Right now, with the coronavirus getting a grip on countries, there are many live-in carers who find themselves displaced. In a ‘normal’ situation an incoming carer returns and the previous live-in carer heads home or to another placement. Unfortunately, the situation right now is not normal. Everything has changed, particularly in the care industry.
If you are lucky enough to be asked to remain with your client, you should accept this as to do so may leave you in an unsafe situation, with no client to move on to and literally nowhere to stay.
What about the carer house?
Most agencies have accommodation where their carers stay during initial training and updates. These houses can accommodate up to thirty inhabitants at a time and are often a godsend for a carer who is ill or out of work, waiting for a new placement.
Why can’t I stay there now?
Technically the agency falls under the category of Bed and Breakfast. You pay a fee for your room and can get breakfast there. There is, in most carer houses, a communal kitchen and several shared bathrooms, along with a general sitting room.
In the very early stages of the coronavirus the government ordered a closure of B&Bs, hotels and guest houses. This was done to prevent the spread of the virus. Agencies had to comply with this closure order or face severe fines.
The closure began on 23rd March in a statement from the Prime Minister, and included hostels, camp sites, B&B’s, hotels and – more importantly for carers – all boarding houses for commercial use. This unfortunately means that any agency had shut their doors to carers who need a place to stay.
While live-in carers can and should be classed as key workers, it becomes a very grey area when dealing with those who have nowhere to stay for any reason.
While most people are sensible and can self-isolate with no issues, most carer houses have rooms with two beds in them and should a person who is infected meet anyone else, the virus would only spread. No matter how good the intentions are to keep a place clean, a communal kitchen is never a safe place, particularly now.
For this reason, agencies will shut the care houses down temporarily until the situation improves. You may also have been told that all further update training has been cancelled for the foreseeable future.
What should I do?
Agencies will tell you that you should keep in touch with them as things change daily, and a placement may come up at any time, so this is important. Although they are very busy right now, they are aware that carers need places to stay and will do their best to find you somewhere.
You may still be able to find Air BnB’s who will accept you at short notice and looking this up on Google will give you an idea of any.
Most live-in carers have become familiar with the several forums and social platforms and this is now a good place to turn to for help if you cannot find a place to stay.
Many forums have now started lists of people who have rooms in a house, or apartment. You should place your name on the list immediately when you know you must leave a client, with nothing further booked. They will spread the word around and it is very likely that you will find a temporary place to stay.
To sum up
If you can possibly stay with your client, then you should do so. You may even consider asking to stay longer with the incoming carer, if there is room in the house. This is the best solution. Talk to the family as they may have a spare room you can use.
If you live in another country, you may want to contact your embassy to see if somehow you can get back home. Many countries have mercy flights to bring their citizens home and this should be an option for you, so be sure to check this out.
Keep in talking to your agency, even if it seems that you are nagging them for work. If you are not infected, they will try their best to find a placement for you.
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