Paralympian shares support for Wiltshire Council care staff as more people encouraged to join inspirational teams

British Paralympic swimmer Stephanie Millward MBE DL has taken on a new challenge of highlighting the great work of Wiltshire Council care staff saying they are "superheroes" for the difference they make in people's lives.

Stephanie met with staff from Wiltshire Council Reablement service and Wiltshire Support at Home, gaining an insight into the positive impact of the care provided to people through the services. From helping people make a cup of tea, to having confidence to go outside, the teams provide a range of help and hope to people wanting to be more independent.

Wiltshire Support at Home has just marked its first birthday after being launched in 2021. So far it has provided more than 280 people with short to mid-term care including for people needing additional support when they leave hospital. The service provides care alongside the Wiltshire Council Reablement service which also provides support in people's homes with specially trained social care staff, including occupational therapists and reablement support workers.

Both teams are in need of more staff.

Stephanie is now supporting a campaign to encourage more people to consider working with the teams at Wiltshire Council and to help more people keep their independence for longer.

She said: "I've recently had the opportunity to speak to some of Wiltshire Council's amazing frontline care workers in both the reablement and the Wiltshire Support at Home teams. These teams support so many people in the county to relearn skills they have lost, regain independence and or confidence, and quite often return to the routines they miss having had illness or injury or a long stay in hospital. It was inspirational listening to their stories first hand.

"What was obvious was how small triumphs can make a major difference in someone's life, and they certainly share in the happiness of someone finally being able to take a walk outside or catch a bus to meet friends and family, or just do things independently in their own home again. In my view, these care workers are superheroes. They do incredible work day in, day out which helps bring back independence and quality of life to those who need it. It really is life changing."

Stephanie made a short film (opens new window) about speaking to the teams.

Cllr Jane Davies, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care said: "I want to thank Stephanie for supporting our campaign to encourage more people to consider working for Wiltshire Support at Home and our Reablement Service. Their stories really are inspirational. One year on Wiltshire Support at Home continues to help people take the steps to more independence - as Stephanie says small triumphs can make a major difference. We have great feedback from people who have benefitted from this care and we want to offer it to more people too and for that we need more staff to join us."

Staff who met with Stephanie also shared their own thoughts on their roles.

Esther - Trowbridge reablement team member said: "It's a fantastic job. The reason I work for the reablement team is because I love meeting people, I love our customers, we've got a great team and it's lovely to see them blossom from their discharge from hospital to becoming fully independent."

Denise Wiltshire Support at Home,  said: "I took on this job because I love making a difference in our community. People think it's a lot about personal care but it really isn't it's so much more. Personal care is just a tiny, tiny percentage of what we do we can do all sorts of things it's to help improve people's lives and make them feel confident again."

Chrissie for Wiltshire Support at Home said: "It's the best job I've ever done. It's about watching people independently live in their homes and building their confidence up and no two days are the same.

Claire, team leader at the south reablement team said: "We support customers home from hospital following illness or injury, we're a short term service and really person centred for those people, helping them reach their goals and full potential. Our staff are amazing and we offer a really intense induction programme to make sure they have the skills they need to do all they need to do and provide amazing care."

The staff also were filmed speaking about their roles (opens new window).

For more information people can email- recruitment@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window) or visit Jobs Wiltshire Council (opens new window).