A WELSH care agency is welcoming the recent news that healthcare staff from Wales are being recruited to take part in the next phase of the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine trial.
Five hundred Welsh healthcare staff from the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area will participate in the trial.
Caroline Jones, Regional Manager at Abacare, which has offices in Ebbw Vale, said: “It is fantastic to see the people of Wales playing a vital role in the national trial for a coronavirus vaccine.
“The volunteers taking part in the trial will be staff over the age of 18 who work within the health and care settings, including hospitals, GP practices, pharmacy, physiotherapy and community care roles, much like ours. If any of our staff wish to volunteer for the trial, they will have our full support.
“Research like this is absolutely vital as the impact of Covid-19 has been huge. Adult social care services, including companies like ours, which provide care to elderly and vulnerable individuals in their own homes, are at the frontline and, while we’re coping well, a vaccine that will develop immunity against the virus and thus prevent the disease is crucial.
“Services like ours are alleviating additional pressures on the NHS and its resources, which have been tested to the limit recently. Our role is to maintain people’s health in the comfort of their own homes and to keep them safe.”
The trial, co-ordinated by Health and Care Research Wales, is a collaboration between Public Health Wales, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board and the Centre for Trials Research at Cardiff University. It is sponsored by the University of Oxford and funded by CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) UK Research and Innovation.
The aim is to find a safe vaccine that will develop immunity against the virus. The study aims to recruit 10,000 participants overall. Other participating sites include Southampton, St George’s, Imperial, Bristol and Oxford.
Half of the volunteers will be between 18 and 55-years-old and the other half will be 55 to 70-years-old.
Due to the current pandemic, Abacare needs to boost its team numbers immediately, so it can continue to protect its service users and the NHS.
It is calling on anyone who is currently fit and healthy but unable to work, following business closures and restrictions, to sign up for a care role and to help in their own communities.
Abacare can offer full training and paid work immediately to anyone willing to become a professional home carer in Wales.
Caroline added: “We’re urging anyone who needs work and feels they can help us to get in touch immediately. If you’ve previously had a customer-facing role, then you’ll have transferrable skills and we can give you full, professional training too. You will be doing invaluable work supporting those most in need, while, also, protecting the NHS. We have had hairdressers, dry liners and even chefs who are no longer able to work, transfer their skills to us.”
Abacare is urging anyone who needs full-time or part-time, flexible paid work and who has recently been made redundant or laid-off, or who is looking for work for other reasons, to get in touch for an interview.
Neil continued: “We’ll do Skype or Facetime interviews, so you don’t have to leave home unnecessarily. If you are fit and well and want to make a real difference to people’s lives and wish to support the NHS during this crisis, we can train you quickly.
“Anyone interested should contact their local branch and details of these can be found at https://abacare.org.uk/contact-us/. Our office team will be able to have a chat with you and they will be able to set up interviews via Skype or Facetime to talk you through everything. They can also find out more information about job vacancies at www.indeed.com/cmp/Abacare.
“We will be able to provide our free, full training on a fast-track basis to make sure everyone we take on is ready. This includes a company induction, first aid, information on dementia, health and safety, food safety, infection control, handling medication and moving and handling service users, with the opportunity to achieve Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) after the initial three months probationary period. The Government has also taken steps to ensure a quicker turnaround on DBS checks, so we can get people into work even quicker.
“New recruits are given free uniforms, access to national staff discount scheme for all major brands as well as 28 days paid holiday, paid travel between calls and paid mileage.”
Abacare operates a professional Care Management Team that is committed to providing high quality care to individuals in their own homes.
The large team of trained, specialist, care workers provide positive based outcomes and person-centred care to people throughout the UK.
Abacare’s core values, instilled into every staff member, include ‘make us proud’, ‘focus on our service users’ wellbeing’, ‘communicate, listen well and speak with respect’, ‘be passionate, honest, caring and considerate’, ‘recruit and develop the very best’ and ‘lead by example’.
It believes it offers inspiring work for inspirational people as well as a flexible and supported working environment.
Abacare is a member of the United Kingdom Homecare Association, Ceretas (formerly British Association of Domiciliary Care), The National Homecare Council and The Information Commissioners Office (Data Protection). It is also registered with the Care Inspectorate Wales.
For more information or to enquire about a position at Abacare, please call 01495 781594, visit www.abacare.org.uk or www.indeed.com/cmp/Abacare. Alternatively, please follow the company on Facebook at http://bit.ly/2SN9t0e or on Twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/visitabacare.
