A Closer Look at Ancillary Roles in Social Care

If you were to think of social care jobs, you’d often think of a role in social work, or as a care assistant of some kind. Ancillary roles are roles that aren’t directly involved in the care aspect of social care. However, without these types of roles, the social care structure would suffer immensely. In this article, we’ll look at a few of these roles, and understand what makes them so vital to the care industry. If you’re looking for your first newly qualified social worker jobs it’s well worth understanding how the whole system works.

Cook:

When you first think of any role within a kitchen, you’re likely to associate it with a restaurant or other food related business. However, full time cooks and kitchen assistants are always needed within social care. A lot of service users can no longer cook for themselves, and rely on a support network to get this sustenance. This can be a great opportunity for those who are wanting a career in the kitchen, but might be finding it hard to get experience at demanding restaurants.

Housekeeper/domestic worker:

A lot of people in assisted living communities, or in their own home are not able to keep the clean environment they need. A cleaner can make sure this cleanliness is still available to service users. A well looked after room, living space, bathroom, etc. Can go a long way in helping a service user’s wellbeing. When it comes to elderly service users or those who are severely ill, a clean environment also helps keep an area hygienic and reduces the chance of illness and disease being spread.

Driver/transport manager:

A problem for many service users in social work is the restrictions they find themselves in due to their condition. This often means things they take for granted, such as getting around in a car or a bus, is no longer a viable option for them. This type of role could be running anything from a minibus service, to being part of a volunteer group helping people get to the doctors or other important appointments.

Maintenance roles:

Like many of the other roles talked about in this article, workers in the maintenance sector will often be performing duties that service users can no longer perform themselves. While also dealing with larger issues, often relating to the infrastructure of assisted living facilities. In this sort of maintenance role, you may be directly employed by assisted living facilities, or potentially working from door to door visiting service user’s houses. The latter of these can also help put in place occupational therapy aids to help maximise a service user’s independence.