Our carers are the heart and soul of our organisation and it is one of our top priorities to keep them and our clients safe. Even when we are not in a global pandemic, we want to make sure that our staff and clients are protected. Therefore, we kit our carers out with ‘care bags’ with all the stuff they need to keep them safe on the job. We thought it would be good for anyone looking for care to know exactly what our carers have with them on the job. So here is the list:
Disposable Gloves
Of course, disposable gloves are a must for carers, they keep personal care safe; they are vital in infection control and general hygiene. Following CQC regulations, we only use nitrile gloves as they are the safest gloves to use because they are more sterile and there is a less risk of an allergic reaction compared to latex gloves.
Even outside of the COVID era, we must have these gloves for infection control purposes. However, through a pandemic, our carers must wear them throughout the call due to the increased risk caused by the dramatic spread of the virus.
Disposable Aprons
Another absolute must for the care bag is disposable aprons, the barrier that prevents carers carrying infection on their uniform. During this pandemic, our carers have had to wear aprons throughout the call to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Usually, they would only require aprons through personal care to prevent any contamination of their uniform.
Hand Sanitiser
Something we have all become very familiar with this past year is alcohol sanitiser, it has always been a staple of our carer bags and has come in especially essential since early last year. Our carers are required to regularly wash and sanitise their hands before and after entering a call and throughout the call where needed and in regular intervals.
Face Masks
Everybody’s new best friend, face masks have always been optional kit for our carers however they soon became essential early last year. They are a front-line defence against COVID-19.
Disinfectant Wipes
Wipes were something we always suggested but the need for them to be included was necessary to ensure absolute infection control even within our carer’s vehicles, between calls our carers wipe down their cars so they are sure they are not carrying any virus between clients.
Our carers have our full permission to add any bits to their kit that they feel is necessary, for example: a couple of our carers carry a pad and pen in their bag to jot notes down between their calls, they can add handheld torches, an extra top, etc.
The care bag is, in our opinion, a vital thing to have for any domiciliary carer to have in their car, it keeps their PPE and other kit organised and handy for whenever they need it.