Meet the Shropshire key workers looking after others on Christmas Day
Meet some of the nurses, kitchen staff and plumbers who are giving up their Christmas Day to look after others in Shropshire.
When you sit down for your festive dinner, spare a thought for people like Agnes Makotose, who will be providing care and support for residents at The Sandford, a nursing home in Church Stretton operated by Housing Plus Group.
The 40-year-old, who joined Housing Plus Group in 2022, is a care assistant at The Sandford.
Instead of spending time with her husband and their two sons, Agnes will be assisting residents with their personal care and making sure their needs are met.
Agnes said: “Working in care is more than a career for me, especially here. You get to know each and every person: their needs, their likes and dislikes - it’s more like a second family. The residents appreciate you so much, even if they can’t say it verbally, you can tell by their facial expressions and body language.
“It’s important that the residents know that someone will be there for them, whether their family visits or not. Sometimes family members may not be able to come for Christmas, but they know we’ll be there for their loved ones.
“On Christmas Day we are planning to sing some Christmas carols for the residents, which we’ve been practising, and they’re going to have a Christmas lunch. I will miss my family, but I’m not working on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day, so I will make it up to them and make those days special. Before I joined The Sandford I always worked over Christmas in Zimbabwe, so my family understand that there are people who need me as much as them.”
A number of Housing Plus Group staff will also be ensuring that residents get to enjoy their Christmas dinner on the day, including chef manager Jamie Thompson. He will be serving dinner with all the trimmings at Withywood - an extra care scheme in Shrewsbury.
Instead of opening presents with his two children, Jamie will be putting his own plans aside to ensure 50 residents and their families enjoy their Christmas dinner.
Jamie said: “The prep starts on Christmas Eve, and I’ll be in the kitchen around 5am on Christmas Day.
“Working on Christmas Day is nothing new for me. I did it a lot in my previous job. Many of the residents may not be able to see their family over Christmas so we try to make it as special as we can for them.
“It’s hard being away from my family on Christmas Day, but we will celebrate with each other on Boxing Day.”
Several staff will also be on hand to help in the event of emergencies – including advanced craft plumber Ryan Jones. This will be first year Lee will be on call Christmas Day.
Ryan said: “I’ll be on call, but hopefully it will be a quiet one!
“As an advanced craft trade, we will be called upon to do a bit of everything, whether it’s plumbing, joinery or other stuff as well.
“I’m a big one for spending time with family over Christmas. I’ll be at home with them which I’m looking forward to. But I’ll be there to help people and try to ensure that any disruption to their Christmas plans is kept to a bare minimum.”
