A homecare provider has created a new role to help keep clients out of hospital and remain in their own homes.
The South Lakes branch of Westmorland Homecare has appointed former nursing sister Suzanne Catterall as its advanced homecare practitioner.
One of her tasks is to boost training for the company’s homecare assistants, to help improve their understanding of medical conditions and help them spot any deterioration of individuals.
This means they can act with more knowledge and improved skills, preventing hospital admissions and helping clients recover in their own homes with the team’s care and with input, where necessary, from medical professionals in the community.
Westmorland Homecare provides thousands of hours of care each week to enable elderly and often frail people to live independently in their own home.
Its services include home care, such as help with housekeeping and meal preparation, and personal care, such as help with dressing, bathing and getting in and out of bed.
Suzanne, who began her nursing career in 1983, retired from nursing in 2015 after working as a sister on a medical assessment Unit in Worcestershire.
“I absolutely loved my job – it was certainly a vocation of mine as caring has always been in my nature,” said Suzanne.
“After retirement I relocated to Grasmere with my family. I nursed my mother in my home with fantastic support from my GP and district nurses as it was her wish to live her life with her family and not to go into care. I am so grateful to have been able to fulfill her last wishes.”
Later she joined Westmorland Homecare because she felt she could contribute a great deal due to her wealth of experience as a nurse. She started as a homecare assistant and then worked as a team leader looking after the homecare assistants in her area, providing training and supporting them in their roles to ensure the best standards of practice in my community.
Now she is the branch’s advanced homecare practitioner. As well as training the company’s homecare assistants to better understand medical conditions and spot signs of deterioration in clients, Suzanne also mentors team leaders.
“I also work with hospital discharges, poorly clients and any medical issues which need attention, ensuring that support is correctly in place and liaising with other professionals and the community,” she said.
