Social and Healthcare Assistant

Lolland Municipality has a growing number of elderly citizens, and at them same time we have a number of employees who are retiring. The situation requires new initiatives and this is why Lolland Municipality developed a path for internationals to apply as Social and Healthcare assistants.

Two elderly playing a game at a nursing home

How do we care for elderly citizens in Denmark?

Denmark has a citizen-centered approach to care and rehabilitation for elderly citizens. The focus is on helping citizens maintain – or regain – self-reliance, and on allocating the necessary human and technological resources needed to make this possible. The Danish healthcare system is based on the principle of equal free access of all citizens. The majority of Danish healthcare services are financed by general taxes.

In Denmark we have a long tradition of publicly funded care for elderly citizens that dates back to the emergence of the welfare state in the 1930`s. But since 1980 the approach to care has changed significantly. By working with targeted efforts, elderly citizens can maintain their independence and stay in their own homes for as along as possible.

Nursing homes and other care facilities have also been supplemented with efforts to help improve the quality of life for residents. The efforts are increasingly supported by assisted-living technologies and other innovative solutions that bring a number of benefits for both citizens and caregivers.

The work of a Social and Healthcare Assistant in Lolland Municipality

Working as a social and healthcare assistant in Lolland is something special. The work takes place both in care centers and in private homes. It works on the principle of 'helping people to help themselves', because being as self-reliant as possible improves people's quality of life. A concrete example of this could be that the social and healthcare assistant provides training for citizens who have just been discharged from the hospital to manage bathing and personal care on their own.

You strive to give people content in their everyday life by knowing their life stories and talking to them about their memories. Thus, inclusiveness towards the citizen's way of living is important. In care centers, too, social workers and healthcare assistants seek to create a homely environment with meaningful activities.

The scope of work is comprehensive and covers basic care and nursing, consultation and provision of guidance to citizens and their relatives as well as a number of nursing tasks such as pressure ulcer prevention, treatment of traumatic wounds, injections, medication dispensing, catheter care, ostomy care, palliative care and tube feeding.

Thus, the social and healthcare assistant works with the critical, basic nursing tasks while the nurse carries out tasks that are more specialized.

  • You have a health professional education.
  • You have psychological insight and understanding and good interpersonal skills.
  • You are responsible, caring and resilient.
  • You can work both independently and in teams.
  • You are good at getting on with all kinds of citizens and have an approach that acknowledges people.
  • You are good at English

You are willing to learn Danish and motivated to learn our approach to ways of working in the Elderly and Health Sector.

The average working week is 37 hours or by appointment. You will work rotating shifts and will receive special allowances for shifts between 5 pm and 6 am and on weekends and public holidays. The person in charge of personnel-on-duty planning will try to accommodate your requests for shifts, changes, etc., as much as possible.    

Employees at Lolland Municipality are entitled to 6 weeks of paid holiday, special holiday allowance, an employer-paid pension scheme, paid maternity leave, paid lunch break, extra annual days off from the age of 58. In addition, if you have children, you are entitled to two annual days off per child up to and including the year in which the child turns 7 years of age. In addition, you are entitled to full pay during your illness.

Are you interested in working as a Social and Healthcare Assistant?

Keep an eye on this page, as we continuously post job advertisements.