one to one care, and at the same time they are gaining social contact and also social support from the carer. You see a lot of television soaps promoting good home carers, this also gives give the audience watching a clearer view of what these care workers do, although they are not exactly 100% correct they do imitate the work in which the carers are doing every day.

Conditions

Condition of employment

Domiciliary care workers will be asked to state their own availability for the hours of work, these times are placed within hour brackets, and these hours are, 7.00am-10.00am, 10.00am-1.00pm, 1.00pm-4.00pm, 4.00pm-7.00pm and 7.00pm-10.00pm. The care workers will not be expected to work anymore than 12hours in one day, this can however be overridden by signing a waiver contract. The carers on the other hand are not paid for their availability but for the amount of hours in which they work. This line of work appears to be much more casual to employees; this may be due to the fact that the work is based in a much more relaxed environment as the work is based in the service users home, however this then means that certain rules are to be followed, these may be rules that the service user has put into force by themselves or rules which should already be accustomed to, such as no smoking within the service users home.

Uniform which will be worn by the home carers will be a Tunic, this is a blue pin stripped shirt with short sleeves, the trousers are black, and can be in many different fashions, for example; fitted, elasticated, straight leg, flat front, combat (male & female) and maternity, these can come in colours, black, navy, green or blue. The uniform however will be determined by the social service or the agency in which the carer is working for.

Car users are very highly recommended in the carer’s job, this is because easy access is then available to the service user’s homes. This will then make it easier for the carer to get around the clients home more quickly and without relying on public transport or others to transport them to different destinations, car users are preferred, but not essential in this line of work as there are different methods of transport.

Pay/Holidays/Pension

The pay for domiciliary care works prove to be disappointing for the amount of work the care workers put in. The amount of pay which is received by the carer depends on how qualified the carer is. The pay for Home carers start at around £11,000 this will then become increased to £17,000, however this can only be increased with experience gaining a senior experience and furthering qualifications. Extra pay for the carer can also be provided for ‘sleep-over’ duties, however this is rare.

Home carers can be male or female, however carers are perceived as a ‘female’s’ job, this is because females are seen as the more caring towards others, and also seen as the motherly type, which gives them the sensitive feel. Only a small amount of males work as home carers, therefore the majority of carers are female.

The holidays allowed off for the home carers are the general public holidays however, as care is needed for service users 24hours a day 365days a year this can prove to become difficult, there are normally about eight bank holidays within the year, the rest of the holiday entitlement is then managed to the amount of hours rotated or the amount of time you have been employed by the employee. Extra pay can be awarded if the carer works over their contracted hours, this could either be extra pay or time off in lieu. Prior to this there will be care workers needed to cover the shifts of carers who are on holidays or who have been taken ill, this will then be worked out by the manager of the employment.

A band A-C carer working within the employment for under five years will receive 26 days holiday, band D-G employees working for also under five years will receive 27days, bands H-K will receive 28 days and band L+ will receive 29 days. For employees working over five years for band A-C will receive 31 days, band D-G will receive 32 days, band H-K will receive 33 days and band L+ will receive 34 days.

The pension entitlement for a Domiciliary Care Worker is dependent on how much national insurance the carer has been paying. This also depends on the amount of responsibility and status to which the carer holds, .this being of a manager status of supervisory. If the carer are working within the ‘Home responsibilities protection’ this is put into place to protect the carers pension, this is also put into action if the carer is not paying national insurance, this protects the carer as the carer is caring for others. ()

Stressors

Working within the caring role can prove to be very difficult for some carers; this can especially be difficult if you have an uncooperative client, the stress may become very high for the carer, also the demanding daily routine which the carer will have to go through every time the carer goes to visit the client, this can prove to be physically and also emotionally hard and may produce strain upon the carer. A situation could arise and the carer could become very agitated and upset, this may then change the carers view on the social skills, for example a client may have a learning disability and not know right from wrong, or be behaved very badly, this could then result in the service user abusing the carer emotionally or physically, this could then lead to the carer then doubting their ability to do their job, effecting their personal views on what they perceive themselves as, for example the carer may lose their self esteem, and also lack a lot of confidence, the carer may then decide that the job may not be suited for them, this being an outcome of a situation which has not given the carer any approval for doing the work he/she is there for.

The carer may be in a rush due to visiting another client and may be running late; therefore this will make the carer rush the service user, this leaving the service user unsatisfied and also leaving the carer knowing that they have not done their job to the best of their ability.

The carer may witness a service users condition deteriorate, this could mean the service user needing to be transferred into a care home or even the service users condition resulting in death, many carers attend funerals of their clients, this then means to carer has gained a personal relationship with the service users, meaning that if this happens the carer will be upset and stress may appear.

Many carers have the opportunity to receive verbal gratification from informal carers who appreciate what the carers are doing. This then provides the carers with psychological security; gifts may even be given to the carer to show appreciation, this then makes the carer feel worthwhile and gives them a confidence boost within their line of work. The carers have a high level of autonomy this may be deciding to tell the service users what is going on in today’s society or the local news. Some social factors could be lacking if the carer does not take their job role and others around them into consideration. Some carers could become very isolated when working in the service users home, this may be because the carer is working alone and may feel that they do not have enough social contact with others during the amount of hours in which they work. A lot of the carers are recognised in the community, this could be from the very recognisable uniform that the carers wear.

Job Satisfaction

Many carers find the role of a ‘Home Carer’ very demanding as they are relied on a lot by their service users, however this practitioner also gets a very overwhelming sense of approval, from not only the service users but also the service users family, this job is very rewarding, just knowing that the carers have helped someone whilst doing their job to the best of their ability is a very warm and happy feeling.

Service users who use the service of a home carer are very grateful for the opportunities that they have had from the carers and also the amount that the carers do for them, they are very thankful for having the extra help of doing their daily living tasks and also applying common life qualities. On the other hand some service users are not this grateful, for example some service users may not want the help in which they are given but have no choice to take it. One situation of this could be a person who has formal detention in a hospital and again their wishes are having service users forced upon them. ()

Life quality factors to meet needs

Job Satisfaction – The carer knows they are helping others to be independent to the best of their ability.

Social Contact – Both the service user and the carer are gaining social contact from each other.

Job Opportunities – Different aspects of the work, the carer can obtain further qualification to further themselves as a carer to work within different areas.

Job Security – More and more carers are needed and therefore there will be more job opportunities.

Support – Support is given from fellow colleagues.