Carer with Radfield Home Care in Stamford adds hair-styling to list of skills

A care worker going the extra mile to help elderly people can now add hair-styling to her list of skills.

Lisa Ryan, who works with Stamford-based Radfield Home Care, was called on to provide her first wash and blow-dry.

And despite a minor false-start, her client was satisfied with the second attempt - much to Lisa’s delight.

She said: “During my regular visit to my wonderful client Maureen, she requested that she wanted her hair washed and dried, as her regular hairdresser was unable to visit during the Coronavirus pandemic.

“This may sound like an easy task, but Maureen can’t get her ears wet, so her regular hairdresser kindly dropped off a special tray that Maureen could rest her head on to keep them dry.

“Maureen is an absolute delight to care for, bringing a smile to my face every time I visit. She was very particular about how she wanted her hair blow dried and I didn’t get it right the first time, but after following a very clear set of instructions the second time around, we got it right and she was over the moon with the finished result.”

She added: “What Maureen hadn’t realised was this was the first time I had blow dried anyone else's hair apart from my own, so a real achievement for me too!”

Lisa started working with the company on March 16, just a week before lockdown, so has had a tough introduction to the job.

Her passion is teaching children to swim - a pastime that took her to Swaziland in Africa where she taught 360 orphans.

She said: “My local church first got me involved in supporting the orphanage, and since then I have visited for the last eight years. The children have grown up looking forward to my visits and feel like an extended family to me.”

Radfield Home Care, which offers its elderly clients care in their own homes, was registered by the Care Quality Commission in October 2019.

The company’s registered care manager Karen Nash said: “It’s been great to see how our care team have responded to current events by really going the extra mile for our clients.

“We have been supporting them in all sorts of different ways, including shopping and baking some wonderful cakes, as well as hair styling like Lisa. That’s all on top of our regular support, which includes meal preparation, personal care and assistance with medication.

“I’m immensely proud of Lisa and all of our amazing carers who are working so hard at this time.”

Click here to read more of the latest news