Category: Caregiver Advice

Career Advice, Caregiver Advice

Myhomecare Ready to Employ, Train and Support 1,000 New Home Care Workers

5 tips on finding the right homecare provider

Myhomecare Ready to Employ, Train and Support 1,000 New Home Care Workers

Myhomecare Welcomes Minister’s Announcement of 1,000 Non-EU Employment Permits for Home Care Workers

Myhomecare, a nationwide HSE approved supplier of specialised home care, welcomes the announcement of employment permits for 1,000 non-EU home care workers, from Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People Mary Butler. Myhomecare has positions available for all 1,000 new home care workers and is ready to not only employ, but train and support them in their career progression through its Care Academy.  

The Myhomecare Care Academy offers training, career progression support and guidance for aspiring carers, offering the opportunity for those with experience requiring QQI Level 5 accreditation in healthcare, courses to be subsidised. The Care Academy also focuses on improving the quality of new and existing staff by providing upskilling opportunities and allows those who want to advance their career in healthcare an advantageous starting point.

Deirdre Doyle, Myhomecare Operations Lead said:

Making 1,000 Employment Permits available to non-EU home care workers is an exciting development and we are delighted to announce we have the capacity to assist all 1,000 with employment, training and career progression through our Care Academy.

She continued, “Myhomecare has a strong workforce and employing additional homecare workers will further strengthen our Winter Initiative which aims to assist the HSE in their focus on community care and supporting more efficient hospital discharges which in turn, increases hospital bed capacity.”

Speaking on the report of the strategic workforce advisory group on home carers and nursing home healthcare assistants, Minister Mary Butler referred to all care workers, working in home support and long-term residential care for older people, she said that they should receive fair pay and conditions and have the opportunity to progress in their careers.

Myhomecare meets these recommendations referred to by Minister Butler and is one of the highest paying employers within the homecare sector and champions career progression through the Myhomecare Care Academy. 

In response to Minister Butler, Myhomecare’s Deirdre Doyle said:

The Myhomecare Care Academy enables frontline staff to earn a competitive wage ranging from 14 euros to 25 euros an hour. The Academy also offers those same opportunities to those passionate about a career in care and the Myhomecare team will support them every step of the way. We understand how important it is to take care of our carers so they can take care of our clients.

There has always been a particular emphasis on upskilling and career progression within Myhomecare with exceptional ongoing training provided which is further supported by Servisource’s Training department. It is from this strong foundation that the Care Academy has been developed. 

For further information on any of the above, contact our team today!

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Myhomecare Care Academy

The Myhomecare Care Academy is the one-stop shop for aspiring Carers, offering training and career progression support and guidance. The Care Academy also offers the opportunity for those with experience requiring QQI Level 5 accreditation in healthcare courses to be subsidised.

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Caregiver Advice, HSE Announcements

Professional Homecare Bill 2020

Professional Homecare Bill 2020

Myhomecare.ie have welcomed the recently announced Professional Home Care Bill 2020, amendments to the Health Act 2007. This new legislation is designed to provide regulation in the area of professional home care.

Amendments were introduced in the areas of assessment of needs & care planning, complaints procedures, standards of care, protection from abuse and training of personnel. Myhomecare are proud to have already demonstrated an understanding and focus in these areas.

These amendments regard the following general principles as they apply to adults:

· The principal of independent living

· The principal of privacy & dignity

· The principal of quality of care

· The principal of protection of the adult

Myhomecare.ie’s assessment of care needs have included companionship and advanced care planning as standard practice across all of our services for many years. We have also developed and introduced an extensive patient safety programme in 2019. Through this programme we continue to monitor and collect data in the areas of medication management, fall risks and infection control.

ISO9001 accreditation – Quality Management System

Myhomecare successfully maintained ISO9001 accreditation again for 2020 and continue year on year to strive for this very respected achievement. Our care standards are of the highest quality and our mission is to always put our clients and carers needs and feedback first. All of the business operations are audited externally every year to ensure that we are compliant with our quality management system. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, virtually zero paperwork was used which was another huge achievement for Myhomecare as the audit usually takes place onsite, with all policies, processes and documentation printed out in advance.

JCI Gold Seal accreditation

We have also secured the JCI Gold Seal accreditation for 2020. This reaffirms we are operating a quality service with a core focus on client safety and our dedication to clients and their families. With the JCI award, we are now one of an exclusive group of 24 homecare companies globally who have attained the required standard and the only one in Ireland in our sector.

We now work alongside the JCI team to sustain their standards while continuing to strive for improvement in delivery for all clients receiving care in line with the accreditation’s credo. Paula Wilson, President and CEO of JCI, commended Myhomecare for the dedication to improving services and praised the resilience of everyone involved for persevering during a global pandemic: “JCI commends Myhomecare for its efforts to become a quality improvement organisation and achieving international accreditation which highlights their commitment to patient safety“.

A safer, better homecare

Circumstances this year with the onset of Covid-19 has helped change our business model to a more online presence. Implementing the best technology solutions available and ensuring quality of service are fundamental to us as we try to emerge from the covid crisis even stronger than before.

Our Client Portal is accessible via our website www.myhomecare.ie and provides access to several different resources, which includes our feedback form. We also provide our clients with an Education Pack which has information on a range of different topics from Nutrition, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s and Fire Safety etc.

Our dedicated recruiters and compliance officer ensure that all our care personnel are up to date with necessary training requirements and we ensure this is possible with continuous support from our own Servisource Training division.

The Myhomecare team continue to lead the way in Ireland in delivering a superior quality service by ensuring our standards are in line with the new government regulations. Myhomecare utilise lean methodologies ensuring we are continuously improving our services. Our quality management system allows us to regularly review and maintain our policies and procedures, enabling us to work in unison to a high standard.

Homecare is not just confined to older people. It includes those who develop a chronic illness, those who have a physical or mental disability or those who are recovering at home after surgery or an illness. Myhomecare.ie deliver the highest quality of safe person centred care, meeting each service user’s individual needs using a holistic approach in accordance with the National Standards of Safer, Better Healthcare and Homecare.

Career Advice, Caregiver Advice

The Importance of Flexible Working for Carers

With a new generation of employees now hitting the workforce, the traditional way of running businesses has changed.

One example is with working hours. Flexible working was introduced as a way to encourage a healthy work-life balance.

Over the last few years, the number of people working in part-time employment has increased. As well as those returning from starting a family and the effects of the gig economy, it’s also due to those struggling to maintain a healthy balance between their work and personal lives.

For those working in care, a flexible working arrangement may mean staff taking less time off for carers leave.

In this piece, we’ll define flexible working and the rules surrounding it. We’ll also explore the importance of this type of work for carers.

What is flexible working?

It’s a work pattern adapted to suit both you and your employees. There are different types of flexible working arrangements, examples include:

  • Changing to part-time hours.
  • Changing working days.
  • Changing full-time working hours.
  • Working your normal weekly hours in fewer days (compressed hours).
  • Working from home part or fulltime (homeworking).
  • Retain two people for the same position on a part-time basis (job sharing).
  • Work usually rotating but specified hours (shift working).
  • Using technological advances to work from remote locations (teleworking).
  • Calculating working hours based on annually instead of weekly (annualised hours).

Unlike the United Kingdom, there’s no legal right to flexible working. However, since the introduction of the Code of Practice on Access to Part-time Work in 2006, it’s now become a best practice for employers have policies on improving access to part-time work.

Employees can make requests for flexible working. As an employer, you should have a procedure in place that allows for a discussion between yourself and the employee before making a decision. Remember to consider:

  • The employee’s personal needs.
  • The staffing needs for the company.
  • The implications to the business and their co-workers.

To avoid claims of discrimination, you must consider all request for flexible working fairly and in accordance with the employment equality legislation.

The importance of flexible working for carers

Accommodating flexible working requests can be a challenge especially for those in the care sector.

The work itself is one that can do with allowances for flexible working. It involves rotating working hours, usually long travel times and unsociable hours.

However, from the point of view of the employer, it may be tricky, as you’ll need to ensure there’s sufficient staff to cover at all times.

And there are benefits for employers and employees.

For employers

  • Boost employee morale.
  • Reduce absenteeism.
  • Reduce employee turnover.
  • Improve wellbeing.
  • Enhance company image as a family-friendly employer.
  • Increase productivity.

For employees

  • Better work/life balance to meet personal and family needs.
  • Less stress.
  • Increased job satisfaction.
  • Reduced expenses and time spent commuting.
  • More control over working hours and environment.

Final note Remember, while it may be a challenge to create a flexible working policy, the rewards are well worth it. As well as easing your staff’s work/life balance, you can also reduce business costs, improve output and ensure the loyalty of your staff.

Advice for Older People, Caregiver Advice

Helping the Elderly this Christmas

Our Guidelines for Helping an Elderly Friend, Neighbour or Relative this Christmas 

Elderly person Christmas decorating

Tackling Loneliness among the Elderly at Christmas 

Christmas is about love and joy and spending time with family and friends but it can be extremely difficult for elderly people as it can remind them about the loss of loved ones or their decline in health. Elderly people have an increased risk of suffering from depression and around the festive season depression and suicide heighten. Depression affects around 15-20% of people aged 65 and over.

Around 60% of elderly people in Ireland aged 80 and over live alone. Help the elderly people in your life this Christmas and avoid them becoming lonely and depressed. Loneliness can have an impact on the physical, mental and emotional well-being of people.

If you know of an elderly person invite them for a meal or ask them if they would like help with food shopping, make them feel connected at this time of year. See here previous blog about Loneliness and the elderly: https://myhomecareie.wpengine.com/age-friendly-advice/tackling-loneliness-among-elderly/

How to Help the Elderly around the Festive Season

Reach Out

If you have an elderly relative, neighbour or friend that lives alone make sure to check in on them and see if they are OK. Take them to visit family members, call in to help them light the fire. Reaching out to a senior with small gestures, you would be surprised at just how much it could mean to them.

Plan Ahead

If you are a carer by occupation, invite your friends and family or the friends and family of the person that you are caring for around. Make sure to plan this in advance as people can have a busy schedule around Christmas. This will keep their morale high and also give you a sense of satisfaction for spreading the festive cheer. Organise a Christmas game, Christmas caroling, tea and mince pies or ask the senior what they would like to do.

Involve Them 

Get them involved. It is important that seniors feel a part of the holidays. Elderly people love to feel that they are useful and don’t want to feel like a burden. Ask them to help with things such as meal preparations like the Christmas Pudding, picking Christmas cards or helping to decorate the house. Be aware of what they can do and encourage them to do what they are capable of.

Make Memories

Memories and old traditions can be painful for older people. Create new memories and traditions and make them feel present this Christmas to take their mind off the past. Make a dish that they would have normally made, use different ingredients if desired. Bring them to mass on Christmas Eve and invite family, take them for a drive to look at all the Christmas lights.

Respect their routines 

If an elderly person is used to eating meals and going to bed at certain hours try and respect this and do your best to accommodate them. Staying up later than what they are used to or eating at later times results in tiredness and hunger which is unsettling to anyone not just older people.

Reminisce

Take the time to listen to an older person that feels like they need to reminisce about days gone by, deceased loved ones, childhood memories and Christmas memories or traditions that have passed. At social gatherings, encourage them to talk about their stories, elderly people love to share of days gone by and young people love hearing about what it was like ‘in my day’.

Ask for help

If you don’t ask you won’t receive. It is foolish to think that you can do everything yourself. To care for someone else you must care for yourself too. Ask friends or family to help out with what you know they are good at or enjoy. If someone enjoys shopping ask them to bring out the elderly person and help them with seasonal gifts, suggest they do some online shopping together if mobility is low. Get young grandchildren to call and keep them busy with games etc.

Healthy choices

Senior citizens especially, need to drink plenty of water to avoid the risk of dehydration. At Christmas, everyone tends to indulge when it comes to food. If you are serving a big dinner, consider making a light breakfast/lunch as you don’t want the elderly person to be sick. Drinking alcohol with certain types of medication can have side effects, make sure to be wary of this.

Finance

Buying Christmas presents can be a struggle for elderly people as they have a fixed income. Suggest a Family Kris Kringle so that they are not stressed about money and having to buy presents for everyone.

Christmas Cards

Sending Christmas cards can be a difficult task for elderly people as they might not remember addresses, they might have arthritis and can’t hold a pen or their sight might be poorly. Offer to write and send Christmas cards for an older person this Christmas.

Decor 

Be careful with outside lights and interior decorations. Keep in mind any obstacles which may cause an injury to an elderly person in your home.

Falls

Icy conditions can result in elderly people having falls which can have serious physical impact and health implications. Make sure to salt their drive or pour hot water on their footpath or steps.

Plan Activities

As a person ages, energy and mobility decreases. A full day out walking around streets and shopping centres is not realistic. Try some online shopping, watch Christmas cookery shows and attempt to make the meals, watch old Christmas movies or organise a Christmas tea party for them. If they wish to go around the shops, make sure a wheelchair is accessible.

Keep Active

Exercise is important all year round and Christmas shouldn’t be any different. Bring an elderly person to an outdoor market, walk around a shopping centre to do some window shopping, go for a walk in the park. This is not only good for their physical health but also for their mental and social well-being.

Avoid Cold and Flu

See here previous blog about avoiding colds and flu this winter: https://myhomecareie.wpengine.com/health-nutrition-advice/avoid-colds-and-flu/ 

If you would like to get involved in a charitable organisation for elderly people and offer your time and friendship, why not try Friends of the Elderly Ireland. Our previous trip with members of Friends of the Elderly: https://myhomecareie.wpengine.com/advice-for-older-people/myhomecare-proudly-sponsoring-friends-of-the-elderly/