Caring for the carers

The pandemic has created many challenges, especially for those working in adult social care.

With strict restrictions in place and Covid outbreaks a regular occurrence in care homes, carers have carried on caring – often doing long hours to cover staff absences and taking extra precautions to avoid getting the virus themselves.

To help manage the emotional toll, Cornwall Care has recruited Emma Bowden as the charity’s wellbeing coach and counsellor and Helen Dunstan as its wellbeing and engagement advisor.

Both women joined the charity last year and both love helping to care for colleagues.

“It’s so important to look after staff properly,” said Emma, who lives in Nanpean and previously worked for a drugs and alcohol charity. “They have a vital, skilled job to do in circumstances that, over the last two years, have been particularly demanding.

“My role is to give them the tools, support and listening ear they need to continue providing elderly and vulnerable individuals with excellence in care. That is the heart of Cornwall Care’s values and it’s a real privilege to work with them.”

Helen Dunstan describes herself as a ‘Cornish maid’ who started her human resources career at Cornwall Council, before emigrating to Australia for eight years.

“I came back to Cornwall in 2016 and worked for a tech health company,” she said. “Our fantastic employees care for the most vulnerable people in our community and anything I can do to make their working days a little bit easier with help, support and guidance gives me absolute joy.”

Kerry Eldridge joined Cornwall Care as Director of People and Culture last year.

“The charity’s transformation programme is all about improving career pathways, rewarding staff more fairly and looking after their well-being,” she said. “Change can be challenging, so it’s very important to focus on the human beings involved and create a positive working environment in which everyone feels respected and in which they can thrive and deliver high quality care.”

Cornwall Care has a number of job opportunities available. For more information, visit https://www.cornwallcarecareers.com/ or email recruitment@cornwallcare.org