Coronavirus pandemic sees care provider urge all with experience to come forward and care

Care provider Right At Home (Nottingham) is calling on anyone with experience in the care sector or those with ‘life experience’ in caring for a loved one to contact their local care organisations to offer help.

The managing director of Right At Home (Nottingham) is urging people with care experience in care homes or home care to search homecare.co.uk to find their local care provider and offer them help, if they have care skills.

With over 60 Right At Home branches operating across the UK, the home care firm delivers care to people living in their own homes, including the elderly, those living with a disability and those with underlying health conditions.

'A person must have the right characteristics'

Christopher Tansley, managing director at Right At Home Nottingham, said: “People with experience in care or life experience caring for a loved one are people we can use. A person must have the right characteristics for professional home care; they must have the right mind set to supporting individuals and have empathy.

“Such a person can contact their local providers and be part of a professional team.”

Right At Home Nottingham received an Outstanding rating from the Care Quality Commission in June 2019.

Mr Tansley said: “When selecting people for professional care, we look for certain characteristics and support them through training. These help protect our clients, particularly during these unpredicted times. With many people offering to support their community it could be experience that could be invaluable”.

He also highlighted the need for care providers to continue with rigorous checks, DBS and character references for potential care givers.

With the UK in the grip of a coronavirus pandemic and the prospect of professional care workers self-isolating and not turning up to care for people, Mr Tansley said: "we could face shortages of experience in the care workforce".

Mr Tansley added: ”We’re waiting to see how the government are going to support care givers in this trusted role. Every single member of our office is prepared to do hands on care, if they’re eligible to do so.

"We may call upon recently retired care workers and retired mums looking to get back into the workforce."

The branch has around 50 home care clients and around the same number of staff. If you live in Nottingham, you can contact Right At Home Nottingham on 0115 880 0911.

The managing director is urging people with care experience to do their research and find their local care providers by visiting homecare.co.uk.

People with care experience can also check carehome.co.uk to offer help to care homes in their local area.