Social care is a special thing, and it requires a special person. We all know that it takes a certain something to work in care. The purpose and pride that comes from supporting your community drives so many people in our wonderful sector. For our UK Care Week Voice of the People blog we wanted to know what it was that drew people to work in social care, so we asked them!
“What drew you to work in Social Care?”
S. Ferron, Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust
“I’m very passionate to be able to deliver high quality care to palliative and end of life patients at the most important time of their lives.”
Katie Thorn, Digital Care Hub
“I work in social care because I basically grew up in it. My grandparents had a nursing home, which my mum then ran. I have many, many happy memories as a kid of running around, just spending lots of time with our residents there. I’ve worked as the carer, worked in operations, worked from the kitchen, and I just love this industry. I think it’s so amazing to get to support people, to really get know them, to find out all of the amazing things they’ve done throughout their lives, and I’m really excited to continue working in social care.”
Linda Knock, Harmonized Care Limited
“I’ve worked for Harmonized Care for not quite five years, but I have worked in health and social care for 37 years and I do it because I want to be able to make a positive difference to people and I want to be able to help them to stay in the place that they want to be in, which is their own home usually.”
Adam Purnell, The Caring View
“For me it was around the understanding that each of us is going to get old and each of us are going struggle with things that we need in the future and I want to have good care when I’m older so I wanted to join to provide that support for people now but also to inspire future generations so that as a country we can come together and provide the support for the needs that people have.”
Mathew Onwochei, Dignified Services Limited
“First of all, because i needed a job, but when I came into the care industry, I found out that I’m giving my best because I’m a passionate about the work. I love people, I’m passionate, I’m compassionate about people. So I give my best because I want to. And I find that I’m doing it and I love it. Now I’ve been there for one year, and I’ve got an opportunity to get a better paying job. I said no because I love what I’m doing. I’m there to put smiles on their faces.”
Joshua Richardson, Care Workers’ Charity
“I’m working in care because my auntie is a care worker. I can see how much she cares, see the work she does and how hard she works and how much help that care workers need. Working for the Care Workers’ Charity is a brilliant way of giving back and giving as much help to care workers as possible.”
Emma Kildare, Birkdale Park Nursing Home
“The reason I ended up in social care was because I worked in the NHS as a hospital matron for a very, very long time and it became exhausting. I started to go to Burkdale Park Nursing home working on nights just to try and step back from the mainstream but then after a couple of years went on to days and now I’m back being a matron. It’s a completely different environment being within the nursing home sector than it is in the NHS.
What I enjoy the most is I’ve got an amazing team behind me, the manager is really good, we’ve got a very good relationship, the team are great behind me and I’ve got lots of autonomy to do what I want, to create my own team, I’m allowed to invent new things, implement new changes and we are in the middle of doing an improvement program to try and add loads of bits in that will enhance the home, enhance the resident’s care and we’re also developing all of our staff quite a lot as well.”
Vicky Lewin, I Care MK
“I needed to get experience with vulnerable adults which is why I joined care, but I enjoyed it so much that I never left.”
An Industry of Passion
We all come from different walks of life, on different journeys to different destinations. Yet, as we spoke to people for our UK Care Week Voice of the People blog we found the common denominator of compassion and commitment from everyone we spoke to. It takes something special inside you to work in care, and there is something special in care that connects that part of us all together.
You can read more about our time at UK Care Week 2024 here.
