Tom Traynor

Tom is a Social Care Worker with Dundee City Council's Intensive Care At Home - Rapid Response Team. This means he is one of 130 staff across six services which help free up hospital beds by caring for people in their own homes.

"It's about helping people get their independence back after being ill or in hospital," Tom explains.

His daily work involves helping people around the home with personal care duties such as washing and dressing, encouraging patients who may be recovering from an operation to do as much as they can themselves and helping them to rebuild their strength and confidence.

"It's amazing how people lose their confidence after they've had an operation," Tom says. "We go to them to help build their confidence back up, but encourage them to do as much as possible themselves. You get a lot of joy from seeing people get their confidence back, it's quite rewarding that way."

Tom didn't require specific care qualifications when he started his post, but attended an intensive induction programme provided by the council. He went on to complete an SVQ 2 qualification in care, which is a requirement for all social care staff at Dundee City Council within two years of starting work. Tom also receives regular on-the-job training support.