Care is not unskilled work so when will the Government wake up and put it at the forefront of the agenda? - Elisha Yorke

From the initial battles fighting to get a diagnosis, to the school years and school statements whereby they didn’t always tick every box for support, but clearly needed it.

Working as a classroom assistant for a time, so my daughter had the reassurance of seeing me each day as part of her routine.

As my children grew up and moved on, I was able to transfer the caring side of my family role into a career, after meeting my current employers Happy Futures at a career fair in Scarborough.

Having previously only worked in retail, I didn’t think I had the experience, but I did have the background needed.

There are many misconceptions about working in the care sector, with people often seeing it as a dead-end job, and this needs to change.

I have been able to develop in my career from working with less complex individuals to now supporting people with a number of health conditions and challenges.

Care isn’t about the financial reward, it is a life choice, but one that is becoming increasingly harder for everyone in the sector. As my partner and daughter also work at Happy Futures it is also a sector that impacts my family.

Getting through the pandemic was a hard enough challenge, but the cost-of-living crisis is now crippling an already broken system. This doesn’t just relate to us as carers but also the individuals we support.

Whilst Happy Futures have given us many incentives and rewards, with the zero uplift in wages from the government, we simply cannot keep up with the escalating costs.

Both my energy bills and the cost to fill my car have doubled – no carer's salary can match this.

Working longer hours as the cost to have the heating on at home soars and seeing other people doing the same thing. Thinking all the time about planning driving routes to ensure the last tank refill gets you to the end of the week, or the next payday.

However it is the impact on the individuals we work with and support that is the hardest to see.

From the funding they receive to live in the bungalows at our development at Treetops, budgeting has taken on a totally different meaning.

We have individuals who are incontinent and daily washing and tumble drying is essential to maintain both hygiene and their dignity.

We are now facing decisions about whether to have to turn the heating off whilst using the tumble dryer and coming into winter this will be even harder.

Many of our residents also have daily routines which are absolutely fundamental to the structure of their day and their wellbeing.

During the pandemic this was almost impossible to maintain during the lockdowns, and we had to manage that, alongside taking care of ourselves with covid.

Trips were no longer possible, clubs and discos they attended every week didn’t run – and they didn’t understand why.

Then their routines came back, and we have been able to take them to the seaside, or to activities they previously enjoyed, but this is now being impacted yet again.

One individual enjoys drives out and about twice a day, but with the cost of fuel, those trips are now much shorter.

It is directly impacting their wellbeing and we are yet again having to help them adjust and accept the changes.

These are individuals who find change hard and unsettling.

We need action and support and we need it now. We need the government to take a stand because the current situation is not sustainable for anyone in the care sector, whether it is the people working in it, or the individuals we are here to care for.

Care is not unskilled work, yet that is how we are paid. I have received training at every stage in my career, more recently in positive behaviour support.

This is a person-centred approach which massively changes people’s lives, yet I could earn more working behind a bar or in the local chippy.

Happy Futures have recently transformed the life of an 18 year old who no one else in the care system wanted to look after, and there are still individuals in hospital bed-blocking because of the huge demand for care.

When will the government wake up and make the changes needed so that care is put at the forefront of the agenda – not left behind everything else?

Elisha Yorke is a positive behaviour support worker at Happy Futures, which provides domiciliary care, outreach and supported living assistance.