Suzie’s journey in care has been shaped by experiences that deepened her passion for supporting others.  This is a story about her journey in care, from discovering her calling to finding a place where she truly belongs.

Journey in Care Begins

Her journey began in 2009, when she first started to work in care homes in Frome. However no sooner than starting her new career, Suzie needed to be at home to care of her father due to illness which she did until he very sadly passed. “It took me a while to get through that, but when I felt ready, I told myself, OK, I’m stepping back into my career and back into care.”

She found herself on a job searching website scrolling through the many opportunities when one particular advert caught her eye and she applied, this was for a Care Assistant role at Frome Nursing Home.

“I ended up with a job interview with Jay, that was fun!” Suzie shared how relaxed and comfortable she felt in the interview and during the home’s show around, “that was the deal breaker for me, it didn’t feel like a dead set interview, I felt like I could actually get on really well with the team in the home and be myself”, Suzie said that walking out of the interview left her with such a good feeling, when offered the role, she took it straight away without hesitation!

Embracing Complex Care

As much as she loved her role at Frome, a few years in, Suzie needed to take some more time for her family, her son, and although she tried to juggle home and work life, it was best for her family at that time. Suzie explains “my son who has autism needed me and working 12 hour shifts, although I was only working for the 3 days, didn’t give me the quality time for him, I did temporary work during school hours but I really missed everyone at Frome.”  But then when the time was right Suzie found herself walking through the home’s doors once again. “When looking to go back into work there was many choices in Frome, it was a no brainer for me though, I was definitely coming back here, now home life settled with my son. It felt like home and a part of me. I love pushing my boundaries and still learn more each day, I see the family members here as my extra family, I was definitely never going to drift afar.”

So she purposely chose to return to Frome after supporting her son with autism due to the complexities of the family members and one main factor that stood out to Suzie that was the home is different from anywhere she had worked before. “What got me was the independence of the family members, especially that they were on different stages of their dementia journey and some had complex behaviours, yet their independence was highly encouraged which I’ve never experienced at other care services I’ve worked at before. I was able to see people in their late stages of dementia or with a complex need and they were supported to have a quality of life without sedation, whereas anywhere else I’ve worked it’s not like that, as a carer at Evolve we learn to embrace each individuals complexities that often comes with dementia.”

Suzie explains further “why complex care?”. “I had worked in previous homes and saw a basic understanding not being met; people living with dementia were struggling to be understood and then labelled as difficult or challenging, often then being moved to another service which was just cruel and they saw that place as their home. This upset me, all because the team couldn’t cope or have the proper training to learn and understand. I’m a people pleaser and would always try my best to help and get things right. Everyone, even those without dementia, can be misunderstood at times.” 

“When I came to Frome, I saw family members bond with team members on a level I’d not seen before, and I loved it. Yes, it’s difficult when we sometimes spends hours trying to understand a person’s needs, but team members I work with will not give up on meeting someone’s needs. The relief when we figure it out and see the happiness it brings to that family member is great. Words and actions can be mixed, and sometimes someone who is complex may only be able to communicate physically or may be repetitive in their communication. But at Frome, this is not seen as difficult behaviour. It’s great to see what’s considered complex care being embraced, and family members given a new lease on life. Let’s face it, everyone loves someone with character. This is their journey now, and anyone caring for someone with dementia has to take that ride with them, which comes with the good and the bad, and a whole lot of emotions. The better you understand someone, the more you can provide 100 times better care for that person.”

“Nursing homes that I’ve worked for in the past haven’t had complex care. They understand dementia, but not entirely as it progress’s into its later stages”. Looking back, Suzie can now reflect on how significantly different her previous workplaces were to Frome, and confided that one in particular stood out in her memory.   “It looked like a hotel, everything was for show and everything had to look premium, it wasn’t about the people, for example if somebody was to wander and take something off the wall out of curiosity, they would be removed because it’s a bad scene to set. Whereas at Frome we’d consider that to be normal behaviour for someone going through their dementia journey”.

A Look To The Future

Now 5 years on, Suzie has progressed in her role, she started as a Care Assistant, and with the support of a career pathway mapped out, she progressed onto a Team Leader, and now a Care Practitioner, and is still looking to the future.  “During our Care Practitioner course, it gave me a kick up the bum and made me think, you know what? I can do this! I’d love to be able to go on a nursing course and if I were to ever become a nurse, I couldn’t see myself working in a hospital, I would definitely stay here as the training is another perk about my job, it’s really out there and imaginative and different from other places I’ve worked, it’s through the roof!”

Favourite Memories

When asked of her favorite memory during her time at Frome Nursing Home, Suzie laughed, “God there are so many!”. After a short thought, one particular memory struck her. “We have a family member who loves, and used to ride motorbikes. Me and my husband were involved with the Santa On A Bike event, so we took lots of pictures, videos and put together little clips. I remember showing this particular family member one day and he started to cry. Not because he was upset or distressed, it wasn’t a sad cry. He was so emotionally moved because this is something he is passionate about and has been all his life, he couldn’t go out at that time so being able to bring that to him and bring out that kind of happiness and emotion within someone has always stuck by me.”

Final Thoughts & Advice

As she looks back over the course of her years at Frome, Suzie gave one piece of advice for anyone beginning their career in care. “Just be yourself, if it’s something you genuinely want to do because you’re caring and want to make a difference, you can’t go wrong, just be you”. Speaking from the heart, Suzie also shared that Frome will always be her second home. “I’ve brought my children here, they know the family members and my son who is now 15, will ask about them, so to me that is my home from home.“

Frome Nursing Home’s approach to a continuation of life means that those within their care, however complex they may be, can have their life’s journey continued with as much normalcy and independence as possible. The Evolve Care Group offers you and every team member over 100 hours of face to face training during quarterly sessions at the Evolve Care Academy training center in Bristol. “ I’ve learned so much, my views on everything to do with adult social care and dementia care has changed for the better”.

 

To discover more about Frome Nursing Home, visit https://fromecarevillage.com/