Life on the frontline: working as a community carer during the Covid pandemic
Domiciliary care workers have played an integral part in ensuring the elderly and most vulnerable in society continued to receive essential care during the Covid-19 pandemic. As part of a week-long Downtown Radio and Cool FM health service special REPORTER CHELSIE KEALEY has been speaking to a community carer about what it has been like working on the front-line during the Covid Crisis.
Charmaine Bennett joined North West Care 18 months ago and has worked throughout the different phases of lockdown.
She currently does a single run in the Belfast area where she can visit up to 18 homes a day.
Charmaine said at the start of the pandemic things were challenging, but she stayed in her job because she loves it.
She said: “It was very challenging at the start; it was taking it day- by-day.
“Yes, you were worried about it and then you became stressed about it and now I’m anxious about it because the numbers aren’t dropping, and we are in lockdown again.
“So, very anxious myself now, I have been the last couple of weeks, but I don’t let that show to my service users because that’s something for me to deal with.”
Even though she had to adapt to new coronavirus regulations and had to get to grips with wearing more PPE, Charmaine continued to provide essential in-person care for her clients.
She said: “They like to see you coming in.
“You sit and have a chat with them, make their breakfast and that, they ask you how you are, they tell you to take care and all when you’re leaving.
“So, some of them are aware of what’s going on and they’re actually telling you to take care.”
At the start of the Coronavirus pandemic concerns over PPE shortages were rife and often made the news headlines.
However, Ms Bennett said from the offset her company sourced adequate amounts of PPE and provided staff with packs, which she still has access to today.
She added: “With our company from the word go we had full PPE, we were given wee packs with wee cloths and all in it, soap, hand gel and everything.
“And now you still get your full PPE, once a week you would go in and pick up your full PPE, whatever you need.
“It can be trying yes when you go into the houses, but when you know you’re going in to see their wee faces and have a chat with them it cheers you up.
“You sort of forget, at that time, there is a pandemic because you are there for them - to care for them.
“You maybe have a wee yarn with them just to maybe try and tie a bit of time in for them.
“Trying to take each day as it comes.
“There has been the clap for the carers which has been lovely for people to do, I would have stood out and done it myself but we’re still not recognised enough in what we’re doing going out into the different service users houses.
“I don’t think there’s been enough said about how much the care workers in the community are doing.
“The care workers who are out in the community need a wee bit more recognition as well of what they’re doing day to day.”