Sandra Kennedy has been a homecarer for seven years, working from the DN6 offices and has been announced as the 2015 Carer of the Year for the DN6 office, a wonderful achievement. Having previously worked in a factory, Sandra decided to become a home carer when her children were small. She works hard and finds the flexibility of working as a home carer suits their family life. She goes to her first client for 9am after she drops her children to school. She sees clients until 2:30pm and then collects her children from school. She can spend time helping them with homework and get dinner before heading out for her evening appointments when her husband finishes work and can look after the children. Sandra works a couple of hours on Saturdays and tends to work a full day on a Sunday as her husband is at home to look after the children. She does take a full day off mid week, a day to catch up on everything and I hope she manages a bit of ‘me time’.
Sandra works as a home carer and a reviewer. Working as a reviewer means that she completes spot checks on other carers and also completes reviews of the care plan with the client (and their family as appropriate). When I asked Sandra for her opinion on the top qualities for good home carers, she sees being reliable, being punctual (as some older people can become distressed if their carer is late), being patient and understanding are essential qualities. Sandra clearly loves being a home carer, she finds it to be a rewarding career and loves meeting people on a daily basis.
We wish Sandra well and congratulate her again on her wonderful achievements. The overall winner will be announced on Friday 13th November.
