Abigail Hudson, 21, Kirstyn Williams, 20 and 19 year old Chloe Beardmore, are all healthcare assistants here at Barrowhill Hall.

Abigail, from Rocester, has been working in the care sector since she was 18 and has been a private carer and a community carer in Staffordshire before she began working at Barrowhill Hall. She says,

“I enjoyed community work but the travel was a lot. I was driving everywhere from Kings Bromley to Tamworth and all the travel was affecting my mental health.

“My boyfriend’s mum and sister work at Barrowhill Hall and they encouraged me to apply for a job here. I would definitely recommend care work to other young people. The best part of the job is the satisfaction you get from helping others.”

Kirstyn, from Tean, is currently in her second year of a Psychology degree at Keele University. And works part-time at the home. She wants to go and study medicine and says her role as a carer has taught her invaluable resident care skills.

“With the hands-on skills, I’ve learnt so much about resident care, more than I ever could learn from books. It’s an incredible experience. For me a huge part of the role is learning how to interact with different levels of resident care. All residents are completely different and what works for one doesn’t work for the other, we have to always tailor our care to the individual.

“I love meeting people. Meeting the families is a big part of the job and we have to work as a team otherwise nothing would get done!

“My favourite bit of the day though is seeing the residents in their happy element and the satisfaction you get from it.”

For Chloe, from Cheadle, it was her grandad, Ken, who motivated her to take on a role caring for and helping elderly residents.

“My grandad is my favourite person!,” she says. “He really inspired me to work in the care sector. Seeing the residents happy and giving them the care they need makes me happy. It’s such a rewarding job and it’s fun too; we are always doing all sorts of activities from painting the residents’ nails to drawing with them.

“You get really close relationships with the residents, we’re like a family.”

Care home manager, Dania Meadows, says, “

“It’s brilliant to see young people in care roles and we would love to have more on our team. I think there’s something in the bond they create with the residents, having had a more recent relationship with grandparents. Our residents certainly love them!

“I’m very committed to all the staff here and if they want to progress, we will help them. This doesn’t just have to be a job, it can be a career, there’s no end to where it could lead.”