we interviewed a working life representative from Sacramento named Klaus ( name and place have been changed for privacy reasons). I asked Klaus about what their situation is at the moment with staffing do they have too little staff too many just enough, How do they take care of the well being of clients and staff and how are they going to improve the conditions if necessary.
Here is what he said.
At the moment our staffing situation is pretty okay, we have about 0,6 workers per client. We have four workers in the morning shift, four is the evening shift and one during the night shift. If we need to replace someone in the case of sickness or something else we get from Vantaa´s resurssi center. If I need a new full time workers their are very little applicants, which he finds very concerning. So our situation is pretty good but i know many places where the workers have a lot on their plate especially with the on going covid situation. Many places have a very rough time even if they do not have any covid cases and how hard it must be in the units that have had covid .
He finds it very important that we talk about what is on our minds and what is stressing us out. He feels like the workers know and feel comfortable telling him honestly if something is wrong and he is very happy that they do it- We have workplace meetings where everyone can tell their opinions and problems. It is important to try and find a solution together on how to fix it. He thinks that in the care industry it is very important to know that the number of caretakers is not gonna magically go up so we should be happy with what they have. He would love to hire more workers.
They have named a worker to every client and and a spare own worker. The own worker system works so the workers are with the clients and spend time with them and take care of the clients needs. If the worker spends at least 15 minutes a day with their client and it can make all the difference in the clients well being and make their day much better.
Suurin osa Showcasen blogeista on toteutettu osana Laurean opintojaksoja. Koko koulutustarjontaamme voi tutustua nettisivuillamme. Tarjoamme kymmenien tutkintoon johtavien koulutuksien lisäksi myös paljon täydennys- ja erikoistumiskoulutuksia sekä yksittäisiä opintojaksoja avoimen AMK:n kautta!
Thanks Lilja for this info about your working life representative and for shedding light to the work they do. I think it’s a good system that each of the clients have their own worker with whom the client can build a trustworthy relationship with. At the same time I’m also worried that there aren’t enough applicants for this kind of job and something should definitely be done in the matter, for example increasing study places in the social care field.