Swapping the oil rigs of Aberdeen for a lifelong dream of delivering care in Woking
25-year-old Katie Stewart used to live and work – often for months at a time – off the coast of Aberdeen, on a North Sea oil rig. The community-minded caregiver has now put down roots, relocating to live with her partner and realising a lifelong dream of working in in-home care. In her new role as Senior Caregiver for Visiting Angels – a care company based in Woking – Katie will be delivering in-home care and support to the elderly and vulnerable living across Guildford, Weybridge, Woking and the surrounding villages.
Caring for others comes naturally to Katie. Having previously volunteered by providing relief to poor communities in Ghana, Katie feels passionately about giving back to those who can’t always help themselves.
“I just find taking care of others so rewarding – whether that’s in the capacity of my new role, in my personal life or in my previous endeavours,” explained Katie. “Before the pandemic, I spent time volunteering overseas, building school buildings and teaching children English. It really opened my eyes to the impact I can have on others through putting my caring nature into action. In reality, you could say that my entire career has been spent caring for others in some capacity.”
For more than six years, Katie worked as part of the hospitality crew on an oil rig just off the shore of her home city of Aberdeen – during her on-shore breaks, she would work part-time as a caregiver. Although the variety and fast-paced atmosphere of the oil rigs brought Katie a sense of excitement, it was the caring element of her role back on shore that resonated with her.
“I soon realised that my true calling was working in the social care sector. When my partner and I relocated from Aberdeen down to Feltham earlier this year, I left behind my role on the oil rig and began looking for something more rewarding, that would make full use of my caring nature and my need to look out for others. That’s when I came across Visiting Angels. I instantly fell in love with the ethos of the company – John Madete, the Managing Director, is obviously as dedicated as I am to delivering quality, professional and personalised care to those that really need the support.
“But another huge part of why I wanted to join Visiting Angels is the sense of community amongst the team. John puts his caregiver at the centre of the business, which has such a positive impact on the level of care that is ultimately delivered. Having previously worked in the middle of the North Sea for weeks at a time, I’m really revelling in making lifelong friends and building relationships with my clients. At Visiting Angels, one of our main commitments to our clients is that, where possible, we send the same caregivers to every visit – so, despite the fact that I’ve only been working with John and the team for a few weeks, I’ve already established a great connection with all of my clients,” added Katie.
John, who launched Visiting Angels in Central Surrey last July, is proud to welcome such a dedicated and professional person to his team.
“I’m elated to see wonderful people like Katie joining us in our mission here at Visiting Angels. We strive for nothing less than perfection when it comes to our standard of delivering quality in-home care and I know Katie is the perfect person to help us drive this forward. Our plan for the rest of this year, with Katie’s support, is to introduce live-in care packages and to recruit the caregivers needed to facilitate this. Although Katie came to us with some social care experience, that isn’t necessarily a prerequisite for a career in care. As long as you have a caring, can-do attitude, then you could be the perfect person to join our team,” said John.
Visiting Angels is hosting a ‘Meet the Team’ day at St Andrews Church Coffee Lounge, Goldsworth Park, Woking from 11 am until 4pm on Friday 25th of March so that everyone can find out more about a career in care and the brand whose mission is to redefine the role of carers in society and, by so doing deliver a new standard of person- centred care and support in the local community.
For more information, visit www.visiting-angels.co.uk/centralsurrey or call 01483 931934