Making a difference every day — Adult Social Care
My name is Emma Gould, and I am Operations Assistant Team Manager for Short Breaks and the Registered Manager for Seeley’s Overnight Short Break Service. It’s been a really good experience working with Buckinghamshire Council over the last 27 years. I started as a Home Carer, in Adult Social Care, progressing to where I am now, supervising three managers. I work with people that I’ve known for many years, which is lovely.
We support adults with learning disabilities, dementia, and older people. Clients come to us to have a nice day, and to access the community where possible.
The most rewarding part of my role is my clients. I love looking after them. Yesterday, I was visiting one of our short break centres in Chesham. We’ve got fabulous staff over there and would like to recruit more. They created a lovely environment — our clients were so happy doing activities for the Queen’s Jubilee. I know that we’re doing a good job when I see our clients engaged and having a good time.
I was impressed by Buckinghamshire Council’s response to COVID. People rallied around to support our services because we were frontline.
Last year, we set up a hospital discharge service at Seeley’s Overnight Centre. We worked closely with the Hospital team and Social Workers, helping to free up hospital beds while supporting people who might need a little assistance before they can go home. That was a really positive experience, and very different for us.
We have become more flexible, resilient and responsive in our roles. We have had to close Day Centres because staff members contracted COVID, leaving our most vulnerable clients, with challenging behaviours, struggling at home. Staff stepped in, supporting clients in their homes in the community, giving families a much-needed break. Sometimes, it’s just letting a family member relax for an hour and a half, have a cup of tea, knowing that their loved one is looked after.
We get so much support from our managers, they are amazing and we work closely together. I could pick up the phone at any time if there is a problem. We have weekly team meetings where we can discuss anything — air concerns and come up with a plan. Staff have a weekly 1:1 with their managers, providing a safe space to talk. There is also additional support available for mental health at the Council.
If you are thinking of working for Buckinghamshire Council, I’d absolutely say “give it a go”. The support that we have, especially for new starters, is brilliant. The training for our service is very, very good and it is kept up-to-date. There are also lots of opportunities to progress through the Council. It is a rewarding job and it’s a rewarding place to be.
Visit https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/ and search ‘adult social care’ to find available roles.
