[H]RESIDENTS HIT BY ECONOMIC FALLOUT FROM VIRUS ASKED TO JOIN ARMY OF TEMPORARY WORKERS ASSISTING SOCIAL CARE SERVICES[.H2]

CASH-STRAPPED residents in Atherstone and district who "love helping others" have been sent an SOS recruitment call to join an army of support workers helping the vulnerable to navigate the coronavirus 'theatre of war'.

A North Warwickshire-wide plea has gone out to workers directly hit in the pocket by economic fallout from Covid-19 to fill temporary roles assisting social care services in residential and nursing homes as well as domiciliary care.

Candidates must be ready to turn their hand to cleaning, answering the phone, walking dogs, organising crafts and games – even just talking to residents.

The individuals are wanted for short-term employment at this "challenging time".

Warwickshire County Council sees the scheme as making a "huge difference" to the vulnerable in the community.

The council is also recruiting for the following roles:

• Catering staff;
• Maintenance workers; and
• Cleaners.

Working hours will be flexible around existing commitments with basic training provided. A county council spokeswoman said: "The council expects these opportunities will be particularly interesting for people who have unfortunately found themselves without work as a result of this worldwide pandemic. "It is a challenging time for everyone but we will be stronger if everyone comes together." Interested applicants will need to submit an application and the recruitment team will try to match people with their chosen area of work and with organisations that are closest to applicants' homes. Shifts will be paid at an hourly rate. To register an interest, click here. In addition, West Midlands Ambulance Service is recruiting for all registered paramedics who currently don't work for the blue light organisation which covers Atherstone and district. Trust chief executive Anthony Marsh said: "Over the last couple of years, we know that several hundred staff have retired from our service after giving many years of outstanding care to the public. "We would like those paramedics to consider returning to WMAS so that we can increase the quality and amount of care that we can provide the public in these challenging times. "The service has already significantly increased its capacity to deal with Covid-19 patients, but we want to go further still to ensure we can provide care to patients in their hour of need and save as many lives as possible." To check out the job, click here.