• Sep 23 2019
    Personal qualities that make a perfect carer

    What personal qualities do you need?

    We all care for things in our lives, but how many of us are capable of caring for someone else? Or caring for someone we don’t even know?  Becoming a carer requires a great deal of patience and commitment. It is one of those jobs
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World Alzheimer’s Day. The importance of care for dementia sufferers

For people unfortunate enough to be diagnosed with dementia, the world can seem a very lonely place. Much of what they once knew to be fact is taken away from them.  The illness is cruel. It is important that care providers understand some of the effects it has on the patient.  Dementia, often perceived as a disease that affects older people, can affect anyone regardless of age.  In fact, over 40,000 people under 65 in the UK have dementia. This is called early-onset or young-onset dementia.

World Alzheimer’s Day

World Alzheimer’s Day takes place on 21 September.  Its aim is to raise awareness of the disease. The Alzheimer Society wants to make sure that everyone affected by dementia knows that the organisation is there for them.

If you are considering a career in care, then you will need to learn about the complex care needs of people with all types of dementia.  However, there are some key points worth remembering.

Not a natural part of ageing

Dementia is not a natural part of ageing.  We all forget a name or a face sometimes, particularly as we get older, but dementia is something different.  Dementia is caused by diseases of the brain.  Diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease cause nerve cells to die, damaging the structure and chemistry of the brain. There are many variants of dementia, and no two are the same. In different types of dementia there is damage to different parts of the brain, which can lead to different symptoms and behaviours.

Although dementia often starts by affecting the short-term memory, there is much more to it than that. Dementia can also affect the way people think, speak, perceive things, feel and behave.  Although there is currently no cure for dementia, there is support and treatments are available that can help with symptoms and managing daily life. People can still live well with dementia.

A career in caring

Having people around them that understand the condition and can treat them accordingly is very important to patients suffering from dementia.  If this is something that interests you, regardless of your qualifications or educational background, you might be interested in a career in caring. If you would like to find out more about what has been described as one of the most rewarding jobs in the world, please get in touch with us.

World Sepsis Day 2019 – Friday 13 September

Sepsis is a global health crisis, affecting 27 to 30 million people every year. Sepsis is the number one cause of preventable death worldwide. Up to 9 million of those infected die, which equates to one death every 3.5 seconds.  Now in its eighth year, World Sepsis Day has been designed to raise awareness of this killer and by doing so, hopefully save lives.

What is Sepsis and how is it caused?

Sepsis occurs when the body’s response to an infection injures its own tissues and organs. If not identified early and treated promptly, it may lead to shock, multi-organ failure, and death.  In fact, Sepsis is often the final common pathway to death from most infectious diseases worldwide.  Sepsis can be caused by bacteria, fungi, and parasites. However, it may also be caused by infections such as seasonal influenza viruses, dengue viruses, and highly transmissible pathogens of public health concern; such as avian and swine influenza viruses, Ebola, and yellow fever viruses.

Who is vulnerable to Sepsis?

Everybody can get Sepsis, no matter how healthy or how in good shape they are, or where they live. Certain people are at an even higher risk. Those include children under one and adults over 60, people with no spleen, with chronic diseases such as those affecting the lung, liver, heart, and people with weakened immune systems.

How can it be treated?

The best way to prevent Sepsis is to prevent infection in the first place.  This can be done by vaccinations and good hand hygiene, raising awareness of the risks, the use of clean water and the prevention of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) and safe childbirth.

How can Sepsis be identified?

There are six key identifiers of possible Sepsis infection, and they are:

  • Slurred speech or confusion
  • Extreme shivering or muscle pain, fever
  • Passing no urine all day
  • Severe breathlessness
  • It feels like you’re going to die
  • Skin mottled or discoloured.

At Amore Group, we understand about the importance of maintaining good hygiene standards and ensuring that our registered carers have access to fully-funded specialised training opportunities. If you are looking to work in the care sector, please get in touch and find out how our experts can help you find the perfect position to suit you.  If you would like more information on World Sepsis Day and find out what you can do to raise awareness, visit the website at: https://www.worldsepsisday.org/wsd2019.

Abseil ‘vertigo’ for Amore Group duo

Two of our colleagues from Merseyside have abseiled 150 foot from above the iconic West Door of Liverpool Cathedral. They have raised over £400 so far for Liverpool charity Nugent.

Connor Kristensen and Konner Ahmed, also known as Konner Dean, both started work for us earlier this year. They work alongside each other in our Liverpool office to provide staffing solutions to children’s and adults services in and around Merseyside.

They had never done an abseil before but wanted to do something exciting to raise funds and awareness for Nugent. The charity provides a diverse range of support to vulnerable adults and children. Its mission is to enable people to live comfortably and with dignity.

Our Group Director, Ian McDougall, said, “Our team never ceases to astonish us with the lengths – or heights – members will go to for charity. We are full of admiration and we wish Connor and Dean well in their fundraising efforts for this fantastic local cause.”

To donate to Dean and Connor’s fundraising efforts, go to https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=konnerandconnor&pageUrl=1

 

Professional Care Workers Day. Time to celebrate caring roles.

Patience and empathy

Everything care workers do has a big impact on the person who is being cared for. Patience and empathy are the most important qualities that a care worker can have. These personality traits can often be underrated and overlooked.

Making other people happy and comfortable is one of the most important jobs in the world and is a big part of working on the care front line. Care workers perform a vital role in our society. Anyone involved in the care sector should feel proud of what they achieve every day and believe it is worth celebrating.

Professional Care Workers Day

This year, national Professional Care Workers Day takes place on 4th September. This is the second time this day has been celebrated. It has the aim of celebrating care workers everywhere and raising awareness of the importance of their role. Look out on social media for the hashtag #ProfessionalCareWorkersDay and see how you can help raise awareness too.

At Amore Group we try and make sure that our whole team feels appreciated and valued for what they do. Health and social care is a huge sector and Amore Group candidates have a wide variety of roles and responsibilities. From working with adults with mental health or learning disabilities to supporting young people or children who may have highly complex needs, the range is enormous.

We are large enough to cope with the sector’s demands but we pride ourselves on maintaining a personal approach. If you would like to help people and make their lives better, regardless of your qualifications or educational background, you might be interested in a career in caring. If you would like to find out more about what has been described as one of the most rewarding jobs in the world, please get in touch with us.

Case study: Switching to a caring career

Carers come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Every member of our team has a story to tell about how they have come to pursue a career in caring. Although they are a very diverse range of people, they are united in their desire to provide the best possible service for every client.

One carer registered with Amore, Tracey Seddon, developed a career in caring later in life than some members of our team. Up until a few years ago she was an executive in her 40’s,  working for a well-known media group. She decided to take a break from work in order to help look after her mother, who had been diagnosed with dementia. Her father was struggling to cope so Tracey decided to step in. It was the experience of looking after her mum and learning how to meet her complex needs that made Tracey realise that she had a real calling when it came to caring for people. We had a chat with her to find out more about her change in career direction.

When did you become a carer?

After looking after my mum I decided to become a full time carer and started working for Amore about six and a half years ago.

Going from an office job to a caring role must have been a big change. What was it about caring that you liked so much?

I get a huge amount of satisfaction from looking after people. You have to be looking all the time to see what they need and, very importantly, what they want too. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you are really making a difference to someone’s life. I always say I’m lucky because I can genuinely say I absolutely love my job.

What sort of people do you find yourself looking after?

There’s a big variety. I have looked after a lot of young people with multiple health and social needs. Some have had really challenging behavioural issues too. Some experiences really stay with me. There are things like taking a young girl on the train to go shopping in Liverpool, which she hadn’t been able to do before and helping her choose something for herself. That might seem a small thing but for her it was a huge achievement. I remember very clearly another girl, who had a life limiting condition. She was likely to have to go into full time care when her mother had to go into hospital but myself and other members of the team worked together to enable her to stay at home, which was a much better solution for her and her mum too.

What advice would you offer to someone who was thinking of switching careers to caring?

I would say that having a genuinely caring nature is the single most important thing. You can learn all the practical skills you need to do the job.  Amore is particularly good at providing funded training but you must have a real desire to care. Once you’re in a caring role it’s vital to really look at the person in front of you and think about how you can best meet their needs. I would also say that it’s important to maintain a very professional relationship but to make sure you are being really caring for that individual at the same time.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?

I’m happy to say that I recently got engaged.  I love spending time with my fiancé and we’re planning our wedding now so that’s keeping me busy!

If you are interested in a career in caring, please get in touch with Amore Group to find out how we can help.