Bill is an older gentleman, and when I first met him, he wasn’t too good. He was in a bad way. He sat in his chair all day, he could only walk a few steps, and he got really puffed. He had really bad ulcerated wounds on his legs, and he had respiratory problems, problems with his feet and toes - and lots of other things. He had been given wrong medical advice before, that had made things worse.
So when we got involved, we got our clinical nurse attending. We brought in our Care Workers, we’ve helped him with many things like showering, his wounds, social support, and more. And he’s just improved so much. And the family are so happy now. They were telling me the other day, from what he was, to where he is now, it’s just so significant. Now, he’s walking up the street, going for coffee, his improvement is really quite amazing. And it’s because I have been able to coordinate an amazing team of people. Because we have a really good support network, and great care workers.
I started working in an admin role, dealing with clients over the phone. I found I was helping them, and I was really enjoying it. I wanted to get deeper, face to face, and really help people in a more direct way. I decided I wanted to be a Case Manager, so I did some study, and began working as a Case Manager. Really, if you work in this industry, it’s because you want to help people. Our clients want help, and we want to help them. A lot of my clients tell me they really don’t want to go into a nursing home. And I get that, and if I can help them stay at home, attain that goal, I really get a lot of satisfaction out of that.
I’m a Service Adviser, my role is case management. My role is to empower clients to make decisions about what they want. And if they’re not happy with anything, I’m the one that’s going to fix that and get things sorted out. I’m the one who’s going to solve their problems. Working with them to understand what they need, and have a happy life. And that’s where knowing I have a great, supportive manager, and a really good team, makes it very satisfying.
Empowering clients to have the care they want. And that means it may not be about domestic services. It’s about really getting to know what will help them, and what they themselves want. So it may be about just taking them to the gym, and nothing else. I’ve got a client that just needs a care worker to go with him to the hydro pool – he doesn’t want domestic services at this stage. Sometimes we will purchase things, things they need in their current circumstances to lead a healthy life. It’s very rewarding and very satisfying.
My manager has been amazing. Firstly because she gave me the job! (Laughter…) But I love the way she manages, she isn’t looking over my shoulder. We talk, and I tell her what’s happening. She’s very flexible and always has a word of guidance when I need it. If I’m on the wrong path, she’ll let me know, and she’s very encouraging. And my colleagues are also amazing. We work as a team and share suggestions if we need to. I’ve been at Anglicare for 4 years now. I recommend people to come and work at Anglicare all the time! And as a result, some of them are working here now. So…that tells you how I feel!
Thanks Dianne for sharing your story with us. Some names and details have been changed to protect privacy.
If Dianne’s role sounds appealing, why not visit Anglicare’s Careers page for more information on working for Anglicare.
