ER News September 2023

Welcome & Farewell

Starters

Helen Fitt Housing Concierge Leavers

Stacey Davis Support Services Officer

All change for WSL

East Boro has introduced the role of House Leaders at 3 of its Weymouth Supported Living properties. These roles became operational on 4th September 2023.

Harry Mayerling has been appointed as House Leader for Kimmeridge House, 11 Cranford Avenue

Michelle Woodward and Jane Gilbert have been appointed as House Leaders for Lulworth House, 17 Holland Road

Danielle Mason has been appointed as House Leader of Radcliffe House, 70 Abbotsbury Road

Fran Antell is now undertaking the role of Assistant Service Manager for WSL on a full time basis.

We would like to congratulate all the above colleagues on their new roles.

Reporting Positive Coronavirus Cases

East Boro has seen an increase in positive Coronavirus cases within its staff team and within client groups in recent weeks. Please remember that if you test positive for Coronavirus, this should be reported directly to Cara Lewis at clewis@ebht.org.uk or on 07787 296 071.

Your Line Manager, Department Director, and Chief Executive will be notified. Your Line Manager will contact colleagues you have worked closely with immediately prior to a positive result, and advise them they may have been in contact with an individual who has tested positive and they will be asked to take a test before continuing their duties. Your name will not be given. East Boro continues to provide test kits and your Line Manager will arrange for a pack to be provided if you do not already have one. We will continue to advise of positive Coronavirus cases within our client groups, as and when we are notified.

Recent communication from the Government indicates that front line Care & Support staff will be eligible for a Coronavirus booster vaccination this Autumn/Winter and we will update colleagues as soon as we receive details including where eligible staff can go to get this booster vaccination, if they wish to.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact your Line Manager or in their absence, Cara Lewis.

Cara Lewis PA to Chief Executive

I’m always happy to include your birthdays, anniversaries, births and good news stories.

If you would like to contribute to YOUR staff newsletter in any way please contact me, sue.hole@aster.co.uk

The importance of hydration

Water is essential for life and enables your body to function properly. It improves your health, fitness, weight control, mood and even your energy levels. It transports nutrients and minerals in the blood, removes waste products through urine, maintains your body temperature, assists with digestion and absorption, and is key to good blood circulation. Studies have found that drinking a litre and half of water everyday can increase your metabolism by as much as 30% for up to an hour and a half.

While we often talk about how hydration can help our body to feel and perform better, its impact on workplace performance is a topic that is often overlooked. Nearly 73% of our brain is water, so it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that dehydration has a significant impact on your mind. At just 1% of body water loss, workers begin experiencing decreased cognitive abilities, reduced concentration and alertness, and slower reaction times. Colleagues may experience symptoms but are often unaware that the cause may be dehydration. Here is a list of common symptoms or signs that you or one of your colleagues may be dehydrated. These are: Dry eyes, headaches, trouble concentrating, light-headedness, fatigue and sleepiness, muscle aches, joint pain and brain fog.

While all of these symptoms are caused by dehydration, most people attribute them to other causes due to a lack of knowledge. For example, 3% dehydration or water loss can slow your reaction time to the same degree as a 0.08% blood alcohol content. Water alone isn’t enough to replenish, vital electrolytes are essential to the body’s cellular functions because “proper hydration” is not about how much water you drink, it’s about how much water your body absorbs and electrolytes play a crucial role in how your body absorbs water and nutrients.

East Boro’s Mighty Hikers

On Saturday 9th September 2023, Cara Lewis and Kelly Baker (with former East Boro colleague Jemma Baker) completed the Jurassic Coast Mighty Hike to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Support. 26.2 Miles and an elevation of 3,293 ft in what was apparently the hottest September day on record. Cara and Kelly would like to thank everyone that sponsored them and also those that sent messages of support and encouragement ahead of and during the day.

Cara said: Thank you to everyone that sponsored me. I knew it would be a challenge but the heat made it even more of a challenge. To be honest, there was a moment when I thought I might not be able to complete the Hike, but remembering why and who I was doing it for, digging deep mentally and physically, I did it!

Kelly said: Thank you to each and everyone of you who supported me by way of sponsorship, company on my weekly training walks, and listening to my months of chatting about walking. I am pleased to say that despite the extremely hot weather, I completed the Hike.

Housing Services Team moves to locality model

We are moving to a locality model to make sure the services we deliver meet the needs of customers. We have created three locality areas with a Locality Team made up of colleagues from our Housing, Estates, Assets, Surveying and Repairs teams.

Each Locality Team will meet regularly to share knowledge and insights around areas such as tenancy management, estate management and repairs and maintenance. They are responsible for identifying performance issues in these areas and improve services for customers in the communities they serve.

By creating cross-operational teams and working collaboratively at a local level, we can respond to customers’ needs faster and deliver our core services more effectively. The Locality Team are:

Senior Locality Manager, Louise Way works from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. She is responsible for 252 homes in Wimborne, Merley, Broadstone, Shaftesbury, Sturminster Newton, Wareham, Worth Matravers and Bovington. lway@ebht.org.uk

Locality Manager, Donna Varley works on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9.30am to 2.30pm and Thursday from 8.30am to 2.30pm. She is responsible for 144 homes in Poole, Bournemouth, Lytchett, Creekmoor, Kinson, Parkstone, Bearwood, West Moors, Ferndown and Cranborne. dvarley@ebht.org.uk

Locality Manager, Nigel Reed works on Tuesday and Thursday, 9am to 5pm. He is responsible for 145 homes in Sherborne, Dorchester, Bere Regis, Weymouth and Portland. nreed@ebht.org.uk

The Locality Manager’s role and their responsibilities include:

• Letting empty properties

• Advising on housing options i.e. mutual exchanges, housing waiting lists

• Processing urgent housing management moves

• Processing end of tenancies

• Arranging for repairs to be carried out to empty properties

• Dealing with all tenancy breaches including serving notices seeking possession

• Dealing with incidents of antisocial behaviour

• Tenancy checks/home visits/property inspections

• Abandonments

• Tenancy upgrades/assignments/successions

• Process permission requests i.e. pet requests, property alterations

• Making referrals for housing related support to care providers, sheltered housing officers or signposting to other agencies

• Property inspection, requesting response repairs and monitoring to completion

• Using customer insight/feedback to influence the delivery of housing services

• Hold regular scheme surgeries and respond to customer enquiries.

Karen Allan Director of Housing Services

Changes within our Housing Concierge Team

We have made some changes to our Housing Concierge Team. Their patches have been aligned to the three new locality areas and their roles now include more duties to enhance our approach to ensuring that our buildings and grounds are safe. The Team are:

Housing Concierge, Mary Elkins works from Monday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm. She is responsible for 24 schemes in Wimborne, Merley, Broadstone, Shaftesbury, Sturminster Newton, Wareham, Worth Matravers and Bovington melkins@ebht.org.uk

Housing Concierge, Helen Fitt works Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9am to 5pm. She is responsible for 28 schemes in Poole, Bournemouth, Lytchett, Creekmoor, Kinson, Parkstone, Bearwood, West Moors, Ferndown and Cranborne hfitt @ebht.org.uk

Housing Concierge, Nigel Reed works Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9am to 5pm. He is responsible for 25 schemes in Sherborne, Dorchester, Bere Regis, Weymouth and Portland.

nreed@ebht.org.uk

Their role and responsibilities are to carry out health and safety inspections of common parts and reporting any maintenance issues, including:

• Access, Internal staircase, handrails, bannisters

• Door security, key safe

• Fire safety, fire-fighting equipment and fire doors

• Emergency lighting

• Signage

• Automatic opening vents

• Emergency routes, passenger lifts

• Stairlifts, hoists/Tracks

• Communal kitchens, laundry, bathroom, lounge

• Guest room, plant rooms

• First aid kits.

Carrying our estate assessments/grading and reporting any maintenance issues, this includes:

• Car parks/parking areas

• Pathways, courtyards and hard standing areas

• Communal grass, hedges, shrubs, fencing, gates

Other duties include:

• Graffiti, fly-tipping, litter

• Garages

• Communal windows, doors

• Communal washing line areas, bin areas

• Internal communal stairwells and enclosures

• Estate signage

• Guttering.

Conducting a rolling programme of fire door inspections and fire drills. Monitor that personal emergency evacuation plans are in place and up to date, where required. Maintain inventories of fixtures and fittings and portable appliances provided by the Trust in communal areas. Conduct rolling programme to check that key safes contain relevant keys. Manage communal rooms and guest room bookings. Manage the communal areas to ensure that all escape routes are clear and free of combustible items. Carry out fire safety ‘house-keeping’ duties to communal areas. Monitor communal repairs to ensure that the work is completed. Work in partnership with the care providers who provide support to our customers.

Karen Allan Director of Housing Services

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Inrehearsals latest boxset is on ‘Menopause’ and can be found on Learn to add to the great resources and support we have on Menopause!

Looking for something to do this Autumn?

Getting out in the open air for some exercise and spending time with family and friends is so important for our well-being so why not combine it with an activity that can also help improve your sleep?

Right now nature is offering a bumper crop of blackberries and hazelnuts, packed with brain health vitamins. Hazelnuts contain tryptophan, an essential amino acid that produces melatonin and serotonin hormones. These hormones help to regulate the sleep cycle and positively impact mood and appetite. Sounds like a win/win to me!

N.B. It’s important to do your research before eating anything from the hedgerow due to allergies etc.

Image by Kamran Aydinov