A day in the life of a Care Supervisor

My alarm goes off every day at 6am and I immediately get up, shower and dress before a quick breakfast and out of the door at about 6.45am.

I usually get to my first service user at about 7am where personal care is provided according to the Care Plan - this normally consists of preparing breakfast, providing medication and making the bed. I notice on this visit that the service user has not taken the previous evening's medication again so I make a note of this in the care records and also make a note to call my care manager about this concern.

Then it is off to my next visit which I arrive at around 8.15am. The usual routine is followed with no problems so at about 9 o'clock I am off to the next visit. Before that I have to deliver a Medication Administration Record (MAR) sheet, to a service user which I had previously arranged to do.

After I have dropped this off, I get to my next service user at about 9.30am and I carry out their personal care needs, tidy round, make the bed and get breakfast before completing the care records as usual. I then leave there at about 1030am for my next visit where the service user requires a back wash and feet soak and, after a chat, I leave at about 11.15am.

I take this opportunity to phone in to the office to speak to my care manager regarding the missed medication from an earlier visit and we discuss whether or not an extra evening visit would be beneficial. I leave it up to my care manager to sort something out.

My first lunch visit is 12.00pm where I prepare a microwave meal, a cup of tea and a piece of cake. I then also prepare a sandwich for the evening, and, after a quick chat, I proceed to the next lunch visit at 12.45pm. The second visit mirrors the first and I am then finished at about 1.30pm.

Having made the arrangements previously, at 2pm I visit a service user to carry out a formal review. This is so that I can find out whether or not they are happy with the care they are receiving or if they want any changes made to the level of care provided. On this occasion I have to make an amendment to the care plan to include extra visits at lunch time. After this review I phone in to the care manager to let her know the outcome and I have made the amendments that were required to the Care Plan.

At 3pm I dash off to another pre-arranged review where I meet with the service user and their immediate family where I again discuss whether or not they are satisfied with the level of care provision that they are currently receiving. Fortunately, on this occasion they are very pleased and no changes are necessary - I inform the care manager as appropriate.

To finish the day at 4pm I have to attend a service user for a 2 hour respite which requires me to keep them company for a couple of hours whilst their normal family carer has some time alone to attend to essential business.
 

What I do as a Community Carer

Often morning visits include assistance to get out of bed or help with washing, dressing, shaving and oral care. Some people need help with their medication or with toileting needs as well. It is very important to help our service users to stay as independent as possible, so some calls are just to ensure that all is well and that their medication has been taken. Sometimes just a little chat and some company or encouragement to change a soiled shirt may be all someone needs to feel valued and cared for.

Most of my afternoons are spent giving respite care when I spend time with a service user so that their full-time carer, often a family member, can take a much-needed break. Some of my respite care is with people who have dementia. We walk, talk, bake, make pictures, listen to music, look at photographs or whatever they want to do. The variety helps to keep things interesting for both of us. There are times of grief and frustration as well - but that's life. To balance that, there are plenty of laughs and stories which bring special moments. I like to think that my care helps people to "live in their own homes rather than just stay in them. I'm not sure that many jobs can give that satisfaction.