Day in the life Day-to-day care
Dinah Madelin and John Cascone own a Caremark franchise in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Here, Dinah describes a typical day…
Dinah Madelin
look at our business growth and examine proposed marketing plans.
1.00pm
It is always tempting to do ‘just one more task’ before taking a break, but we do make a conscious eff ort to take a proper break and lift our eyes from the computer screens.
2.00pm
John is constantly reviewing our recruitment processes, and he and recruitment and training offi cer Sue Oxley may have some Skype interviews with foreign applicants. Initial interviews can take an hour each with several more before someone fl ies over to join the team. By the time they arrive, we will have sorted fl ights, accommodation, a car and training for them. It’s costly and time consuming, but a very eff ective recruitment exercise if done properly. The vast majority of our staff come from the surrounding villages and towns, which is ideal given the rural spread of our client base.
7.45am
I use the early morning quiet to tidy the offi ce, answer emails, fi nish letters and reports from the previous day, and plan the day ahead. John prefers to arrive later and work later in the evening when the offi ce is less hectic and there are no interruptions.
9.00am
John and the rest of the offi ce team arrive and the next hour is very busy with offi ce- and fi eld-based teams working to ensure all care calls are covered for that day and the rest of the week. The phones can be really busy and I may be dealing with enquiries from social services, speaking with anxious relatives about their loved one who has had a fall in the night, or sorting out cover for a care worker who has gone off sick.
When it all gets too stressful, we
remind ourselves that to date we have helped over 520 clients fulfi l their wish to continue living in their own homes and
that is what this is all about. Outside offi ce hours the on-call supervisors manage the 24-hour on-call support, so as soon as the offi ce staff arrive, we catch up on any issues.
10.00am
At this point I am often dealing with enquiries regarding new care packages from private individuals or the local authority. To grow our business we need to have competent, trained care workers ready to go, so I may be liaising with my team organising care worker recruitment interviews.
John may have an Oxford Association
of Care Providers meeting to attend – it is important to take advantage of any platforms to represent local care providers and communicate our shared concerns to the local authority and decision makers. If it is time for our monthly visit from our
regional support manager, then we spend this time with her to discuss current issues,
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5.00pm Providing over 2,000 hours of care each week means we can never take our eye off the ball if high standards are to be maintained. Before the offi ce staff leave, we double check that they have covered all visits, resolved any urgent matters and communicated with the on-call supervisors.
5.30pm We have an open-door policy here, encouraging care workers to drop in to discuss any queries and concerns, and we make sure we are available to support the offi ce team throughout the day. This makes us all the more appreciative of the quiet that descends as everyone goes home. Many seemingly endless tasks can be completed in a matter of minutes when all interruptions have stopped. With another full day completed we head home and look forward to the peace of the evening. Although it is not easy, we do make a conscious eff ort not to discuss work at home!
franchise@caremarklimited.co.uk
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