Changing the narrative to understand the importance of care workers
- Mar 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 14
The following blog was written by Hannah Reseigh Lincoln, a member of Homecare Workers’ Group.
“Unskilled”, “uneducated”, “bum wipers”, “lazy”, “not a real profession”. These are common misconceptions of care workers. In all truth I even thought some of these myself before taking on a role as a care worker two and a half years ago. The real truth, however, is far different.
Since moving into this career I have met nothing but kind, empathetic, hard-working and skilled individuals. People who work extremely long, unsociable hours, often disregarding their own needs to provide others with support. Just think of the risks involved with Covid. We do all of this for very low pay and not a lot of recognition.
Something I am passionate about is changing the narrative and moving public perception of care workers to one of respect and admiration.
I will now share with you one example of how differently we are perceived and treated…
When you hear a siren and see those blue lights flashing you start to panic as you see the ambulance coming behind you: ‘am I in the way?’. You move instantly as you know it’s an emergency. What an amazing job paramedics do. Cars will part like the Red Sea to allow them past.
In contrast, I had to park temporarily in a private car park whilst at work because my usual allocated space was taken up. I wasn’t blocking anyone, there were plenty of other spaces and I was only there for one hour. Local residents came out and hounded me. I explained that I was a care worker, I needed to reach the person I was there to support, and I was already behind with time. They did not care.
When I returned to my vehicle an hour later, it had been keyed all down the driver side door:
As care workers, our role is vital to prevent the emergencies that paramedics attend. It’s often not until people experience the need for social care whether that be personally or for a relative that they realise the impact that care workers have.
We provide essential medication. We offer appropriate personal care, good nutrition and hydration. We ensure company for people who may not see anyone else that day. We undertake training in manual handling, medication management, seizure management, catheter care, stoma care, mental health and autism, prevention of choking, data protection, basic life support, diabetes management, PEG feeding, dementia care. We write detailed notes of our visits, read care plans, create body maps, speak to families, doctors, pharmacies. We monitor and report any concerns. Does this sound unskilled to you?
As the pressure on district nurses increases, care workers have been taking on more and more clinical responsibilities. However, this is not reflected in our pay. We often cannot access sick pay. Career progression is lacking, and if it is present, there is very little change in pay. If loyal care workers aren’t even rewarded and recognised by their own employers, how can we expect the public view to change?
A professional body for care workers is needed. A career progression pathway and fair remuneration for the responsibilities we undertake is needed. Please look out for professional care workers’ week in September. There will be lots of opportunities to become more educated in what care professionals do and hopefully will open peoples eyes to the fantastic, hard working people that I am privileged to call my colleagues.
Peer support
Homecare Workers’ Group is a not-for-profit peer support network run by and for homecare workers in England. We host a secure online community, fortnightly drop-ins and quarterly in-person meetups around the country, as well as letting homecare workers know about other ways to get involved in meaningful activities outside of work.
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