A Day in the Life # 14 – Karen’s Story
Welcome to the 14th of our ‘Day in the Life’ Series of Blogs, back by popular demand.
The ‘Day in the Life’ series is written to give an open and honest account of the care industry. Taken as a whole, over time it aims to cover a wide cross section of our staff and talk about care from the perspective of residents and even their loved ones. For the 14th interview, I met up with Karen, who works on the Butterflies unit at our Dane View Care Home with Nursing, in Leicester. Karen gave a fascinating interview and, although some of the detail is too personal to publish, I want to thank Karen for her candour.
Karen has an interesting history, having twice relocated to give her son better and safer educational opportunities. The first time was moving from her home island of Jamaica to Monserrat to avoid local gangs. The second time was moving from Birmingham to Leicester, again, to avoid a gang. It’s quite a revelation so early on in the interview. It was also upsetting to hear that gangs operate in some of our big cities and target public transport being used by children to get them to school. Karen’s son was only 13 and had his mobile phone ‘taken’ from him on a bus by a gang – so despite the difficulties of finding an available place at a new school and a new job, Karen left Birmingham and brought her son to Leicester.
It’s that selfless attitude that shines through when you talk to Karen and makes her such an incredible carer and very popular with her colleagues.
Turning the clock back to her time in Monserrat, Karen tells me she had a few jobs but settled into housekeeping and managing holiday guesthouses. During that period, she also found herself caring for her mum during what must have been a difficult time as a single parent with a young child. Unfortunately, Karen’s mum passed in 2016. Karen says, ‘Looking after my mum I learned the value of patience and compassion.’
A few years on, Karen decided to move her son over to England and join her brother in Birmingham. Karen says, ‘I had spoken to my brother and believed I could find a better education for my son in England. What happened in Birmingham was not going to stop me doing that.’
In Leicester, Karen’s son quickly settled into a good school and Karen worked as a carer delivering home help. The difficulty of having to use public transport and walk miles to get to multiple locations every day was not easy, so Karen looked for something else.
Karen says, ‘I wanted to be based in one location and kept passing Dane View. I thought, this is so beautiful, I’d love to work there. One day I plucked up the courage to go to the front door and ask about jobs opportunities. They gave me an application form and they called me back for an interview. I was offered a job a few days later and started working at Dane View. I fell in love with the place. I love it here!’
That was back in July 2022 – so we are coming up to Karen’s first year anniversary working at Dane View. Karen now works on the specialist advanced dementia unit, called Butterflies. Karen says, ‘Butterflies is challenging because you have to learn to give people the preference of doing things for themselves if they want to. You cannot step in and do things for them too soon. It’s important to see if people can do things for themselves – to keep them thinking and active for as long as they are able.’
I ask Karen how she copes with some of the more challenging behaviours she sees? Karen replies, ‘If a resident shouts, it’s usually because they are frustrated or scared and something. One thing I do is take them to a quiet area away from whatever might have set them off and they usually calm down.’
Karen is describing what we call a ‘trigger’ and this knowledge is part of NAPPI training that carers, including Karen, undertake to equip then to work with dementia residents. I suspect that for Karen, her correct actions are often intuitive. (See previous Blog on NAPPI Training by scrolling down the Blogs).
What doesn’t come over in the written word is Karen’s tone of voice. Karen has a very soothing soft, calm and gentle way of speaking. I can imagine it putting her residents at ease. I ask her to tell me what advice she would give to others considering entering the care sector. Karen says, ‘To be in this job, you have to have patience, listen and be calm with residents.’ I know that Karen has patience in abundance.
I ask Karen what her ‘pet hate’ is in care, and she immediately says, ‘Poor hygiene!’ – Karen explains how she makes it her mission to check all the rooms are spotless. Karen goes much further though, by presenting turning down beds and by setting up baskets of toiletries to welcome new residents into their Dane View rooms. Karen proudly shows me a photo of a room she has set up. It looks staged, like a publicity shot for a holiday company – and it strikes me Karen has used her skills setting up holiday rentals to welcome new guests back in Monserrat. I point this out and Karen laughs – she says that’s exactly what she is trying to do! She wants new residents to feel their room is special because it helps them settle in quickly.
I talk to Karen about her son for a while and discover he loves playing football. I point out that it is pre-season and a good time for him to join a local team. That’s Karen’s next mission – to find a team her son can join. I wish her and her son all the best before she goes back to Butterflies, and she promises to let me know how things go. It’s always a joy to talk to such caring and committed team players as Karen and I have no doubt she will settle into Leicester life and continue to do well here at Dane View.
Interview by Kelly Farrington