‘I swapped my fashion stylist job to work in a Manchester care home and it was the best thing I’ve done’

It’s fair to say it’s been a challenging two years for care home staff and residents during the pandemic.

Visiting restrictions on people coming into residential homes will only finally be lifted from Monday.

It’s also been a challenge for some homes to recruit and retain enough staff = there are more than 105,000 current vacancies in England’s care sector.

It comes as Plan B measures are eased in England. There will be no limit on the number of visitors allowed at care homes, self-isolation periods will be cut and care homes will only have to follow outbreak management rules for 14 days instead of 28.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched the ‘Made with Care’ recruitment campaign in November 2021 to help fill vacancies across the adult social care sector - they hope more people will consider joining the industry from other sectors.

We visited a care home in Didsbury to speak to Angela Luckett, 62, who worked previously as a personal stylist at John Lewis before she moved into the care industry.

After initially approaching Belong Morris Feinmann care village for volunteer opportunities she soon accepted a position as Experience & Cultural Coordinator, describing care as ‘the most magical, rewarding world to work in.”