Christine is 82, was born in Sheffield, and has been married to her husband since 1965. They have a son, a daughter, grandchildren and a new great-grandchild. She worked in the NHS as a nursing auxiliary, looking after people recovering from strokes, and she loves her radio and her soaps. In her own words, she has “always been one for looking after people.” She was supported by Be Caring Sheffield from February 2025 until October 2026.
Coming home from hospital to a bed upstairs
In November 2024 Christine had a knee replacement. After a period of intermediate care, she came home in February 2025 to a very different routine. A hospital bed was set up upstairs, and two Care Workers visited three times a day to help her move safely, using a rotunda, a turning aid for standing transfers. Looking back, she says: “Oh, I was terrible. I could hardly stand up.”
Losing independence in everyday activities after a hospital stay is common, especially for older people. Recovery starts with the ordinary things: getting out of bed, standing from a chair, walking from one room to another.
What mattered to Christine
A few weeks after she came home, our Care Assessor sat down with Christine to talk about what mattered to her. Her answer was simple: “I would like to be able to get downstairs.” She wanted to spend her days downstairs with her husband. As she put it, “I want to feel like myself again and not have to stay upstairs all the time.”
Our Care Assessor arranged a visit from the therapy team and extra equipment was put in place. Christine already had a stairlift, bought before her operation, which she calls “the best thing I ever bought really.” Before long, our Care Workers were helping her down each morning to spend the day with her husband, and back up at bedtime.
Doing as much as she can for herself
Christine’s own working life played a big part in her recovery. “I looked after people recovering after a stroke,” she says. “And so you look at that and you think, what they can do, I can do.”
Her Care Workers back that determination. Our moving and handling training at Be Caring includes promoting independence, so our Care Workers encourage people to do as much as they safely can for themselves. When one offered to do Christine’s plant pots, she said no thank you, because she likes to do them herself to build strength in her legs.
A year after she started with us, Christine was walking with her Zimmer frame. “I have become more independent and able to walk with my Zimmer frame,” she told us. “I want to carry on walking and get stronger.”
Be Caring is also the first homecare provider in the country to pilot PACC (Physical Activity Clinical Champions), a national programme led by Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre. Our Care Coaches completed the training this spring and are now sharing it with Care Workers across Sheffield, to help the people we support move more at home.
Time for a proper conversation
At Be Caring, our Care Workers are paid for their whole shift rather than by the minute, so they are never rushing from one visit to the next. For Christine, that time has mattered to her husband as much as to her: “They come in the morning, a cheery hello, and shout hello to [my husband], who’s quite a quiet person. So that was good for him as well.”
Back out with her family
As Christine has got stronger, her care has adapted too. She started with two Care Workers three times a day. By October 2026 she no longer needed care, and her package came to an end.
She is getting out again too. She now gets in and out of the house on the steps with her frame. Her daughter has taken her to her grandson’s house to see the new baby: “I loved it, a lovely day.” And the whole family has taken her to the garden centre, one of her favourite places.
Asked whether she feels stronger, she said: “Yeah, much stronger.” Asked whether she would recommend us, she said “Definitely,” and added: “I don’t want to be without them.”
Home care in Sheffield
Be Caring Sheffield supports people whose care is arranged by Sheffield City Council and people who arrange and pay for their own care. We provide private home care across south-east Sheffield, including Mosborough, Beighton, Halfway, Waterthorpe, Sothall, Owlthorpe, Westfield, Hackenthorpe, Frecheville, Birley, High Lane, Ridgeway and Woodhouse. Be Caring Sheffield is rated Good by the CQC for Safe and Well-Led.
To talk about care for yourself, someone you love, or find out more about Be Caring, call our Sheffield team on 0114 478 0047 or email SheffieldOffice@becaring.org.uk.