Lisa Hurst, Registered Care Manager for Martlets Care has worked with Martlets for almost a year. For Hospice Care Week 2022, she blogs on what she values about a career in care.
Martlets Care is a bit different to the rest of the hospice. We are a separate care agency, who care for people in their own homes. Our services are chargeable, however any profits we make go to funding care at the hospice.
My role is to manage the day-to-day running of our care service, providing support to our carers and meeting with clients and other professionals to help the agency run smoothly. I work closely with our care coordinators to make sure we have people in the right place at the right time. I also support recruiting more carers into our team. This means my role is very varied and no day is the same – which can also be said for our carers too!
Misconceptions about Martlets Care
There are lots of misconceptions about us and about working in care. People often think we just support people at the end of their lives, but it is so much more than that. It is true that we are linked in with the specialist palliative care teams at the Hospice. This gives us unique insight and knowledge, as well as opportunities for progression for carers.
Day to day we support individuals at all stages of their lives to remain independent at home. This might be practical support like preparing meals or helping with shopping. It may also be administering medications and providing full personal care.
Careers in care
My journey started as a carer working in the community, after 5 years I had progressed and started working as the care coordinator, then deputy manager then became the registered manager.
Sometimes when I tell people what I do, they say that they thought that care work was a temporary job which people work in to fit around family commitments. But I believe passionately that care is a career.
Working as a carer isn’t just providing personal care, like wiping bottoms! It’s a skilled career with real opportunities to progress. A career in care can be flexible and fit around other responsibilities. But for me, it’s about being passionate about helping people and supporting that special person.
Being a carer has never been more important too. Skills for Care report that the need for carers is growing, particularly due to the covid-19 pandemic. The Kings Fund also report that more people are needing care every year as the money councils spend on adult social care rises.
Why Martlets Care
At Martlets Care, we do things differently. We are a living wage employer, and we pay for things that other care agencies don’t – like time spent travelling.
Our carers get paid for training and are supported in opportunities to shadow in the hospice and they can progress from a carer to a Field Care Supervisor.
This role is a new role for us and means field care supervisors have some supervisory training responsibilities over other carer. This can be used as progression to a care coordinator/ trainer role.
Our carers are skilled and willing to help people. They are interested in development and learning. Some of them have come from interesting careers previously, like flight attendants or teaching assistants. Others are hoping to become nurses in the future and want the experience of care first.
My 20-year career in care has been varied working for the private sector and charities. Martlets Care for me, is a great place to work as any profit made goes to the hospice, so we are really giving back to the community. To me it feels more like a family, we have so many resources, skills, and knowledge across all our services that there is always something new to learn.
Our carers look after individuals the way they would want someone to look after their family member which makes me proud to be a part of.
Could you join us?
There are so many different roles you can have working at a hospice. I hope I’ve given you some unique insight into what mine looks like.
If you are interested in working for Martlets Care, we are recruiting. Please visit our website to see how you can apply to become a Field Care Supervisor or a Care Assistant.
Find out more:
- Explore how Martlets Care can help
- Apply for a role with Martlets Care
- Read our other Hospice Care Week blogs
- Donate to Martlets this Hospice Care Week