BSA Today Issue 10

BSA

Today Blue Stream Academy’s Healthcare & Lifestyle Magazine Summer 2021 | Issue 10

Social Prescribing: Providing Support Where It’s Needed

Look Who’s Talking

A Career in Care

Sue Learner

Dr Marie Anne Essam

Editor of carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk

Clinical Lead for Social Prescribing at Herts Valleys CCG

Care for Carers Mental Health in Healthcare Must be Prioritised Beyond COVID-19 Dr Nick Taylor

CEO & Co-founder of Unmind

BSA

Today Blue Stream Academy's Healthcare & Lifestyle Magazine Summer 2021 | Issue 10

Social Prescribing: Providing Support Where It’s Needed

Look Who’s Talking

A Carer in Care

Sue Learner

Dr Marie Anne Essam

Clinical Lead and Ambassador for Social Prescribing

Editor of carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk

THE

CARE CERTIFICATE

Care for Carers Mental Health in Healthcare must be Prioritised Beyond COVID-19 Dr Nick Taylor

CEO & Co-founder of Unmindd

We’re celebrating our 10th edition!

BSA Today Issue 10 Front Cover

To celebrate the release of our new Care Certificate Solution, which is now fully integrated with our Management of Information System (MIS), we have a special offer of...

Buy One Get One Free!

BSA Today is the exciting Healthcare & Lifestyle magazine from Blue Stream Academy - the UK’s leading provider of online training for GP Practices, Nursing & Care Homes, Hospices and Urgent Care Centres.

Our mission is to standardise healthcare training to ensure consistent delivery of quality care through better staff education, learning and development.

Providing over 100 hours of CPD certified eLearning, Blue Stream Academy’s suite of interactive training modules is easy to use, cost-effective and in line with CQC guidelines.

Over a quarter of a million trainees can now access our simple Care Certificate solution within their Blue Stream dashboard, with previously completed modules being automatically recorded against the Care Certificate standards.

If you have any comments, suggestions or ideas for future articles, please contact our editor, Brady Braddock, by email: brady@bluestreamacademy.com Alternatively, you can write to us, phone us, or visit our website: Blue Stream Academy Suites 11, 12 & 16 Riverside Business Centre Foundry Lane Milford Derbyshire DE56 0RN 01773 822549 www.bluestreamacademy.com The views and opinions expressed within this publication are that of the original authors of the relevant content and do not necessarily reflect the official views and opinions of Blue Stream Academy Ltd. © 2021 Blue Stream Academy

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BSA Today | Issue 10

In this issue From the Editor's Desk...

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he UK Government has heralded the COVID-19 vaccination drive as a huge success, with more than 50 million doses of the vaccine given out already. With plans to ease lockdown restrictions just in time for summer, things are finally starting to feel more optimistic. NHS England’s proposal to accelerate the delivery of operations and other non-urgent services across the board is another step in the right direction.

Throughout the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of health and social care professionals have utilised Blue Stream Academy’s eLearning training and management solutions in search of information and guidance, with great success. Although COVID-19 is still very much the focus in health and social care, it’s heartening to see some positive signs that things are gradually settling into new forms of normality.

With this in mind, we’re back to celebrate our 10th issue – packed with exclusive content from Team BSA. We’re pleased to welcome back one of our most popular contributors: Dr Marie Anne Essam, a GP and ambassador for social prescribing for Hertfordshire and West Essex Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP). Marie Anne tells us about the positive effects of social prescribing to support members of society who are often overlooked. In other news, we chat with Sue Learner, Editor of carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk in this issue’s Look Who’s Talking. With job applications in the sector soaring, Sue tells us about the wide variety of candidates entering the care profession. From a Eurovision winner to a Guinness World Record holder, we look at how onboarding and transferable skills are

enabling people to take up job opportunities that echo the government’s new campaign – ‘Care for Others. Make a Difference’. We’re proud to introduce our latest feature, ‘A Spotlight On...’, now readers can take a closer look at our interactive CPD certified modules. In this issue, Lewis Cowlishaw, our Content Development Manager, shines a light on Dementia Awareness. For fans of data protection, Data Watch is back with Javvad Malik, a security awareness advocate at KnowBe4.com who talks about ‘Zoombombing’, a term for cyber criminals breaching video calls – a very real problem for many organisations using video-conferencing services.

In our lifestyle and wellness segment, Dr Nick Taylor, CEO and co-founder of Unmind, talks about prioritising mental health for health and care professionals post COVID-19.

We take a holistic approach to lifestyle, with a selection of delicious diabetes-friendly summertime recipes and we discuss the simple yet huge benefits of getting outside for some fresh air. With all these great articles, plus our own in-house news, module releases and developments – this issue is not to be missed.

On behalf of the whole team, we hope you enjoy reading!

Brady

Brady Braddock BSA Today Editor

Expert Panel

Our Team

Meet the experts who have contributed their information and insight to this issue of BSA Today.

EDITORIAL

Dr Marie Anne Essam Clinical Lead and Ambassador for Social Prescribing

Brady Braddock | Editor Sian Ratcliffe | HR

Lewis Cowlishaw | Content Development Stuart Walsh | Information Security

Keely Jennings | Content Development

Dr Nick Taylor CEO and co-founder of Unmind

ART & DESIGN

Courteney Barlow-Ferguson | Graphic Designer Craig Goodall | Creative Services

Sue Learner Editor of carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk www.bluestreamacademy.com

COMMUNICATIONS

Abi Bowler | Marketing & Media

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Cover Stories 10

Social Prescribing: Providing Support Where it’s Needed

One of our favourite contributors – the godmother of social prescribing is back by popular demand. Dr Marie Anne tells us about the positive effects of social prescribing to support members of society who are often overlooked.

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Care for Carers

“Mental health in healthcare must be prioritised beyond COVID-19.” Dr Nick Taylor, CEO and co-founder of Unmind, talks about prioritising mental health in healthcare workers and some of the different ways to build resilience, fight burnouts and stop PTSD in its tracks - throughout the pandemic and beyond.

22 All Things Blue Stream 06

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Keeping you up to date with hot topics from across health and social care, written by the professionals who share a passion to report the issues that matter most.

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Data Watch: Running Headfirst Into a Breach

Cyber criminals have been quick to capitalise on the rise of virtual meetings by registering thousands of fake domains designed to impersonate Zoom and other video-conference brands.

Javvad Malik, security awareness advocate for KnowBe4.com gives his top tips on how to stay one step ahead.

#TeamBSA & LiveChat Lounge

We catch up with #TeamBSA to hear about what we’ve been up to since our last issue, and we introduce readers to our NEW LiveChat Lounge segment as we check in with our support team to answer some of the most frequently asked questions from our website’s LiveChat feature.

A Spotlight On...

Dementia Awareness

With COVID-19 the key topic of conversation, it’s easy to forget that life expectancy is actually increasing and, with this, more people are living with dementia than ever before. Here, we look at our Dementia Awareness module to shed light on the benefits of early diagnosis.

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Eye on Healthcare

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@BlueStreamNews

We keep you up to date with our latest news, developments, and module releases from our industry renowned content development team. In this issue we make an exciting announcement about a new module that is coming soon!

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20 Lifestyle & Wellness 25

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Year of the Sunflower Competitiom

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Diabetes-Friendly Summer Recipes

To celebrate the 10th issue of BSA Today, we’re proud to present our Year of the Sunflower gardening competition – exclusive to our Subscribers’ Club members! For more information on how to enter please see page 25.

With summer on its way and lockdown restrictions easing, many of us are looking forward to sharing a meal with family and friends. With Diabetes Week in mind, we’ve put together a selection of delicious diabetes-friendly recipes that everyone can enjoy.

A Breath of Fresh Air: The Benefits of Being Outdoors

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It’s no secret that fresh air is good for improving your mental and physical wellbeing. Here, we take a look at how fresh air benefits the body and mind, and why it’s more important than ever to get outside and get your steps in.

Look Who’s Talking A Career in Care

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In this issue’s Look Who’s Talking, Sue Learner, Editor of carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk, chats to BSA Today about the short- and longterm opportunities in the adult social care sector and why a career in care could be the most rewarding decision a person can ever make.

Win a £1000 National Garden Gift Voucher!

See page 25 for details www.bluestreamacademy.com

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Herd Immunity: Can The UK Get There?

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ow that Britain and the US are crossing the 50% threshold of their populations vaccinated with the first dose, are they reaching herd immunity and can things return to normal soon?

Not yet, is the short answer. And focusing on a single number is not helpful. It might encourage behaviour that would lead to another wave breaking out, such as relaxing social distancing or – on the government’s part – opening borders. Indeed, countries such as the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia experienced relatively small first waves, but a massive second outbreak.

India is particularly concerning. Last year, some researchers and politicians claimed that cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai might have reached herd immunity. Yet following a relaxation in control measures and border controls, India and Nepal are currently experiencing a devastating second wave.

So is the UK close to the point at which things can go back to normal? The vaccination drive has been amazingly successful; cases are down and, more importantly, hospitalisation and deaths are down. A recent study shows that the vaccine is successful not only in protecting people from becoming seriously ill but also in significantly reducing transmission.

There is now a window of opportunity to eliminate the virus in the UK, or at least to bring it to near extinction, and to concentrate on controlling isolated outbreaks.

Number of new infections per million inhabitants in Czechia, Poland and Slovakia; a seven-day running average. Our World in Data

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The most common estimates for the herd-immunity threshold for the original coronavirus strain – the so-called wild type – are at 70% or more immunity. For the new variants, the threshold is probably higher. Also, we know that vaccines have limited effectiveness, which further increases the proportion of the population that needs to be treated.

Author Adam Kleczkowski Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde Adam Kleczkowski receives funding from BBSRC, NERC, Defra, and the Scottish Government.

The original article can be found at: https://theconversation.com/herdimmunity-can-the-uk-get-there-160026

Number of new infections per million inhabitants in India and Nepal; a seven-day running average.

Our World in Data

It is important to note, too, that there are pockets of the population where vaccination level is lower than the national average. These pockets are potentially a breeding ground for super-spreading events.

population has been vaccinated, are still not high enough to fully protect against future outbreaks while relaxing all regulations.

These sorts of outbreaks, although initially small, can lead to the establishment and subsequent spread of highly infectious variants. The danger is well illustrated by the spread of the Brazil variant in Canada or the UK variant in Europe.

The government in Israel has lifted most – but crucially not all – internal regulations. The borders are, however, still closed to non-essential travel and masks are still worn indoors. Schools only reopened at 57% vaccination level.

With infection levels still very high globally (the number of new infections is higher now than it ever was last year) there is significant potential for new variants to emerge.

Continued on Page 08

Although it looks as though the mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) are effective against the new variants, the “variant of interest” in India may be more problematic.

Finally, in many countries, a significant proportion of people is unwilling or unable to be vaccinated or to take precautions against infection.

The vaccination levels needed to cross the line might not be achievable at all, even in the long term.

Vaccination levels, even in places like Israel where 62.4% of the www.bluestreamacademy.com

The proportion of the population who received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the UK, the US and Israel. Our World in Data

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The most common estimates for the herd-immunity threshold for the original coronavirus strain – the so-called wild type – are at 70% or more immunity.

For the new variants, the threshold is probably higher.

Continued from Page 07

Not safe until everybody is safe As long as the virus is not eradicated everywhere in the world, there will always be a danger of the rise and spread of new variants. Rather than focusing on whether we reached 70%-80% of the population – and the UK is not there yet – it is more useful to think of herd immunity as a process of virus suppression and elimination.

However, this strategy does not necessarily mean experiencing high infection numbers or strict lockdowns. Having driven the numbers down, the government will need to continue to keep a combination of control measures in place. They will be applied at a low level and hopefully much less intrusive than the current ones.

The strategy will include a continuing vaccination drive with re-vaccination in response to new variants. Masks will continue to be worn in places where the risk of infection is high.

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There will still need to be an intensive regime of tests.

False negatives (where the test says you don’t have the disease when you actually do have it) are of particular concern, as they can make people less careful and so can lead to outbreaks.

But false positives (where the test says you have the disease, but you don’t) will also need to be followed up with the more accurate PCR tests, as having too many false alarms can lead to people avoiding the procedure.

Border controls such as COVID tests and vaccine passports – but hopefully not a travel ban – will help to keep the outbreaks to the minimum.

Is this a “project fear”?

Not if we consider the alternative in which the health system is overwhelmed by new variants and we are back to the vicious cycle of toolate lockdowns and too-early relaxations. If done properly, this will not be much more damaging to the economy, social life and mental health than protections against other diseases

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Social Prescribing: Providing Support Where It’s Needed Society and its public services are changing, and I want to focus on some of the positives I’ve seen working well in primary care and local clinical leadership during the pandemic.

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believe that many things are in the process of changing for good, and while I do not for one second deny the phenomenal hard work, suffering and grief throughout all of our organisations and communities, looking at some of the good news will help us heal and give us a vision for the future.

Photo credit: CM ‘Watercolour Support Bubbles’

Dr Marie Anne Essam Clinical Lead and Ambassador for Social Prescribing Dr Marie Anne Essam is a GP in Hertfordshire and works widely to develop and support social prescribing with regional, national and international development of the link worker role. Contact her on info@equiptoempower.co.uk and be sure to follow her on Twitter @marieannedoc 10

Changing Landscape of Health Social prescribing has flourished as a means by which people are receiving the right kind of help, finding hope for the future and building strength to achieve new possibilities. Flexing themselves into increased contact, virtually or by telephone, link workers have reached out to individuals and families whose social health challenges had been heightened as a direct or indirect result of COVID-19.

Primary care networks (PCNs) have expressed their appreciation of the swift assistance that their social prescribing link workers have given to reach out to people on the shielding lists. They have become key players in the development and operationalisation of the local volunteer tsunami, ensuring resources have been streamlined efficiently for those who need them.

The previous silo thinking and behaviour that separated different health, social care and community organisations has been replaced by strong cross-sector partnership working.

Help has been delivered together.

The inter-organisational empathy and support has been tangible.

Shared learning and the courage to try doing things differently are like never before. We now have an opportunity to engage in population health initiatives together, all across the nation, ensuring that the questions we ask ourselves and the outcomes we strive for are truly relevant to address inequalities in health and opportunities. The intelligence about our communities gained via social prescribing is a compass and a catalyst for this work.

Unsung Heroes We brought groups of unpaid carers together to learn about their challenges during lockdown. Listening ears from health, social care and voluntary groups were present at the three virtual meetings, which focused specifically on adult carers of adults, adult carers of children with special needs, and young carers who either were caring for a parent or had a sibling with additional needs.

We came to understand more deeply the incredible strengths and resilience of carers, what they might value in a carer’s

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health check, and where their contingency plans had not held water in the context of a pandemic. It was salutary to discover that, while we had been beavering away in our surgeries, some of our unsung heroes were Photo cred it: EL ‘Art Jo having a particularly tough time. But we urnalling’ listened, we learned, and the lessons are being shared across the system to improve the care we give carers.

We are using resources to set up a swiftly responsive Captain Tom system to allow carers respite breaks It seems appropriate, given the ‘hero’ theme emerging, at short notice, so that any to tell you a little of what I know about the money professionals who find a carer in a raised by the wonderful veteran on his Zimmer bit of a crisis can really offer relief. frame who we all came to love, Captain Tom. The funds, in part, were handed to the regional Thriving This story is poignant, as on Communities Programmes, part of the National 4 March 2021, Public Health Academy of Social Prescribing.[5] England formally recognised being a carer as a social health to o Some of our unsung heroes were having a c re e s determinant.

It’s official. Notice i dit: C M ‘ Pro m particularly tough time. But we listened, your carers! Their health is worse [1] because they care for another. we learned, and the lessons are being

“

In January this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) released guidance for supporting adult carers.[2] This is the perfect time for all of us, whatever sort of agency we work in, to establish welcoming and robust ways of identifying carers and ensuring they have early support.

Hidden Heroes Another creative collaboration in our area is around care for veterans. While we have long had a representative from The British Royal Legion on our social prescribing stakeholder groups, virtual conferencing has enabled conversations between many different groups to help us build a local strategy to reach out to our hidden heroes. Did you know there are about as many veterans as there are people with diabetes? We need to start by asking people if they or anyone close to them has served in the military.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is championing veteran-friendly GP practices,[3] and in our area we are joining the dots between NHS Operation Courage,[4] local veterans’ charities (there are 20,000 in total!) and our social prescribing organisation.

The enthusiasm for working together and creating a meaningful and effective network of care for veterans, their families, their carers and even their ex-partners is massive. We believe the social prescribing method, using link workers to personally link veterans to the help available, will accelerate access to support relating to mental health, relationships, housing, employment, domestic violence and substance abuse. Tragically, the trauma our veterans experience can have longterm negative consequences, and it can take too s’ tu c a long for them to be offered specialist help. iC www.bluestreamacademy.com

shared across the system to improve the care we give carers.

Organisations were encouraged to apply for funds and describe what they might do to rebuild communities where veterans had become isolated from one another during lockdown. One local group, which delivers affordable art, craft and needlework sessions to improve mental wellbeing and friendships, had the brilliant idea of developing ‘creative bubbles’, run virtually, in a manner which not only entertained and passed on skills but also fostered kindness and joy among the participants.

Captain Tom’s money reduced the cost of the sessions by half, making them accessible to many. I’ve seen some of the awesome artwork resulting from this. This is such a tribute to the fact that sy’ Co a even when we are apparently JC ‘ Te Photo credit: restricted in terms of travel and physical contact, our hearts and hands can still bring about beauty and love.

Thanks for reading!

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Public Health England. (2021). Caring as a Social Determinant of Health: Findings from a Rapid Review of Reviews and Analysis of the GP Patient Survey. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/971115/Caring_as_a_social_determinant_report.pdf (Last accessed April 2021) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2020). Supporting Adult Carers. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng150 (Last accessed April 2021) Royal College of General Practitioners. (no date). Veteran friendly GP practices. www.rcgp.org.uk/clinical-and-research/resources/a-to-z-clinical-resources/ veteran-friendly-gp-practices.aspx (Last accessed April 2021) NHS. (2021). NHS Launches ‘Op Courage’ Veterans’ Mental Health Service. www.england.nhs.uk/2021/03/nhs-launches-op-courage-veterans-mentalhealth-service (Last accessed April 2021) National Academy for Social Prescribing. Thriving Communities Fund. https://socialprescribingacademy.org.uk/thriving-communities/thrivingcommunities-fund (Last accessed April 2021)

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A Spotlight On...

Dementia Awareness Dementia is one of the most severe and devastating disorders that we face as a society. With Dementia Action Week recently raising awareness of the condition, we are highlighting the need for early diagnosis by taking a look at our Dementia Awareness eLearning module.

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ompleted by more than 140,000 professionals, our online training module is helping to support health and social care workers throughout the country to understand dementia so they can improve care for the people who need it most. More people are living with dementia today than at any other point in history, yet we have only scratched the surface when it comes to understanding this condition and we are still in search of a cure.

Lewis Cowlishaw Content Development Manager at Blue Stream Academy Lewis Cowlishaw oversees the research, writing and development of our eLearning content while coordinating with subject matter experts from across the UK. “Our enthusiastic in-house development team ensures that we stay on top of the latest developments,” says Lewis. “The key to success at BSA is about being on the pulse of the health and care sector, and having a devoted following of passionate users certainly helps too.”

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Dementia is one of the main causes of disability later in life, affecting more people than cancer, cardiovascular disease and strokes.

But, as a country, we spend far less on dementia than we do on these other conditions.

In years gone by, dementia was thought to be a natural part of ageing, but thanks to research and a growing understanding, people with dementia can now live a longer and more fulfilling life.

• There are more than 850,000 people with dementia in the UK, with numbers expected to reach 1.6 million by 2040.

• One in six people over the age of 80 have dementia.

• Two-thirds of the cost of dementia is paid for by people with dementia and their families.

• There are over 42,000 people under 65 with dementia in the UK. As with any facts and figures it is important to know how these affect your own area, you can see the prevalence of dementia in your area by checking the map at www.dementiastatistics.org/ statistics/dementia-maps.

Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by specific diseases, which include Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia is an umbrella term used to describe a set of symptoms, which can include memory loss and difficulties with language, problemsolving and thinking.

Dementia is a progressive disease, which means that symptoms gradually get worse over time. How symptoms develop varies greatly from person to person, but as dementia progresses a person may develop behaviours that are unusual or out of character.

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These may include repeatedly asking the same question, restlessness or agitation. This is often challenging for the person and those who are close to them.

Dementia usually begins gradually, with very minor changes in the person’s capabilities or behaviour. Such signs are often mistakenly attributed to stress or bereavement – or, in older people, to the normal process of ageing.

It is often only when looking back that we realise these signs were probably the beginnings of dementia. Although dementia is a life-changing condition, early diagnosis can provide longawaited answers for people about their symptoms and can open the door to future care and treatment.

An early diagnosis can also help families and carers feel better supported. Access to information, services and expert advice becomes possible, enabling people living with dementia and their families to learn about the condition and plan for the future.

Norman ‘Norrms’ McNamara, who is living with dementia, explains the importance of early diagnosis in one of his videos:

www.bluestreamacademy.com

Being diagnosed with something like this – and this is going to sound really strange – was probably the best news I ever had at the time, because the simple reason being, I thought I was losing my mind. I thought there was a conspiracy against me. I was right and everybody else was wrong.

SIX STEPS TO REDUCE YOUR RISK

Early diagnosis is so, so, very important. Since I was diagnosed, I knew what I was up against. As they say: know your enemy. If I hadn’t been diagnosed early and I hadn’t been seen by consultants on a regular basis… I wouldn’t be as well as I am today. I don’t know what my future holds, but at least I’m prepared for it.

- Norman ‘Norrms’ McNamara[1] Continued on Page 14

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Continued from Page 13

GPs and primary healthcare teams are central to enabling people to have conversations about memory problems (which can sometimes be difficult) and facilitating early diagnosis. However, dementia presents a challenge to primary care practitioners because of its ever-increasing prevalence and its progressive nature.

Barriers to earlier diagnosis still exist in primary care. These include: • A fear of stigma around the diagnosis • Diagnostic uncertainty • Perceived lack of post-diagnosis treatment and support • Significant time constraints • Financial constraints.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, but it is far from being the only cause.

Carers report a lack of information about the support that is available, and this leads to lower confidence and higher rates of crisis interventions or care-home placements, both of which come at a high cost – both financially and for the wellbeing of people with dementia.

Doctors use several strategies to diagnose dementia. It’s important that they rule out any treatable conditions, such as depression, normal pressure hydrocephalus, or vitamin B12 deficiency, which can cause similar symptoms.

Avoiding identifying certain things as signs of dementia is a key factor that prevents people seeking help and then getting the treatment and support they need at an early stage.

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When someone might have dementia, doctors often begin their examination by asking questions about the person’s history. For example, they may ask how and when symptoms developed and about the person’s overall medical condition. They also may try to evaluate the person’s emotional state, although people with dementia can often be unaware of (or in denial about) how their disease is affecting them. Family members also may deny the existence of the disease, because they do not want to accept the diagnosis and, at least in the beginning, because Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia can resemble normal ageing. Therefore, more steps need to be taken to confirm or rule out a diagnosis of dementia.

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It is very hard sometimes for people to accept they have got dementia because of the stigma with it and connected to it. But if you had a pain in your back or in your chest, or a throb in your legs or your feet and you didn’t know what it was, you would go to a doctor. Yet, with dementia, people seem to shy away from it. But knowing what’s wrong with you is so important. You can’t hide away from it.

- Norman ‘Norrms’ McNamara[1] All this information and more can be found in our Dementia Awareness training module. For more information about Dementia Awareness or any other module from our extensive library, please get in touch with one of the team at info@bluestreamacademy.com

McNamara, N. (2011). The Benefits of an Early Diagnosis of Dementia. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qpg0s349Ig&t=331s (Last accessed April 2021)

Look Who’s Talking:

A Career in Care

Sue Learner, editor of carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk, talks to BSA Today about how the pandemic has led to a huge rise in the shortand long-term opportunities in the adult social care sector.

T Sue Learner Editor of carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk Sue Learner is Editor of carehome. co.uk as well as homecare.co.uk and daynurseries.co.uk. She is a voice for the social care and childcare sector and regularly speaks on both radio and TV. She is also a freelance journalist and has written for numerous publications, including The Guardian, The Telegraph, BMJ and Nursing Standard. She is host of the Let’s Talk About Care podcast.

www.bluestreamacademy.com

he pandemic has put care homes very much in the public eye. This has heightened awareness of care workers and the crucial role they have played during the past year, which has led to a huge rise in people wanting a job in care.

Applications have soared during the past 2 years, with the number quadrupling between March 2019 and March 2021, according to carehome.co.uk, the UK’s leading care-home jobs board.

Applications through carehome.co.uk rose from 5,347 in March 2019 to 21,436 in March 2021; meanwhile, homecare.co.uk, the leading home-care jobs site, has seen a similar rise with applications leaping from 419 in March 2019 to 3,581 in March 2021.

Kathryn Lewis, who manages the jobs board for carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk said: “One of the good things that has come out of the pandemic is that a spotlight has

been shone on the incredible work that care workers do and people have been able to see the difference they make to older and disabled people. It is good news that we have this influx of people coming into the sector, as many care providers struggle with staff shortages and agency staff were seen as one of the contributary factors to COVID-19 spreading during the pandemic.

This will help the care sector stay sustainable in terms of staffing and ensure there are enough care workers to provide essential care to everyone who needs it.”

Occupancy rates in care homes have fallen during the pandemic, but social care analysts Carterwood predict these will rise to prepandemic levels by the end of this year,[1] as vaccinations start to make their impact felt, coupled with the demand of an ageing population Over the past year, the care sector has seen people applying for jobs from wide and diverse backgrounds.

Continued on Page 16

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With most of last year spent in lockdown, the aviation industry lost thousands of employees, and this was echoed across the hospitality and retail sectors.

According to the Office for National Statistics, up to 1.7 million people have been made jobless due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Nellsar Care Homes is one care provider that has been doing its utmost to make use of the skills that people have built up in other careers.

The provider has been helping to recruit people from different backgrounds to work in its 13 care homes based in Kent, Surrey and Essex.

Hayley B

owles

Hayley Bowles Hayley Bowles is a new employee at Nellsar’s Lukestone Care Centre, in Maidstone.

Having spent 15 years with British Airways as cabin crew on long-haul flights to destinations from Costa Rica to Peru, Ms Bowles, like many airline cabin crew, found herself jobless because of the pandemic.

tin

ar Danielle M Danielle Martin

Danielle Martin recently joined Nellsar as a recreation and wellbeing champion at The Old Downs Residential Care Centre, near Dartford, Kent.

A classical dancer and holder of seven Guinness World Records, Ms Martin went from sword swallowing and snake charming to caring for Nellsar’s older residents.

Ms Martin said: “The events of this year meant all my jobs were cancelled, so I was looking for new work. I actually didn’t even know this type of job existed until I found it online and as I read more about it, I realised how suited I would be for it.

My previous role and being a recreation and wellbeing champion are very different jobs in one sense, but there are similarities. In both, you want to make people smile, grab their attention and get them to come on a journey with you and offer some escapism.”

1. https://www.carterwood.co.uk/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-occupancy-could-return-to-pre-pandemic-levels-by-nov-2021/ 2. https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/employmentintheuk/february2021

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Ms Bowles said: “As cabin crew, I was always keen to be on hand to assist older people on board, which is how I knew I would fit well into a care environment. Helping people comes naturally to me. My role was centred around communication and I was required to keep people safe and deal with every situation. People skills and emotional intelligence were key.”

Nicky Stevens Nicky Stevens Colten Care, which has 21 care homes in south-west England, has appointed Nicky Stevens from 1970s pop sensation Brotherhood of Man as a companionship team member. The band gained worldwide fame when they won Eurovision in 1976 with the song ‘Save Your Kisses for Me’. Like many other artists in the music industry, Brotherhood of Man had been looking forward to a year of gigs until the coronavirus pandemic brought the live music industry to a standstill.

She said: “Music is so therapeutic and uplifting. The residents tell me they really love it. Some join in straight away if they know the tune. One lady calls me her ‘little nightingale’. They know I can sing but some don’t know I won Eurovision. I would like to say they are in total awe but they just accept you are performing and appreciate it. As long as they enjoy what I’m doing with them, that’s the main thing.”

A career in social care can bring positivity and boost your self-esteem, and it is suitable for people from a diverse range of backgrounds. There are so many different roles out there. You can search for jobs at www.everydayisdifferent.com/home.aspx The websites carehome.co.uk and homecare.co.uk also have thousands of jobs listed on their jobs boards: www.carehome.co.uk/jobs and www.homecare.co.uk/jobs

www.bluestreamacademy.com

Erin Smith Erin Smith It is a similar story over in the home-care sector where professional footballer, Erin Smith, aged 18, last year joined Caremark as a care worker.

Ms Smith said: “I got myself a job as a care worker for the elderly in my area and I absolutely love the job.

It gives me so much joy because all my clients are absolutely lush.”

Ms Smith has played football since she was 4-years-old, and she was part of the England Colleges squad at an under-18 level, playing for West Bromwich Albion and Coventry United, before she took time off to recover from an injury. The centre back was then forced to temporarily hang up her boots when all professional football was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The government is helping boost the social care workforce and recently launched a new campaign ‘Care for Others. Make a Difference’ - to encourage people to consider a job in the adult social care sector.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I want to thank carers for all they do to look after our loved ones.

Throughout this pandemic, they have gone above and beyond to protect our parents and grandparents, and to provide them with the support and care they need and we would be truly lost without them.

This exceptional career choice is tough but rewarding, and I would urge anyone who is thinking of a career in care to come forward and join this heroic workforce” Our Look Who’s Talking feature is the perfect platform to have your say about the topics that matter most in health and social care. If you would like to get involved and chat to us, please get in touch at bsatoday@bluestreamacademy.com

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A Word from First Practice Management he FPM Group, like the rest of the UK, is gearing up for the end of lockdown, and primary care is no different.

Given that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have announced that they will be restarting their inspections of primary care services, GP practices will need to be ready when the inspector calls.

Gerry Devine, Training Services Manager, has been looking at what challenges’ practices will face in their next inspection.

“A simple plan for practice managers would be to adopt a 3-step gap analysis looking at the leadership teams’ understanding, having existing systems and practices that meet CQC standards, and ensuring that staff are aware that how they work matches up with the inspector’s requirements”.

In April 2021 the number of practices with a ‘requires improvement’ rating was approximately 310, which are members of 89 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).

While the CQC approach is risk based and incremental, the direction of travel is clear – so all practices now need to be thinking about and assessing their current level of preparedness for their next inspection.

Thornfields Primary Care Training Services has a selection of training courses designed specifically to prepare practices for their inspection and help them understand the implications of practice registration with the CQC. Our trainers share best practice and key characteristics of ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ care under each area of inspection, and explain how practices can demonstrate how they worked during COVID-19 to keep staff and patients safe.

For more information and support on how to prepare for your CQC Inspection, please visit: thornfields. co.uk/cqc-compliance-and-inspection-support

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COVID-19

Vaccinator Passport

Blue Stream Academy’s COVID-19 Vaccinator Passport is available on our GP, Nursing & Care Home, Hospice and Urgent & Tailored Care eLearning Suites.

About the Vaccinator Passport

The Blue Stream COVID-19 Vaccinator Passport has been developed for eligible health and care professionals who are participating in the facilitation of the UK’s COVID-19 vaccination programme. Thousands of health and care professionals have already completed the Vaccinator Passport which is kept updated to include relevant new advice and information on the vaccination programme.

Our Vaccinator Passport - designed in line with Public Health England’s vaccinator compliance standards - ensures a direct route to vaccinator status thorugh a digital portal and specific checklist.

Each individual will receive a Blue Stream COVID-19 Vaccinator Passport certificate upon completion.

This is recognised by health and care providers throughout the UK and certified by the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Service.

The cost to register for this training is £9.99 + VAT per trainee. With every purchase, £4.99 will be donated and divided between the following charities which have been supporting those who have been hugely affected by COVID-19: • Hospice UK • Shelter

• FareShare • Mind

• Age UK • RSPCA

For more information or to register for access, get in touch with us on: 01773 822549 or info@bluestreamacademy.com www.bluestreamacademy.com

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Running Headfirst Into a Breach The pandemic changed the fortunes of many organisations. Perhaps none so much as Zoom, which has found itself becoming a noun synonymous with any form of video call.

H

owever, its meteoric rise has not been without some hiccups along the way. There have been many cases of people not securing their meetings, leading to many cases of ‘Zoombombing’ in which unauthorised people join video calls with the intention of sharing lewd, obscene or otherwise distasteful content.

There was also the case of investors wanting to jump on the Zoom bandwagon who inadvertently purchased stock of Zoom Technologies, a small Chinese company which had nothing to do with Zoom, the video chat platform.

Errors and mistakes aside, criminals have also been quick to notice the trend and have been quick to capitalise by registering thousands of fake domains designed to impersonate Zoom and other video conference brands. They have also been using them to send out

phishing links. With the majority of office employees working remotely, receiving Zoom invites or even seeing reminders in their calendar for upcoming Zoom meetings has become a daily occurrence.

It is not just phishing via email that has taken off. People working from home usually have several communication channels they use to interact with colleagues, customers, partners and friends.

These encompass everything from messaging apps to social media and everything in between.

Pulling on Emotions Criminals are very good at crafting messages in a way that pulls on people’s emotions. This can be fear, greed, curiosity, urgency, helpfulness or any other emotion.

One of the biggest reasons for this can be understood by Daniel Kahneman who stated in his book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow” that there

Stuart Walsh

Chief Information Security Officer at Blue Stream Academy As part of the supply chain of the NHS and the healthcare industry in general, we recognise our role in securing our users’ data. With the everevolving and rapidly changing threat landscapes we are now faced with, we strive to continually review our security posture to ensure that our employees are our first line of defence against such threats.

Using KnowBe4’s Security Awareness Training gives us the assurance that our employees are issued with up-to-date guidance that is relevant to their role, and that their understanding is regularly checked and tested.

To learn more about KnowBe4’s Security Awareness Training; please visit www.knowbe4.com and quote: BSAToday 20

are essentially two types of thinking the human brain undertakes.

System one is referred to as fast thinking and largely works automatically and effortlessly via shortcuts, impulses and intuition. It is fast, but also error prone.

System two is also known as slow thinking. It takes time to analyse, reason, solve complex problems and requires people to exercise self-control. It is slow, but reliable.

A good criminal pulls on emotions because it is a surefire way to get people into system one thinking, where they will carry out an action before thinking about it. Think about it. When was the last time you received a scam or phishing attack and the sender was polite and ended with, “please respond whenever is convenient, there’s no rush”?

It’s why an inflammatory Tweet or Facebook post receives so much attention and so many responses, even though we often know we should just ignore it. It just presses our emotional buttons and we need to say something.

So, it becomes difficult to reign people in - even the most security conscious people can be fooled by a WhatsApp message which pops up saying, “Why aren’t you in the meeting? We’re all waiting for you. Click here to join.”

Not a Theoretical Risk The security industry has been guilty in the past of over-hyping issues.

But social engineering threats are very real. If we look at the growth of ransomware over the years, it has become a huge criminal cash cow.

Most ransomware these days is delivered via phishing across multiple channels, hitting organisations across all industry verticals and of all sizes.

Nearly a year ago, Travelex was hit by ransomware which resulted in the business being down for several weeks before they recovered.

Unfortunately, its woes didn’t end there. With the pandemic hitting and many countries going into lockdown, the organisation didn’t get a chance to recover and went into administration later in the year.

Down under in Australia, the CEO of a hedge fund was tricked into clicking on a phishing email disguised as a Zoom invite.

The click gave criminals access to the CEO’s email, which allowed them to send emails posing as the CEO authorising payments amounting to nearly $8m.

And while the hedge fund was able to recover most of the money, the reputational damage was so severe that its main fund pulled out, forcing the hedge fund to shut down.

The fact of the matter is that social engineering attacks are only increasing and becoming the main thrust of cybercrime, which are having far greater impact on victim organisations.

• Incident Response A layered response approach needs to be put in place so that any threats detected can be removed immediately

Ways You Can Stay Safe Staying safe against these attacks is increasingly difficult, not just from the increased sophistication of attacks, but the sheer volume of attack avenues that are available to criminals, ranging from email inboxes, social media accounts, chat apps, sms and phone calls.

• Security Awareness Training Security awareness training should be raised to all users from the most junior all the way to the most senior executives.

The variety and impact of these attacks should be explained and mechanisms provided so that users can quickly and easily report any suspicious activity for the security team to investigate.

• Gain Visibility Security teams need to be able to obtain visibility into all of their organisation’s communication channels.

For most organisations, too many channels are kept in the dark, so often by the time a breach is detected, it is too late.

www.bluestreamacademy.com

• Real-Time Threat Detection All critical accounts, including marketing and executives, need to be monitored continuously for suspicious activity and messaging.

In addition to scanning all files, attachments and links for malware, non-technical social engineering threats should also be sought out.

Javvad Malik Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4 Javvad Malik is a security awareness advocate for KnowBe4, a blogger and co-founder of Security B-Sides London.

As an active blogger, event speaker, and industry commentator, ‘Javvad’s prolific video-blogging provides the industry with his signature fresh and light-hearted perspective on security’.

The original article can be found at: https://blog.knowbe4.com/runningheadfirst-into-a-breach

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Care for Carers

Mental health in healthcare must be prioritised beyond COVID-19 Healthcare workers have been on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19 for over a year now, working round the clock to slow the spread of the virus and save lives.

Dr Nick Taylor unmind.com

Dr Nick Taylor is the co-founder and CEO of Unmind, a workplace mental health platform that provides clinically-based tools and training to create healthier, happier and more human organisations.

Drawing on an early passion for the human mind, Nick studied psychology before gaining a doctorate in Clinical Psychology and embarking on a career with the NHS as a Clinical Psychologist, where he became interested in corporate wellness. Nick then co-founded Unmind in 2016 to address a gap in helping organisations provide their employees with the right tools to look after their mental wellbeing at work.

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A

nd while their efforts have been praised by the British public, the pandemic has seen a surge in mental ill health, especially posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among healthcare staff.

NHS workers have been overworked and are continually confronted with extremely traumatic situations. Recent research conducted by King’s College London reports that 45% of intensive care staff in the UK now have poor mental wellbeing, including 40% with PTSD.[1] And it’s likely that these numbers will grow as we emerge into the new normal.

As recovery continues, the wellbeing of healthcare workers is vital. The added exertion they’re having to make will have a dramatic impact on their mental health, unless mental wellbeing is prioritised not only right now but also post-crisis.

We need a call for measures that offer proactive psychological support, taking into account the specificities of the trauma and experiences frontline workers have faced in the last year.

Why? Because the stakes are too high and if we don’t address this issue now, there will be long-term ramifications. The goal is as much to help healthcare workers thrive and live fulfilling lives as it is to prevent mental health challenges from arising in the first place.

Build Resilience to Fight Burnout The World Health Organization defines burnout as “A syndrome [...] resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”[2].

There’s a misconception that burnout happens all of a sudden.

Instead, it’s a steady drip of negative experiences and stressors that erode us bit by bit.

Over the last year we’ve seen more burnout than ever. As the NHS fought the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, nurses and doctors were plunged into long, intense, and mentally and physically demanding workloads. Facing psychological conflicts between their responsibilities as healthcare workers and the need to look after themselves and their families meant that occupational stress, anxiety and depression were all on the rise.

In fact, the British Medical Association (BMA) found that 67% of doctors in the UK reported that current levels of fatigue and exhaustion were higher than normal – both factors that lead to burnout.[3] We need to redefine and build resilience by taking care of the many aspects that impact our ability to live mentally healthy lives – whether that’s looking at our sleep cycles or how we connect with people. This helps us to reduce the level of stress we experience and avoid burnout, cultivating a fulfilling life, both at work and outside. This is why all healthcare workers – and their employers – must focus on building adequate resilience and coping mechanisms.

When we’re exposed to a life-threatening or intensely fearful situation, our brain goes into an automatic, defensive fight-or-flight mode that suspends normal sensory processing.

As a result, the memory is fragmented into parts, without a clear beginning or end, and it doesn’t get filed away neatly with our other, neutral memories.

This lack of coherent processing has ramifications down the line, including random triggers and a strong sense of ongoing threat. It can leave people feeling on edge, physically jumpy and overly vigilant. There are numerous other symptoms of PTSD, including feelings of anger or shame, low mood and sleep disturbance.

After such a traumatic year for healthcare workers, the risks of developing PTSD will be high, so closely monitoring the situation by enabling healthcare staff to regularly check in and assess their mental wellness, and to discuss it openly with colleagues and managers, will be crucial in the next year and beyond.

Continued on Page 24

After all, we all have mental health that we need to nurture, just like we do with our physical health.

Reactive, treatment-focused solutions help to break the negative cycle of low resilience, high stress and low performance.

To build resilience, the NHS needs to focus on proactive prevention for every employee, offer support from dedicated and experienced specialists, and have a mental health strategy rooted in psychology.

Stop PTSD in its Tracks Looking towards our ‘new normal’, it’s known that PTSD tends to appear once the traumatic situation is over.

So, to avoid long-term and potentially debilitating consequences, it’s important to monitor how frontline staff are coping once we come out of lockdown.

With mental health conditions already accounting for up to 20% of absences at leading hospitals, the BMA has warned that the mental health crisis stemming from the pandemic could lead to a mass exodus of doctors and nurses once the worst has passed.[4] Creating a proactive strategy to tackle PTSD means understanding where it comes from: a bug in the process that enables us to create and store memories.

Normally, memories are stored neatly away in our mind, with a timestamp. But this process doesn’t happen with a traumatic memory. www.bluestreamacademy.com

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Continued from Page 23

Prioritising Mental Wellbeing Post-COVID-19 While it’s difficult to minimise stress during a pandemic, it is possible to effectively cultivate proactive strategies for recovery.

To prioritise the mental wellbeing of healthcare workers now and after the COVID-19 crisis, the NHS – as a business and an employer – will need to focus on a proactive strategy that addresses the mental, emotional, physical and interpersonal aspects of its employees’ health and wellbeing, including: • A whole-person approach: Staff should be encouraged to regularly assess their mental wellbeing and discuss it with their managers so that any issues can be spotted early on and adequately managed. All three elements of our wellbeing – psychological, social and physical – need to be nourished and looked after.

• Engaging every employee: We all have mental health, all the time, so the right mental health programme will need to be inclusive and engage everyone in the workforce. This can be done through the use of preventative tools, resources and support – tackling the whole spectrum of mental health needs.

If everything goes well, the COVID-19 crisis will start to ease. But for frontline workers, it will continue as they process the impact of what they have gone through.

A long-term mental health strategy that focuses on prevention – rather than reaction – needs to be in place to help them through this process, building the right mechanisms and habits to prioritise their mental wellbeing in the long term.

• Support built on measurable psychological insight: In order to prevent mental ill health, the NHS needs insight and data. The programme and platform used should be measurable, helping to deliver value, personalisation and accessibility for all employees.

After all, how can people in our healthcare system care for us, if they aren’t cared for themselves?

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1.

Mahase, M. (2021). COVID-19: Many ICU Staff in England Report Symptoms of PTSD, Severe Depression, or Anxiety, Study Reports. www.bmj.com/ content/372/bmj.n108 (Last accessed April 2021) https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-ofdiseases#:~:text=%E2%80%9CBurn%2Dout%20is%20a%20syndrome,related%20to%20one%27s%20job%3B%20and 3. Ng, K. (2021). Coronavirus: NHS Staff at Risk of Burnout as they Face ‘Nail-Bitingly Difficult’ Weeks Ahead. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/ coronavirus-nhs-staff-burnout-infections-b1781398.html (Last accessed April 2021) 4. Lovett, S. (2021). Coronavirus: Mounting Fears Over Burnout Among NHS Staff as Second Wave Intensifies. www.independent.co.uk/news/health/ coronavirus-burnout-nhs-doctors-nurses-second-wave-cases-deaths-latest-b1256453.html (Last accessed April 2021) 2.

in a £ 10 00

W

Year of the Sunflower Gardening Competition

With lockdown restrictions easing, life is finally starting to feel a little bit more optimistic. To celebrate BSA Today’s 10th issue we are proud to present our Year of the Sunflower gardening competition, exclusive to our Subscribers’ Club* members!

To all of our Subscribers’ Club members, the rules are simple: answer the question below for a chance to win a £1000 National Garden Gift Voucher! Please send your answer, name and contact details to bsatoday@bluestreamacademy.com with the subject title: Sunflower Competition.

What is the name of the 100 year old serviceman who raised money for the NHS last year?

A. Tom Jones

B. Tom Moore

C. Michael Moore

The lucky winner will be chosen at random, and the prize draw will be recorded and uploaded to Blue Stream Academy’s Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn channels on the 30 June 2021.

There’s more too, every person will receive a free chrome Blue Stream Academy clock just for entering! So, get your entries in soon!

On behalf of Team BSA, we wish you good luck!

Did you know?

Sunflowers symbolise optimism, positivity, long life and happiness. *Not a Subscribers’ Club member?! Don’t worry, you can join now by clicking here and following the steps to access each issue of BSA Today before anyone else.

free!

A Breath of Fresh Air

The Benefits of Being Outdoors Article | Brady Braddock, BSA Today Editor

T

he sun shimmered off the surface of the water as the ducks frolicked in the crystal-clear river, about 40 yards wide of the mountain. Wow, what a beautiful view! No, this isn’t an introduction from the legendary David Attenborough, nor a yoghurt commercial - Dovedale is a valley in the Peak District in England.

A majestic beauty spot lying between the villages of Thorpe and Ilam on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border. This was my first visit to Dovedale and, as you can probably tell, it made quite an impression on me.

Thankfully, with summer now here, we can all enjoy the sensation of being outdoors.

From picturesque natural springs to glorious sanddune beaches, the UK is awash with stunning beauty spots. I, like many of you, had seen the endless stream of social media posts from friends, family and colleagues as they embraced the fresh air and began walking recreationally.

“Rather them than me,” I said out loud as they braved the elements in search of accomplishment or, more

26

likely, to break the monotony of the last 12 months of lockdown. As I scrolled through these pictures on social media, though, one thing became apparent: regardless of their rosy cheeks, windswept hair or mud-caked clothing, they were smiling and seemed genuinely happy. I remember thinking, “I should give this a whirl”.

Depending on how you look at things, life can be stressful at the best of times as we juggle our work and family responsibilities.

Finding some time to unwind by taking in some fresh air is a no-brainer for your wellbeing. I’m no expert on the outdoors, but thanks to my trip to Dovedale, I’m now a keen rambler.

So, I thought I’d share just a few of the many benefits of getting outside and breathing in some good air.

• Walking can reduce stress and anxiety and improve your mental and physical wellbeing.

• Walking is a great form of exercise if you want to maintain your fitness and weight-loss goals.

• Walking every day increases your cardiovascular fitness, strengthens your bones, and boosts your endurance.

• Your body burns fat and sugar more efficiently while you’re walking.

• Walking tones your leg and abdominal muscles – increasing your range of motion and shifting the pressure from your joints to your muscles.

Key Awareness Days Carers Week 7th - 13th June

www.carersweek.org

Carers Week is an annual campaign that aims to improve the lives of carers and the people they care for.

Diabetes Week 14th - 20th June

www.diabetes.org.uk/get_involved/diabetes-week

Everyone’s experience of diabetes is different, but we are all united by a common goal – building a better future for people with diabetes.

• Walking slows the development of arthritis and can reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

• Walking can reduce symptoms of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.

• Research finds that people who exercise regularly in their 50s and 60s are 35% less likely to die over the next eight years than their non-walking counterparts.[1] • When walking, your breathing rate increases, causing oxygen to travel faster through your bloodstream, which helps to eliminate waste products, increase your energy level and improve your ability to heal.

• Walking for 20 minutes a day can reduce your susceptibility to dementia by 40%.[2] 1.

2.

Reimers C. D., Knapp G., Reimers A. K. (2012). Does Physical Activity Increase Life Expectancy? A Review of the Literature: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ pmc/articles/PMC3395188 Livingston G. et al. (2020). Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care: 2020 Report of the Lancet Commission, www.thelancet.com/article/ S0140-6736(20)30367-6/fulltext#bib2

Men’s Health Week 14th - 20th June th

www.menshealthforum.org.uk

This year during Men’s Health Week, the campaign founders have asked the question; when it comes to men, mental health, and COVID-19, what’s next?

Cervical Screening Week 14th - 20th June

www.jostrust.org.uk

This year’s conversation is around how COVID-19 has changed cervical screening, and what to expect when you next attend an appointment.

Children’s Hospice Week 21st - 27th June

www.togetherforshortlives.org.uk

Children’s Hospice Week is the only week dedicated to raising awareness and funds for children’s hospice and palliative care services across the UK.

#GladtoCare Week 5th - 11thh July

www.gladtocare.com

The #GladtoCare Awareness week is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating the many ways that care workers go above and beyond. www.bluestreamacademy.com

Spanish Chicken and Lentils Serves 4

Time 40 mins

Ingredients • • • • • • • • • • • •

Diabetes-friendly Summer Recipes

With the long-awaited warmer days fast approaching, many of us will have made plans to see family and friends in the garden – perhaps for a good old-fashioned barbecue. If you’re cooking for a family member or friend who has diabetes and you don’t know where to start, fear not! We’ve put together some nutritious summer recipes that everyone can enjoy.

Three things to keep in mind when preparing a meal for a person with diabetes are the type of carbohydrate, the amount of protein and portion sizes. Getting these things right can help to keep blood sugars within a normal range, which is the ultimate goal in diabetes management.

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2 tbsp olive oil 1 large onion (diced) 4 carrots (diced) 1 red or green pepper (diced) 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped) 1 tbsp smoked paprika ½ low-sodium vegetable stock cube 400g green or red lentils (cooked and drained) 3 medium tomatoes 3 chicken breasts Bunch of fresh parsley (chopped) Ground black pepper.

Method 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C fan / gas 6.

2. Sprinkle some smoked paprika and pepper onto the chicken breasts and place on a foil lined oven tray – place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes.

3. In a large pan, heat up the olive oil and add in the onions, carrots, red or green pepper and garlic and fry until tender, around 10 minutes.

4. Crumble in the ½ stock cube and smoked paprika into the pan. Add in the drained lentils.

5. Chop the tomatoes into small chunks and stir into the lentil mixture – simmer for around 10 minutes.

6. Remove the chicken from the oven and slice.

7. Dish up the hot lentil mixture and top with the sliced chicken.

8. Finish with sliced parsley – delicious!

Prawn and Asparagus Stir-Fry Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 tbsp olive oil • 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce • 3 garlic gloves (finely chopped) • 1 red chilli (de-seeded and thinly sliced) • 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

Time 20 mins

• 1 large bunch of asparagus • 400g long-stem broccoli • 1 large red pepper (sliced) • 500g raw prawns • 1 lemon.

Method 1. Prepare the asparagus by rinsing them and snapping off the ends (they will naturally snap in the correct place).

2. In a small bowl, make the sauce by combining soy sauce, chopped garlic, sliced chilli, minced ginger and the juice of 1 lemon.

3. Heat the olive oil in a wok (or a large frying pan) and once hot, add in the prawns and the sauce you’ve just mixed together.

4. Stir fry for around 2-3 minutes, until they look pink.

Once cooked, remove from the wok and set aside.

5. In the same wok, add in the asparagus, sliced pepper and long-stem broccoli and stir-fry until tender.

6. Add the cooked prawns back into the wok and combine with the vegetables. Serve piping hot!

Warm Roasted Vegetable Salad with Goat’s Cheese Serves 4

Time 30 mins

Ingredients • • • • • • • • •

3 medium sweet potatoes (cut into small chunks) 1 cauliflower (cut into small florets) 2 large handfuls of washed spinach Bunch of flatleaf parsley (chopped) 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 lemon 4 tbsp olive oil 150g soft goat’s cheese (optional) Ground black pepper. www.bluestreamacademy.com

Method 1. Preheat the oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / gas 7.

2. In a large roasting tray, add in the chopped sweet potatoes, drizzle over 1 tbsp olive oil and then roast for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from the oven and toss in the cauliflower florets.

3. Return the tray of sweet potatoes and cauliflower back to the oven and roast for a further 15-20 minutes.

4. Whilst the veg is roasting, you can make the salad dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the zest and juice of the lemon, the balsamic vinegar, the rest of the olive oil and pepper to taste.

5. In a large serving bowl, stir together the roasted veg, spinach, chopped parsley and salad dressing.

Top with the goat’s cheese and enjoy!

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#TeamBSA

N

ow that spring has sprung and summer is nearly here, we couldn’t be more ready for the warmer days and lighter nights at Team BSA HQ. Since our last issue, the team has been busy preparing for the release of our brand-new online forum for Blue Stream customers.

There’s also been lots going on behind the scenes to develop an exciting collaboration with our partners at First Practice Management.

At the end of March, the team welcomed a special guest, Richard McCann from the iCan Academy, who hosted a virtual session with us on the importance of resilience and motivation during unprecedented times.

Dates For Your Diary

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SEP

A massive thank you to Richard from the whole team for his inspirational session!

Dementia, Care & Nursing Home Expo

SEP

With national restrictions under review and gradually lifting, we can’t wait to get out and meet our incredible trainees again.

13 14

The Care Show Birmingham NEC North Ave, Marsten Green, Birmingham, B40 1NT

09

Management in Practice Birmingham The National Conference Centre Coventry Rd, Bickenhill, Solihull, B92 0EJ

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Management in Practice Newcastle

OCT

NOV

NOV

Lounge

Q

Hello,

My staff have been working through their mandatory training for a while now, however we have a CQC inspection coming up and I wondered if you could please advise how often my staff need to take their mandatory training?

Do they just do it the once or does it need redoing?

Thanks, Practice Manager, Devon 30

ILEC Conference Centre 47 Lillie Rd, Earl’s Court, London, SW6 1UD

15 16

In the meantime, we’re preparing for Autumn/Winter 2021, when we hope to meet many of you at the events mentioned within Dates for Your Diary.

LiveChat

Management in Practice London

A

Hi there,

Thank you for getting in touch with Blue Stream Academy! Most modules will need to be retaken every 1 or 2 years, depending on the topic’s ‘retraining period’.

The retraining periods are often decided by individual organisations, and some sites are guided by recommendations from their local governing bodies.

If you need any guidance on how often each module should be retaken, please see our retake guidelines in the ‘Help & Support’ section of the Management of Information System (MIS).

Birmingham NEC North Ave, Marsten Green, Birmingham, B40 1NT

Hilton Newcastle Gateshead Hotel Bottle Bank, Gateshead, Newcastle, B92 0EJ

If you’re worried about remembering when each module needs to be retaken, you can use Blue Stream’s ‘Module Settings’ to set up each module on a site-wide or job-role basis so that it resets automatically in line with your given retraining period.

In these settings, your chosen reset period allows you to give staff a window in which to complete their training, ensuring that they retake the content before the period expires.

We hope this can be of assistance, but if you have any questions please speak to a member of the team!

Many thanks, Team BSA

@BlueStreamNews

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s the leading provider of CPD-certified eLearning for health and care professionals throughout the UK, we’d like to let you know about an important new Blue Stream Academy module that is coming soon.

Our Confidence Building Awareness module is due for release shortly and we think it will be an extremely valuable addition to our currently available eLearning resources.

Confidence Building Awareness

How would you define self-confidence?

Have you discussed confidence issues with your manager or other team members?

This module looks at the impact that issues with confidence can have at work and on personal wellbeing.

Other topics include: • identifying the signs and

characteristics that someone might benefit from building, improving or maintaining their confidence

• factors that might cause issues with self-confidence • skills and techniques that can help with confidence

building.

If you would like more information on this forthcoming release, or on any of our available modules, our team is always on hand and happy to help via email at info@bluestreamacademy.com or by phone on 01773 822549.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@BlueStreamNews) to get our updates and module announcements as soon as they happen!

www.bluestreamacademy.com

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Blue Stream Academy

DO IT ALL FOR YOU! Are you getting the best possible training experience for your money? Want to move training provider, but don’t have the time to switch?

Why not let Blue Stream Academy do it all for you?

As a company, we pride ourselves on going the extra mile for our customers in any way that we can. Our dedicated team is on hand to upload any external training, documents or policies you have, completely free of charge, so you don’t have to.

SEND OVER YOUR DOCUMENTS

WE’LL UPLOAD THEM FOR YOU

YOU’RE READY TO SWITCH!

Don’t just take our word for it, take a read through our customer feedback below!

“

The Blue Stream team have been a delight to work with, with quick responses to any queries. The direct support provided to Gloucestershire Locums for their training has really relieved pressure on Gloucestershire Primary Care Training Hub and been invaluable.

Nothing is too much trouble, and the whole team is professional, friendly and highly responsive.

Mark Thompson Development Support Manager Gloucestershire Primary Care Training Hub

“

“

As a business of 6 care homes and a domiciliary care service, it has been essential for us to ensure our staff teams are fully trained – particularly during the challenges that have arisen alongside the pandemic. The team at Blue Stream Academy have been there to support us at every turn; they are incredibly friendly, always respond in a short period of time and will answer any query we throw at them. The platform itself is outstanding in the services and reporting tools it offers, but the customer service is what makes me recommend Blue Stream to others in the care sector; in my experience it is unmatched. From Ascot Care: thank you to Blue Stream, for your endless support.

As an organisation we are really impressed with the user friendly nature of the online training modules, and the platform is now thoroughly embedded across our organisation. The management system offers a quick and easy way for training records to be regularly monitored across departments and the organisation as a whole to ensure continued compliance.

The set-up process was smooth and efficient and any support that we have needed from Blue Stream along the way has always been provided promptly.

Beth Reeve Ascot Care

Josie Bades Bury Hospice

For more information, get in touch with us on 01773 822549 or at info@bluestreamacademy.com