Life as a carer
Life as a carer started early for Yvonne Jones – she was just five-years-old when she used to help out in the nursing home run by her gran.
“I had my own pinny and my job was to hand out fruit to the residents everyday, though mainly I used to hide behind the door and eat the fruit,” she says.
But something obviously stuck and right from leaving school Yvonne has followed twin career paths of care and finance.
As a teenager she took a course in business and admin whilst also studying health and social care. And whilst working as a carer in a residential nursing home she gained accounting qualifications.
“I moved from care homes to Caremark because I find helping people in their own homes more rewarding personally, it’s one to one rather than 30 at a time,” said Yvonne. “People have the choice of how they want to use the time available, it might be make-up or hair done and those choices, those little things, make a big difference to someone’s quality of life.”
Through her hard work and the career progression path on offer at Caremark, Yvonne has moved from home care support, to drawing up care plans and onto the management team. She has just completed a level 4 NCFE Apprenticeship in Leadership and Management and this combined with her accountancy proficiency has seen her covering finance for a colleague on maternity leave.
“I found the apprenticeship very useful, in particular the importance of reflection. Admin in the care sector can sometimes appear overwhelming and this helped me understand why all the checks and legislation are necessary,” said Yvonne.
And it’s not just at work that the new skills have helped, she’s used reflection to help with her son, Tristran.
“Like any nine-year-old there can occasionally be some challenging behaviour. I’ve found the course very helpful in terms of reflecting, sitting down with Tristran, listening and talking things through.”
The course also helped Yvonne develop leadership skills and improved confidence. Something that has led to a new skill outside of work – playing rugby!
“I guess it’s not normally something you take up at 41 but Tristran was keen and they needed a coach so I thought why not,” said Yvonne. “I then thought if I’m going to coach I really should play a bit so I’ve joined the Sirens, a local women’s rugby team, and I’m loving it.”
Yvonne is one of several members of Caremark Redcar and Cleveland’s senior leadership team who started off as carers delivering home care support. She believes this grounding ensures a people centred approach.
“We have around 370 clients each with their own account and I always remember these are real people and real lives, not simply numbers on a page. I remain as focussed on people as when I was delivering care one to one in their homes” said Yvonne. “
“It’s not like other sectors where if people can’t pay a bill they get cut off. In the current climate many people are experiencing financial challenges so we look to support as much as we can. That might be signposting to services that can help or adjusting care plans to ensure they get maximum benefit from the time and money available.”
And just as she has done all her career, Yvonne is adept at switching from finance to care when the need arises.
“Because of my background I understand how challenging it can be to deliver care. I’m happy to be on hand to help if there is a night shift needs covering,” said Yvonne.
“Tristran was an IVF baby and when I was pregnant and needed time off or daily injections work was very good to me. Caremark is like a family, we are there to support and help each other when needed.”