Musician ‘humbled’ to work in care home

SWAPPING DRUMMING for the Red Hot Chili Peppers for making sausage sandwiches in a Yorkshire care home has been a “privilege” and “an education”, a musician has said.

Professional drummer Jim McDermott has been spending the coronavirus pandemic on the frontline at the home in Skipton after relocating from Glasgow to Haworth at the end of 2019.

Mr McDermott, who has drummed for the likes of Kylie Minogue, Simple Minds and Del Amitri, realised early on in the virus outbreak that concerts would be off the schedule for a long time, and instead threw his efforts into helping in the community.

For the past 12 months, he has been working as a relief domestic assistant at Ashfield care home, it was revealed yesterday in North Yorkshire County Council’s Local Resilience Forum media conference yesterday.

He said he felt “very lucky” to be accepted into the role.

“I walked through that door on that day last year not having any experience at all of working in a care home, never mind in the middle of a global pandemic, and what it would bring,” he said.

“It’s just humbling to see the way everyone mucked in, got on with things and try to keep people smiling.”

He added: “I’ve played all over the world – Wembley Stadium, Broadway, everything – but working this year and helping with the staff and the residents has just been one of the best moments actually of my life.

“It just puts all my escapades on tour with Kylie and the Red Hot Chili Peppers into perspective, it really does.”

Rachel Bowes, North Yorkshire County Council’s Director of Care and Support, also spoke at the conference, paying tribute to the “flexibility and dedication” of care teams.

She said many care settings had been really hard hit and did not have enough staff, at times, to keep people safe.