Neil | Faces of Futures

Neil, Senior Support Worker, Kinloss Park and Houston Court Learning Disabilities Services, Cupar 

My name is Neil McLaughlin and I am a Senior Support Worker at Hillcrest Futures’ Houston Court and Kinloss Park services in Cupar. I first started working with Hillcrest as a Support Worker at Houston Court in July 2014.

I support people with a wide range of different support needs. Some of this might be quite routine stuff like support with medication, health, meals etc but which is vitally important in allowing people to remain in their own tenancies and maintain their independence. We support people to access services in the community such as various clubs and groups, and voluntary work which can help improve mental health, wellbeing and tackle social isolation. We have also supported individuals to go on numerous trips and holidays which have been a great success and have given people something to look forward to and memories to look back on.

The specialism I work in is Autism. I chose this specifically because we have had a number of people we support who are on the Autism spectrum and it is an area I have always found interesting.

There have been a lot of changes and challenges within social care in general in recent years, but I believe Hillcrest Futures has adapted well to these and remains a good organisation to work for. Communication within the organisation is strong with staff reps meetings being a good example of this. Changes to structures within Hillcrest Futures has meant that our services are now involved with some of the Edinburgh services which has allowed us to meet other staff members and share knowledge. Since I joined Hillcrest, I have been given the opportunity to attend varied training and take on more responsibility within the service before being successful in applying for the Senior Support Worker role last year. I am also now doing a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) qualification relevant to my senior role.

My advice for future candidates is that previous experience is always handy, but not always essential as common sense, empathy and good communication skills are just as important. For those considering a career in social care I would say it can be hard work at times but also can be very rewarding. Even with the challenges facing the sector there will always be opportunities within social care which can provide not only the chance to further a career in care, but also to gain valuable experience which could come in handy if considering other professions in the future such as nursing or social work.

Hillcrest Futures supports a work-life balance for employees with benefits such as a generous annual leave entitlement, with staff being encouraged at our services to take annual leave at regular intervals so we are getting a break and the opportunity to rest. Staff can also buy and sell annual leave if they need more flexibility. Staff can also access free healthcare services including counselling and mental health support, and there are also trained mental health first aiders who can support staff if necessary.

A few years ago, I left the Houston Court service as I moved back to Glasgow where I continued to work for Hillcrest Futures in a homeless service. After a year I decided to move back to Fife and managed to get a job at the Houston Court service again. It was really good coming back to the service after the year away and catching up with all the supported individuals and seeing how they had progressed and what was new in their lives.

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