Look after care staff plea by homecare company director

Healthcare organisations and businesses throughout Cumbria and north Lancashire have been urged to look after their staff to ensure they do not burn out during these challenging times.

And individuals working in the caring sector have been encouraged to make time to look after themselves to avoid becoming over-stressed.

The heartfelt plea has come from Dr Chris Moss, a director of Kendal-based Westmorland Homecare, who also does work in Accident and Emergency for the NHS.

He says the challenges and uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions, along with the onset of darker nights and winter on the horizon, mean this is a very challenging time for many in the care sector.

“There are staff working around the clock in both the NHS and social care sector who are doing an amazing job,” said Dr Moss, 35, who lives at Sedgwick.

“Caring for the community is a highly-rewarding but stressful job, so it is not surprising that people burn out.

“Compassion fatigue is a term, which recognises that even the most emotionally resilient people will have times when the impact of their jobs has a profound effect on them. This is particularly true of those in the caring sector, who develop very strong relationships with the people they look after.

“If the stress of caring for others is not supported or is left unchecked it can have a huge impact on people’s physical health and their emotional and mental well-being and can sometimes prevent them from doing the job they are so passionate about.”

Such fatigue could be exacerbated at the moment because of COVID-19 restrictions which could cause isolation and a lack of social interaction outside the workplace, said Dr Moss.

He said it was vital managers made sure rotas were sustainable and that they did not put undue pressure on staff.

The message to care for staff and each other was not just aimed at the NHS and care sector, said Dr Moss. It also applied to all companies and educational establishments, such as universities.

“We must look after staff and think about the emotional support we can give them,” he said.

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

Kelly Haygarth, its staff coordinator, explained the company, which is the only homecare company in England to have been awarded an ‘outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission twice in succession, had two full-time trainers and a company counsellor, who staff had access to at all times.

“At Westmorland Homecare we are constantly looking at how staff are cared for and mentored,” said Mrs Haygarth. “We are sending some of our senior staff on some compassion leadership training supplied by the NHS so, as leaders, we know how to look after and empower people.”

Dr Moss added that individuals also had a responsibility. “Taking care of yourself is not a luxury, but a necessity. People need to think about exercise, relaxation techniques, eating well and making sure they sleep well.”

Dr Moss’s views were echoed by Aaron Cummins, chief executive of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.

“I want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our hard-working NHS colleagues – at every single level – across the Bay,” said Mr Cummins. “As Chief Executive of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust, it’s more important to me than ever that we ensure we are looking after our colleagues.

“Caring for our colleagues is just as important as caring for our patients and we will continue to place emphasis on this, particularly as we head into the winter months, where we know things can become more difficult with darker days and a number of national and local restrictions associated with the pandemic.

“The work of our teams, both in hospital and out in the community, has been unrelenting over the past nine months.  Some of the actions we are taking locally to further support colleagues builds on our existing health and wellbeing programme, ‘Flourish’.  We are ensuring colleagues have access to fast-track counselling; ‘wobble rooms’ – where staff can go and take time out when needed; Covid-19 check in appraisals; coaching and half price food and drink in our canteens.

“In addition, we have received many extremely kind donations from external companies, which we have distributed far and wide to colleagues.  On a more personal note, I am also maintaining direct links with colleagues with my regular CEO Tea and Talk sessions, providing colleagues and opportunity to meet with me to discuss anything they may wish.

“Now more than ever, I want to harness our Trust ethos of providing compassionate care and compassionate leadership.

“Finally, I would like to thank colleagues at Westmorland Homecare – working in partnership with our local care providers helps us to ensure patients are receiving the right care, in the right place, at the right time”.