Bright Care hires 79-year-old care worker

Jessie Anderson has an unusual characteristic which distinguishes her from the ranks of dedicated carers working for Scottish domiciliary care specialist Bright Care - she is older than many of the clients she looks after.

At 79, Jessie, from Dalkeith, near Edinburgh, is proof that age is no barrier to providing a caring service which helps Bright Care clients to maintain an independent lifestyle within their own homes.

Jessie, who looks after her charges in Balerno, Juniper Green, Morningside and Corstorphine, said: “I regard myself as being very, very fortunate. I have my good health, my little car and I can spend my days doing a little bit of good.”

Before joining Bright Care in February this year, Jessie was a housekeeper at the Abbeyfield Home in Dalkeith, where she catered for the needs of residents for 13 years, before retiring three years ago.

She said: “Most of my family are down south or abroad and when I retired from Abbeyfield I still needed something worthwhile to do. I went to stay with my daughter for four months in America, but when I returned, I still needed a mission.

“I tried volunteering at the hospital - I even passed my exams and my disclosure, but no one got back to me. Then I heard about Bright Care and I decided that I would offer my services there, despite my age.

“They could not have been nicer. They asked if I kept well and if I had my own car. They were very understanding when I said that I could not do heavy lifting, but that I could undertake light chores such as ironing.”

Jessie now has a large number of clients who look forward to her regular visits: “I do small household tasks which they find a bit difficult, but often I just listen to them chat - and I get my tuppenceworth in as well.”