Mental health healthcare assistant role - Ellern Mede

Hi! I'm looking at a career change as I've been working in admin in HE the past 2 years and while it's got a lot of benefits like good holidays and decent pay, I get no job satisfaction from it and have always been interested in mental health work. I've got a job offer from Ellern Mede but I'm hesitant as even though I know I need a change I would be taking a salary drop and lose out on the good holidays + the obvious regular sleep schedule! Plus obviously the job will be tough, long hours, highly stressful but I think I would find it rewarding. Just wondered if anyone has worked for them as a HCA/support worker and what the shifts are like, how you found it etc.?

I did this role in the NHS a few years ago. It was rewarding, but it was a tough job and I felt the pay did not reflect the difficult nature of the role (e.g., long shifts, restraining patients, abuse from patients, lack of time to debrief after incidents, personal care etc). It was also physically demanding and I ended up having to leave because I couldn't keep up due to a physical health problem.

I took the role as a step towards becoming a psychotherapist to gain experience, so it was always going to be temporary for me. I'm glad I did it, as it has given me amazing experience and prepared me for other roles in the field of mental health care. I enjoyed the work for the most part, but there were days I went home crying or injured. It was tough. A lot of the time, I felt more like a prison officer than a support worker, particularly during Covid when patients weren't allowed visitors or leave. But when there was time, I loved doing therapeutic activities with patients, like painting their nails, cooking or doing karaoke.

Happy to answer any questions you might have!