Diary of a Complex Care Assistant

Hello! My name is Emily and I work as a Complex Care Assistant for Medacs Healthcare. Today my shift is from 8am-8.30pm and I am working with one client at his own home. Usually my start time is 7am so it's a later start for me today!

I have worked in care for 6 years now and 3 of those have been with Medacs. Initially I worked in a care home with the elderly. I eventually joined Medacs for a new challenge which brought me in to complex care.

My favourite part of my job is to see the smiles on my clients faces and the sense of appreciation I get back makes me feel like I am doing the best I can. With complex care clients many of them cannot communicate so it's a lot of guess work and those smiles make my day!

When I was young my Mum was diagnosed with MS and I used to look after her. My Aunty also had spina bifida and in my later teens I would take her to concerts or on holiday and help her with things that were becoming to hard for her. It was the same for my Nan, I used to visit every week so my Grandad could have a break.

In between the family side it was my step Mum that introduced me to care as I completed my work experience in a care home and then eventually worked in one with her.

Up and ready for the day, time for a nice hot cuppa before I leave the house.

PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment. It protects me but also protects my client! My PPE consists of disposable apron, gloves and mask.

Time to administer this mornings medication for my client, this is then recorded in his notes. I received specific training to be able to administer medication.

It's now bath time! My clients has no mobility and so I help him to use a ceiling track hoist to have a bath. The bath also helps to relax his muscles.

A ceiling track hoist is a system which enables the lifting and positioning of highly dependent people, it eliminates the risk of back injury for caregivers when performing a transfer and requires minimum effort to operate. You must be fully trained in order to use a hoist.

Now my client is out of the bath it's time for breakfast. My client is fed via a PEG Mic-key button feeding system.

PEG stands for 'percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy' and is a when a person has undergone a procedure to place a feeding tube through your skin and into your stomach to give you the nutrients and fluids you need.

A Mic-key button is a version of PEG and is when the tube sits level with the skin and an attachment tube is used when feeding and disconnected for comfort when the feed is complete. Full training is given to feed using a PEG.

My client is relaxing listening to music whilst on his feeding tube. I don't have an official break just yet but there is time for me to grab a quick cuppa and croissant.

It's a lovely day outside so we sit in the garden for a while and then go for a walk with family.

Home now and time to relax watching Greys Anatomy on TV with family. My client likes to use his floor mat which is used for giving a different position rather than his bed (his favourite position is on his tummy!)

We decided to bake some home-made chocolate chip cookies! They look delicious!

Almost the end of my day. My client is all ready for bed and whilst he is having his feed the family kindly insisted I join them for dinner.

Before my shift ends I administer my clients medication and ensure I have completed all the notes for today. Then it's time for home.

Thank-you!

A huge thank-you to Emily and Medacs Healthcare for taking part in our Ambassador takeover day, we really enjoyed learning all about your role.

Would you like to find out more about becoming a Complex Care Assistant? Complete our Enquiry form.