Christmas is a time for family, for tradition and celebration. At CarePlanner we have a tradition of our own: the 12 Carers of Christmas is about celebrating home carers for the amazing work they do year round. While health care is about keeping people alive, social care is about keeping people living their best lives. Our 12 carers are uplifting examples of the power and purpose of home care, and show how critical and valuable a service it is for all of our communities.
Anjuli Chimariya has only been working with HTR Care and Recruitment for six months, yet in that time she has already built a reputation for understanding and respecting everyone she meets. Our eleventh carer of Christmas, Anjuli’s approach with her service users validates their experience, and by extension, their person.
“Anjuli is a gem, we love working with her, she is excellent at her job,” says one of her co-workers. “She is very respectful of all of the residents and staff.”
Maintaining that level of professionalism in the current climate isn’t easy.To enter the social care sector and try to meet the rising and complicated demands is a substantial undertaking. Anjuli has met these demands with energy and compassion.
“Anjuli is what an excellent carer looks like.”
“I am proud of her,” says Anjuli’s manager, Shawndell Barker. “She is always smiling and pleasant. Many of our clients would ask for her by name to go and work with them.”
Care is about building relationships, and developing the mutual trust and respect that is required to have a good relationship with someone. Despite being a relative newcomer to care, Anjuli has shown the ability to connect with anyone. This is undoubtedly because of her committed and empathic nature; she genuinely respects and cares for the service users she works with.
“She has been exceptionally hard working,” says Shawndell, “very reliable, always going the extra mile for the residents. Nothing is ever too much for her.”
Relationships are the essence of care. Whether it is the relationships between carers, their service users, the back room staff, or the co-ordinators; they are the ties that bind us together and keep us steady in the face of any challenge. Teamwork is essential to maintaining these relationships, and is a key reason why Anjuli has become so integral to HTR despite her short time with them.
“Anjuli is hardworking, flexible, and liked by all of our clients,” says HTR’s Director. “She is friendly with all the staff, she has good communication skills and she motivates other staff.”
Like others we have covered in this series, Anjuli deserves the chance to be recognised, truly recognised, for the difference she makes in people’s lives. Not just in the lives of her service users – critically important though that is – but in the lives of her co-workers, who see a friendly face and a positive approach, and in the lives of HTR’s managers, who know they can rely upon her when they need to.
“Anjuli deserves this recognition because she champions excellent care and respect for our elderly,” Shawndell says. “Anjuli is what an excellent carer looks like.”