Long Service Awards: In Conversation with Sharon Lewis

If you missed last week’s staffnet+ news item, we recently celebrated colleagues throughout the Council who have recently hit either 25 or 40-year milestones working for local government.

Those reaching 25 and 40-year service milestones were automatically invited to a session delivered in the Civic Offices by the Chief Executive and Leader to honour the employees for their valued contribution during their time at the Council.

At these sessions, we spoke to several employees to discuss the work that they do and how working at the Vale has changed over the years.

For the first of our conversations, we sat down with Sharon Lewis who has worked for local government for over 30 years, having previously worked for Cardiff, Rhondda, Bridgend and now the Vale of Glamorgan, where she has now worked for over 12 years.

Talking about her career and how it has changed over the years, Sharon said: When I first came to the Vale of Glamorgan, I was made to feel welcome straight away and was invited for tea with the mayor.

 “I’ve always worked in social work. I started by working for 10 years as a care worker, working in different care homes and then I decided to get my qualifications as a social worker, and I remained working in care.”

“The work has changed a lot over the years. When I first started there weren’t many private care homes, it was mostly Council-run homes. It has changed a lot over the years. We don’t have many Council care homes now, it’s mostly private.

“In my job now, I assess people in care homes for funding. I work alongside Health to ensure people get funded support and continued healthcare. So, we look at funding and make sure the residents are safe.

“It's nice to feel that you’ve actually helped people. In my role I’m able to give information and support that they may have not been aware of. I think in our case with the care homes, the residents like that they have nurses and social workers looking after them and checking they’re safe. Not only that but we make sure that all the correct paperwork is done and try to solve problems before they arise.

“I’ve always had respect for older people. It’s about treating older people how I would want to be treated. Making sure they’re always cared for and treated with dignity and respect.”

The past few years have been difficult for many industries. The Covid pandemic presented challenges for many workers throughout the County, none more so than health & care workers. Sharon reflected on this period of her work:

“Working in care has been tough over the last few years, working through the Covid pandemic, when everything was shut down. We found it very difficult. A lot of residents, unfortunately, passed away.

“I couldn’t go into the care homes at the time so I had to ring the care homes multiple times a week, try to make sure they all go the PPE they needed and check on the residents. It was emotionally tough because you’d known a lot of the residents for many years. Seeing the change people have gone through when they’ve been unable to see their families. There are still some elements that remain shut down since Covid.”

The long-service awards presented an opportunity for employees to reflect on years gone by. The session included food and drink and a quiz.

“I wasn’t sure about coming to the long-service awards to be honest, I thought it would be really formal, but I’m glad that I did.

“This is the first time that I feel really recognised and have received something like this, even receiving a gift. I was really surprised when I got the email to say this was happening and it’s really nice to be recognised. The Vale has been the only one to do that.”