In coversation with Jen, Care & Support Manager

Jen is part of the Draycott Nursing & Care team at Auriens Chelsea, working alongside Andrew and colleagues across wellbeing, fitness and the kitchen. Her work often begins before a resident has even moved in, with conversations that establish who they are, how they like to live and what matters most to them. The aim is not to anticipate problems, but to understand the person well enough that, should support ever be wanted, it fits naturally into the life they already lead.

Q. You’ve worked in care before joining Auriens. Has that changed the way you think about support?
That it means something different to everyone. Two people of the same age, in similar health, can want entirely different things from their day. So support has to start with the individual: their routines, their history, their preferences, the things they would never want to give up. If you begin with what someone might need help with, you've started in the wrong place.

Q. There can be a perception that moving somewhere with support available means that support suddenly becomes part of your everyday life. Is that the case here at Auriens?
Not at all. Support is there if and when someone wants it, and the decision always rests with them. Some residents never draw on it at all. Others might want a little more help for a period, then very little again. What matters is that we respond to the person as they are, rather than to an idea of what they ought to need.

Q. What does support look like when it is wanted?
Often it's far simpler than people expect. A conversation, a quick message to see how someone is, or help with one small thing that has been making the day harder than it should be. One resident told me that simply knowing I would check in gave them a real sense of reassurance. It wasn't the help itself so much as knowing it was there.

Q. How do you decide when to help and when to hold back?
That comes from trust, and trust takes time. When someone is new, I make a point of getting to know their rhythm: when they like their mornings to themselves, what they're happy to talk about, what they would rather handle alone. The better you know someone, the more instinctive it becomes. Knowing when to step back is just as important as knowing when to step in.

Q. What happens when a couple need different things?
This is where treating people as individuals really matters. One partner may want more support while the other remains entirely independent, and there is no reason they should have to make the same choices. We support each person as they wish to be supported, so that neither has to change how they live, and the balance of their life together stays their own.

Q. What do you think people misunderstand most about accepting help?
That it's a step away from independence. In my experience it's often the opposite. If a little help with one thing allows someone to keep doing the things they love, that support has given something back. It protects the life they've chosen.

Q. You work alongside quite a few different teams at Auriens. Does that make a difference?
Definitely. Concierge, hospitality, wellbeing and Draycott all work together, rather than separately.
That means we get to know residents from different perspectives and can share that understanding if something changes. For residents and their families, there is reassurance in knowing that there is already a trusted team around them.

Q. And outside work, what do you enjoy?
I love cooking, particularly recreating dishes I've discovered while travelling. I took up cycling last year and have since ridden in charity events for the British Heart Foundation and Macmillan. And I love to travel. A trip around the Philippines shortly before Covid has stayed with me: the islands, the beaches and that extraordinary turquoise sea.