A Day in the Life of a BelleVie Wellbeing Support Worker
Have you wondered what it’s like to be a Wellbeing Support Worker? Amelia from our Wantage team describes a typical day as a member of the BelleVie team.
Hello, I’m Amelia and I’m a support worker for BelleVie’s Wantage team. I work part time in the role which is fantastic as it allows me to have a great work life balance and also spend time working on other projects.
Wednesdays are my busiest day as I work a double shift. My alarm goes off at 6am, which gives me time to exercise or walk the dogs before my work day starts at 7:30. The first visit of the day is very local, just a couple of minutes away which is excellent.
My first visit is with a gentleman, Bill, I am always greeted with a great big smile which is brilliant and a great start to the day. Bill has a live in carer and I go along to support them both. We assist in washing and dressing Bill so that he is ready for the day and for any visitors he may have, and we then transfer him into his chair ready for breakfast.
I am then off and away to visit Margaret, a lovely lady with Alzheimer’s that lives on her own. This visit is more of a companionship visit. We always have a lovely catch up and a giggle when I arrive. I then make Margaret some breakfast 🙂 before I assist her to get dressed and take her medication. We normally then do a puzzle together or a crossword (which I am terrible at!!) or sometimes we will do some exercises together as its important for Margaret to keep up her strength and mobility, especially as getting out and about having been so restricted recently.
It’s then time to whiz home for our weekly team catch up and some lunch before my afternoon shift. We are currently doing this via an online call but we are hoping to do it in person following the latest government guidelines soon! It’s really great to catch up with your other team members to discuss anything that may have cropped up in the week, to share experiences and to generally feel supported and to feel part of a team. We have a good laugh together which is great. This type of role is very new to me and not like anything I have ever done before so it’s great to learn from the more experienced team members.
My next shift starts today starts at 2pm, sometimes I do an evening shift which starts at 5pm which gives me an afternoon free to run errands or see friends for lunch. But today it’s a single afternoon visit, with a lovely lady who has cancer. Jane also has a live-in carer and we go along to give them an afternoon off. This visit is 3 hours long and we spend the time chatting, watching her favourite programmes, sometimes cooking dinner or baking together or if it’s a nice day spending time in the garden. It’s then home time to have dinner with my family and take the dogs on another walk to the woods or the river.
Bellevie is a brilliant place to work, you meet so many amazing people both colleagues and clients and you hear some fantastic and inspirational life stories. I love the fact that each shift is slightly different and you get to know someone a little bit more and make a positive impact on their lives. It’s also great working so local to home so that you don’t have a horrible commute and still feel like you have a great work life balance.
Amelia, Wellbeing Support Worker, Wantage team
If you’d like to join the BelleVie team as a Wellbeing Support Worker, we are currently recruiting in Wantage, Abingdon, Witney, Oxford, West Northumberland, South Northumberland and County Durham. Visit our Careers page to find out more.
