An interview with Sharon and Julie, Senior Carers at Ashlea Mews Care Home

We spoke to Sharon and Julie about their roles as Senior Carers, and why they think you should join the Orchard Team.

We asked Sharon and Julie to introduce themselves and tell us a bit more about them and their work history.

S: Hi I’m Sharon, I’ve been at Ashlea Mews Care Home for 4 years and 3 months as one of the Senior Carers. Before I joined Orchard I worked as a Senior Care Assistant at another care home, so you could say caring for others is my calling In life.

J: Hello I’m Julie, this year marks my 6^th year at Ashlea Mews Care Home. My previous job was as a Care Assistant and I worked my way up the ladder.

What is your favourite thing about this position?

S: I would have to say having the opportunity to interact with the residents. All of our residents are such wonderful people who I probably would have never had the opportunity to interact with, and learn about, if it wasn’t for this position. The residents and their families truly become your own extended family and you learn to care for them as you would for one of your own.

J: My favourite thing about this position is being able to create care plans and interact with residents. I love getting to know all our residents and having the opportunity to be able to personalize care plans exactly to their individual needs/wants. It makes me feel accomplished knowing that I’m doing a good job in providing the very best care for residents.

How have you grown professionally on our Orchard team?

S: I can definitely say I have become very confident within my role and I have my managers and Orchard to thank for that, they are very supportive.

J: I have learnt a lot! From gaining the confidence from my supervisor to create care plans to having the opportunity to grow my skills further through various courses. Orchard is really pro-career development.

What is one thing that you wish people knew about your job?

S: How tiring it can be. You are always on the move and I frequently exceed 10k steps in an 8hr shift.

J: How hard but rewarding the job is. It takes physical and mental strength to become a carer but if you’re resilient enough it also brings huge gratification as you make daily positive changes to peoples lives and get to witness it with your own eyes.

What is one thing that surprised you about your current role?

S: How much work is actually involved in the running of a care home and taking care of people- its not just making cups of tea. Orchard personalise every care plan to the individual resident and sometimes that takes a lot of logistics to perfect.

J: I was honestly surprised at how much work goes into both senior and junior roles and how fast paced the job truly is.

What advice would you give to recent new entrants?

S: Embrace the role fully, but don’t be afraid to speak up- if you need to ask for advice, ask anything at any time. Our colleagues will be more than happy to help. Don’t be intimidated if you do something wrong in your first couple of weeks- everyone makes mistakes, we are only human.

J:It’s hard work but it’s an extremely rewarding job and Orchard are such a great company to work for. I would recommend for anyone to become a carer as you will not get bigger job satisfaction than working in a role like this.

Thank you to Sharon and Julie of Ashlea Mews for taking the time to speak with us about their roles! If you are interested in becoming a carer, have a look at our careers page where we have roles to fill in your area!

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