Yesterday marked the first day of our very first ‘Celebrating Health and Social Care Support Workers Week’. Health Care Support Workers (HCSW) across all departments and disciplines are a critical part of our teams and we want to thank, praise and showcase their value to the NHS in a week-long series of events and activities.
As part of ‘Celebrating Health and Social Care Support Workers Week’, we’re spending time with just some of this amazing army of staff.
Attila Kelemen is based at the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. Attila’s path into his current role is very much rooted in care and education. Atilla told us about some of his bigger goals and how his role is helping him to achieve these.
What was your pathway into being a support worker?
I worked in a care home as general assistant/support worker. As residents there had their conditions recognised and treated, they needed very little of my attention and I felt that I could help others in a much bigger way. That is how I ended up in the healthcare sector. After completing the NPA level 6 and PDA level 7 college courses, I applied to the Open University to become a registered nurse. Once I gain sufficient experience I would like to go into education, where I would train nurses and healthcare support workers specific to the neurosurgery field.
What are your daily tasks?
I assist patients with nutritional needs, personal hygiene, treatment and rehabilitation following the care plan put in place by the multidisciplinary team, while paying careful attention to patient’s choices, wishes and needs.
What it’s like being a support worker?
Being a HCSW, is challenging, but very rewarding position. I like both aspects of it. It is a vital role in the healthcare environment as we and other supporting services, like porters, domestic, catering, give the foundation and stability to the system. Without us, the patient’s journey would be a much different experience. I love my job.
What do you love most about the job?
I love that I can make difference in people’s life. When patients come into the hospital, they are sometimes in a vulnerable phase of their life and very much in a foreign environment. We need to make sure that they can trust us and that they will receive all the support they need.
I love that I can connect with people. Listening to their stories, their journey, I can work on making their hospital stay a pleasant experience. I love the respect and appreciation that I receive every day from patients, from relatives, and from my colleagues who all work very hard to make NHS Lothian a better place.
