A Spoonful Of Sugar

What does a rehabilitation support care worker do all day?

What happens when an elderly person who lives on their own is discharged from hospital, maybe very weak after a long illness or with a broken bone still immobilised? How does the local council provide its six weeks of care visits in their homes?

From the evening before her morning shift, preparing for work, to getting back home to bed well past midnight after saving a client’s life, we follow a care worker through some of the ordinary and extraordinary events that can happen in the course of a day. While every day is different, long miles on the roads is the norm, and difficult relatives and hours of risk assessments for new clients are common. Most of her clients are people she is seeing for the first time, finding what she needs to know from a book of notes left in the house. Sometimes she needs to make serious judgements about health issues on the spot. Sometimes there’s a chance to make a home-cooked meal for a client.

This story is a glimpse into a world which many of us may never even need to be aware of, but which is vitally important for some of the most vulnerable in society.

• Care Giver