Jenny Ditch

My day usually begins at about 6am: getting two kids off to school and ensuring that three cats and a dog are fed and walked can be quite a handful – and can sometimes prove more demanding than the day ahead!

I try to arrive at the office by about 8.45, to have a bit of ‘thinking time’ and a coffee before the service managers and office staff get there – once they arrive, everything takes off! After checking my emails (today there seem to be a lot of cakes in the upstairs kitchen!), I check my diary for what’s in store for the day ahead.

My day is never set in stone and rarely goes to plan, no matter how many lists or how many attempts at organisation are made beforehand. With a total of 300 staff, 27 services and 89 service users, the working day is unpredictable so being able to adapt to change and take on different roles throughout the day is a necessity. One minute I could be dealing with a personal problem from a member of staff, the next I could be dealing with a disciplinary (or more serious) matter such as unhappy neighbours or relatives, or a social worker wishing to meet to discuss a service.

I’m then off to a meeting with social services to discuss a service user who is moving into a vacancy. All the services are contracted with Essex County Council so it’s important to meet with social services on a regular basis.

My service managers will inform me of any changes regarding contracted hours and any other changes within the services, and I speak regularly with care managers and commissioners to update them and work with them to ensure each service receives the best of care. Directly I line-manage four service managers, a specialist practitioner and an office manager, but throughout the day I have phone calls or visits from staff wishing to have a chat with me about something, whether it be advice or agency authorisation.

I have an excellent team, and we all have a good sense of humour which helps us through the day’s events – including Kevin’s wheel hubs disappearing for a day before being returned by the fairies! At the same time we all want the same thing: the best for each service user – and that’s what makes us a good team.

I usually have deadlines to meet, and reports that have to be delivered on time. I have to say my line manager (James) is pretty good and does not hassle me too much, unless he is stressed himself, which I can always tell by the tone of his emails!

As a regional, linking in and working with other departments at head office is always part of the day. Invoices have to be checked and budgets worked within. I often call and discuss issues and advice with the regionals in the other areas: when I feel I’m going insane this helps as I know that they’re going through the same, and I feel normal again.

If possible, I will take time out to go and visit a service, say hello to the staff and most importantly see how happy and content the service users are living in their own home. Many have lived in long-term institutions most of their life and to see them now having choice and quality in their life makes it all worthwhile. Having a ‘manager’ visit the service also gives the support workers a boost, and it helps for them to see that we are human and don’t just give out orders or send memos!

Finally I check on my emails and tick off anything done on the ‘to do’ list (not much usually as other things have cropped up). I leave at about 5, and am soon home with the kids, dog and cats for another round of cooking, washing, football clubs and dealing with teenage boyfriends (my daughters’ incidentally, not mine).

Someone asked me the other day if I enjoyed my job: the answer was yes, I do. I thought about it afterwards and realised that even through all the hard work that is involved, sometimes I forget how much I do enjoy it and why, and how much I always look forward to another day.