East London Health & Care Partnership LIVE – Careers in Adult Social Care

My name is Angela and I’m an Occupational Therapist.

I studied to be an Occupational Therapist when I was in my 30’s, prior to that I worked in various jobs, mainly in administration and office management. I retrained because I wanted to use my skills to support people in a really meaningful way, that would also give me a sense of fulfilment. The reason I chose Occupational Therapy was because it is a very practical role using problem solving skills, whilst working in partnership with service users. Also you can work as an Occupational Therapist in lots of different specialisms from mental health, rehabilitation, physical health, children the list goes on and on.

During my career, as an Occupational Therapist, I have worked the majority of time for a Local Authority as frontline worker, then as advisor and trainer and now I am a team manager.

Outside of work I enjoy enjoying myself, dancing, clubbing, cooking, DIY, crafts and getting out in nature.

Hi my name is Francis and I’m a social worker working in Adult Social Care. I have been a qualified social worker for six years. I decided to change careers in my late twenties and before social work I had got my first degree in bio chemistry.  I worked in the health sector for a while but didn’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I started volunteering in homeless hostels and found I preferred working with people. I saw the difference I was able to make in people’s lives and decided to enrol on to a social work degree programme. Once qualified I worked in children’s social care and after moving to London I decided to move in to Adult social care.

I joined Lodge Group Care in 2011,  my career in care however started many years ago in 1997.  Over the years I have worked hard to develop myself and fully understand the needs of both our clients and our carers. My experience includes managing a domiciliary agency and supporting emergency discharge teams working outside of hours to ensure people are safe at home. I believe that no matter where we are in our life journey, we have a right to quality care when we need it. My aim is to enhance the experience of our clients and promote there independence by putting them back in control of there care requirements

My role in the company is all about the service we deliver to both our clients and carers. I have a dream to become the best home care provider in the UK and I spend most of my time troubleshooting and searching for ways to improve. My favourite part of my job is visiting and speaking to clients & carers.