workforce
Thanks for caring
Celebrating the unsung heroes of aged care .
By Conor Burke
Aged Care Employee Day for 2020
took place in August , and while every day of every year should be used to appreciate aged care workers around Australia , this year more than ever we should take a minute to stop and thank them .
Thank you . Thank you for the oftenthankless work you do . Often in tough circumstances and , more recently , under the intense stare of the media .
Aged Care Insite took the opportunity to speak with some of the workers who make aged care facilities in Australia run smoothly . Below are edited versions of the conversations we had .
MICHAEL ORCHARD : HEAD CHEF AT UNITING ANNESLEY , HABERFIELD , SYDNEY I ’ ve been in [ Uniting Annesley ] for 12 years , and I started in aged care back in Perth 16 years ago .
We start at about six o ’ clock in the morning , and most days deliveries are fairly early in the morning .
The very first thing I do is to take a look at the temperature of the fridge , the
26 agedcareinsite . com . au freezers . I make sure everything ’ s okay and then I plan my day . I work out what I ’ ve got to do , what ’ s the menu , and I just work out the order I ’ m going to prepare things .
Breakfast is made , morning teas are baked , lunch is prepared . I do the evening meal . We do cook-chill for the afternoon meals mostly , so they ’ re prepared as well .
We do service . We have individual homes that have little kitchenettes , and I help in one of those homes , the biggest one . Then
Chef Michael Orchard in his Kitchen . Photo : supplied
we come back . I finish some ordering , cleaning . If I do any extra jobs , or anything that anybody needs , I usually fix that after lunch , and then I go home at 2:00 pm . At Annesley we ’ re aged care and mental health which is very unique . And a lot of their tastes are different . I think the medication does affect the appetite . From all the different facilities I ’ ve cooked in , the residents here are the biggest eaters .