Helping Hands Home Care (Gloucester)

About me

As branch care manager my role is to oversee all elements of running the Gloucester branch, from the quality of the frontline support to the budgets, and ensure we are price competitive within the area. I can only complete my job with the support of my fantastic carers and office team. I view myself as the conductor of an orchestra - bringing all areas together smoothly - but the hard work is done by others.

I had personal experiences with family members with learning difficulties or physical support needs and I have always been aware of those individuals in society that just need a little support to live their lives how they wish. These experiences drive me every day to do better for those who need it.

One of the many reasons I choose to work for Helping Hands is during the interview process you could feel the dedication to the people they support to make their lives better and promote independence.

In my spare time, I enjoy getting out into the wilderness in my campervan, with my partner and Lucy my sprocker. I love old motorcycles and scooters and currently own seven Vespas and Lambrettas.

My experience and expertise

I left school and went to college to become a decorator, then worked my way up through a maintenance company to contract manager. In 2009 during the credit crash, the building industry took a hard hit, and this is when I choose to make a career change of direction.

I started my journey working on an NHS secure unit in Lincolnshire. I saw first-hand the diverse and colourful characters that were needing support, and the dedication and skills that the staff showed. This is where my love of mental health care and support grew.

I achieved my degree in Health and Social care as well as a level 5 in teaching adults in the lifelong learning sector, then up to the start of the pandemic, I travelled the country; teaching learners how to work in the care industry, completing classroom teaching and developing my own resources.

Covid-19 and ill health forced me to teach over the Microsoft Teams platform. I felt that the time of face-to-face training had ended and needed to change direction again into Care Management. I still very much love teaching, and enjoy coaching and mentoring my team so they can upskill.

Why I chose Helping Hands

I was looking through the jobs platform 'Indeed' and came across Helping Hands. I applied and thought nothing else about it, but I could see they were a well-respected company.

However, from the first contact, all the way through the interview process and induction I was impressed by how dedicated everyone is, and driven by the aims and values of the company. I joined halfway through the Covid crisis where you would expect chaos, yet the support everyone was giving each other was fantastic.

As a Branch Care Manager, you must be focused on results, but my drive for me is to make a difference in people's lives. Ensuring that a customer is living to their best in their own home, or seeing a new carer understand their role because you have explained the process a little differently. The teacher in me is still very much there, and I enjoy the times when I can use those skills, however Helping Hands has given me great scope for the future and is absolutely the best care company I have ever worked with.