This article is sponsored by North Yorkshire County Council. 

Some workers leave the care sector for jobs in retail, but Alex Slade has taken the opposite route and is riding high with a successful and satisfying career in North Yorkshire.

In addition to her work helping those who have been in hospital to live back in the community, Alex has a day each week studying for her Level Three qualification in Health and Social Care, which will help her career progress.

In the meantime, however, Alex, 29, enjoys her role with the County Council’s north Harrogate reablement team because of the positive impact she can have on people’s lives. She said:

“In this team you see people progress and sometimes they can go on to not need care.

“It is lovely to help people become independent again and I find it very rewarding.”

The job can involve, quite literally, getting people back on their feet after a fall, or learning to look after themselves again after a stay in hospital.

She had spent five years working as a one-to-one carer before moving to the re-ablement team, a switch which allowed her to get to know a wider spectrum of people.

It is a very different world from the early years of her career, working in a burger bar at 16 before moving on to shops.

Although Alex finds her main work rewarding, she has a broad sphere of responsibilities, including spending time as an Independence Co-ordinator, conducting assessments to work out the type of help – such as specialist equipment – clients may need.

She also acts as the team’s ‘champion’ for both medication and recycling – working with GPs and their patients to prevent unintended stockpiling of medicines, which could be harmful in some cases, while also encouraging people to recycle waste when her visits are taking place – helping them make a positive contribution to society despite the restrictions they may face.

Alex’s spread of responsibilities, coupled with working towards a higher qualification, reflect the career development encouraged by North Yorkshire’s senior staff. She said:

“My team manager always wants us to be our best-selves and encourages us to do more.”

Read More: 

• Join Team North Yorkshire – become a care professional and make a difference

A carer from Knaresborough has been overwhelmed with donations after calling on the local community to send photographs of the town in an effort to boost the morale of care home residents.

After being stuck inside for months some of the residents at The Manor House care home were feeling low. Carer, Alison Morgan, set out to ask local people to send their own photos to display around the home.

At first Alison was hoping for three canvases, one to hang on each floor of the home. So far she has been sent four canvases, one framed image and multiple digital images.

One of the donated canvas by Shirley Holden.

Alison said she has been overwhelmed by the response. She said:

“It all came from hearing some of the residents worrying they may never see the autumn colours or the viaduct again and it really hit me. The residents and staff feel like its never going to end, this will give them a boost.

“It’s been amazing. I’ve even had emails from people just sending their love to staff and residents.”

The hope is for all the pictures to be displayed in a social area for residents to look at before they’re placed throughout the home.

Another donated canvas by Paul Birtwhistle. Doreen and Amy Hodgson from the Old Station Cafe in Knaresborough contributed to the printing costs.

Alison hopes the effort can continue and the home can have more local photographers or amateur enthusiasts send some of their work as residents prepare for a “difficult” Christmas.

As a result of the project, Alison has been introduced to several members of the community wanting to continue to help the care home.

They are beginning to make plans for next year, if restrictions allow, including events such as a Spring fair and an outdoor concert for residents to enjoy.

To donate a canvas or send digital prints to the care home call 01423 797555.

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• The charity provides thousands of meals for vulnerable families and is hoping to continue to spread some cheer during the Christmas period. 
• Harrogate school uses autumn leaves to create art. 

Production of much-needed PPE for health workers in Harrogate and Ripon forms a common thread that links Eileen Jordan, Janet Collins, Caroline Lodge and numerous other people across the Harrogate district.

All have responded to urgent appeals made through social media, for people to either provide material, or use their sewing skills to support the NHS and staff working in care homes.

Hundreds of items, vital to the protection of healthcare workers in both the public and private sectors,  including full sets of scrubs, masks, scrubs bags and head bands, have been produced and distributed, with support from family, friends, neighbours and businesses.

Eileen (pictured above) who lives in Ripon has, with the help of husband Martin, produced almost 200 masks and is now turning her attention to making scrubs bags, with material donated by people such as Caroline Lodge, whose Rosie and Clover home furnishings shop in Westgate, Ripon, is closed because of the coronavirus crisis.

Eileen, whose husband is a retired Staff Sergeant who served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, told The Stray Ferret: “I saw a FaceBook post calling for sewers to lend a hand in producing masks and decided to volunteer. I was put in contact with Janet, my ‘sewing buddy’ and it is great to be working with her.

She added:

“When I turned to making bags for scrubs, Martin was very helpful and a 15 metre length of parachute chord that he had in the garage, has come in very handy to act as ties for them.”

Janet, who is Australian, called on the help of friends and neighbours in Studley Roger and said: “I asked if they had spare sheets and duvet covers, that I could use as the material for making scrubs and was amazed by the number of items donated. My husband David is kept busy cutting out the patterns, while I do the sewing. The finished items are then sent to be laundered at 60 degrees before they are distributed to health workers.”

She added:

“We were due to visit Australia at the end of March, but our flights were cancelled. I suppose if we had been allowed to travel, I would have been making sets of scrubs for Australian healthcare workers.”

In addition to working with Eileen, Janet has been joined by two neighbours in Studley Roger, who are also putting their sewing skills to good use and both women would like to encourage anybody with a sewing machine and time to spare, to join the PPE production line, by contacting a group such as Harrogate Sewers for Face Masks, whose details can be found on FaceBook.