Whether you’ve worked in social care before or not, it’s expected that you may have additional questions. We’ve included our most frequently asked questions below, but if there’s anything you want to ask which we haven’t already covered, you can call us on 0203 918 5693 or email us on careers@rchcarehomes.co.uk
Of course! For the majority of our roles, you don’t need to have prior experience in care as we will provide full and free training to give you the skills and knowledge you need. Regardless of where you’ve worked before, you will have skills and expertise which will be transferable to care (likely more than you realise).
We like to offer flexible working where we can, all applicants are welcome to apply to all our roles. We will look at skill mix and the ability to achieve the goal of supporting our residents in a person-centred way before making any decisions about flexible working.
We have different names for the people we provide care and support for depending on which part of social care they need. You’ll find residents in care homes, patients in the ABI Unit (neuro-rehabilitation service for people with acquired brain injuries), and tenants in Atlas Supported Living (assisted living for young adults with learning disabilities).
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) are the independent regulator of health and social care services in England. All of our homes are registered with CQC. This means they will monitor and inspect us so that both the teams who work for us and the individuals we care for are protected.
As our teams work with vulnerable adults, RCH are required to have additional protections in place to make it as safe an environment as possible. One of those required protections is that team members will go through a DBS check if they accept a job offer. This is a check of their criminal record in case there is anything on there which prevents them from working with vulnerable adults (please note that not all convictions / charges on records automatically mean someone cannot work with vulnerable adults and you can contact us if you have any questions about this).
While most people know what the NHS is and does, there are a lot of myths and misconceptions surrounding social care which are very different to the reality of care. We asked our teams what myths they’d heard about social care before they started, and what realities they wished more people knew about. We’ve listed their answers below:
Some parts of care may include support with getting dressed, washing, eating and drinking etc, but it also includes anything which empowers those in our care to continue to live meaningful, active and as independent lives as possible despite any physical, sensory or cognitive impairments they may have. No two days are the same so this could include having a chat with them, supporting them to continue with their hobbies and interests, or helping them to enjoy new activities and experiences etc. Help comes in many forms after all!
Adult social care provides care and support to adults of all ages. Within RCH, we provide a range of services for different ages, e.g. residents in our care homes are mostly older than 65, but we also have Assisted Living for young adults with learning disabilities at Atlas Supported Living, and the Manton Heights Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Unit provides specialist neuro-rehab support for all ages.
“They have a better social life than I do” and “I never knew a care home could be soo much fun and every day so different” are how our teams described their reality! Residents, patients and tenants are supported to have as much choice about what they do and when, whether it’s that day’s activities or what they want for dinner, and we encourage every member of our team to help with this, whether they work in Lifestyles or Care, Housekeeping or Catering etc.
“Care homes are actually a happy place”, “More of a positive atmosphere than I thought it would be” and “There’s a lot of fun and laughter all over” are what our teams had to say about this. The reality is that care homes are residents’ homes and so they are actually warm and homely environments.
RCH supports the constant growth and development of our teams. Whether that’s learning a new skill, moving to a different department or progressing to more senior roles, we want our teams to always be keen to learn more and we will support them with their goals.
Our teams all wished more people knew just how rewarding and fulfilling working in social care is. It may be hard work which requires resilience, but seeing the impact you have on the lives of those you care for is the “best feeling ever”. How much of a difference you make to someone’s day and someone’s life is so often underestimated.
Although care providers and NHS often work together and have similar roles within them, they are not the same thing. Care providers (e.g., care homes, assisted living etc) will often become a new home for individuals where they receive long-term person-centred care and support.
While the pandemic has been unprecedented, RCH adapted quickly and have lots of measures in place to help keep both our teams and those we care for as safe as possible. Some common questions about Covid-19 and working for a care provider are below:
Yes, during 2021, the government passed legislation which said that after 11th November 2021, only individuals who have had their first two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine are allowed to work for a care provider.
If you’ve only had one dose so far, you can still apply for a role, you just won’t be able to start working until after you’ve had your second dose. If you know when you are (approximately) scheduled to have your second dose, please let us know when you apply as you may receive your second dose in the time it takes for us to receive your references and DBS.
You can still apply for a role, but you will need to provide a copy of your medical exemption proof at some point during the recruitment process.
Currently, only the first two doses are legal requirements. However, many of our teams have already received their booster (third dose), and RCH supports and encourages our teams to get their booster as soon as possible.
Yes, in order to keep both our teams and the individuals we care for as safe as possible; RCH has a regular testing regime for all team members which includes at least one PCR test and two rapid LFTs every week. This may increase due to changes in guidance or local/national case levels, but any changes will be communicated to you immediately by your managers.