Big response to call for healthcare help

There's still time to join up

Vets, plumbers, soldiers, hairdressers, builders, students, artists and estate agents are among the 1,300 people in Devon who answered the call to help care for the county’s most vulnerable residents.

At the start of the current crisis, Devon County Council appealed to recruit healthcare assistants to support social care providers and the NHS. And while some applicants admitted that they had long harboured a desire to enter the health sector, and coronavirus had prompted them to act, others had little or no experience at all in health or care. 

Cllr Andrew Leadbetter the council's cabinet member for adult social care and health services said: “At a time of national crises and with services under huge strain, I am proud to say that hundreds of people have stood up and said that they want to help. Thank you to everyone who has signed up. Healthcare Assistants will play a vital role in our care homes, hospitals and in our communities over the coming weeks and months, and I’m in no doubt that they will help save lives.”

Each recruit receives three-day training before being deployed. They go into homes, hospitals and care homes to support people with personal care needs including eating, drinking and washing, and by doing so reduce pressure on existing health and care staff.

One construction worker from Torbay said in his application that he had not considered working in health care, but the current crises made him realise what was important. A chef from Exmouth said: “This is a tough time for everyone. I’m lucky that I’m fit and healthy. I’m ready to step up and help those who need it most.”

A scuba diver felt that their experience of delivering emergency oxygen could be harnessed, while a young mum from Tiverton, eager to re-enter the workplace after bringing up children, said she's ready to learn new skills to help the NHS.

Some applicants have jobs to go back to, and one teacher said ‘it didn’t feel right’ sitting at home and she ‘wanted to do her bit’, while an estate agent wanted to ‘ease the stress’ of care and health workers. Another is an asylum seeker who said they are ‘willing to work, volunteer or whatever is needed’ because of what the country had done to safeguard his family.

Philippa Slinger, lead chief executive for Together for Devon, the county’s Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, said: “Joining the health and social care team in Devon gives people the chance to make a real difference to the lives of people who need help, especially at this time. As well as frontline jobs like healthcare assistants, there are so many other roles that help social care and the NHS to function – without these dedicated non-clinical workers, our amazing teams would not be able to achieve what they do for patients, carers and families every day.”

If you want to make a difference and have a chance to help others please register your details on the Proud to Care website.