Meet our team, Domiciliary Care Manager, Abi Jessop

Caring wasn’t the first career I considered. For my work experience, I went to a neonatal unit at our local hospital. Then after I’d finished school, I went to work at a Christian school in Italy. I enjoyed the experience but I knew working with children full-time wasn’t for me.

I then worked at the bookshop and coffee shop for my church, Dewsbury Gospel Church. I really enjoyed interacting with all the older customers.

When I was growing up, my mum did bank shifts in a care home and sometimes I’d go in. There was one lady called Lottie who had grey curly hair and a twinkle in her eye. She always used to give me sweets and ask what I’d been up to. We also used to visit the care home as a school and sing.

My Christian faith has always been important to me. I grew up in a Christian family and attended a Christian school, The Branch School in Dewsbury, which was set up by local Christian parents. It’s lovely that I do something I love in a Christian environment.

All my training has come from Pilgrims’ Friend Society. I’ve gained my NVQs and diploma in health and social care. For many years I worked with Georgina Lansdell, who used to be Domiciliary Care Manager. I learnt a lot from her and I progressed from Carer to Senior Carer to Team Leader and now to Domiciliary Care Manager myself.

When I first started, I was nervous. Supporting someone to have a shower can feel like a big thing. But the more I did it the more confident I became with things like moving and handling and personal care.

One thing I like most about my job is the way we can be a family. Some of those who come to live with us don’t have much family, or their family are very far away. For birthdays, for example, I’ll help to organise a little party, with a cake.

I’ll always keep an eye out for events we could put on. We recently had a Macmillan coffee morning and coming up we have a Dancing for Dignity event, part of the campaign Dignity in Care.

At Pilgrim Care we have a small, close staff team. Caring can be a challenging role and as a manager I always try to empathise with anything my team might be struggling with and support them.

In her spare time, Abi likes to:

Unwind with a massage: “I’ll go to the local beauticians or for a real treat I’ll go with friends to a local country manor where you can have a massage, swim and sauna.”

Go for walks in the countryside: “I’m not the kind of person to just sit around at home. I like to be out in the fresh air.”

Take off with the campervan: “My husband, Gary, is doing up a campervan. We love visiting the Lake District or Wales.”