With Catherine from Care Concern Homecare Ltd

Catherine Gunnewicht is Registered Manager at Care Concern Homecare Ltd, a Chiswick-based independent Homecare company providing care to the elderly in their own homes.

As Registered Manager, Catherine is in charge of the daily activities of the company and is legally responsible, along with the company, for compliance with essential standards of quality and safety. There is no typical week but here is what she got up to during one week in January.

First stop this Monday is a home visit to a prospective client. The gentleman asked about our services and I outlined how we can support him to remain living at home. He spoke about his love of literature which brought to mind a carer who could be a good match. Later today I will write up his personalised careplan. As I have concerns about his mobility I will arrange for Bernadette, our Moving and Handling specialist, to visit. His carers will have specific training from Bernadette in his home.

Tuesday and I am attending a workshop about the new Care Certificate that is commencing in March 2015. It is a very informative session and although change can be challenging to implement, I think it will be a good tool for the industry.

On Wednesdays I lead the weekly caseload meeting with the management team. We discuss each of our clients and confer over any pressing issues. A client is returning home from hospital tomorrow so Jean will visit to review the care requirements. Over the coming weeks she will monitor the client, coordinate medication delivery and inform carers of changes to the careplan.

It is #SocialCareHour on Twitter this evening. Up for discussion is staff recruitment and retention following the news that the social care sector will need one million more workers by 2025. At Care Concern Homecare we tackle these challenges by prioritising the development of our staff with a range of innovative workshops and courses. We have recently been nominated for a ‘Best Employer’ national award.

Thursday and carers are coming to the office to sign up for the Social Care Commitment; a voluntary agreement between employers and employees about care quality. It encourages us to reflect on our work and think about our values in the workplace. It feels very much aligned with our company ethos to deliver personalised client-led care.

This afternoon I do some reading about the latest developments from the Care Quality Commission (our regulatory body). I have a 25 page document to complete prior to our annual inspection which could occur at any time!

Friday is here and I catch up with professional discussions on LinkedIn. A thread about the incoming Statutory Duty of Candour has particularly caught my interest. It aims to ensure that an open, honest and transparent culture prevails in health and social care.

On Friday afternoons I help email rotas to carers and clients. I am doing the weekend on-call (covering our emergency 24-hour phone line) so I divert the office number to my mobile. Hopefully it won’t be too busy!

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January 21, 2015