When the rest of the country is switching off, lighting barbecues, or heading to the coast for a long weekend, live-in carers are often still very much on. Bank holidays, while a welcome break for many, can look very different when you’re working in someone’s home — especially when that home is also your workplace. That’s the reality of bank holidays and live-in care: while others celebrate, our work continues.
Continue reading “Why Live-In Carers Don’t Have Bank Holidays”
When you live and work in someone’s home, the ability to “switch off” can be very challenging. Taking breaks in live-in care is not always straightforward — the person you’re looking after may find endless reasons why they need you right this minute. Sometimes it’s not even them, but an unusual sound in the house that makes you double-check all is well.
Continue reading “How to Spend Your Breaks as a Live-In Carer”The last two weeks have felt like an endless game of pass-the-problem, only no one seems to want to catch it. That’s the reality of navigating NHS challenges as a live-in carer—you’re the one trying to connect all the missing pieces while keeping your client safe and comfortable.
Continue reading “When the NHS Feels Like a Maze”
No matter how many times I do this job, I never quite get used to the goodbyes.
There’s a quiet sort of ache that comes with leaving a care placement. Sometimes it’s expected — a planned discharge, a return home, a family stepping in. Other times, it comes with loss. But no matter the reason, walking out of a home where you’ve lived, worked, and cared always feels heavier than you think it will.
Continue reading “Leaving a Placement: The Bittersweet Goodbye”
I didn’t realise how easy professional boundaries blur, especially when you live in someone’s home and their routine becomes yours. Live-in care is a job, but sometimes it becomes something much more human. Something more complicated. Something more tender.
Continue reading “The Bonds We Build: When Carers Become Family”