Care home staff are heroes and not just at Christmas but every single day of the year because without them there would be no care.
“At the end of the day we are in care because we care,” said Senior Care Practitioner Vicky Williams who has volunteered to work on Christmas Day at the Highfield Care Home, part of the Pendine Park organisation, in Wrexham.
It will be the first time the 37-year-old has worked on Christmas Day and is really looking forward to the experience.
“I’ll be wearing a Christmas jumper, we’ll be singing carols, there are always Christmas carols which we all love to sing and dance to.
“I’m absolutely looking forward to it. A typical day at Highfield is always busy, fun and extremely rewarding. No two days are ever the same,” she said.
Highfield is registered to provide round the clock general nursing and complex care to adults of all ages by a highly qualified team of Registered Nurses, Clinical Care Practitioners and Care Practitioners.
Vicky started working at Highfield three years ago having never worked in care before. Her previous role was in retail where she worked for more 15 years.
“The atmosphere at Highfield is really lovely and it steps up a gear at Christmas. All the staff work really hard to make it special for the residents. We decorate the house and there are lots of lights, lots of cards and of course a tree.
“Father Christmas has already been round. He came when we were just finishing decorating the tree and when we switched on the lights,” she added.
Highfield is home to around 60 people and Vicky will start work on Christmas Day at about 7am and her first task will be to help the residents with their morning routine.
“They’ll get up, have their breakfast and we’ll put them in their Christmas outfits. It’s going to be a fun morning. I’ll be dressed up and that will make them smile. That’s what I do. At Halloween I was dressed up as a witch. I don’t care what I look like as long as it makes them happy.”
“Then we’ll have Christmas lunch of turkey and all the trimmings and crackers.”
“As staff we are all going to work much more to ensure the residents stay in touch with their family and friends as much as possible through this very unusual time.
“The technology available is a great help of course but there’s nothing to beat a hug and a kiss on the cheek is there. I look forward to the day they can enjoy that again.” said Vicky.
Vicky said the biggest challenge for her at Christmas is being a single mum to her teenage son, Shaun.
“I sat him down and told him I was thinking of working on Christmas Day because I’m a single parent and asked him what do you think.
“And he said “Mam, I understand. Go and do it”. For a sixteen-year-old he’s amazing,” said Vicky.
Vicky will head off home for Christmas lunch at about 2.30pm. She’ll spend the rest of the day with her son and her brother, also called Shaun, who is heading home to Wrexham from Gibraltar.
“I haven’t seen him for two years so it will be a really special time for us as a family. He’s getting married next year in Gibraltar and we’re all planning to head out there for the celebrations,” she said.
The hard work and effort put in by Vicky and her colleagues at Highfield is much appreciated by the manager, Tracey .
She said; “This year has been like no other, but one thing that’s not going to change is our teams will be pulling out all the stops to make sure our residents have an amazing Christmas.
“Vicky’s enthusiasm for the job at Highfield is really wonderful to see. She’s the type of person that lights up a room. She’s like a bundle of happiness.
“She is one of the happiest people I know – Vicky is our very own Christmas cracker.”
