Transcript: What do Our Support Workers do, and Why are They so Important to Regional Australia?

Find out what attributes a person needs to be a Support Worker for older Australians in regional, rural and remote communities.

You can also listen to the full episode, or view more podcasts and transcripts at Live Well Podcast.

Liz  

Hello, and welcome to the Live Well podcast. I'm Liz Moore, a communications partner at integratedliving Australia. And I'm speaking to you from Gubbi Country on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. integratedliving Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners and custodians of this country. 

We pay our respects to them, their cultures and customs, and to Elders past, present and emerging. Today, I'm very pleased to be joined by integratedliving's Head of Service Delivery, Nicole Hudson, to tell us more about what our support workers do and the special attributes needed for the job. Not only do we have hundreds of support workers doing invaluable work across regional, rural and remote Australia, but it's also a career that's in demand with loads of opportunities for eager job seekers. 

Welcome Nicole and thank you so much for joining us.  

Nicole 

Oh, thanks so much, Liz. Great to be here.  

Liz  

Could you please tell our listeners more about your experience in aged and health care? 

Nicole  

Absolutely. Indirectly, I spent 15 years working for a recruitment company where I predominantly hired for the aged care sector and other providers throughout Australia, seeking clinical support workers, administration staff and specialist positions. 

There did come a turning point though, where I had an opportunity to work directly within the aged care sector with one of those providers, and I took a chance, and honestly have not looked back. The last 10 years working in the sector has been an absolute gift, and the last 3 plus years I've been working here at integratedliving seems like yesterday. But this is just a terrific organisation with great purpose and great teams and I love being here.  

Liz  

Where does your interest in assisting regional, rural and remote communities stem from?  

Nicole 

Yes, so I think my interest really goes back from my experience growing up where I have had family in more rural and remote communities. 

As a young girl, I had grandparents in a town that was no more than a hundred people. And where we lived was a good hour's commute to get to them. But we were able to help and so were some local providers as well. And what was really great to see is that those local providers were able to help them to stay in their home right through to their last day and. Looking now, that community is still there and thriving, they've quadrupled in size, and they've got access to far more services and support, so you don't have to do that hour commute anymore. 

But it's great for me to see that these communities continue to thrive, and like I say, a little bit of help goes a long way.  

Liz  

And can you tell us what does a support worker actually do at integratedliving? 

Nicole  

Honestly, Liz, I don't think I'm going to do this the justice it deserves. So I will pose that question to a support worker one day. I'm sure that will be on the program. But for me, in terms of in-home services they deliver, they're responsible for taking, undertaking like domestic duties, perhaps assisting with personal care. Providing respite and also social support and bundled underneath those services, there's a gamut of tasks and functions that they might perform for individual clients. 

So that could be accompanied or unaccompanied shopping. It could be meal preparation. It could be tidying out cupboards. It could be doing arts and craft or maybe assisting with transport to and from appointments or even medical appointments. There could also be things relating to medication in terms of prompts and reminders. 

And there's also other things that our teams do as well, which is things that people don't realise, and that is that they're connected to their phones each day. They're checking their rosters for changes where clients might cancel or new services might pop in. Each month they're doing regular education and training. 

They're updating their competency so that way they can go out into the field and do the work that we roster them for each day. They attend team meetings, they have regular check ins with their managers, and they're also in liaison with our Customer Services Centre, just to report any sort of incidents or non-response, and honestly, the list goes on. 

There's probably many more tasks that happen, but those are just some of those key things that come to mind.  

Liz  

A very diverse role in a lot of cases.  

Nicole  

Very diverse. And again, we have to remember that support workers are working autonomously in the field each and every day. Their constant is to be with clients, carers and families. 

Liz  

Yes, so what are those qualities that it takes to do that, to be a good support worker?  

Nicole  

Oh my gosh, there are so many qualities and characteristics that we look for when we're hiring support workers. And you don't have to have experience in the sector to join us. But some of the key qualities that come to mind are communication. That really is a key skill support workers should possess and continue to develop during their careers. We have some wonderful staff who are already able to build rapport, trust and positive relationships with clients, carers and families. And also that delicate balance of not overstepping those professional boundaries through their services and delivery. 

I think another attribute is adaptability. We all know that life can show us the unexpected, and as a support worker, being able to adapt to change, solve problems, and reach out for assistance is a great trait to have, as many of these team members do work independently each and every day.  

I think another one is reliability, as we deliver hundreds of thousands of services to many in regional, rural and remote communities every year. And we can only do this via our workforce, so understanding an individual's availability allows us to plan long term for services, and it creates consistency for both staff and clients.  

And just finally, one other thing that I think is imperative is passion, and that is a passion for working in the community, assisting others to remain at home, and many of our team members have typically cared for family members, relatives or friends in the past and have found it so rewarding, they want to give back and make a difference to someone's day and naturally gravitate towards the aged care sector. And I think it's this willingness to give back and help that is a really powerful attribute and something that we look for in staff. 

Liz  

And what are those attributes that it takes to stick with it long term? We have some amazing support workers who've been with us for 25 years longer, even longer than that. What's the difference there? What keeps them at it?  

Nicole  

Yeah, again, that's a really great question. And perhaps this is best pitched to our support workers who've enjoyed those 20-plus year anniversaries with us. 

But I would likely say it is the relationships with our clients, and knowing that they are and have played a part in assisting many to remain living at home. And for many of our clients, with the right supports, they can remain at home, not only with the assistance of our support workers, but also via our clinical and allied teams who are available both to visit at home or virtually.  

And another thing I hear a lot of when I attend service awards ceremonies is that our support workers truly enjoy working for integratedliving. And that is because the values we have really resonate and they enjoy the clients that they see. The support that they receive and are appreciated for the work that they do. And really, that goes a long way.  

Liz 

Yes, good to hear. And what's the difference working as a support worker in regional, rural and remote Australia as integratedliving does? 

Nicole  

So as a support worker, working in these different communities, there are perhaps some differences, but there's also some similarities. 

I'll start with the similarities, and these are, we are person-centred in our approach to care and support, and we have locals supporting locals. We have consistent training, education, check in mechanisms, and support for our team members. And having local staff, they are well versed in their community, and what I mean by that is that they're aware of local clubs, connections, activities, services, etc. 

So they're a working bundle of knowledge. They know their area, they care for those in the community and are greatly appreciated for the support and services that they deliver. What is different is that when you move into that more rural and remote setting, the more immersed and likely our clients are going to know our support workers. 

It's quite common the further you move away from the coastline, the more likely clients and support workers are known to one another or know of one another. And this could simply be that clients may have had a brother that hired that person many years ago and offered them the first job. It could be that you used to go to the school where that person taught. 

And likewise, there could be somebody that used to live down the street, they've left the area and come back and they remember them from their childhood. I think that in those rural and remote settings, there are often those connections that pop up and they're really truly special. And what makes working in aged care so rewarding is that there is that unspoken connection that usually happens in those communities. 

Liz  

Yes. So what kind of people or jobseekers out there should think about a career as a support worker for integratedliving?  

Nicole  

As I mentioned before, just some of the traits we value, but ultimately, if you're someone who has had some informal experience helping family or friends in the past, or you simply want to support others in the community to stay at home and be connected to services that will achieve a goal or a career in aged care as a support worker is the way to go. It is just so rewarding.  

Our induction and buddy programs allow individuals who are new to the sector to be assisted by more experienced staff in the field and learn about the role. To be introduced gradually to clients and the types of services we provide, and also how to navigate our technology to support the activities that we perform. 

Nicole  

As we operate in regional, rural and remote communities throughout Queensland, New South Wales, ACT, Victoria and Tasmania, it's really worth visiting our website to review our positions vacant, or even drop us a line under our expressions of interest, as we're always welcoming new inquiries.  

Liz  

Absolutely. And can you tell me how support workers become the lynchpin of our wider care network for our clients?  

Nicole  

Yes. Look, our support workers are the eyes and ears on the ground with our clients. They interact with them, their carers and families each and every day, and they are critical in being the first to know if there are changes occurring for individual clients that may warrant a review of their care or services. 

Some clients might need some additional support, either short term or long term, such as, adding in some transport or shopping. And some might need less services as they see improvements to their health and wellbeing. The list is endless, but it is our support workers who are incredibly talented at watching, listening and asking open questions to better understand what may be occurring before referring to our experienced network of support services internally to seek assistance, if that's required.  

Honestly, the work that, and the care, support, etc, that our support workers provide each and every day is incredible. And we're truly grateful for all that they do in supporting many to stay at home.  

Liz  

Can you just tell us a little bit about that wider care network that makes integratedliving unique alongside the rural, regional, remote focus?  

Nicole  

Absolutely. So the network that I'm talking about is that holistic care. So here at integratedliving we've got access to clinical allied teams. We've got some other special services teams. We've got in-home care as well as virtual care. And there's a host of programs that we can connect others to outside of direct in-home services. We're just a phone call away to be able to assist people with finding out more information. 

And we do regular assessments and check-ins when those needs move up and down as well. So we're really proud that we're able to offer that full suite of care. And that's great comfort to many families that aren't always as close as they would like to be to their loved ones.  

Liz  

So what do you see as the rewards of keeping older Australians in their homes for longer? 

Nicole  

So from a client carer or maybe family member perspective, what we regularly hear back fire our feedback and check-ins is the gratitude and thanks for providing regular support for many within our business. What I mean by this is the appreciation for the care and supports provided by our clinical allied teams and our support workers. Having the depth of skills and experience within our staff enables us to provide that full range of holistic care services, which is of great comfort as today we know many families are dispersed and knowing that such support is in place or can be accessed is extremely valuable and appreciated. 

As an organisation, we are passionate about supporting people in regional, rural and remote communities to achieve their highest quality of life through access to equitable, affordable, timely, safe, responsive and inclusive care and health services in the homes. And we're playing our part in helping many to achieve this goal. 

And that's, again, something we're really proud of and will continue to do for many older Australians. 

Liz  

Nicole, can you give us a brief overview of your job as the Head of Service Delivery at integratedliving. What does that entail exactly?  

Nicole  

Yeah, sure. I'm not sure how I can say this in a few lines, but ultimately I do manage and oversee our support workers in the field to deliver services across all of those communities. And as I said, that goes from Queensland right through to Tasmania. We've got hundreds of staff, so putting in the processes, policies, inductions and check ins for all of them, as well as the managers that are also helping them to move through their work. 

In addition to that, I also oversee the scheduling of all the services for those hundreds of staff each and every day. So that way people can receive that timely care in the home, knowing that I'm only providing the non-clinical type side of services. But definitely a busy role, but one that I'm very proud of. 

Liz  

A very busy role. And what keeps you coming back each day? 

Nicole  

The variety. The people. I consider my role is that I work for the staff that I manage not the other way around. And that's what brings me here every single day. Anything that I can do to improve their day and improve the quality of the service to clients, that's what keeps me coming back each day. 

Liz  

Wonderful. Thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it.  

Nicole  

Lovely, thanks Liz.