Former restaurant boss Helen tastes success in new career

A brave decision by a former restaurant manager to change her career has paid off for a care worker who is now in line for a prestigious award.

Helen Kermode, who hails from Devon, decided to move to the Swansea area because she liked the place and its people so much, but she didn’t have a job to go to.

“I just felt I wanted something more fulfilling,” she said.

That was seven years ago, and now she has been shortlisted for one of this year’s Wales Care Awards, organised by Care Forum Wales to recognise outstanding practice in the care sector.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony in City Hall, Cardiff, on October 21, and Helen has been nominated in the category for Residential Care Practitioner which is sponsored by the Older People’s Commissioner.

On moving to Swansea in 2009 Helen joined Tracscare as a support worker and in August, 2015, was promoted as Deputy Manager of Ty Camlas, the company’s service at Ystradgynlais which accommodates eight people with mental health needs.

She was nominated for the award by Tracscare’s marketing manager Gemma Howells and the manager of Ty Camlas Hayley Phillips, both of whom have been impressed by her enthusiasm, commitment and skill in preparing and maintaining up-to-date support plans to help the residents on the road to recovery.

“Helen will always go that extra mile and will evaluate how to improve the lives of the people she supports,” said Gemma. “She is an inspirational woman and a role model to all, and her interactions with those she supports easily shows the trust and respect they all have for her.”

As a mentor to other staff Helen has devised an exercise which they complete on a monthly basis, resulting in their being more involved in each person’s pathway.

Helen, now 40, of Waun Wen, said she had never considered working in the care sector before moving to Swansea but did not regret the switch at all.

“I love it here – the work, the people and the place – and we have a fantastic team,” she said.

She said she enjoyed “thinking outside the box” when it came to ways of changing people’s lives for the better, a quality which Gemma also highlighted.

She cited the case of one resident who enjoyed walking into the village but sometimes became confused, so Helen came up with the idea of providing her with a laminated card bearing details of the home which she could carry in her pocket.

“This resulted in the woman continuing to enjoy her walks but with the reassurance that if she does lose her way she can pass the card to someone who can contact the home,” said Gemma.

When not in work Helen, who lives in Swansea, loves nothing more than walking around the Gower.

Mario Kreft MBE, the Chair of Care Forum Wales, said the Wales Care Awards had gone from strength to strength.

He said: “The event is now firmly established as one of the highlights in the Welsh social care calendar.

“The aim is to recognise the unstinting and often remarkable dedication of our unsung heroes and heroines across Wales.

“The care sector is full of wonderful people because it’s not just a job it’s a vocation – these are the people who really do have the X Factor.

“If you don’t recognise the people who do the caring you will never provide the standards that people need and never recognise the value of the people who need the care in society.

“We need to do all we can to raise the profile of the care sector workforce – they deserve to be lauded and applauded.

Pic caption: Care Awards 2016. Helen Kermode with resident Christine Murphy