Renfrewshire Council

Renfrewshire's Care at Home teams are a key part of our Health and Social Care Partnership, committed to providing consistent care for people in the community who need help with everyday tasks in their home. Recently, our Ralston team were nominated for living our values after receiving a heartfelt handwritten letter from a local resident.

The letter describes the exemplary service the team provide and notes "one would have to go a long way to exceed this standard of care".

The resident acknowledged that although they were once apprehensive about care at home services, their experience with our team has changed their point-of-view.

Home care support worker, Melissa McGill, said her client was grateful for the level of attention and effort that had gone into their care, which they believe has saved their life on more than one occasion.

She explained: "We love getting to know our clients and always make the effort to do so quickly. That way we can offer reassurance and build trust. We're able to ensure they're really getting all their needs met and helps us spot if something doesn't seem right. In this client's case, they'd been forgetting to take their medication and when I discovered this, I knew exactly what to do and was able to get them back on track safely."

It all goes hand-in-hand with our values which Melissa says are the principles that drive the team's personalised approach.

"It can be easy to focus only on the essentials and overlook the simple things that can make a real difference to someone's quality of life. As a team, we're passionate about helping people to live rewarding and dignified lives. We always find ways to add a personal touch and we'll do what we can to help our clients feel good about themselves. So, it's not just about washing, dressing, cleaning and preparing meals, it could be anything from painting their nails and styling their hair, to playing their favourite music or helping them decorate the Christmas tree."

Service coordinator, Janice McDowall, spoke about the common misconceptions that can be a barrier to people getting the help they need.

According to Janice, our values play a critical role in addressing this: "There's a false perception that care at home services are only for elderly people who will soon be moving into a residential care home. Because of that association, new clients sometimes worry we are going to limit their independence. But the truth is just the opposite. We care for people, of all ages, for many reasons including illness and disability, and we're there to help them stay independent in their own homes for as long as possible. We care in every sense of the word and it's truly heartwarming to get feedback about the positive impact we are making every day. That's what our values are all about and I'm glad that we've been recognised for that. I think it's important that we share these stories so people know what they can expect from us."

Nominate a colleague for living our values

Have you noticed a colleague or team who really get what it means to be fair, helpful, collaborative and value learning? Why not let them know they're doing a great job by nominating them for living our values?

For more information and to nominate a colleague, head over to the Living Our Values webpage.

Read about our values and nominate a colleague.

Published Wednesday 11 December 2024