Care South Take 5 May 2022

Take

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News and views from around Care South Issue 15 | May 2022

page

Our shining stars shine even brighter after storm damage at Queensmead!

2 An amazing team effort successfully moves residents to a temporary home at ‘Queensmead at Castle Dene’

Inside...

Update from Simon Bird........................... 2 A Moment with Maggie.............................. 3

Care South welcomes..........................4-5 Care South sponsors Dorchester Rugby Foodball Club.................................... 5 Update from Martin Ross, Director of Care South at Home........ 7 Update from Aaron Whitehead, Director of Residential Care.................. 9

A grand day out at AFC Bournemouth page

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Celebrating Food, Fun and Friendship across our homes page

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Plus – all your favourite Take 5 competitions and features

Welcome to

Take5

I hope that you all managed to have time for family celebrations over Easter – and time for some chocolate! Your hard work in keeping all residents, clients and each other safe from the virus has meant that so many more families have been able to be with their loved ones this Easter – far more so than in the last two years.

All Care South staff continue to be amazing – so resilient and dedicated to providing the very best care. I genuinely hope that the recent pay increases, particularly those for our frontline staff, were well received. They were the highest that I can recall in my time at Care South, and a true statement of just how much we value you all.

Armed with our rigorous infection control measures and safe working practices – and arms full of booster vaccinations – we seem to be winning the war against COVID-19. I am sure that our sector will be amongst the last to benefit from the relaxation in restrictions, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and we are ever-closer to returning to a more recognisable degree of normality.

Looking through this edition of Take 5, it has been a tough start to the year – infection rates have been high and homes have been closed from time to time – but despite that, there has been plenty of activities and fun across Care South.

As you will see, we have welcomed some new starters across the group, all of whom have settled in really well. We also continue to welcome back many staff who have previously left us for another employer. Please remember our ‘Refer a Friend’ scheme which could earn you £500 and mean that you get to work with a friend!

Electronic Care Planning has now been successfully rolled-out across all our care homes, and the project to introduce this to Care South at Home is well underway.

I was so grateful to everyone involved in the temporary move of residents from Queensmead to Castle Dene, when we lost Queensmead’s roof during Storm Eunice. There is no better example of people living Care South’s HEART Values and really pulling together in a crisis – TEAMWORK at its very best.

Despite the many challenges that we have presently, there is still plenty to be excited about at Care South...

The extension works to Beauchamp House are well underway, as is the building of the new extra care scheme at Kenwith Castle; construction of the new home in Poole is due to commence any day now and we’re just about to start work on the new specialist dementia gardens at Buxton House and Kenwith Castle.

We have resumed our visits to all our services now it is safe to do so, and I very much look forward to seeing you over the coming months.

In the meantime, thank you everyone for all your hard work and for continuing to observe the very high standards in the most testing of times.

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Simon Bird, Chief Executive

Teamwork makes the dream work Operation Queensmead at Castle Dene Well done to everyone who was involved in the amazing team effort for ‘Operation Queensmead at Castle Dene’ in February and March – nothing short of phenomenal!

Everyone demonstrated our Care South HEART Values in what was an all-hands-on-deck situation.

For those who don’t know what happened, here’s the background...

In February Storm Eunice caused significant damage to the roof at Queensmead. Due to the continuous bad weather, emergency repairs couldn’t be made, so all residents were initially moved to the home’s lower floors with the top floor being safely isolated. However, with continuing heavy rainfall, the decision was taken to move residents to Castle Dene in the best interests of everyone.

A 35-strong team, including many of the Senior Management Team, worked brilliantly together to move 27 residents to Castle Dene, as well as making sure the home was fully ready to welcome them. Residents woke up and had breakfast at Queensmead and later on in the day they were having lunch at Castle Dene! Everyone did such a fantastic job and we have been delighted with the positive feedback we’ve received from residents and their loved ones, with some taking the time to write personal letters of thanks.

Queensmead is owned by BCP Council, which is now working to repair the damage and has appointed a chartered surveyor to manage the repairs and ensure we can safely move back into the home when completed.

A big thank you to all involved! We are proud of you all – our shining stars!

Help our recruitment drive with your positive reviews!

Are you proud to be working for a company that really cares and makes a real difference to people’s lives?

Don’t forget to leave your positive reviews on Indeed or Glassdoor by scanning the QR codes below.

Thank you for your support in helping our continued recruitment drive.

A Moment with Maggie Spring is finally here! Whilst we continue to deal with a changing landscape, it is nice to see the sunshine and flowers.

I am pleased to announce that we are beginning to see some positive signs in recruitment and attracting new candidates to Care South.

We have a great deal to offer as an employer: good pay rates, great personal and career development opportunities, fresh and refurbished environments in which to work and regular reward and recognition. Please welcome any new starters by giving them as much support and guidance as possible.

Indeed

Glassdoor

The recruitment team, Rachel, Mark, Mandy and James are visiting locations and they will be happy to share with you what we are doing to attract new candidates. Please share any thoughts or ideas you may have on recruitment with them. As Simon has mentioned, if you have friends, family or other contacts that you can encourage to come and work for us, we are offering welcome bonuses and you will receive a ‘Refer a Friend’ reward.

With rising energy costs, I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of our comprehensive Employee Assistance helpline. This is an external third party which offers advice ‘around the clock’ on all types of matters, including financial, marital, family and relationship as well as legal information and lots of other guidance. This service is completely confidential – you can phone 0330 058 4885, which is a free number to call, or visit www.lap-assist.co.uk. Please see your notice board for more information which includes the username and password to use.

Ellie Evans has joined us as Head of Human Resources, both Ellie and I are visiting a variety of homes, so I hope to see some of you during my visits.

A grand day out – and an excellent result!

Care South staff, including our newly-appointed Head of Marketing and PR, Chris Golding, were delighted to attend AFC Bournemouth Women’s first-ever competitive match on Sunday 10 April.

Care South gifted tickets to staff and their families to attend and watch the big game at the Vitality Stadium.

Everyone had an excellent afternoon watching the game and cheering on our local team. AFC Bournemouth triumphed 4-1 against Chesham United in a great result!

Maggie

Maggie Searle, Director of HR and Training

Send us your news!

We’d love to hear your news for the next edition of Take 5 ! Tell us about your activities and all the fun and fundraising you’ve been getting up to. Send all your pictures, news, comments and ideas to take5@mckennatownsend.com We look forward to hearing from you!

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Care South welcomes...

A big hello to our new Head of HR We are pleased to welcome a new Head of HR, Ellie Evans.

Ellie joins us with over 18 years’ experience in HR and her previous role was working in the Colten Care HR team for seven years.

Commenting on her new appointment, Ellie said: “I am delighted to be joining Care South, everyone’s been so welcoming and there’s a great team of people who are committed to providing excellent service. It’s been a challenging time and people have been so dedicated. Our key focus is on ensuring that people feel supported and know that they are appreciated.”

Fairlawn welcomes back a familiar face We are delighted to welcome back experienced Home Manager, Janine May, who previously worked for Care South for over 20 years.

Janine has worked in the care industry all her life, after studying Health & Social Care at school, and has various qualifications in specialisms such as dementia care, as well as a Registered Manager’s Award. Janine is a former winner of the South West Regional Care Awards and even made it to the national finals.

Commenting on her return to Care South, Janine said: “In 2018 I took the opportunity to nurture a new home in the community and once this achieved its full potential, I came back to Care South. I look forward to being part of a new, caring team at Fairlawn and building new relationships.”

Duo of advisors expands the recruitment team

Rachel takes up position as Peripatetic Home Manager

Mandy Thatcher and Mark Walters have joined us in new positions as Recruitment Advisors.

Rachel Sohorye has taken up a new position as Peripatetic Home Manager.

Mandy has eight years’ experience in the sector and has relocated from Wales where she was a Recruitment Manager for a home care company.

Rachel has worked for Care South since 2019 and was the Home Manager at Maiden Castle House where she won ‘Home Manager of the Year’ in the 2021 Star Awards.

Rachel has also spent time at Fairlawn and most recently worked with the team at Sussexdown.

Mark brings with him over 15 years’ experience in the recruitment industry, across multiple sectors.

Both are looking forward to driving the recruitment programme forward as well as sharing the opportunities and career paths available with the Company.

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She is enjoying getting out, visiting other homes and supporting them to make a positive difference.

Rachel will also shortly be starting a leadership qualification as part of Care South’s new Management Development Programme, to further her skills and knowledge.

New Regional Support Manager welcomed to the team James Marchant joins the business as Regional Support Manager with over 30 years’ experience in the care industry.

He started as a Community Care Assistant and then moved to work in the learning disability sector, becoming a Registered Manager at the age of 26.

He then grew his career with various care companies as Home Manager and Area Director, Quality Manager and Regional Support Manager and helped commission a new care home before becoming the home’s Manager.

In his new role at Care South, James will support homes and managers across the group to provide the best person-centred care for residents.

Tracie is our new Care at Home Manager for Bournemouth Tracie Gregory joins the Care at Home Bournemouth team with over 15 years’ experience in the care industry, working across both care at home and within care homes.

Her passion is care at home and she is delighted to be joining to head up the Bournemouth team, commenting: “I am so pleased to be joining Care South.

I have had various roles within the care industry, but my passion is providing care at home.

“I am extremely happy to be working within the company in a position where I can make a difference, alongside my team, to the individuals we look after in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole communities.”

Care South sponsors Dorchester Rugby Football Club’s 150 th celebrations We are delighted to announce an exciting local partnership with Dorchester Rugby Football Club (DRFC), which will see Care South support the club at a grassroots level and become the title sponsor of its 150th anniversary ball.

DRFC offers players of all ages and abilities the opportunity to play rugby and is based at the heart of the Dorchester community, close to Maiden Castle House and the Care South at Home West Dorset office in Poundbury.

Simon Bird commented: “Community partnerships are important to us, and we are delighted to be supporting such a fantastic local group which is right in the heart of one of our Care at Home and residential care areas. We will be working together to raise the profile of community rugby as well as welcoming the players to Maiden Castle House over the coming weeks.”

Anagram Corner Can you untangle these tricky anagrams?

All these words can be found on the pages of this issue of Take 5. The first five correct entries drawn out of the hat will all receive a £30 voucher.

TA ZL EEHIB TILMUPNA BIELJUE SEQNUMDEAE VA NSIERYA NR THERA LUVSEA DOGO WESN DOL FRADTORF

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Celebrating Food, Fun and Friendship across our homes

Alexandra House celebrated Valentine’s Day in style.

Celebrations for the Platinum Jubilee started early at Maiden Castle House with the planting of a beautiful magnolia.

St Patrick’s Day at Wickmeads – a day full of Food, Fun and Friendship.

The Lizzies at Elizabeth House – much more glamorous than the Oscars!

The ladies at Buxton House were left feeling a million dollars after their pamper session!

Everyone enjoyed ‘Bring your pet to work day’ at Fairlawn.

A trip to Poole Quay with fish and chips in the spring sunshine for residents at St Ives House.

Delicious treats and lovely gifts at Talbot View for Mother’s Day.

The residents at Dorset House made bird feeders to encourage birds into the garden.

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The battle of the bake off at Kenwith Castle!

A competitive game of scrabble at Beauchamp House.

Making daffodils for the St David’s Day celebrations at Fern Brook Lodge.

Update from Care South at Home It has been an incredibly busy winter for the Care South at Home team – sometimes challenging but always positive.

Once again, our teams proved how dedicated, caring and resilient they all are. In January, we were pleased to welcome Tracie Gregory, our new Registered Manager for the Bournemouth service – Tracie has hit the ground running and is already making a real difference!

Our new office in West Dorset is doing well – of particular note is the hospital discharge service with Dorset County Hospital. Having transferred three of Care South’s five Assisted Living services into Care South at Home, we plan to transfer the remaining two shortly. We have introduced mobile devices with mobile rostering and this year will see us roll-out Electronic Care Planning using the same devices – all part of our drive to modernise and future proof our services.

2022 will also see the roll-out of Care South’s leadership and management training for all Supervisors, Team Leaders, Deputies, Managers and any rising stars.

As the year progresses we will be introducing Care South’s dementia strategy, offering practical tools, training and introducing dementia coaches into each service – this will be a great foundation to develop specialist services for people with complex dementia needs who want to live well at home.

In summary, Care South at Home is developing and growing in a sustainable and quality-focussed way, and we are modernising and diversifying into specialist and Assisted Living services. People, Passion, Purpose sums up who we are, what we do and why we do it!

Martin Ross, Director of Care South at Home

Care South at Home celebrates Employee Appreciation Day Employee Appreciation Day offered the perfect opportunity to say a big thank you to all our wonderful, front-line Care South at Home teams.

The Crewkerne office handed out bunches of beautiful daffodils and the Bath office presented carers with a gift bag filled with treats as a token of appreciation and to thank the teams for everything they do.

at home

We’re going to need a bigger board!

With so much to celebrate, the Bath Care South at Home office has installed a ‘Good News’ board to showcase the team’s amazing stories, activities and achievements.

With so many good news stories and accolades, it looks like the team is going to need to get a bigger board!

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Take5 photography competition It was certainly a tough one to judge this issue!

As a result, we have picked an overall winner and some very worthy runners-up as well.

It’s Take5 quiz time!

Fancy being our Spring quiz winner and bagging yourself a £30 voucher? Simply answer the ten questions below and send your answers to take5@mckennatownsend.com 1.

Wendy Harrington from Elizabeth House is our overall winner with this lovely shot entitled ‘Treasures of Spring’. Congratulations Wendy – you have won a £30 voucher.

A big well done to all our runners-up as well – each of you will receive a £20 voucher:

What is the infamous New York Times game where you get six chances to guess a five-letter word?

2. Which new film was released in March that features Robert Pattinson?

3. Name a blue, spring flower that is protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act

‘Free at Last’ – Pauline Russ from Care South at Home Bath

‘Fish for Supper’ – Els Kitto from Kenwith Castle

4. What day of the week is Easter traditionally celebrated on?

5. Which English football team plays its home matches at Old Trafford?

6. The ‘H’ in H20 stands for what?

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Which vegetable gave Popeye the Sailor Man his strength?

‘Snowdon Views’ – Tabitha Wright from Dorset House

Helen Osborn from Dorset House

8. How many sides does an octagon have?

9. Which country is the cheese Brie originally from?

10. What is the biggest animal in the world?

Closing date is 13 June 2022 and all the winners, plus the correct answers, will be in the next issue.

Good luck everyone!

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‘Sandbanks Sunset’ – Jaime Webb from Alexandra House

‘The Viridescent Spring Light’ – Mimi Thomas from Elizabeth House

Get snapping and you could be our winner in the next issue of Take 5 ! Simply email your photos and your details to take5@mckennatownsend.com along with the title of your shot.

Update from Aaron It’s certainly been a challenging start to the year!

I’d like to thank everyone for their hard work and resilience.

Ash and Maria to run 100km Acting Home Manager, Ash Smith and Assistant Chef, Maria Barnes at Maiden Castle House, have set themselves the challenge of running 100 kilometres in 24 hours to raise money for the home.

They are both undertaking a strict training programme and will start their run along the Jurassic coast at 4am on 18 June, arriving at Maiden Castle House at the end of the day. Good luck Ash and Maria!

New minibus donated to Sussexdown The team at Sussexdown was delighted to welcome a brand-new minibus to the home last month, which was kindly donated by the estate of the late Wing Commander Neville Baker, a former resident at the home.

The new minibus, which will be know as ‘The Baker Bus’ is certainly going to help give residents a summer of adventures this year!

A big thank you for this wonderful gift.

Despite these challenges, we are delighted to report that the roll-out of our Electronic Care Plans across all our homes is now complete. This project started in April last year at Sussexdown and completed in April this year at Kenwith Castle.

This fantastic achievement sees us become one of the pioneering care groups to roll out digitisation ahead of the Health Secretary’s target for 80% of care providers to use digital records by March 2024.

A big thanks to each and every one of you for embracing the new plans which have completely changed the way we record care at our homes. We know that you’ve all really seen the benefits of the Electronic Care Plans and we’ve had some exceptional feedback from family and friends.

Aaron Whitehead, Director of Residential Care

Vera celebrates in style at Fremington Manor!

Vera celebrated her milestone 106th birthday on Wednesday 20 April at Fremington Manor with her family, friends and fellow residents, who certainly made sure her big day was a special one.

Appledore Band, a local community brass band, was in attendance to deliver a special concert and Vera enjoyed her favourite meal, fish and chips, followed by a slice of cake and lovely cup of tea.

Happy Birthday Vera, we hope you had a wonderful day!

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Take 5 minutes with Darren’s Bread and Butter Pudding There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned homemade bread and butter pudding – and it’s a great way to use up leftover stale bread instead of throwing it away. This recipe will feed six.

Ingredients 55g butter, at room temperature 10 slices soft white bread, cut diagonally 55g g ​ olden raisins or sultanas 1/ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 4 1/ teaspoon cinnamon 4

11/2 cups milk

1/ cup single cream 4

2 large eggs (free-range) 4 tablespoons white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method: 1.

Grease a 1.5-litre oven-proof dish with a little of the butter

2.

Spread one side of each of the bread triangles with the remaining butter

3.

Cover the base of the dish with overlapping triangles of bread, butter-side up. Sprinkle with half the raisins/ sultanas, then lightly sprinkle with a little nutmeg and cinnamon. Repeat this layer until the dish is filled, finishing with raisins/sultanas on top

4.

In a saucepan, gently heat the milk and cream but do not boil. Set aside

5.

In a medium-sized heatproof bowl, beat the eggs with 3 tablespoons of the sugar and the vanilla extract until light, airy, and pale in colour

6.

Slowly pour the warm (not hot) milk over the eggs, whisking continuously, until all the milk is added

7.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/355° F/Gas mark 5

8.

Pour the egg mixture slowly and evenly over the bread until all the liquid is added. Gently press the bread down into the liquid. Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar over the surface and set aside for 30 minutes

9.

After 30 minutes, bake the pudding in a hot oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown, the pudding is well risen, and the eggs are set.

Serve hot and enjoy!

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Darren Lean, Head Chef at Fern Brook Lodge What made you decide to become a chef?

have an amazing “ We team at Fern Brook Lodge and everyone has a vital role to play.

”

I always intended to join the Army but once I started cookery lessons at school, I found a new passion working with food. So, at 16 I joined the Army Catering Corps and completed a two-year apprenticeship before going on to join the Army.

Following this, my passion for food led me back to being a chef.

How do you plan and create the menu?

As a team we always like to collect feedback from residents in our care and from this, we tailor our menus around what’s the most popular and what’s in season, for everyone to enjoy.

What are some of your residents’ favourite meals?

Residents love nothing more than a good old Sunday roast, it’s a very traditional meal and everyone loves getting together, not only for the food but for each other’s company as well.

How do you organise and run a busy kitchen?

Planning well in advance is essential! Whether it’s organising staff rotas, ordering supplies or developing our menus, we have an amazing team at Fern Brook Lodge and everyone has a vital role to play in ensuring the kitchen runs smoothly.

What do you love most about your job?

Most of all, the feedback and smiles from the residents and knowing that, as a department within the home, we successfully carried out our role to the best of our ability and are always ready and prepped to do it all again the next day.

Take5 WordSearch Try this Wordsearch for a little brain-teasing fun!

All the words below are hidden in the grid...

EASTER

EMPLOYEE

SPRING

APPRECIATION

KINDNESS

DECORATE

CHOCOLATE

REWARDING

BUNNY

HONESTY

CHEF

STRENGTH

AWARDS

OWNERSHIP

ACHIEVEMENT

CHEERFUL

DORCHESTER

ATTENTIVE

CELEBRATION

Spot the object We’ve zoomed in on this commonplace kitchen utensil – can you identify it?

E 0 A Z R E W A R D I N G D G O C L A G

A X Q W R F X G M Z K J S J N W E M P R

S Z V D A B Z I J W I F U U D N L N P F

T D K M U R A Q I L N I N O W E E T R I

E F S J H C D T G Z D D S L K R B I E D

R L I P X I Q S K X N L H M A S R F C U

Y D E C O R A T E B E K I K C H A S I J

Q G G A M F F N N A S Q N D H I T J A C

A T T E N T I V E J S O E G I P I F T H

X B W S P R I N G C R N L U E X O Z I O

E N I C R O Q H P N S R R Z V Z N B O C

A J C V H X F Y L F N T I G E S K C N O

D O R C H E S T E R M L R H M C H O W L

J U N V W P E B P B X P W E E M F I D A

H R Q I F L R R X Z U K F M N U V W X T

S D C B Q B P H F J R N D L T G K L G E

S H X Z P C U B K U M H N Q S W T B L R

C H E F M W X L K W L B Z Y R V X H V Q

L M N R Q F H T N F E M P L O Y E E X F

H O N E S T Y M P L G C I K G F N K D F

Take5 winners Congratulations to all our winners from the winter issue!

Simon Powell from Head Office won our Take5 quiz and will receive a £30 voucher. Well done Simon for getting all ten questions correct!

Caroline Dummackin from Elizabeth House, Els Kitto from Kenwith Castle, Dominique Tilsed from Alexandra House, Virginia Pridall and Linda Edwards, both from Care South at Home Crewkerne all guessed the Spot the Object and will each receive £30 vouchers.

Also receiving a £30 voucher for solving the anagrams correctly is Kathy Dowling from Care South at Home Crewkerne, Terri Ann Banks from St Ives House, Karen Maidment from Talbot View, Michele Dafter from Buxton House and Elizabeth Wheeler from Head Office.

Last but not least, our Spot the Difference winners were Sue Watson from St Ives House, Miranda Cameron-Taylor from Care South at Home Crewkerne, Sarah Robinson from Sussexdown and Amy Harris from Elizabeth House.

Send your answer to

take5@mckennatownsend.com – the first five correct entries selected from the hat will each win a £30 voucher.

Winter quiz answers The answers for the quiz in our winter issue of Take5 were: 1. 4 2. Danny Miller 3. King’s Cross 4. Libra 5. Staycation 6. London 7. Muscles 8. The Beatles 9. Star Wars 10. Seville Oranges

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Take 5 Spot the difference

In anticipation of this year’s Royal celebrations, this issue’s Spot the Difference features some colourful Platinum Jubilee cupcakes.

All you need to do is identify the eight differences between these two pictures – the first five correct entries selected from the hat will each receive a £30 voucher.

Good luck everyone!

Take5 competition entries

And finally...

Send your entries for all our Take 5 competitions to: take5@mckennatownsend.com

Is this our youngest ever Take 5 fan?

Closing date for all competitions in this issue is 13 June – and all the winners will be listed in the next edition of Take 5.

Good luck everyone!

Lara Biggs, 2 1/2, and Great-Granddaughter of resident Daisy, enjoyed the winter edition – even upside down!

Head Office | 39 Commercial Road | Poole | Dorset | BH14 0HU 01202 712400 | info@care-south.co.uk

care-south.co.uk Registered Charity No. 1014697

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