An in-home disability support worker says she doesn't believe she would ever work for a for-profit care organisation.
Wellington in-home care worker Sharon Callaghan is backing calls for an inquiry into the in-home care model, which advocates have warned is putting people at risk.
Callaghan is self-employed and has three clients with varying needs. She feels people do not realise how demanding and rewarding the work is.
One of her clients is 23-year-old Mirren. She smiles when Callaghan arrives for the morning.
A connective tissue disorder affects Mirren's mobility, restricting how far she can walk and how much she can move. Callaghan said she was on call for Mirren 24/7.
"That aspect of it is quite hard. You might get a message in the night saying 'are you available? There's a crisis'," she said.
Mirren relies on Callaghan to support her health needs, along with housework, administrative tasks, and at times for transportation.
Wellington in-home care worker Sharon Callaghan helps with Mirren's health needs, housework, administrative tasks, and at times transportation. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Mirren's condition means she gets injured easily. During RNZ's visit, Mirren's shoulder dislocates, and Callaghan carefully straps it.
"Honestly, Sharon knows everything about me. Essentially, I know that any need that I have that needs to be taken care of can be taken care of," Mirren said.
"I have someone who I know can be there and doing all of the different range of cares that I need."
Consistent and reliable care was key, particularly given it could be "quite an invasive process", Mirren said.
"Having someone your familiar you're with is really important to managing the stress of the situation and also making you feel as comfortable as possible," she said.
"It makes it feel a lot less alien."
But Mirren knows this is not the case for everyone and has heard stories of people with disabilities who do not receive quality care they can count on.
"A lot of people I've met have had really high turnover with care and have experienced some problems with maintaining professional or high-quality care," she said.
Mirren says consistent and reliable care is crucial. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Te Whatu Ora - Health NZ recently said complaints about in-home care had doubled from 2019 to 2021.
Disability advocates said for-profit care work results in poor training and communication with providers, while staffing shortages force care workers to rush from client to client, and in some cases, they do not show up at all.
Being self-employed means Callaghan can spend quality time with a small number of clients but is aware of problems in the sector.
Asked if she would ever work at a for-profit care organisation, Callaghan replied "I don't think so" then recounted the issues she had seen and heard.
"People not showing up when they were needed to be there, people coming without an understanding of what they were there for, coordination nightmares for the companies themselves," Callaghan said.
"I think I would find it very frustrating."
Callaghan is encouraging more would-be-care workers to join the industry. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
For Callaghan, getting to know clients and seeing them through ups and downs outweighs everything else.
She is encouraging more would-be-care workers to join the industry.
Health Minister Andrew Little has previously said the Health Select Committee would consider whether to have an inquiry into in-home care.
The Home and Community Health Association has said there were issues in care work, but no care organisation was making greater profits than necessary.