Explore why the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020 saw demand for care work in Basingstoke increase significantly.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused disruption and uncertainty on a global scale. As scientists and medical professionals worked around the clock to understand the impact of the COVID-19 virus, frontline staff and services were put under significant pressure as infection rates increased.
The challenges facing support workers, particularly during the peak of the pandemic, were exponential. Providing high quality support to service users with complex needs during such a changeable time was undoubtedly difficult and to ensure the support that was given remained consistent and of high quality, demand for care work in Basingstoke and across the country increased at a rapid pace.
The Impact of Coronavirus
As COVID-19 is a new strain of the coronavirus that has not previously been observed in the human population, there is no widespread immunity which means it has the potential to spread significantly and widely. Additionally, there is no vaccine and no specific treatments meaning that any treatments given will be administered with the intention of managing the symptoms an individual with the COVID-19 virus is displaying.
Official communications from the government note that the majority of people who have contracted COVID-19 have recovered at home and without the need for any specific treatments, similarly to seasonal flu and colds. However, just as there are those who will experience no symptoms at all, others will experience complications from COVID-19 that will require medical treatment and/or hospital care. These risks are more pronounced amongst elderly people and those who have underlying health conditions, in the same way as seasonal flu can affect some people more severely than others.
The Impact of Coronavirus for Support Workers
It quickly became apparent that measures to contain and slow the spread of COVID-19 would be essential to protect the most vulnerable members of society, particularly as the specific behaviours of this virus became clearer.
In official communications released by the government, it was predicted that in peak weeks of the pandemic, up to one fifth of employees could be absent from work at any one time. This figure would naturally vary across different industries but as there is no possibility for support workers to work remotely from home, the likelihood of this sector being one of the most affected was high. A shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) would also ultimately have an impact before the government made suitable arrangements that could be rolled out on a national level.
COVID-19 is highly infections and so for support workers, whose main priority is to protect and reassure the service users under their care, it was essential that they take steps to self-isolate for seven days if they felt unwell or displayed any symptoms of COVID-19. Additionally, with testing tricky to obtain, anyone known to have been in contact with someone who went on to be diagnosed with COVID-19 would need to isolate for 14 days to minimise the risks of further spread.
The nature of a residential home setting means that, in normal circumstances, people come into relatively close contact with many others during the course of an average day. To reduce the potential spread of the coronavirus, social distancing amongst service users was required, alongside the need for individuals displaying symptoms to isolate. During this time, it remained essential to ensure every service user continued to receive the required level of support and reassurance, which resulted in support workers experiencing increased pressures and demands.
Support workers also often found themselves fielding more frequent questions from concerned relatives and friends, which needed to be addressed in a timely manner to prevent on-going worry.
The Importance of Care Work in Basingstoke
If you are looking for an intensely rewarding and life changing career, care work in Basingstoke could be an ideal option for you. Support workers make a tangible difference to the lives of those they work with on a daily basis. In addition to the everyday challenges they face, this time of uncertainty has emphasised the importance of the role they fulfil, showcased their determination to deliver first class support even in the most challenging circumstances, and highlighted the positive impact they have on both service users and their families.