Inform Newsletter - November 2015 Issue

‘Outstanding’ CQC Report at Amherst Court A Visit from New Zealand Stepahead Support celebrates it’s 20th Birthday

The Big Cycling Adventure, Bridge Haven Birthday Congratulations

National Living Wage uplift for staff The major talking point for many of our staff will be the arrival of the National Living Wage (NLW) from April 2016. As an organisation we already pay above the previous National Minimum Wage rates (NMW) and we will be committed to ensuring all of our staff receive increases in wages from April 2016, meeting the requirements of the new Government legislation hourly rate of £7.20 (with the new rate set to rise year on year until 2020 when the rate will be above £9 per hour).

All eyes are on the Government’s Spending Review on public sector spending on the 25th November when it is hoped confirmation of additional funding to local authorities will be clarified to meet a reported £2 billion funding need for the social care sector to meet the requirements of NLW. As an organisation we fully support the principles of NLW and will look to ensure we remain a competitive and attractive employer to work for.

Excellence Achieved During October CQC published an ‘Outstanding’ grade for Amherst Court, our 112 bedded dementia care home in Medway making the home the 2nd in Kent and 18th nationally to receive this grade award. This comes on the back of recent ‘good’ inspection reports at our care homes Barnetts, Hever Court, and Pilgrims View and continued improvements in our other Homes on re-inspection. Assessing the 10 homes now inspected we can say we are in the upper quartile of gradings when compared to the national trend which is a significant achievement for all our staff in registered care and home care and support.

Impact Report Our 2015/16 Impact Report has just been published with hard copies in all our services or available online on our website www.avantecare.org.uk. The report also celebrates our 25th anniversary for Avante Care & Support (formerly KCHT) and 20th Anniversary for Stepahead Support. A conservative estimation is we have supported over 50,000 people and their families over this timespan which is a considerable achievement for our charity. We will be holding low key parties for our service users on Friday 20th November across our services to mark these anniversaries.

New Board Member As a charity we are governed by a group of Trustees who volunteer their time to us. We now have 10 Trustees with the recent appointment of Vinod Kumar Khanna as a new trustee from this October. Vinod who at present is the Chief Executive of Inspire Community Trust in Bexley brings

considerable experience in social care and business and will be a welcome addition to the Board. Details on who our Trustees are can be found on our website.

New Developments Our new older person mental health service is up and running at Puddingstone Grange replacing the now closed Sunbury Lodge.

This specialist facility has been well received from all key stake holders including the local Council and adds to our range and portfolio of services.

Considerable investment is also being committed to ensure Bridge Haven is fully refurbished as a specialist dementia service prior to Christmas. Under the leadership of Ian Chandler Bridge Haven will be well placed to be successful in providing good quality care for people living in the Canterbury area.

‘Outstanding’ CQC Report Avante Care & Support’s care home, Amherst Court in Chatham, Kent has recently received an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

care home. The service was considered as part of the community by relatives and residents moved comfortably around the service to meet friends and chat to staff.

Residents were encouraged to get involved in how their care was planned and delivered.

Located in Chatham, Medway, Amherst Court offers care for older people living with dementia. CQC inspectors gave an ‘Outstanding’ after examining the home’s responsiveness and leadership and a ‘Good’ for safety, caring and effectiveness, setting an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’ for the home.

During the inspection CQC inspectors observed staff with residents, and examined records including the staffing rota, policies, incident and accident records, recruitment and training records, meeting minutes and audit reports.

Since the CQC began rating adult social care services under their more rigorous style of inspection in October 2014, only eighteen care homes providing dementia care in the whole of the UK have received their top rating of ‘Outstanding’, with only two care homes in Kent achieving this. Amherst Court has now proudly become the first care home in Medway to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating from its recent inspection.

The Care Quality Commission stated that the service was caring, residents were treated with consideration and respect, and staff understood people’s needs and promoted independence.

The report from the Care Quality Commission stated: Residents and their relatives described a service that was welcoming, caring and friendly and they felt safe at the 18

Relatives spoke about their peace of mind as they felt their family members were well cared for and safe. One relative said, “I know when I leave Amherst Court after visiting my mother that she is safe and I need not worry about her”.

A resident who spoke with one of the CQC inspectors said, “It’s a lovely place to live.”, “The staff are kind and care for me.”, “I have a lovely room and I have a shower every night before I go to bed”.

“Given the national and local publicity about poorly performing health and care services, we are delighted to have been acknowledged and awarded this Outstanding grade, recognising the excellent quality of our services to local people and their families in Kent.” - Mark LLoyd, Managing Director, Avante Care & Support.

2015/16 Impact Report “The purpose of our 2015/16 Impact Report which, also celebrates our 25th anniversary as a charity, is to celebrate the difference we make to the lives of people who have used our services during the past year.”

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To find out more about our Impact Report please visit

www.avantecare.org.uk

National Citizenship Scheme at Hevercourt Out of the blue we received a call about accepting a placement for young people on the National Citizen Scheme – 13 in all came to Hevercourt for 2 days.

The aim of the scheme over several weeks was to break down social barriers, encourage team work, learn about the disadvantaged in society and to promote the idea of citizenship.

They came equipped with gifts, games and garden furniture (in kits) and learning to work together to build items described as ‘Easy Assembly’ on the packaging was something of a challenge – but a useful skill for real life. In exchange we taught them about dementia,

communication and the care sector. They did a little gardening, which for many was a first introduction to the difference between flowers and weeds and what specific garden tools were used for. The prevalence of flat dwellers and the popularity of decking/patios and BBQ’s meant that this too was a learning opportunity.

The students met residents and on the final afternoon brought in cakes they had made which they took around the home. One resident asked if she could have strawberry pavlova every day! A win-win experience for all.

Susan Illot, Hevercourt.

Tunnel Run XII Fundraising Success for Parkview Big thanks to the Subaru Tunnel Run who very kindly chose Parkview Care Home as their charity for all funds raised to be donated to.

YouScoob is a registered Subaru car enthusiast club with nearly 1100 members and 3 business sponsors. The club hold regular events to raise money for different charities

and on the 24th October 2015 the club had their annual tunnel run event from Thurrock services to London with over 200 Subarus taking part. The event raised over £1800.00 for Parkview care home, where the funds will be split to provide extra days out and activities for residents at the home and the other half to help as many families to have a respite care day through the homes day care service.

Parkview would like to say a BIG thank you and well done to YouScoob for raising over £1800 and for choosing Parkview as their chosen charity.

The Big Cycling Adventure “About a year ago I started to read about long distance cycling and really fancied doing this for myself…. So…I started to plan and from the very beginning I was always going to do it as a charity ride and that was always going to be for the Alzheimer’s Society. So I began a long planning process that resulted in me, my daughter and her partner, riding our bikes all the way from the top of Spain to the bottom!…..

On the 16th September we arrived by ferry in Santander after what can only be described as the worst crossing since records began.

When I rode off the ferry at 11:30 pm feeling ill I thought this can’t get worse, but then it started to rain hard, On the 17th September we started riding South and up and up and yes you guessed it…up! The country side was green and lush, more akin to the Lake District and it rained like the Lake District too. It was during these first few days in the mountains I discovered a new type of road, ‘THE UP HILL FLAT’ Wild camping meant we had to start looking for a suitable place to camp at about 7pm, by eight it was getting dark and by eight thirty

pitch black. It was very cold at night in the north and on one particular night I put on everything I had during the night. Who ever said it was quiet in the countryside too?

One small town we rode into at lunchtime had a square with a trough to wash clothes in. we started doing some of our bits and the local people insisted we use their washing lines and even brought us pegs to use. My Spanish is not that good and in the rural parts they spoke no English at all yet we were able to communicate and they would shake their heads and hands when we told them our destination in Spain.

On the 25th September, my birthday we stopped in Belmonte and a hotel for the night. This was Don Quixote country with its round whitewashed windmills standing across the plains.

It took us 13 days to reach our destination, covering 690 miles. The shortest distance in one day was 34 miles up in the mountains and the furthest was 84 miles on the last day, with the thought of finishing!

Bill Richardson, Maintenance Technician at Bridge Haven Care Home.

Fine Dining at Barton Court Residents were treated to a fine dining experience at Barton Court, thanks to the Chef and students from the Oasis Academy, who acted as waiters and waitresses.

Eden Alternative On Friday 23rd October Dr Jock Carnachan, who is associated with Elizabeth Knox Care Home and Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, visited Puddingstone Grange care home, Plumstead.

Dr Carnachan contacted Avante Care & Support as he could see from Avante’s website that we have Eden Registered homes. Elizabeth Knox is a 100 year old not-for-profit organisation and adopted the Eden Alternative in 2009. In 2012 it won the Seedling Award to become the first Australasian home to win an international Eden award; Knox Home itself achieved full Eden Alternative registration in February 2014.

Dr Carnachan and his wife, a Dietician, joined Richard Macintyre, Frances Lake and the residents for lunch at Puddingstone Grange; Dr Charnachan stating it was the best fish and chips he had tasted since he had been in the UK! The Eden Alternative is a worldwide organisation and as the world ages, the demand for innovative care solutions will continue to spread across the globe, Eden Associate members seek each other out, no matter where they are in the world!

A lots of work went into the evening with staff and residents all helping to prepare food and lovely decorations!

A big thank you to everyone for a great experience!

Reminiscing with Bob at Amherst Court An online trip down memory lane for Amherst Court resident Bob. Bob is a new resident at Amherst Court; a care home in Chatham which provides dementia care to older people. During a chat with staff over breakfast one morning it was clear Bob was missing his home and where he grew up.

Continuing through Google Maps Bob found his local pub, The Royal Oak, where he had many a story to tell “I popped in there more than a few times after work, said Bob, it was only a two minute walk from where I worked.

Bob spent time looking through the old photos online, happily pointing out different areas and places he used to visit and laughing about the people he used to know.

“In my old home town everyone knew everyone, you even knew some you didn’t want to know!” Bob recalled.

Bob spent the rest of that afternoon searching for memories of his old stomping ground and since this day Bob can often be found in the Internet café at Amherst Court ‘surfing the net’ looking for old pictures of his town and places he used to visit.

Unaware to Bob of the modern technology available, quick thinking staff took Bob to the nearest computer in the home and looked up his home town of Penrhyndeudraeth, North Wales.

Staff eventually found on Google Maps the house that Bob grew up in and were able to zoom in on the property; this for Bob was a happy but also quite an emotional moment as he spoke about his mum standing in the window watching him tend to the green out the front, as back then he was training to be a gardener.

Wear it Pink at Puddingstone Grange On 23rd October Staff at Puddingstone Grange dressed up to raise funds and awareness for ‘Wear It Pink’, helping to support breast cancer research.

Wear it Pink helps to fund research, to discover ways to prevent breast cancer and provide effective treatments.

Well done Puddingstone Grange!

Michael Lack at Amherst Court On Wednesday 21st October Michael Lack came in and performed for the residents at Amherst Court in the Calypso Café. Michael has been performing for residents for exactly one year now and has become quite a favourite among staff and residents!

Everyone danced along to the old favourites that included Witchcraft, Kick in the Head, Bye Bye Blackbird and held a group sing-along to Bad Bad LeRoy Brown. Don said “The man can really sing and the sax playing is spot on”.

Hazel was really emotional saying “I love his voice and he really is fantastic”. Michael then jokingly went onto say “I would normally finish there, but I will sing a couple more songs, as the lovely lady in the pink jumper is heckling me”.

Once finished Michael went around the room and shook everyone’s hand and much to Hazels delight, posed for some photographs, in which she said “I want a copy of that”.

Avante Care & Support Staff Achievement’s Working with IPS international, Avante Care & Support learners have achieved a range of qualifications; including certificates in Safe Handling of Medication, Principles of the Prevention and Control of Infection in Health Care Settings, Team Leading, Diplomas – levels 2 & 3 and apprenticeships.

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105th Birthday Congratulations to Violet Diprose Violet Diprose who is affectionately known as ‘Nan’ recently celebrated her 105th birthday, Violet still lives in her own home and receives support from the Kent home care team. Violet was presented with a card and flowers from her regular care worker Lacey Burnett.

Violet thoroughly enjoyed her day and went for lunch at Pizza Hut. Lisa Randall, Care and Quality Supervisor said that “Violet has a great sense of humour and asked Lisa to promise to take her to the pub for a pint!”.

Violet is pictured here with Lacey proudly showing her birthday cards received from the Queen on her 100th and 105th birthdays.

With warmest birthday wishes to you Violet from all the team in the Home Care & Support Service.

Birthday Congratulations to Rose Rose Hardwick who celebrated her 100th birthday recently was presented with a bouquet of flowers from carer Laura Lee of the Bexley branch of Home Care & Support.

Rose lives at Baker Beall Court and had a wonderful party to celebrate reaching her Millennium in the Communal Lounge, the party was attended by her son Alan as well as other family and friends.

Rose has one grandson and enjoys reading, completing crosswords and watching television.

Rose originally lived in North Heath, Erith and used to be a cleaner for a local firm.

We hope you had a wonderful day Rose and many congratulations from all at Avante!

20 Years Long Service Award – Sue Turner Sue Turner works as a community carer within the Home Care & Support Branch in Erith. Sue recently reached her 20 year milestone with Avante, which at the start of Sue’s employment 20 years ago would have been known as Kent Community Housing Trust (KCHT).

Sue provides care in several areas such as Abbeywood, Thamesmead and Bexleyheath. Dawn Dwyer – Erith Branch Manager said that “Sue is a brilliant carer and is a valued member of the team”.

Sue is pictured holding her certificate and was presented with some shopping vouchers. Congratulations Sue and thank you for all your hard work and dedication.

Stepahead Support celebrates it’s 20th Birthday.

Stepahead Support was founded in 1995 and has grown from a small service supporting young people leaving care in Gravesend to a multi-disciplinary service that supports children, young people and families across Kent and Medway.

20 years with Stepahead Support I wanted to ensure it was a special day to remember. The day kicked off with an ice breaker to get staff talking and up on their feet which was followed by a time of reminiscence and sharing of experiences from staff in their time at Stepahead, including my PA Veronica Wightman; Stepaheads longest serving staff member, Veronica started in 2000 as an administrator for the Finding Your Feet asylum seeking support service.

The support service provides emotional, practical and therapeutic support to young people and families in the community who are finding life’s problems difficult to overcome, or need support to move on in their lives.

On Monday 19th October staff from Stepahead Support joined for an ‘Away Day’ at the Kent Life Museum, Maidstone, to celebrate and reflect the last 20 years of Stepahead Support that began in 1995 in Gravesend.

Carolyn McVittie said, “This was our second ‘Away Day’ for Stepahead Support this year and since we were celebrating

After lunch a team building exercise was conducted, building on the importance of communication with teams required to complete a task without talking or gesturing in any form, of course a certain amount of cheating went on and stretching of the rules!

To finish the day and focus on the physical and mental wellbeing of staff a Yoga Instructor came to lead an hour long session that left everyone feeling relaxed and calm.

It was an enjoyable time and a great opportunity for staff to get together in a supportive environment and to laugh and ‘play’ amidst the background of uncertainty of future service delivery with many contracts coming to an end next year.”

A Company Limited by Gaurantee (Registration No. 2565021) • A Registered Charity (Registered Charity No. 1002727) Registered office: De Gelsey House, 1 Jubilee Way, Faversham, Kent ME13 8GD Tel: 01795 597400 • Email: enquiry@avantecare.org.uk • Web: www.avantecare.org.uk Regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Members of:

Cert No. 545 ISO 9001

Approved Provider for:

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