New Home First support workers receive a warm welcome to #TeamKCHFT
“Day one and things are going great,” is what support worker Sharmin Sultana told us on her first day at work with her new Home First colleagues.
Home First is a KCHFT and Kent County Council joint health and social care partnership service. Sharmin is one of 12 new recruits who has joined our Home First Team, which helps people live independently in their own home after a hospital stay.
New members of our Home First Team
Along with her husband and four-year-old daughter, Sharmin is excited to relocate to Dover from Newcastle, where the family has lived for four years, since moving from Bangladesh.
Home First support worker Sharmin Sultana
Sharmin said: “I’d never been to Kent before and everybody has been so friendly and welcoming.
“I can’t wait to progress my career in the NHS doing something I love: Getting to know people, understanding their lifestyle before being in hospital, and encouraging them to live happy and healthy lives at home.”
Fellow new #TeamKCHFT member Ayokunle Michael Olubode, whose infectious smile spoke volumes about how he was feeling starting his new job, explained why he chose to join our trust: “From applying, to meeting my team leader at interview and now starting as a Home First support worker, I have felt so listened to, valued and inspired.”
Home First support worker Ayokunle Michael Olubode
Ayokunle has lived in Gillingham for two years and is married with a two-year-old son.
He said: “My experience working in mental healthcare means I know how important it is for people leaving hospital to continue to get better in familiar surroundings, like home, supported by loved ones, family and friends.”
Adult Clinical Services Team Manager Karen Thomas leads the multi-disciplinary Home First Team, which is made up of support workers, assessors and administrators, with wrap around support from therapists, nursing and medical staff.
Affectionately known as ‘Ma’ by many of her new recruits over the past year, Karen said: “Our team welcomes, includes and embraces people who have moved. not just from different parts of the UK, but different countries.
“As well as the intensive training and support all employees receive, it’s so important we make Kent a home-from-home; we work with our specialist colleagues to help people put down roots in the county and feel part of our community.
Home First lead and Adult Clinical Services Team Manager Karen Thomas with some of our new Home First support workers
“That’s where my nickname Ma came from – for us to achieve helping some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, I need to be sure my team is not just expertly trained and qualified but also feels happy at work and at home.
“Our profession means we are all caring by nature, but I pride myself on going that extra mile to make sure I give the best care to not just our service users but the people who deliver it too.”
The new cohort of Home First support workers will now complete a two-week induction, before being ‘buddied-up’ with co-workers as they support people in their homes after being discharged from hospital.
Just a one week stay in hospital can lead to 10 per cent less muscle strength, 25 per cent reduced circulation and a decline in dignity, confidence and independence. For patients over 80, 10 days of bed rest can lead to 10 years of muscle ageing.
Since our Home First programme was launched in November 2023, 177 of the 352 people we have helped are now independent.
