What makes our carers so special is their love for their work and their commitment to their customers. This passion and dedication has led to some of them travelling hundreds of miles to come to one of our training weeks.
Elizabeth Wilma began her career with Helping Hands in 2014 and is still continuing to support our customers. After hearing about Helping Hands through a friend, Elizabeth felt that the opportunity to be a positive difference in someone else’s life was too great to pass by. Here is her story.
Originally from Pretoria, South Africa, Elizabeth was first inspired to become a carer through supporting her grandparents. She would help them in a number of different ways and it is this experience which has given her a burning passion to provide care for people who need similar support.
“I’ve learnt a lot from my grandparents,” Elizabeth says. “They have taught me about history and culture, and I would say that I am the person I am today because of them. Caring for my grandparents was not only rewarding – it was fun and I had a great time with them!”Driven by this passion, Elizabeth applied to be a live-in carer with Helping Hands. Having already worked in a number of different care roles previously, she possessed a strong knowledge of what it means to be a carer, which impressed our recruitment team. After passing her interview, Elizabeth then came to one of our training weeks in Warwickshire, where her enthusiasm continued to shine through. Read more about what is live in care here.
“The recruitment process was very good,” she explains. “The training was excellent and the training staff were all lovely. They were good at explaining everything and had all the right equipment in place so we could get hands-on experience. It was the best training I’ve ever had in the UK.”Having been with Helping Hands for such a long time, Elizabeth has gone from strength to strength. She has mainly been involved in supporting people living with dementia, where her patient and compassionate approach has been a great reassurance for their families. She likes her customers to be involved and in control of their care as much as possible and often gets involved in their hobbies and interests.
Like all of our live-in carers, Elizabeth has the full support of a dedicated manager. In this case, Elizabeth’s manager is Wendy Sear, the Live-in Care Manager for Wales. Over the course of their time working together, Elizabeth and Wendy have established a strong working relationship, and Elizabeth feels proud to be managed by Wendy.
“My relationship with my manager is very good. She is always available whenever I need her,” Elizabeth states. “As a leader, she guides me on how to approach my work with regards to the people that I will be helping. Not only does she care about the service that I deliver, she also cares about my wellbeing as an employee.”Though Elizabeth has a number of fond memories and achievements, she says that being awarded Carer of the Month in September 2016 has been her crowning moment. She has been described as a friendly and gentle person by our Training Team and we are incredibly proud of her achievements.
Could you have a rewarding and fulfilling career, and make a difference in someone else’s life? Our recruitment team are looking for home carers from all walks of life, and we are always welcoming carers to our training centres across the UK, regardless of experience or qualifications.
Email recruitmentlive-in@helpinghands.co.uk to find out more about being a carer with us, and to take the first step on your journey with us.
Contact us today to find out more information about our care plans.
