A young support worker who balances life as the primary carer for her mum with a fulltime job helping people with complex mental health needs has been shortlisted for a top award.<\/p>\n
Ellie Jones, 20, joined the care industry just two years ago but has already been announced as a finalist in this year\u2019s Wales Care Awards \u2013 the care sector equivalent to the Oscars.<\/p>\n
Since joining Liberty Care Ltd in Blackwood, Caerphilly, as a support worker and being quickly promoted to senior support worker, the former Ystrad Mynach student has continually impressed her team \u2013 so much so they repeatedly nominate her for staff member of the month.<\/p>\n
The care worker, who supports five women with mental health needs in a supported living home, now finds herself in the running for the Exceptional Newcomer Award, sponsored by Barchester Healthcare, at this year\u2019s Wales Care Awards.<\/p>\n
The annual event is hosted by social care champions Care Forum Wales which supports more than 450 care homes, nursing homes and other independent health and social care providers across Wales.<\/p>\n
Ellie, from Blackwood, will now join dozens of care workers at a glittering ceremony at City Hall in Cardiff on Friday, October 21, hosted by popular tenor, Wynne Evans, best known as Gio Compario from the Go Compare TV ads.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very surprised but proud to be shortlisted out of all the nominees,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing put forward for an award was more than enough for me but to find out I am shortlisted has been overwhelming. I\u2019m very chuffed and proud.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing I regret about coming into this role. I love my job and just coming into work and making a difference is a massive achievement for me and seeing people progress is really rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellie\u2019s colleagues put her success down to her natural ability to empathise and put herself in the shoes of her service users \u2013 skills born by her experience as the main carer for her mother over the past five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was 14 or 15 when my mum had her first stroke,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mum had great difficulty with her physical abilities from that point including personal care so I would support my mum in that area and help her with her benefits. I also had to take on the role of being a young carer for younger three siblings and then my grandparents became quite unwell too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese experiences have helped me in different ways. It has helped me to recognise dignity as obviously with my mum it was quite deflating for her to be showered. I tried to find ways of helping her feel more comfortable and now I apply that to my role to ensure the dignity of the ladies I support.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has allowed me to be more compassionate and I think it has allowed me to adapt as a person and become more confident and push myself to limits I didn\u2019t think were possible. I never thought I would be able to contact GPs for myself let alone for someone else.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be difficult as I don\u2019t get a lot of time to myself. On my days off I\u2019m making up for the time I was in work and making sure I\u2019m able to take my mum to appointments and cooking, cleaning and administering medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ellie was nominated for her award by Sue Smith, Team Leader at Liberty Care Ltd.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWhen Ellie first came to us she had just turned 18 but was extremely natural in the way she interacted with service users.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe made an instant impression but more so because that support was delivered during the pandemic when the impact on mental health was quite significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me this young girl of 18, having never worked in care before, was standing out as an individual who worked naturally with individuals in times of crisis and was making a difference to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m absolutely chuffed to pieces for her. Ellie has worked hard and still does. She goes above and beyond to make sure the ladies she supports have good quality care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mario Kreft MBE, Chair of\u00a0Care\u00a0Forum\u00a0Wales, said the aim of the Wales Care Awards was to recognise the unstinting and remarkable dedication of unsung heroes and heroines across\u00a0Wales.<\/p>\n
He said \u201cThe social\u00a0care\u00a0sector is full of wonderful people because it\u2019s not just a job, it\u2019s a vocation\u00a0\u2013 these are people who go the extra mile for others.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the Covid crisis, this fantastic workforce rose magnificently to the challenge, putting their own lives on the line to do everything they possibly could to safeguard the people for whom they provide\u00a0care.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, it has taken a global pandemic for many other people to realise how important and how significant our social\u00a0care\u00a0workforce is.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir incredible contribution was summed up best in the powerful and emotive words of the song, Heroes of our Heart, written by the acclaimed poet Mererid Hopwood and sung by Sir Bryn Terfel, which was set to the famous tune of Men of Harlech. The message that the diolch should last forever is one that we should never forget.<\/p>\n