THE county council's recruitment drive to get more people in Oxfordshire to consider a career as a care worker has got more applications in the last five months than the two years before.

Make a difference every day is supported by workers who already have jobs in the service.

The Oxfordshire Association of Care Providers (OACP) website got 84 applications for a wide range of care work roles between mid-November 2017 and the end of March 2018.

That is compared to 66 applications in the two years between November 2015 and October 2017.

There is more need for care workers with Oxfordshire's population growing at twice the national average.

According to a survey conducted by the county council and the Oxford Health Foundation Trust, nine out of 10 care works said they feel they make a positive difference to people's lives.

Kate Terroni, director for adult services at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “Care work is a fantastic career that allows you to make a real difference to people’s lives every day.

"It’s flexible enough to fit around family or other commitments and there are opportunities all over the county, in both the NHS and homecare companies.

"I’m really pleased that there has been a significant increase in applications and would encourage anyone else who is interested to apply on the OACP website.”

Care workers help people with personal care like washing and dressing. They also prepare food, feed people and give out medication.