Carer walks the extra mile

​Carer Sue Symington has proved she is willing to go the extra mile in her job - by walking that distance to get to an appointment after her car broke down.
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The incident happened after she finished her first visit one morning and she found her car suddenly wouldn’t start.

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Knowing that the next service user did not cope well with change, she decided to walk to get to him rather than have another carer take her place.

Now her dedication has been recognised with a GEM award from Norfolk home care company Extra Hands, the award-winning family-run firm which was set up in 1993.

Mrs Symington, who lives in Lower Southrepps, told how the car breakdown had happened on an autumn day after she started her appointments. 

“I’d been to my first service user, my car was absolutely fine - but then I couldn’t get it to start, it wouldn’t do anything,” she said.

“The gentleman didn’t cope with change very easily, so it was important that I got to him if I could rather than have someone else going that he wasn’t used to.

“So I took the basics that I needed and walked to him.”

Extra Hands, which has an outstanding rating for its Heacham office by the CQC, launched the GEM awards as an opportunity for service users and their families to nominate their favourite carers in recognition of their hard work. 

One nomination for Sue said: “[She] was the person closest to my husband in the final two years of his life, it is a huge comfort to me to know that he wasn’t just her ‘7:30 client’ and that for her, the work she does is obviously so much more than ‘just a job’.

“Her visits were never rushed and her attention to detail made us feel like she was one of the family, and that made dealing with various problems and issues over the two years so much easier.

“On one occasion, Sue went the extra mile in the most literal sense of the term: her car broke down and she walked a mile and a half to keep her appointment with us and not let us down!”

Another letter of nomination also praised Sue for going beyond the call of duty.

“She is always smiling, nothing is too much trouble, she brings help and happiness into my wife’s life with more than special care which helps my wife with her several illnesses,” it said. 

Mrs Symington, 62, used to work as a care manager but in 2014 switched to back to a “grassroots” role with Extra Hands, which provides a variety of home care packages across Norfolk, to suit all requirements and budgets.

This has allowed her more flexibility to spend time with her four grandchildren, who are between six and 16-years-old.

She said one of the most rewarding aspect of the job was the feeling of making a difference to people’s lives, with the range of services offered by Extra Hands including a wellbeing check - the first of its kind in Norfolk - that provides short visits to check up on care users when friends and family are unable to make the visit, giving everyone peace of mind.

“You also learn so much from people - I am a much better gardener now as I get gardening tips all the time, I am a much better florist now as I get tips on how to arrange my flowers, I am a better cook as I gather up recipes,” she said.

“You learn a lot and you hear such fantastic stories - you hear funny stories and you hear incredibly sad stories. But all of that just makes you a richer person.

“It is an absolute pleasure and privilege to have a snapshot of time with people.”

She added that winning the GEM award was particularly appreciated as the nominations come from service users.

“It is nice they take the trouble to do it, for them to take the time is really lovely,” she said.