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Staff Stories

Why become a Carewatch home carer?

These are stories by our staff about why they chose to work in care, and why working for Carewatch is one of the most rewarding and satisfying jobs you can have.

If after reading our staff stories you are eager to learn more about us, please get in touch and we will look forward to talking with you about what we can offer.

Click on a name to read their story:

• Cat McLeod, Manager. Carewatch Shropshire
• Annette Painter, Manager, Carewatch Gillingham
• Jaspal Dhillon, Care and Support Worker, Carewatch Birmingham
• Lin Smith, Care and Support worker, Carewatch Brighton
• Gillian Storey, Care and Support Worker, Carewatch Greenock, Scotland

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Cat McLeod

Manages a Carewatch branch in Shropshire

What made you decide to take a career in home care?

I was just 16 and studying my 'A' levels when I began my career in care, I loved the social side of the job, spending time with elderly clients and helping them with their day-to-day lives. I felt like I was making a difference and decided my future lay in caring.

What does a home care worker do?

I joined Carewatch's Mid-Shropshire branch as home carer in 2004. My job was to visit clients in their homes and help them with tasks such as bathing, dressing, meal preparation and shopping.

Due to my hard work and dedication, in just under a year, I was promoted to team leader, with responsibility for approximately 15 home care workers.

Where is Cat now?

Today, I am the Service Manager, and am now responsible for training other carers, as well as managing employees and budgets. I particularly enjoy tailoring home care packages to suit individual clients, many of whom can now manage their own personal budgets or direct payments, and make their own choices even though the money still comes from the government.

Cat's top tip!

Do your research and find a company that offers incentives such as bonuses, training and display a real passion for providing the best care and support. Those prepared to work hard and show genuine care for their clients will go far.

At Carewatch we encourage promotion from within, so talented employees are always recognised. There are plenty of opportunities for the right people.

Back to top | Get in touch about a career in care in your area

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Annette Painter

Manager, Carewatch Gillingham

What made you decide to be a home care worker?

After leaving school with ‘A’ levels, I trained as a nurse. I found that I had much empathy for the sick and elderly, and wanted to be able to make a difference to their lives, I realised this to be my true career passion.

I spent eight years working in hospitals, then ran a health centre in the prison service. I joined Carewatch in 1998, as a supervisor managing a team of domiciliary carers. I was later promoted to the position of Manager.

Now what do you do?

I manage Carewatch branches in Gillingham and Christchurch, supporting clients across Northern Dorset to regain and retain their independence in the comfort of their own homes.

My managerial duties include:

• Monitoring overall standards of care
• Ensuring company policies and procedures are adhered to
• Meeting local authorities & working with them to achieve government-set care targets
• Managing a team of care supervisors
• Checking care assessments and packages
• Innovating new services and improving existing ones
• Hiring, appraising and training staff
• All areas of administration and payroll

What career opportunities are there?

There are plenty of opportunities to further your career at Carewatch whether you are a school leaver, or somebody entering the industry at a later point in life. The work can be very challenging but it is also rewarding, especially when your employer rewards hard work with valuable support and training.

We value our employees by listening to their ideas and opinions, praising good work and keeping them up-to-speed with the latest company news. Employees also benefit from excellent training, advice, support, and flexible working hours. What this means is that our home carers stick with us and enjoy long-standing careers. You could say we are one big happy family.

Annette's top tip!

30 years in the care sector have not been easy, you will face many challenges such as caring for people who are coming to the end of their lives. I am also a single parent and found juggling personal and professional lives exhausting at times.

But I love working in the care sector – it is immensely satisfying. I have a great team behind me and Carewatch is very supportive.

Back to top | Get in touch about a career in care in your area

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Jaspal Dhillon

Care and Support Worker, Carewatch Birmingham

Why did you become a home carer?

I used to own a chip shop, years ago and I was inspired to pursue a career in the care sector after chatting to a group of local care and support workers who regularly visited my chip shop at lunchtime. They would talk to me in depth about the activities involved in care work, and it really appealed to me.

What kind of care work do you do?

My main duties include supporting Carewatch customers with learning difficulties, assisting with tasks such as personal care, shopping, appointments, management of finances, housekeeping and accompanying them on social trips. I particularly enjoy seeing an improvement in their quality of life, be it health wise or socially, through my input.

What qualifications have you got?

Since joining Carewatch, I have got my Learning Disability Qualification (LDQ), and NVQ Level 3 Health and Social care as well as all of the mandatory training.

I have spent time building up an excellent trusting relationship with all my service users. I use this trust to help motivate my customers, always encouraging them to be as independent as possible to ensure that they can live as full a life as possible within our society. This can sometimes be challenging as they would often prefer it if I could perform every daily task for them, but I find that being firm and highly supportive is the best path to drive improvements in their quality of life, for the long term.

Jaspal's top tip!

Always put the customers’ needs first, and develop an understanding of the difficulties and challenging behaviours you are likely to face. By building strong relationships with your service users, you can positively influence behaviour.

Switching to a career in care later in life can be an extremely rewarding option.

Back to top | Get in touch about a career in care in your area

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Lin Smith

Care and Support worker, Carewatch Brighton

What inspired you to be a home carer?

I had been working with Carewatch as an administrator for 10 years when I had to give up full-time work and care for my husband. It was after his tragically early death that I realised front line caring was my vocation, so I returned to Carewatch to train as a home carer two years ago.

What do you do on a typical day?

I visit clients in the Hove area, including elderly people and those with mental health needs, or physical disabilities. I assist them with day-to-day tasks such as cooking, washing and shopping. We also work with local hospitals where people require support following a spell in hospital, and those wishing to pay privately for the Carewatch service.

Do you enjoy care work?

I can wholeheartedly say that I love my job. Yes, care can be hard work but it is enormously rewarding – it fills me with energy, a truly amazing feeling and Carewatch is a brilliant company to work for. We get support from our supervisors and excellent, continuous training. The hours are flexible too, meaning my personal and professional lives run in harmony at all times.

What makes you stay with Carewatch?

One of the ways Carewatch retains its employees is by listening to them. This means that if I feel that I need more time with a client to meet their needs or that changes to somebody’s care package need to be made, my supervisor’s door is always open.

Lin's top tip!

I will be a carer for the rest of my working life. Since starting I have felt deeply fulfilled and happy in my life. I urge school leavers to consider a career in care. If you work for the right company it can be an excellent long-term choice.

Back to top | Get in touch about a career in care in your area

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Gillian Storey

Care and Support Worker, Carewatch Greenock, Scotland

Why did you choose home care as your career?

I spent 17 years working in Tesco, and although I enjoyed my work, in my heart I always wanted to be a home carer, especially after my father developed dementia. I believe passionately in helping people regain and retain their independence within the comfort of their own homes.

What is your typical day like?

My clients include older adults and people with learning disabilities who I visit in their homes to provide a variety of care and support. These include washing and ironing, preparing meals, and shopping. Most really appreciate what I do for them, which is highly rewarding.

Carewatch’s policy of assigning regular carers to individual clients has allowed me to get to know the people I care for; understanding their need and wishes, and personalising my services. For example, I support a young boy who has learning disabilities. He receives weekend visits and enjoys regular trips out, which is part of the personalised services that stand Carewatch apart in the care sector.

Is being a home care worker sometimes difficult?

Yes, like any career it is not easy all of the time, I have faced some demanding clients at Carewatch, including a man who was left paralysed after an accident. He was deeply depressed about his circumstances, which made him uncooperative and difficult to deal with. I overcame this challenge by showing compassion and understanding, whilst remaining diplomatic and professional.

What makes a good home carer?

What underpins a good carer is respect, preserving a client’s dignity, and working with the client and those around them to encourage and support them so that they can get the best out of life.

What further training or specialist training is available?

I am currently taking courses in palliative care and administration of medicine, which I study in my own time, through a local college. Carewatch helps me with information and advice when I need it.

Gillian's top tip!

I believe that school leavers should consider a career as a carer. Yes we work hard, but the job satisfaction derived from working in the care sector is second to none. If you are the sort of person who wants to help others and make a difference in the world, and you can find an organisation like Carewatch that has the same approach and values, I urge you to consider it.

Back to top | Get in touch about a career in care in your area

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