Norfolk carer celebrates decade at ‘friendly’ firm

The manager at a Norfolk care provider likes working for the ‘friendly’ company so much that she has recently celebrated a decade there.

Hayley Claxton previously worked in a horticultural nursery before changing direction and taking a job in a nursing home.

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“Although I loved care work, I didn’t enjoy being indoors all day after being outside at the nursery, so I thought I’d do home care instead. The job at Extra Hands came up, and I started on my birthday in June 2013. It’s a lovely, small company to work for, and very friendly – everyone knows who everyone is.”

Having found her calling, Miss Claxton worked her way up through the ranks at Extra Hands, moving from her initial carer post to the rapid response team, and then to a co-ordinator role, before finally taking on the position of manager and then regional manager.

“After a year of being a carer, a position for a rapid response carer came up, so I applied for that and was lucky enough to be given the job,” she said.

“As well as getting to know regulars, I quite like going to meet new people, so I enjoyed the variety of the role, and would probably still be doing that if the co-ordinator role hadn’t become available. I did that for about three years, then things changed in the office and they were looking for a manager.”

“I was trainee manager for 18 months, then became manager of the Broadland office in Horsham St Faith,” she continued.

“Now I’m manager of both the Broadland and Heacham offices and spend half a week at each. It’s a very challenging role, and you never know what the day will bring you, but I just enjoy helping people and ensuring that they’re receiving the best possible care and support. It’s incredibly rewarding.”

The 46-year-old from Cromer has seen many changes in her 10 years at Extra Hands, which now employs around 130 carers to look after some 400 service-users.

“Going from having paper timesheets to digital care plans in the last few years has probably been the biggest change,” she added. “When I first started, if you visited someone for the first time, you had to find their paper care plan in the house and read up on them and their needs.

“Now everyone involved has instant access to the digital care plan, and we’ve really got a finger on the pulse of what’s happening at all times.”

Miss Claxton celebrated her milestone anniversary – and birthday – with a Coast Hopper trip, and the occasion was also marked by her colleagues at Extra Hands.

“I received a wonderful bouquet and a gift voucher, I’d just like to say thank you to all the Extra Hands team – they’re a wonderful bunch to work with.”