By Your Side Care Practitioner

The Role of a By Your Side Care Practitioner

A By Your Side Ltd Care Practitioner supports our customers in their own homes, maintains and promotes independence, dignity and safety at all times. We believe that it is not where you are in life that matters, but who you have by your side. We offer a respite to fulltime carers while giving companionship and support to those they are caring for. Giving carers valuable personal time whilst encouraging and supporting our individuals to have a fulfilling and meaningful life. We also form an integral part of independent living support for individuals who do not have fulltime carers.

If you are looking to join the company, we would like you to look at the following information and check that the role is for you.

Is being a Care Practitioner right for you?

This is an important question to ask yourself, and one that you need to be really sure of before you enter into our recruitment process. If you are in any way unsure, then please learn more about being a support worker by reading through our site. You are welcome to contact us and meet our care practitioners, or talk with the staff here to gain a deeper understanding.

Every member of By Your Side Ltd.’s staff will be required to apply for, and achieve a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (previously CRB) check.

Personal attributes of a Care Practitioner

You need to genuinely care for the welfare of other people, as if they were your own family. You will have compassion, respect and a desire to help the individuals we support enjoy their life, no matter what their condition is.

You will need to have unconditional positive regard for all of the individuals you will come into contact with. Many of our support staff came into care because they naturally have these attributes, and when they go home at the end of their shift, they know they have made someone smile, or made the day better for someone.

Often, you are the only social contact that an individual may have on that day, so it is important that you have the ability to rapidly build a trusting relationship with them and their families and fiends. Trust comes from a confident and well trained support worker, this is what we will provide, the rest comes from you.

We want our individuals and their support carers such as family members and friends to feel they have a real shoulder to lean on. You need to have integrity and dedication to deliver our very high expectations for the support individuals deserve.

Your commitment to us, and to the Individuals we Support

When you commit to supporting an individual, you commit to people’s lives. Without you, some people may be left at risk of having their safety or their dignity compromised. Some people are unable to do things for themselves and rely upon you. Their fulltime carers rely on you to feel safe to take a break. For a carer to put trust in us to look after their loved one while they take a break is a huge responsibility. We need to ensure that we do not let them down as their free time is the difference to the care their loved one get. It is a very difficult situation when you are the sole carer for someone and having a break is very important. Sometimes these breaks are the difference of the cared for going into a home or not. It gives the carer a well earned break giving them strength and the time they need to recuperate ready to continue their role as carer.

For individuals you may spend time with who live independently you are often someone they become close with and come to reply on. You need to commit to being there for that individual when you say you are going to be and not let them down. They also come to look forward to your visit and the time spent with you. You need to be able to commit to adding value to the individuals lives every time you come into contact with them. Offering them support and friendship and often their only contact with their communities.

Summary of the Role of a Care Practitioner

The role of a Care Practitioner is to assist people mainly within the comfort of their own homes however, occasionally taking individuals out into the community or to appointments.

You will report to and communicate with the manager during your working day.

The role of a care practitioner is varied, however the best way of summarising it is that you would carry out tasks that might usually be done by a relative, or a close friend.

The way in which you would perform these duties, is in a trained, professional and knowledgeable way.

You will be aware of the personal needs and requirements of the individuals you support, communicating successfully, not only with the individual but also with other important people in their life, such as family, friends and other healthcare professionals.

You also have the responsibility of alerting your manager of any changes or causes for concern for the individuals or their carers condition and wellbeing. You will also be required to keep an accurate record of each home support visit.

The type of support that you provide will be unique to the person you are supporting, and will vary from person to person.

Some of the duties you may be asked to support with are:

Personal Care

Help with getting up and getting ready for the day or settling in for the night, washing, bathing, and toileting.

Practical Support

Domestic tasks such as laundry, cleaning, tidying, shopping, preparing and cooking meals and taking people out to the shops, doctors or social events.

Specialised Care

Supporting people with more complex needs such as, end of life care, supporting people with acquired brain injury, or those living with long-term conditions such as dementia.

Emotional support

Regardless of the physical assistance provided, it is often the emotional support and connection that people receiving the support have with their care and support workers, which makes the difference to them.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Willing to work towards The Care Certificate
• Willing to work towards RQF 2 within 6 months of employment

Essential

• Genuine care, compassion, and respect for others
• Ability to display empathy and warmth to all
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Good communication skills
• Good planning skills
• Good timekeeping
• Ability to understand the role, or have previous care experience
• Ability to follow instructions
• Your own transport (depending on area applied for)
• Flexible availability to match customer needs

Key Competencies

• To attend all customer calls in a timely manner
• To understand the importance of each home support visit
• To cope professionally with emergency and difficult situations
• To be able to communicate effectively with other people
• To maintain high standards of home support provision