Live-in Care Practitioner

The Role of a By Your Side Live-in Care

A By Your Side Live-in 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 Live-in 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 a Live-in care practitioner, or talk with the staff here to gain a deeper understanding. As a Live-in care practitioner it is important that you understand that you are with the individual in their home to support them 24 hours a day (excluding breaks). It is a very demanding full-time role that can be stressful but also extremely rewarding. 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 Live-in 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 the individual you will come to live with. Many of our Live-in care practitioners came into care because they naturally have these attributes, and when they go home at the end of their set time with the individual for their rest weeks, they know they have made that individual smile, or made the time spent with them better.

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

We want our individuals and their 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. It is a very lone working role and you have to be able to keep the individuals’ household running whilst meeting all their support needs.

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.

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. They also come to look forward to your return from leave 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 Live-in Care Practitioner

The role of a Live-in care practitioner is to assist an individual 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 week.

The role of a Live-in 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, including the running of the home, shopping, etc.

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 individual 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 individual’s condition and wellbeing.

You will also be required to keep an accurate record of each day’s happenings.

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