Martin DILLON

• Providing care to the elderly within a care home environment.
• This involves:
• Administering medication including applying creams and lotions on schedule throughout the day
• Assisting with dressing/undressing
• Assisting with showering and personal care
• Assisting residents with mobility issues
• Providing emotional support and reassurance when required. This requires a gentle patient approach, good listening skills, appropriate eye contact.
• Managing challenging behaviour using de-escalation techniques and establish a calm environment
• Accompanying residents to hospital and GP appointments when required.
• Serving meals throughout the day and ensuring residents dietary requirement are met e.g. a resident maybe celiac or diabetic. Also assisting and encouraging residents to eat and drink when required.
• Being aware of any sudden changes in residents health or behaviour and acting on this.
• Helping residents take part in the various activates and outings that are open to them e.g. bingo, scrabble, movement to music, tai chi, barge trips along the canal
• Phoning 3rd parties such as GP, Pharmacy, district nurse, NHS24, CPN, Social Work, Hospitals, Podiatry etc and keeping next of kin updated on any changes in their loved ones situation.
• Ensuring residents care plans are updated on a regular basis e.g. daily recordings, food and fluid intake when required, monitoring resident weights, assisting social care worker with residents reviews and keeping risk assessments update.
• Recording any incidents, such a resident falling, using Glasgow city council's Hands form management system.
• Generally helping create a good teamwork environment with social care worker and line manager using effective communication.

Caring for my late father in law who lived with multiple health issues; most serious being dementia and poor mobility.

I assisted him on the daily basis with dressing/ undressing personal care, showering, preparing all meals, giving correct medication, advocating on his behalf, accompanying him to hospital and GP appointments and providing emotional support.

During this period I was also main carer for my daughter and did welfare rights work on a casual/ad hoc basis.

Duties involved:

• Phoning DWP on behalf of clients
• Completing sickness benefit forms
• Submitting appeals
• Writing submissions, representing clients at tribunals
• Providing money advice and negotiating with creditors on client's behalf
• Maximising clients incomes
• Housing and council tax benefit advice ensuring clients were able to meet their rent commitments