What happened when I joined staff on a shift with Jewish Care? - The Jewish Chronicle

My shift began with the staff handover meeting at 7.30am. The team shared essential information about each resident’s wellbeing and holistic needs with warmth, compassion and clinical insight.

Together, the team brings decades of experience and expertise in providing care. This was evident throughout personalised handovers for each resident, including how they slept, when they last received their medication, whose care plan needed updating, who is ready to start their day and who had a restless night and might need more rest.

My day included meeting and helping out with our residents and their daily needs. Many were already up and dressed, clearly taking great pride in their appearance, some of them looking as if they were ready for shul.

The staff are like family to the residents, enabling them to feel safe and cared for, and catering to people’s personal preferences – they know who likes a bit more butter on their toast or a bit more jam. I was humbled by the calm, helpful and positive energy they bring to those they care for, and the passion they have for their work.

It was a pleasure to sit with 97-year-old Doreen Reindorp and Betty Escane, 92, and assist with making their breakfast.

Marcus Sperber with Doreen Raindorp (Photo: Mike Stone)[Missing Credit]

Doreen told me she used to live near Salford. She has four children and 11 grandchildren, who are very supportive of her. She used to work as a seamstress and a shop assistant, where she loved chatting to customers. This was evident as she is a wonderful conversationalist and has a great sense of humour.

Betty was evacuated to Cornwall and went to school in St Austell. I often go there for holidays and we compared notes. She worked in womenswear in a department store in London and later became a full-time mum. She proudly confided that her late husband worked in the film industry. Her son, Mark, calls to say good morning and to check in with his mum.

I was privileged to be there when Rabbi Junik, our pastoral and spiritual lead, comes round for a pastoral visit. His presence in the care home creates a ripple of positivity.

Each resident’s life story is shared by families with staff so they can understand their past, and each room has a display box outside with photos and objects highlighting their rich histories and range of life experiences for us to learn from and be inspired by.

Marjorie Don, 94, has the scales of justice on her door. She received her history degree and passed her bar exams before raising three daughters while volunteering at Hendon Citizens Advice and later becoming a lay magistrate and full-time chair of Industrial Tribunals in London. She travelled the world with her late husband, visiting her seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Lheila, social coordinator, Doreen, and Marcus Sperber (Photo: Mike Stone)[Missing Credit]

It was an incredible morning, and after seeing first hand the professionalism and compassionate care that our staff provide 24/7 across our care services, I feel an even deeper sense of pride and responsibility in being involved in Jewish Care’s critical work – giving older people in our community the dignity and respect they deserve in the later years of their life.

It was a privilege to work alongside our staff, who represent 54 nationalities and are of all faiths and none, and our dedicated volunteers. I am so grateful and proud that with the support of the community, despite the financial pressures, we align our pay with the London Living Wage to retain and value the exceptional people who make it possible for us to provide excellent care for those in our community and their families, who rely on us.

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Jewish Care