Welcome to …
Hello and welcome to the Micro But Mighty Newsletter!
We’ve had an amazing response from last weeks launch of our new look newsletter, but lets be honest, it’s not just a new look, it’s now a heck of a lot of value in one blast! So welcome to all our new readers, it’s great to have you with us!
Here we celebrate independent care and provide you with practical resources to help make your job easier so you can do what you do best..care!
This Week In Independent Care
There’s been some amazing collaboration between, Think Local Act Personal, National Direct Payments Forum, Independent Living Group and Community Catalysts to bring us the Personal Assistant employment status: A guide to support good practice.
I do know behind the scenes, some amazing, hard, and tricky work has gone on to help develop this guide.
In the care sector there is a big problem with Faux-Self-Employment, where many care workers find themselves classified as self employed when in fact they should be employed. But as with so many things in care, working out whether you are truly self employed can be a little tricky as the relationship and work just isn’t black and white.
So this guide has been produced to help care workers and those using care workers, to navigate whether they should be classes as employed or self employed.
This Week’s Micro But Mighty Move
This ones super simple, but so important to not over look! Learn their values and help them to carry them out! In life it is so easy to just assume what is normal to you, is normal to others. But one thing you soon learn when supporting people, is their is no normal!
So this morning while I was supporting one of the ladies I see in my care service… we had a right little laugh
I was helping her put her stockings on, because let’s be honest, a lot of people manage really well… but reaching those feet first thing in the morning? That’s often the hardest part!
So I do a lot of socks, stockings, shoes and slippers.
Anyway… these particular stockings had definitely seen better days. A little rip here… a hole there… a full-on ladder going on. But once her trousers and shoes were on, you wouldn’t see a thing.
And here’s the thing…
This lady likes to use things right up until the bitter end. Waste not, want not. And I respect that completely, they’re her values.
She turned to me and said, “I bet you wouldn’t wear them like that…”. So I showed her my toes, "Because I wear boots… no one can see my holes either!" I told her.
The other day I even had one sock over my tights on one foot (because that one had gone too far)… and just tights on the other because that side was still going strong. She absolutely chuckled.
And it just reminded me… for some people, one hole and it’s straight in the bin. For others, they’ll use things right to the very end. And both are completely fine.
Because that’s what person-led care is all about. Understanding what matters to that individual. Respecting their values. Supporting them to live life their way. Not ours.
And honestly? It’s those little moments that make this job what it is. Are you a 'use to the bitter end person' or a 'one hole and gone person' ??
Grey Area Of The Week!
What should I be charging?
So in collaboration with the amazing independent carers in the Professional Carers Network we have created the Rising Your Rates Guide. It's a guide to help you figure out if you are charging enough and if not, how to fairly increase your rates!
So many of us have found ourselves in the ‘dam I’m not charging enough’ situation! And let’s be honest, us English folk are not great when it comes to talking money. But here’s the thing, you provide an amazing service and you deserve to be well rewarded for the amazing job you do! And actually because you charge correctly, it means you don’t have to work every hour under the sun, so you can have a better work/life balance and you have the energy and flexibility to provide an epic service. So it is important to charge correctly!
Check out the guide below:
We’ve borrowed, with permission, this session from the Professional Carers Network to help you raise your rates!
Helpful Tool/Book/Podcast/Thing… Of The Week!
Check out this fabulous podcast which is all about the amazing work that goes on in the social care sector: Continuing The Conversation With Sadie.
Sadie has some amazing guests on and there is always a good lesson to be learnt or a thought to ponder, after listening to Sadie’s podcast.
We really enjoyed the episode with Sadie and David Wilson-Wynne: Rethinking Dementia: Inclusion, Design & Human Rights, check it out below:
Readers Story
This week’s story comes from Tarry Kruger who high quality support has quite literally been life changing for one of her clients, read Tarry’s story below.
Something I hear all the time since becoming a private carer, that care agencies rush in and rush out and its a tick box for them. And anything outside of the box just isn’t possible. Here's some stories I can share that make what I do so much more rewarding. I made the switch from my registered nursing role to be a private carer as I was so disillusioned by the current state of nursing. As much as I wanted to make that difference to my patients I just didn’t feel I was able to and it made me feel eternally guilty every single day. Which really starts to impact on your wellbeing.
I started caring for a lady alongside my work buddy. She had only just retired from the NHS and was struck by an illness that attacked her muscles. She was told she might never walk again was in hospital for best part of a year and she came home from rehab in a wheelchair. She was in a very low place and when we met her, she had a care agency in place which she was unhappy with. Their care wasn’t holistic and was rushed and they didnt promote her independence. What she needed was emotional support and encouragement.
We started doing her physio with her at every visit and we took the time to get to know what was important to her, which has been so important to her recovery. As we got to know her and, as we were the only two people going in, we got to know her very well. We promoted her independence and she didn’t have to explain herself when she was having a bad day because we just knew and we were able to lift her spirits.
All the compassionate care, understanding, the knowledge and always going the extra mile has shown us how valuable this type of care is. This lady was told she might never walk. We have waved goodbye one by one to the hoist, banana board, sara steady and nearly the molift and she has taken her first steps with the help of a frame. I cried when she sent me the video of her walking with therapy. She tells us every day how important we have been to her and she could not have done this without us.
We love hearing reader’s stories. If you would like to be featured in the Micro But Mighty newsletter, hit reply and tell us your story and we will do our best to feature you.
In Case You Missed It
Check YouTube video on To Lock or Not Lock Doors!: [Link to video]
Until next time…
Keep doing the small things that make a mighty difference!
xx