Domestic And Laundry Staff

Domestic and laundry staff usually have a different coloured uniform to other staff so they are easily distinguished. They are usually given name badges to wear when they are on duty.

Domestic staff are responsible for keeping all areas of the home clean and tidy and for reporting damaged or broken furniture, etc. They would also be expected to report anything they notice about a resident which might suggest they are unwell.

In most homes laundry staff are responsible for:

• All house laundry.
• The residents’ personal laundry but not their dry cleaning.
• Keeping the laundry areas and linen cupboards clean and tidy.
• Notifying the maintenance officer of machine malfunctions or breakdown.
• Informing the matron if a resident’s clothing needs repairing or replacing.
• Taking the residents’ clean personal laundry round to their rooms providing the items are marked with their name. (If items are unmarked they can stay in the laundry for weeks because nobody knows who they belong to.)

The Maintenance Officer

The maintenance officer can be either male or female so long as they are capable of carrying out the duties required by the proprietor or matron.

They usually wear some kind of protective clothing such as a boiler-suit or coloured warehouse coat.

They are responsible for:

• General maintenance of the home.
• Reporting to the matron any item needing repair.
• Arranging necessary professional help when asked by the matron.
• Carrying out minor repairs.
• Putting up shelves in residents’ rooms if approved by the matron.
• Helping with moving furniture such as beds if necessary.
• Fire drills and testing fire alarms (in some homes).
• Some gardening, such as keeping paths clear of leaves, etc.
• Anything else that is requested by the matron or senior staff, providing it is within their capability and contract. This list is not exhaustive.

The Gardener

Will be responsible for:

• Keeping the gardens neat and well stocked thus providing a pleasant place for residents to sit or walk.
• Planting of bulbs, seeds, plants, etc in accordance with the proprietor’s or the matron’s wishes.
• Mowing lawns.
• Keeping paths and areas for walking free from debris or other hazards.
• Looking after the garden tools and keeping the shed, if there is one, neat and tidy.
• Maintenance of garden furniture and garden tools/machinery and reporting to the matron anything needing repair or replacing.
• Other jobs in the garden as designated by the management or the matron.

Residents’ Visitors

Residents’ visitors can visit within the times stipulated by the matron or the manager. The number of residents who live in the home will determine the approximate number of visitors who come to see them.

All visitors are required to sign in the visitor’s book both when they arrive and when they leave the home. This is to comply with fire regulations.

General Practitioners And Consultants

Doctors visit to make routine checks on their patient’s progress or deterioration or if they are called in by the nursing staff.

Consultants will make domiciliary visits if requested by the doctor.

Hairdresser/Barber

Some homes have their own hairdressing salon and in larger establishments a hairdresser may attend on a part-time basis. In smaller homes a visiting hairdresser will either use the resident’s room or some other designated place to attend to the hairdressing needs of residents.

Nowadays, the ladies’ hairdressers will also attend to men’s hair. This is very useful because it is not always easy to engage a barber to trim the men’s hair for them.

The matron will arrange for a hairdresser to visit regularly, weekly or fortnightly.

Chiropodist

The matron usually arranges for a chiropodist to treat all residents’ feet that need attention. They hold their ‘clinic’ either in a designated place or they will visit residents in their own rooms.

Opticians

If your relative has a problem with their sight ask the matron if you can take them to an optician (if that is practical) or if they can arrange for an optician to make a domiciliary visit to carry out an examination of their eyes.

Vicars, Priests And Other Church Leaders

Church services are held in many homes now. If your relative belonged to an Anglican or Roman Catholic church prior to admission they will almost certainly be able to participate in a suitable ‘church service’ held by an appropriate church leader.

Residents who used to attend a Baptist, Methodist, United Reform, Pentecostal or a church of a different denomination, are usually asked if they would like to participate in an inter-denominational church service. Such services are often held within the home by one of the pastors.

There are organisations, eg PARCHE, which send dedicated Christian volunteers into care homes to organise short inter-denominational services for residents and their visitors. After the service the volunteers usually wander round and talk to the residents before they leave.