Goodbye message from Valerie

This is my last official day at work at Old Alresford Cottage. I have been here nearly 2 years and it's been quite fantastic ride as a carer and lately as a mentor.

There were things I expected to learn as a carer : become proficient at manual handling, understand health and safety, infection control and gain professional knowledge about all aspects of dementia etc. What I didn't expect was that I would grow as a person. I never considered myself very patient but this job taught me this as well as greater compassion and empathy.

Naively, I didn't expect to see so many of our residents passing. This is obviously their last home in many cases and their family mostly choose for our residents to stay and be cared for by us on their last journey. I did not expect to get so attached to some of them and grieve as much as I did at times when they died. But it has always been a great privilege to be there, even if sometimes all you can do is soothe them and hold their hands.

Our manager Michael was right when he said "we are all one big family". And like all family, we sometimes disagree, moan and argue as a team but we always pull together and work for the same aim, providing a safe and happy home for our residents. And I truly believe we achieve that.

So much so that if my parents were living in this country and needed care, I would trust this home to look after them. Thinking of it, this is another benefit of being a carer. I could assess my parents' needs and vet adequately any home or carer.

So this is not farewell my dear colleagues and friends but merely "au revoir". I will stay on as bank and I look forward to still working as a mentor and train future new colleagues with my very own brand of cheeky yet professional guidance (with only a slight French accent). I will also keep popping in every now and then as a volunteer to do some manicures and give the odd extra bath to some of my favourite residents. Because you see, that's another thing I didn't expect . I can treat all the residents with the same level of care, respect, patience .... but the ones that got under my skin ... well... they'll still get to see more of me, even as I leave to work somewhere else.

So I wish you all, dear friends, residents and family members all the best and a fantastic year 2018.

See you soon Val xxx

At Old Alresford Cottage Care Home Hampshire we provide Residential Care for the elderly in a beautiful country house in the Georgian town of Alresford.

One of the most highly regarded care homes in the area, we are specialists for Dementia Care in Hampshire.

Want to find out more? Give us a call on 01962 734121