New Stokeleigh carers making a difference every day

To mark Glad To Care Week, we would like to introduce you to Erin Leonard and Isabelle Woodey, two new members of the caring team who have recently joined Stokeleigh in Bristol.

Erin has already been making her mark on the caring profession, having been declared one of the unsung heroes of the pandemic in a previous care role.

However, she gave up work to become an unpaid worker, looking after her grandmother while she was unwell. With her grandmother now much better, Erin joined Stokeleigh, where she is already making her mark and has some personal ambitions to fulfil.

“My mum was a support worker for 16 years, and I decided I wanted to follow in her footsteps by working in care,” Erin says.

“I want to make sure the residents here have the best life they can. To do that, I put myself in their shoes and think about what really makes them happy.”

Once she has attained her NVQ 3 in Health and Social Care, Erin’s next career goal will be to become a care practitioner, one of the roles for which Hartford Care offers a comprehensive training programme leading to graduation. Ultimately, she would like to be a nurse supporting older patients in a hospital.

“What I love about this job is that no two days are ever the same. One day I could be helping in the kitchen with serving the breakfasts, and on another, I could be operating the tea trolley as well as supporting our lovely residents.

“It has been wonderful working here, as everybody is so friendly and has made me feel so welcome.”

Isabelle is using her experience in care as a stepping-stone to a new career. She is currently on a gap year before she goes to Brighton to embark on a paramedics’ science degree.

“I am finding the job really fulfilling and I’m enjoying getting to know the residents. One thing this job is teaching me is patience, which will be such an important factor in my paramedic training,” Isabelle says.

“On the personal side, I love spending time with the residents as some of them are really funny and have a great sense of humour.

“On the professional side, I know I can ask everyone lots of questions to help me progress in my job.”

Would you be Glad to Care? If you would, please come and make a difference with us at Hartford Care. Visit our careers page for full details of all our current job opportunities.