Nina Tye has been a care co-ordinator for Extra Hands for nearly a year. Having started out making care visits six years ago, she now helps oversee operations from the Norwich office.
"As soon as I was invited for an interview with Extra Hands, I got a good feeling about the place and the organisation. I’d worked in the care sector before, in a residential home, but I wasn’t happy about the way they were doing certain things, so being offered a job by Extra Hands was like a breath of fresh air.
The two weeks of training was very useful – hands-on practice, learning how to use equipment, shadowing carers on their visits – and by the end, I was so keen to get out and start doing the job that it couldn’t end soon enough for me!
Being a home visit carer gave me enormous satisfaction. I loved the feeling of coming away from a call, knowing I’d done the best I could to make a user happy and comfortable, and with a smile on their face, but when a vacancy for a rapid response carer came up, I was very excited to apply for it. Being interviewed by the managing director and assistant manager of the organisation was a bit of an ordeal, and I went off on holiday straight afterwards, so it was the perfect end to the holiday to find the letter offering me the role waiting for me when I got back.
The new role was a bit more admin-based – setting up new care plans, reviewing existing ones, filling in for absent staff and doing office duties – but there was nothing about it that I didn’t enjoy. I really liked meeting new service users, getting to know what they wanted and helping arrange it for them. Being able to put a human face to things makes so much difference – quite often I was asked
If I’d be the one doing the visiting, which always made me feel happy. I really enjoyed that role but when a vacancy for a care co-ordinator role came up in 2018, I thought career-wise, it would be a good move, which would also allow me to pass on my experience to other staff, and I think my experience as a rapid response carer helped me get the role. Being office-based with no more home visits or evening shifts took a bit of getting used to, but I love the role. There’s a lot more to it than I had appreciated. It can be challenging but I’m not one of life’s worries, so I love all aspects of it.
I like to think I’m an easy-going character and that definitely helps. Over the years, working for Extra Hands has given me some great opportunities, and I’m very happy with the one it’s given me at this present time."
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