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Dementia Carer Job Advert for Carers Week

Job Title: 

Home Dementia Carer 

Job Category: 

Caring Position 

Information: 

The above position has become available, if interested please apply via our website, address is listed below 
 

Start Date 

Immediate start, with no notice, contract will be indefinite ( please be aware this role will have an impact on your family and social life ) 

Location: 

On site with patient/Loved one 

Travel Required: 

NA - Live in position 

Level/Salary Range: 

£3,991.00 per annum, approximately £76.75 per week ( please note that this amount may well be reduced from the patients DSS benefits payments, please check with relevant departments for advice ) To claim this salary you will also have to complete a 20 page document 

Please also note that if you are employed as well as carrying out a caring you may not be entitled to any carers allowance, again check with relevant DSS department 

 

Job Title: 

Full-time  
Home Dementia  

Carer 

Benefits of this role: 

You will be their best friend, support and care giver, this will make you feel you are doing a worthwhile and loving role that will be rewarded by lots of warm happy memories being made and the love of the person you care for will be returned to you ( please note, there will be negative days, but the good days outweigh the balance to enable you to continue with this wonderful role )  
 

Start Date & Daily working Hours  

Immediate start, with no notice, contract will be indefinite ( please be aware this role will have an impact on your family and social life ) 
 

Up to 16 hours daily, with an 8 hour nightshift, assistance as required, sleep for yourself could be interrupted and broken ongoing 

Holidays 

There will be NO holidays available whilst in this position.  

Lunch and Dinner breaks will be brief, and taken when the caring role permits 

Job Description 

Role and Responsibilities 

Duties that will be required of you in this role: 

 

  • Chef - you will be responsible for all buying, preparing and cooking of meals, and at times aiding to feed your patient, as well as the dish washing afterwards. Please note that balanced and nutritional food served would be in the interest of health going forward. Hydration is very important, this can create health issues if too much or not enough given throughout the day 
     
  • Hairdressing - you will be required to wash, dry and perhaps cut hair 
     
  • Chiropodist - you will be required to maintain feet health and cut nails as required 

 

  • Personal dresser - you will be required to prepare clothing as well as purchasing as required and assist, again if required with dressing. Please note you may have to change the patients clothing a number of times a day as required 

 

  • General domestic duties: these will include all house cleaning, hoovering, bed changing (perhaps daily or as required) washing of clothes and bedding, ironing, and food shopping, bill paying as required 

 

  • Financial advisor: a good sound knowledge of finances are required, you may well have to be power of attorney on financial as well as medical decisions for your patient, both very responsible and important activities 

 

  • Pharmacist/Medication: part of your role will be to administer mediacation that is required up to 4 times a day, you will also have to enquire or read body language and spot distress signs to ascertain if additional pain relief is required, you will learn more of this whilst in the role. Please note, you will also have to identify when medical intervention is required even when there is no verbal communication of this nature with your patient 

 

  • Chauffeur: if you drive, it will be expected in this role that you will be required to drive your patient to all shopping trips out-with the home, also any medical appointments and activities or entertainment. Please be advised, there will be no fuel payments or mileage costs added to your salary for this part of your role, and in fact you may have to provide your own car if patient does not have DSS benefits to cover this cost. Please note you can apply for a blue badge to ensure easier parking, this again will require a many page document to be completed, and perhaps even an in person assessment 
     

Qualifications & Abilities Required: 

It is essential that you are able to multi task and maintain a calm exterior whilst dealing with stressful situations 

 
It would be helpful, but not essential that you have some legal training to help you navigate the vast documentation and difficult telephone calls that you will encounter on a regular basis 

 
Some basic medical training, again not essential, but will aid you to spot quickly if there are any of the following arising: infections, deliriums, pressure sores, and maintain a check on all pre-existing illnesses for changes that your patient may not be able to express to you 

 
A good attention to detail is required, you will spend a lot of time searching for missing items and looking out for changes in behavior. being a quick learner is imperative, you will be exposed to new and ever changing situations on a regular basis, some research into the condition may assist you to prepare with what needs to happens next to preempt  for changes in care and medical attention going forward 

 

Preferred skills: 

Please be aware, the ability to have a social life whilst in this role is limited, as is holidays away from home. You will have to prioritise your caring role and change your plans at short notice and learn to accept social isolation 
 
You may also suffer from lack of confidence, anxiety and/or depression, but must still be able to maintain the care level required for your patients wellbeing. Some basic coping strategies in stress and distress management and mind-fullness will be invaluable 

 
A strong communication skill and inner strength to ensure your voice and opinion will be heard would aid you immeasurably to cope when dealing with nurses, doctors, social workers, benefits agencies and a number of other situations that you will encounter 
 
You will have to be prepared to wash, bathe and maintain personal hygiene for your patient, this may include handling incontinence issues throughout the day 
 
They may get angry and frustrated or very sad, they may wander out alone and get lost or get distressed very suddenly, perhaps even violent. Please note this is a very normal day to day event, you will build an inner strength and coping strategy for this. Do be aware though, that you will need to determine from time to time between this and a delirium which may indicate an infection and requires medical intervention, this is the point when you have to use your judgement and perhaps activate the medical power of attorney powers wisely, you will learn on the job! 
 
Finally, this role requires dedication, love, patience, and a willingness to be adaptable to any unforeseen circumstances. You will without a doubt find this role emotionally and physically demanding and draining, you will feel broken and lost when its ended, as well as the living grief at different steps of your patients illness as it progresses. 

 

 
The rewards of this role are immeasurable, you will do this for and out of love, the good days will heavily outweigh the bad ones, and you will look back when this role ends with love, pride and a knowledge that you did your very best for your loved one, and although they couldn't always find the words, they knew exactly what this role entailed you giving up for them without a second thought at a time in their life that they needed you most, and more importantly they felt loved and safe 
 

Additional Notes 

Please be aware, the ability to have a social life whilst in this role is limited, as is holidays away from home. You will have to prioritise your caring role and change your plans at short notice and learn to accept social isolation 
 
You may also suffer from lack of confidence, anxiety and/or depression, but must still be able to maintain the care level required for your patients wellbeing. Some basic coping strategies in stress and distress management and mind-fullness will be invaluable 
 
A strong communication skill and inner strength to ensure your voice and opinion will be heard would aid you immeasurably to cope when dealing with nurses, doctors, social workers, benefits agencies and a number of other situations that you will encounter 
 
You will have to be prepared to wash, bathe and maintain personal hygiene for your patient, this may include handling incontinence issues throughout the day 
 
Your patient may get angry and frustrated or very sad, they may wander out alone and get lost or get distressed very suddenly, perhaps even violent. Please note this is a very normal day to day event, you will build an inner strength and coping strategy for this. Do be aware though, that you will need to determine from time to time between this and a delirium which may indicate an infection and requires medical intervention, this is the point when you have to use your judgement and perhaps activate the medical power of attorney powers wisely, you will learn on the job! 
 
Finally, this role requires dedication, love, patience, and a willingness to be adaptable to any unforeseen circumstances. You will without a doubt find this role emotionally and physically demanding and draining, you will feel broken and lost when its ended, as well as the living grief at different steps of your patients illness as it progresses. 
The rewards of this role are immeasurable, you will do this for and out of love, the good days will heavily outweigh the bad ones, and you will look back when this role ends with love, pride and a knowledge that you did your very best for your loved one, and although they couldn't always find the words, they knew exactly what this role entailed you giving up for them without a second thought at a time in their life they needed you most, and more importantly they felt loved and safe. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: 

There isn't a low enough salary that we could be offered that would stop us being home dementia carers, please note this caring role doesn't end when our loved ones perhaps have to go into a care facility or hospital, it just changes for us, but we hope the government will think about the financial, emotional, physical and broken mental health of the carers that give all of ourselves, our careers, our friends and family as well as years of our lives that we can never buy back. We give all this freely to love our family member or spouses, and be their support system for as long as they need us. Government, please make this role, as well all other carers, not only for the dementia patient a priority for attention, understanding our difficulties and look at a fair carers allowance and better support systems to enable us to do this role without the daily battles to get what we and our loved ones are entitled too, and require to carry on caring. There are almost 7 million carers in the UK, every one of these carers are saving the government billions of pounds annually, it is certainly food for thought. 

Please hear us, please help us! 
 
 

 

 

Copyright Anne Irvine 2023 

This job advert was sent in by tide member, Anne, for Carers Week 2023 to raise awareness of the reality of being a carer of someone with dementia and how challenging a caring role can be with the limited available support.


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