Senior Home Care Assistant Melissa shares the secrets of quality home care

Senior Home Care Assistant Melissa believes that effective communication and empathy are essential for delivering high quality home care services.

Melissa Scott is the Senior Home Care Assistant in Southern Cross Care’s Home Care Victoria team. 

She spends her week helping clients with showering, dressing, transport and shopping, meal preparation and social support. 

The key to quality home care is good communication, according to Melissa, and she said that’s what makes the Home Care Victoria team so good at delivering quality care. 

“The team as a whole is a strong group because I regularly communicate with them and they regularly feel confident to communicate with me,” Melissa explained. 

“If a couple of us are dealing with high needs clients, we're made aware of all the relevant information and therefore we can apply more to the service because we're all across what we need to know to provide the best possible care for these people.”

While Melissa herself has a lot of experience with working in Home Care, all of her team has their own experience working with clients to achieve the best outcomes. 

Melissa said the training and onboarding of Southern Cross Care’s staff goes above and beyond what many other providers would offer. 

“Southern Cross Care really offers up a lot of training options and having a Senior Home Care Assistant, so having myself, heading up the team helps too,” she said. 

“When staff are onboarded I personally do buddy shifts with them and give them a good example to go by, and I'm readily available should they have any questions.” 

The last secret to quality home care is empathy - it’s not just about doing the tasks but also about building relationships with clients.

As Melissa said, staff are personable and don't just walk in the door “like a robot”. 

They’re willing to listen, happy and friendly and show clients they care by engaging them in conversation and building a rapport. 

Carers know it’s important to clients that it doesn’t feel like a stranger is walking in the door and taking over their house. 

And why are staff so passionate about how they deliver the best care? Well Melissa said staff are rewarded by the outcomes too. 

“If we've come in to see a new client and they're really not doing very well and then three months later you come in the door and they're doing a lot more from themselves, they're a lot happier, they achieve more each day - that's what I get rewarded by,” she said. 

“I can see the visible difference and hear the noticeable difference in their demeanour. “

I think the longer that they can remain independent in their own homes the better the prospect of them living a longer life.” 

Get in touch with your local Home Care team today, call 1800 852 772.