Charisma from the agency rang me at the last minute yesterday and instead of my usual rota asked me to do a shift at a different nursing home. When I say ‘asked’ it was kind of in the same way an armed robber would ask for the contents of the bank safe; but other than that I really feel that me and Charisma are starting to bond through these friendly phone calls. I won’t lie, I was a bit nervous about going somewhere else after being at Sunshine Nursing Home for so many weeks. I was just starting to get used to who and where everything was there; and I think they are getting used to me a little too. After the episode with Mrs G and the bath I feel like the carers are starting to see me as one of them, they even allocate me a break now! I think the incident with Mr F and his recycled maltesers also gave me more credibility in the eyes of the carers, but that’s a story for another day, preferably not until long after I’ve got back on the horse and been able to pop a few ch...

I’ve done loads of shifts at Sunshine now; well 7 counting today’s and 12 hours apiece – that equals loads in my book – I almost feel like a permanent member of staff.  After the initial baptism of fire that was my first shift I feel like I’ve taken to it like a duck to water. I’ve ditched the size ten uniform (much to the disgust of Charisma at the agency who ranted about cost), invested in some of that peppermint foot stuff and a new washing up bowl for the foot soaks, and I feel very positive about all the good things I’m doing there. Like today, Mrs G asked me for a bath and it was such a shock because the girls had told me that she hadn’t had a bath since she’d moved in. That’s not to say she’s dirty, she’s forever having a strip wash and you can tell by the soap on a rope she has hanging in her en-suite, that she’s not shy of soap and water. Anyway, it was shortly after lunch and a few of the residents had been helped onto bed rest so it was fairly quiet. I had fin...