Category: Uncategorized

Empathy, integrity and reliability is the foundation stones of delivering great agency care. We have the opportunity to set a new precedent for agency carers everyday to be part of a successful and caring community and to ensure that their hard work is valued and appreciated.

If you believe, like we do, that agency stigma still exists in many care homes then you will likely have also experienced what it is like to be an agency care worker and to have people be rude and snarky because “you’re paid more” or “you don’t know the residents”.

Continue reading “Care Staff: Undervalued, Underpaid and Underappreciated”

When I first started in care in 2009, there was certainly an agency stigma.

There was a divide between full time and agency care staff. Often the view was that agency care workers were incompetent and lazy. This stigma was there well before I came into the industry and is still there now.

This stigma has affected the quality of care of thousands of people over decades, not only in Suffolk but across the UK.

Continue reading “The Agency Stigma”

First of all, Happy New Year from all of us at Ocala Healthcare!

A time of year that we make promises to ourselves that we can never keep. Chocolate is for life, not just for Christmas. But it is also a time of year where people do make genuine life changing decisions such as changing jobs and even bigger than that, changing career entirely!

Continue reading “Happy New Year! Change of Career?”

I worked as an agency carer for 3 years before starting Ocala Healthcare, and it was the best job I have ever done! There’s loads of reasons why I enjoyed being a carer, including…

Continue reading “5 of the best things about being an agency carer”

It’s those who dedicate their lives to the care of others that often forget (or don’t find the time) to properly look out for themselves. The role of a carer is varied and diverse but can also mean some odd shift patterns that lend themselves to disturbed sleep and unhealthy eating habits. It can also be taxing mentally and emotionally. This is why we’re so in awe of our carers, and all those in the industry!

It’s easy to neglect your own needs when you’re juggling this role and your own home life, but doing this eventually leads to stress and burnout, so carving out moments in your day to look after yourself is vital for both your physical and mental health.

So, we’ve put together a few self-care tips that you can weave into your daily and weekly routine.


Continue reading “13 self-care tips for carers”

We had a fantastic night at the Stars of Babergh and Mid Suffolk Awards – not only was it a incredible evening full of great people, we also left with the Business Growth Award!

This is such an honour, and an amazing achievement for us – especially as we’re only now coming up for our first birthday. A year ago, if you’d told us we’d even be shortlisted for an award we probably wouldn’t have believed you! 

Continue reading “Ocala Healthcare wins Business Growth Award!”

Knowing you need to arrange care at home for a family member can be a difficult time for all involved. This may be the first time you have had to organise care and there is a great deal of information to take in. But please be reassured there is also a great deal of support in Suffolk available for you and your family.

Continue reading “Support and Funding available for Home Care in Suffolk”

It has been confirmed today that the court of appeal have overturned a tribunal decision made in 2015 to pay care and support workers national living wage for sleep-ins and back dating their pay for 6 years.

Mencap, a nationwide care provider and Care England, who represent independent social care providers, challenged the tribunal ruling and today successfully overturned the original decision.

Continue reading “Court says no to back dated sleep in pay”

One topic which I am extremely passionate about is First Aid. I genuinely believe that everyone should have some awareness of First Aid and the skills to give them confidence if they found themselves in a situation where someone required First Aid. Personally, I have been trained in First Aid since I was 18 years old, as I have always worked in the care industry, however, thankfully, I have rarely used these skills which I have been repeatedly trained in. A friend of mine, Becky, a self-employed painter, had never had any First Aid training when late one night, her Dad had a cardiac arrest and she performed CPR. Incredibly she managed to get his heart working again. In this situation Becky was able to listen to the 999 call handlers instructions and carry out these required actions. We never know when we may find ourselves in these situations where quick thinking and quick actions could save someone’s life.

Continue reading “First Aid for Everyone”