The ability to cope under pressure

Debbie Price first became a carer as a way of supporting her own mental health following a personal tragedy. And she found life skills she had acquired over the years, including the ability to cope under pressure, helped her to remain calm when a routine call turned into a life and death situation.

Debbie was visiting a client in her seventies and when she arrived the door was open and she could see the lady sitting in her chair in her living room with smoke from the kitchen filling the house.

“The client has Alzheimer’s and is not very mobile. I managed to get her out of the chair and was guiding her to the door,” said Debbie. “The poor lady didn’t realise what was going on, she was afraid of leaving the house and just sat on the floor.”

A remarkable act of bravery

The smoke was coming from a chip pan which a relative hadn’t switched off properly which resulted in a fire breaking out.

“It’s amazing what strength you find when adrenaline kicks in,” said Debbie. “I managed to get her up, and outside. A passing van driver helped get her sat in my car then called the emergency services.”

It was a remarkable act of bravery from Debbie who was relatively new to the care sector at the time.

“It didn’t really hit me until afterwards when I was sitting with the lady. I felt dizzy and thought I was going to faint but managed to keep it together.”

She found the job she loved at Caremark

After leaving school Debbie had worked in retail before raising two children with her late husband. They are now in their twenties and Debbie, 45, has two younger children aged seven and six with her partner Terry.

Her journey into the care sector was the culmination of three years of trauma following the death of her mum in a hit and run incident.

“I was in a very bad place after that, anxiety took over and I didn’t want to leave the house,” said Debbie.

Her older children persuaded her she needed to get out more to try to recover her health. She had some knowledge of the care sector as her mum had worked in a residential home and so she applied to Caremark Mansfield last year.

“I found I loved the job, being able to help people,” said Debbie. “It has also helped me, just being able to talk to people without crying which at one stage I felt I’d never be able to do.”

The flexibility of hours gives a nice work/life balance

Debbie, who is now a Senior Carer, added: “To be a good Carer you need a kind heart, you have to be patient and put the care of the client above everything else.”

Outside of work Debbie’s ideal day is with Terry and the kids, enjoying trips out to the cinema, bowling or local parks and they have just returned from two weeks holiday at Great Yarmouth.

The flexibility of hours offered by Caremark allows Debbie to balance work alongside family life. During the summer holidays she works weekends and Terry is able to look after the kids.  When they are in school she can switch to weekdays 9am-3pm.

“Caremark are very good with finding a way to make things work and will adjust shifts so I can attend things like sports day,” said Debbie.

“I love my job because it is about helping people and my job has definitely helped me.”

About Caremark Mansfield and Ashfield

You don’t need to be a life-saver to work for us but if you like the idea of flexible hours and to work for a company which genuinely cares, then please get in touch, either by viewing our jobs in home care in Mansfield and Ashfield or calling us on 01623 259779.