Last month we did some research for Scottish Care looking at how older people felt about their mental health. We had lots of brilliant conversations with older people, so make sure to keep an eye on our website for updates!
“We need more staff, more people. The staff are run off their feet and are doing as much as they can.”
We visited care homes in Hamilton, Edinburgh and Inverness and in all places we were struck by the passion of the staff. We spoke to younger workers who were in their twenties and really passionate about how they could make a difference in the lives of the older people they supported. We also spoke to staff who were just about to retire. One staff member we spoke to had been working at the care home for forty years and it was immediately obvious to us why she had been in the role for such a long time. We saw how she valued the people she worked with and how much she, in turn, gained from working with such interesting people.
“I was down today and a staff member sat with me for half an hour to chat with me.”
From the conversations we had, in all three areas, we know that having good, meaningful conversations has an incredible impact on mental health. The older people we spoke to understood that there was a lot of pressure on care providers which meant their time was stretched. Nevertheless it was encouraging to hear that staff members were taking time out of their busy days to catch up with the people living in the care homes we visited. We saw so much laughter and smiling while doing our research. There were little private jokes and an acknowledgement of difficult conversations that had been had when they had been needed. We heard how important it was just to know staff were available to talk and genuinely cared about the people they support.
“We feel looked after.”
We really were blown away by the dedication of the staff we spoke to. People who had a million things to do still managed to make everyone they cared for feel heard. For the staff we spoke to, their jobs were clearly vocations as they went above and beyond what was expected of them. I left the experience hoping that when I’m older I live in a care home like the ones we visited, and can find friendship both in the people living at the care home but also the workers there.