Care workers across Suffolk – and the UK – have worked throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with barely a moment’s rest. While many stayed at home on furlough, doing Zoom quizzes and watching Netflix, care workers were in care homes, supporting the most vulnerable and worrying that today might be the day they brought a deadly virus home to their own families.
As I write this, it has been nineteen and a half months since the UK entered its first national lockdown. More than 140,000 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 – many of them vulnerable individuals in the care of others.
The emotional toll this has taken on the social care workforce cannot be overstated. When you care for someone regularly, you don’t just provide a service – you form relationships built on trust, respect and, often, love. Many people see their carers as family – and the feeling is mutual.
More than “just care”
Social care is so often reduced to a punchline – people talk about it dismissively as “wiping bums”. That ignorance couldn’t be further from the truth.
Being a care worker means being part of the best of humanity. It means showing genuine empathy – not as part of a job description, but because you care deeply about the people you support. It means taking responsibility for someone else’s wellbeing and going above and beyond to deliver it. It means putting others first, even in the face of a pandemic that kept everyone else at home.
It takes integrity, courage, and an extraordinary sense of humour – and I’ve never met people with bigger hearts than those who work in social care.
Time to celebrate care workers
We should all be proud of what social care workers have done over the past nineteen and a half months – but also of the work they’ve done for decades before. For too long, the vital role that great care plays in our society has been overlooked or undervalued.
That’s one of the reasons Ocala Healthcare exists – to champion the sector and the people within it. And it’s why we’re proud to be holding the first ever Suffolk Carer Appreciation Event!
Join us for afternoon tea and live music
This free event will take place on Thursday 11 November at the brilliant Venue16 in Ipswich, with live music from the talented Adam Thomas and a well-earned afternoon tea for everyone who attends.
If you work in social care and would like to join us, just head to our Facebook event page and add yourself – a member of our team will be in touch.
Watch the video invitation – and we hope to see you there!