Desperate plea for more carers

A DESPERATE plea for more domiciliary carers to come forward in West Tyrone has been made  – at a time when the health service across the North is becoming increasingly stretched.

The call was made after workers from an agency, which provides home care on behalf of the Western Health Trust, were left “utterly disappointed” after not one person turned up to a rural recruitment day in Carrickmore last Wednesday.

In an effort to fill the void that exists in local services, North West Care held the recruitment day at a local bar in an effort to attract those interested in a career in domiciliary care.

Maureen Christodoulou, registered manager with NW Care in Omagh, said the turnout had been “heart-breaking”, before claiming it was unfortunately reflective of a larger trend.

She cited Beragh, Fintona, and Carrickmore as only a few examples of rural localities in which there are far more people in need of care, than there are carers to look after them.

“It is always easier to find recruits in bigger towns, but it is just a reflection of numbers – for a few years it has been getting more difficult to recruit everywhere, West Tyrone and beyond.”

She added, “If we even had six more recruits in Carrickmore it would make a world of difference in the lives of real, local people. The same applies for many places.”

Cllr Barry McElduff, who sits on Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s health subcommittee, attended yesterday’s recruitment event, which he described as “inherently a good thing.”

But he warned about a potential “elephant in the room.”

Mr McElduff said, “I believe the terms and conditions of these contracts need to be amended so that include mileage costs, and the remuneration workers receive is reflective of the worth of their role.”

He expressed concern that if these fundamental barriers were not removed, then it would be reasonable to expect the problems of bed blocking, and the ineffective delivery of care packages, to persist.

Fellow local councillor, Anne Marie Fitzgerald, claimed that health resources were stretched and carers were “unable to give the amount of care they would like to.”

She said, “There is a lack of staff because of the way they are treated, both financially, and in terms of the conditions they work under. Problems are exaggerated in rural areas – they have to drive more miles without fuel allowance.”

Meanwhile, highlighting the rewarding nature of the work, Ms Christodoulou said that home carers helped people preserve their dignity, independence and allowed them to continue to live alongside their families.

“We like to keep employees close to where they live, that way they don’t have to travel and they are really embedded in their own community, and so derive tremendous sense of reward from giving back to their own communities – we have employees whose lives revolve around the help that they provide for the people who depend on them,” the NW Care manager added.

BY EMMET McELHATTON