Carers worry about clients’ welfare

Taranaki in-home support workers are spending their days off worried their clients won’t get visited, helped out of bed or given medication, but say their concerns are going unheard.

After disabled war veteran Doug Wilson and another elderly resident raised concerns about the reliability of care they receive, three Healthcare NZ carers contacted the Taranaki Daily News.

The trio, whom the Daily News has agreed not to name as they fear for their jobs, said since Healthcare NZ moved to a centralised call centre shifts were not being covered properly and clients were being forgotten.

The carers said they had raised concerns with the company, but a lack of action had

pushed them to the point of considering quitting.

However, they are too concerned about the welfare of their clients to walk away.

‘‘If I jump ship I’m abandoning my clients, they can’t jump ship,’’ one New Plymouth-based support worker said.

Healthcare NZ chief executive Josephine Gagan said Covid-19 had made it ‘‘very difficult to meet staffing levels’’ but it had worked hard to ensure clients weren’t affected by this.

Gagan said she was ‘‘surprised’’ that staff were choosing to air concerns through the media, and invited them to contact her directly.

‘‘We’re more than open to suggestions on how to improve our service delivery, whether the feedback comes from the people we support or our staff.’’

However, one Stratford-based carer said she had complained to the company many times.

‘‘It doesn’t get through. They sweep it under the carpet.’’

The woman is currently off work on ACC, but has spent the

majority of her time worrying her clients aren’t getting the care they need, she said.

It was the same when she was on annual leave, or off sick.

‘‘It’s actually quite stressful, checking whether it’s going to be covered or not.’’

She has ‘‘absolutely’’ considered leaving, but she thinks of the people she cares for.

‘‘At the end of the day, if I wasn’t going to my clients, who would be? There is the frustration of trying to overlook the company for my clients.’’

Another New Plymouth-based employee has the same worries.

‘‘You don’t know if that client is going to get care. You don’t want them to be left high and dry.’’

The mother, who started in care work as a 16-year-old, said she too had raised concerns in the past.

‘‘The message doesn’t get through. It was better when you had a local office, with local coordinators who knew the area, knew the people, and knew the staff.’’

The third support worker, who has worked for the company for five years, said there are times she can’t finish her shift because the fill-in for the next carer hasn’t showed up.

And she can’t just leave. She works with one client who is tetraplegic and requires 24-hour care.

‘‘We’ve complained about it.’’ She has also considered leaving her job.

‘‘The problem is I am emotionally attached, I really enjoy working with him,’’ she said. ‘‘The rest of the team will struggle, he will struggle.’’