A campaign has been launched in Perth and Kinross to find additional care and support workers, mainly due to the area’s growing elderly population.
Entitled Why Should I Care?, the campaign highlights the importance of care workers and the vital role they play in allowing people to live independently by supporting them at home.
The number of people aged more than 65 in Perth and Kinross who require care at home is understood to be rising steadily. It’s estimated that more than 1,500 people now receive support from care at home services in the area.
The campaign will involve advertising, posters, flyers, recruitment roadshows and social media, which will direct people to a web page where they can complete an online application form.
This will then be passed to every company who is recruiting in their specified locality.
Full training will be provided along with support to enable carers to gain an SVQ qualification in health and social care.
Diane Fraser, head of adult social care in the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “We want to make sure people in Perth and Kinross who need care can live at home independently, and have the high standard of care they deserve. To achieve this we need all the companies who provide this care and support to have the staff they need to fill current vacancies.
“To help them with their search, we’re launching a campaign that asks people to consider a career in care at home – one that will really make a difference to the lives of elderly people and vulnerable people in Perth and Kinross.”
She continued: “We are looking for people of all ages and background. The main thing is that they would make an excellent carer, with qualities such as kindness, empathy, patience and being a good listener.
“It is very important for a carer to be compassionate and to be able to offer reassurance and support.”
And Lyndsay Clark, a senior care assistant with My Care Tayside, added: “Caring is not just a job, you have to really want to do it, but it can be the happiest career in the world if it’s the right one for you.
“To be a good carer I would say you’ve got to be charismatic, empathetic and open minded. It sounds obvious, but you really do have to care to be a carer.”
Anne Graham, a service user who receives care at her home in Perth, commented: “Because I have multiple sclerosis I am in a wheelchair so I have people who help me at home with things like getting washed and dressed, and it also means I am never on my own for too long.
“I have different carers coming to see me, and I hear a lot of great stories from them – they are like a real breath of fresh air.”
Dr Donald Macaskill, chief executive of Scottish Care, described working in care as “one of the most rewarding choices” an individual can make.
“Being with someone at their point of need, helping them to live their life to the full and achieve what they want to, is immensely satisfying,” he said.
For more information visit www.pkc.gov.uk/caring.
