Home care staff go ‘above and beyond’ during Storm Arwen

Managers at Westmorland Homecare at Kendal have praised staff who went ‘above and beyond’ to help vulnerable clients during Storm Arwen.

As gale-force winds and lashing rain battered South Lakeland, home care staff continued to support clients, some of whom were without electricity at their homes.

Some staff even visited clients in their own time to offer help and reassurance.

Senior Care Co-ordinator Amy Cooper said one of the company’s carers was with an elderly housebound client at 10pm on the Friday night. The lights were flickering in the storm and the lady, who did not have a torch, was frightened and growing distressed.

The staff member went home, found her own torch and returned in her own time to leave it with the lady so she would not be in the dark if power was lost, which did eventually happen.

Another carer was working until 9pm in Ambleside but then could not get home because a tree had blocked the road. “She decided to stay in a bed and breakfast in Ambleside so she could carry out her calls to clients on Saturday morning,” said Amy.

At Brigsteer an elderly lady’s power went off. A Westmorland Homecare member of staff lives close by and, despite it being her weekend off, she went to see the lady, taking a warm drink and hot water bottle until the client’s son could collect her on Saturday night. The carer also emptied the client’s fridge and freezer and took the contents to her own home, where the power was still on.

“It gives me goosebumps to think about what out staff have done,” said Amy. “They have all worked above and beyond. I had staff who were not on duty this weekend ringing me to say: ‘How can I help?’

“The things our staff did this weekend meant the world to those who were cut off and without family nearby. Our carers became a lifeline for them.”

On the Friday Amy’s husband collected her from Kendal at 8pm but they were unable to drive home to Rather Heath Lane due to fallen trees. They eventually had to resort to walking in the howling wind and climbing over and under trees, reaching home at 11pm. The next day Amy walked for three miles to reach the office.

Meanwhile, Westmorland Homecare’s excellent service has been recognised by independent review website homecare.co.uk, which has named it as one of the top 20 home care providers in North West England. The company is the only service in Cumbria to receive a 10 out of 10 score based on reviews in the past two years.

The daughter of an elderly woman who received care from the company wrote: “Westmorland Homecare could not have cared better for her. The carers always went the extra mile – stayed longer if necessary – and genuinely would do anything.”

Another wrote: “We have the same regular ladies coming to visit mum and they are all wonderful. I can’t praise them enough.”

Care Manager Bernadine Davies said: “I am extremely proud of the service achieving a score of 10 out of 10 as the reviews come straight from clients or their family.

“We always pride ourselves on what we call the ‘Mum test.’ When we are recruiting, we always consciously say to ourselves, if it was your mum or dad or a loved-one and they needed care would you want this candidate to provide it?

“If the answer is ‘yes’ it does not matter if they have little or no experience because we can train them to do tasks, but we can’t teach them how to care. It’s a bit like Blackpool rock – we are looking to see if the word ‘care’ is running right through them.”

Dr Chris Moss, one of the directors of Westmorland Homecare, said: “We have the most amazing team I have ever worked with. No matter what life throws at us they are there looking after each other and our community, working closely with other health professionals to keep clients safe and secure at home.”

Westmorland Homecare provides hundreds of hours of care each week to enable elderly and often frail people to live independently in their own home.