The Elder - Winter Edition (Home Instead Scarborough)

Home Instead

Scarborough & Ryedale newsletter

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1st Anniversary and Zoe to the team in the office. They both bring extensive experience from their time at Home Instead York, but love Scarborough and the surrounding area so much that they wanted to live here. Who can blame them!

For lots of people, and for many reasons, 2020 went by in a flash. It is hard to believe that we are celebrating the 1st anniversary of Home Instead Scarborough & Ryedale. We are all extremely proud of what we have achieved in the past year in such challenging circumstances. As I write we are hearing more and more positive news about the roll out of vaccinations to our clients and to our team, but we must pause to think about anyone who has been personally affected by the pandemic and offer our condolences.

Our whole team of CAREGivers and colleagues in the office have demonstrated the power of resilience and teamwork on top of the compassion and enthusiasm that they naturally bring to their roles. At Home Instead we aim to provide a service that we would want for our own families and I have no doubts that we have achieved that in our first year. We’re not complacent and we will always seek to grow and improve as we move into what I am confident will be more positive times.

Luke Norbury Managing Director

Balloon photo by Adi Goldstein unsplash.com

After nearly 12 years of running our Home Instead office in York, I thought that I had seen almost everything. Nothing could surprise me. Although I was prepared for some hard work and commitment to make a success of our new office covering Scarborough and Ryedale, little did I know what 2020 had in store for us when I signed the lease for our premises on Scalby Road in December 2019.

After our refurbishment of the office we were raring to go by the first week in March which turned out to be poor timing. But Becky, our amazing Care Manager, was unfazed by this setback. We completed our registration with the Care Quality Commission during the first lockdown and by June we were ready to have another crack of the whip.

We were (and still are) very much on a mission to let everyone in Scarborough and Ryedale know about how our style of care and support could help them or their loved ones continue living in their own homes. At the same time we started to attract the attention of some fantastic CAREGivers who share our passion for providing care that involves building relationships with our clients and understanding them, their needs and their preferences. We have built a fantastic team and we are still growing.

In August and September we welcomed Jayne

Meet the Home Instead Team

Becky Volans

Jayne Sykes

Zoe Ziolkowski

Hi, I’m Becky. I joined the Home Instead Scarborough & Ryedale team in February 2020 when the office first opened.

I have experience of both home care and residential care from previous roles in Scarborough, Ryedale and further afield.

I have a real passion for working with Home Instead’s clients and their families to provide the best possible home care. I joined Home Instead because I believe in their mission to change the face of ageing and improve the lives of older people in Scarborough and Ryedale.

As Registered Manager I have overall responsibility for the service we provide to our clients and the support we provide to our team of CAREGivers.

I came from a retail/admin back­ ground and joined Home Instead in York in 2017 as a CAREGiver after I was made redundant from a company I’d worked with for 30 years.

A friend suggested I contact Home Instead to make enquiries about their CAREGiver roles as she thought I would be perfect for the job!

The role of a CAREGiver is so rewarding, knowing I was making a real difference to someone’s life I would look forward to going to work each day - it didn’t actually feel like work!

Since relocating to Scarborough I’ve moved back into a full-time office based role. I’m extremely excited to be part of the team in Scarborough, setting up the office, building the business with Becky and recruiting a great team of CAREGivers offering the best in Home Care in the area.

I originally started my Home Instead journey as a CAREGiver for the York office in 2013, following my own family experience of home care that was given to my Nanna.

The assurance of knowing the person you love is being cared for and kept safe and the selfless work a CAREGiver does was an inspiration to me.

I’m now working as a Care Coordin­ ator after relocating to Scar­borough with my family. I can’t wait to introduce the Home Instead outstanding values and quality of care to the Scarborough and Ryedale community.

My role involves being out in the community meeting with new clients and their families, carrying out service reviews and quality assurance visits and performing CAREGiver support visits.

Registered Care Manager

Recruiter

Care Coordinator

Winter Check List

Now that winter is here we’ve put together a check list to make sure you are ready for the cold winter days and nights. ❄ Make sure your heating has been serviced. The general advice is this should be done annually. ❄ Keep a torch handy in case of power cuts and a radio with extra batteries. ❄ Make sure you have plenty of layers of clothing to wear, warm slippers for indoors and grippy shoes if you are heading out. ❄ Have regular hot drinks, it’s a good idea to keep a flask close by. ❄ It’s important to have at least one hot meal a day. Eating regularly will help keep your energy levels up. ❄ Make sure that the room you spend most of your time in is warm throughout the day. ❄ Heat your bedroom before going to bed. Set the timer on your heating to come on before you get up and switch off when you go to bed. ❄ Use an electric blanket or a hot water bottle but not at the same time. ❄ Wear bed socks, thermal underwear and hat in bed if it’s really cold. ❄ Make sure you have a list of emergency contacts such as your doctor, insurance helpline and chemist in case you need them.

Covid-19 Home Care Here at Home Instead Scarborough & Ryedale, we understand that these are challenging times for everyone.

The Government has made it clear that people should socially distance and only leave home for food shopping, medication, and work where these are deemed to be essential. Current evidence suggests that although Covid-19 can affect people of all ages it is those who are 60 and above and people with underlying medical conditions who are at increased risk.

During this time of uncertainty, we want to make sure that you can have an ‘outstanding’ level of care and that you are able to feel safe in your own home.

All our CAREGivers are provided with the necessary Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) including face masks, aprons, gloves and hand gel.

What is Covid-19 home care?

During the Coronavirus pandemic you or a loved one may have to self-isolate at home. This could be because

you or a family member are showing symptoms of Covid-19 and are awaiting test results, or unfortunately you have the Coronavirus. With our Covid-19 home care service, we can create a bespoke care plan to meet your needs and requirements to help you through your selfisolation.

Whether you are already receiving home care from us and require additional visits or whether you require an urgent care plan due to a family member who is unable to visit you, we can help.

What are we doing about Covid-19?

Our main goal is to keep our CAREGivers and clients as safe as possible. The policies and procedures we have in place are following guidelines set out by the Government and Public Health England. All our CAREGivers are provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) which includes aprons, gloves, hand sanitiser, face masks and face shields.

Contact us today If you would like to find out more about the Covid-19 care we can provide for you, please contact us on 01723 263 263 or email: info@hiscscarborough.co.uk

Bringing a little laughter into the community Throughout the winter as the have booklets which they developed also have hard copies available in the nights get darker and the days alongside local charities that contain Home Instead Scarborough office, colder, our joints stiffen so it’s home routines and even a video which will be available when we can probably time to begin thinking nutrition course and a book on the once again open to the public. about our ‘health and wellbeing’. way. But to Simon and Janette the Small family run company, Roots most important thing has always of Yggdrasil have struggled through been to help people improve their the back to back lockdowns and tried health and tackle isolation. to bring a little laughter into the lives The community interest company of the community through a series named themselves after Yggdrasil of light hearted exercise videos on – the Old Norse name for the tree Facebook, where son and mother of life, the meeting place of the Simon and Janette Town, have old gods where they would discuss bickered and bantered the days away their issues openly without fear of with a camera. being judged. They dreamed that Roots of Yggdrasil was set up one day they would be able to form for two reasons – to help provide some of the roots that support accessible exercise classes to the the community and bring people elderly and infirm and to get people together and form new friendships. out of isolation. Through social media So, as we enter 2021 why not try their exercises are now mere clicks something different? Visit Roots away with over 100 videos covering of Yggdrasil CIC Facebook page, by a wide range of conditions. They scanning the QR code opposite. We Tel: 07906 426068 • Email: info@rootsofyggdrasil.co.uk • Website: https://www.rootsofyggdrasil.co.uk

Introducing our Pen Pal scheme Photo: Aaron Burden unsplash.com

Age UK Scarborough & District are delighted to introduce you to their pen pal scheme.

The pen pal scheme’s aim is to combat loneliness amongst the older generation, by connecting with children from local primary schools who will write to them.

The children involved are approximately 10 years old, in year five and write the first letter asking questions to get things started. They currently have 93 children’s letters ready to distribute and writing would be every couple of months or so.

Age UK are exceptionally mindful of Covid-19 and potential safeguarding concerns, so they quarantine the letters for a number of days and do not give out any addresses. They will act as the postal service and take the letters once collated into the school for you.

Home Instead Scarborough will be acting as the intermediary between their clients and Age UK, so if being part of the pen pal scheme is something you may be interested in, just give us a call on 01723 333026.

Scarborough Dial A Ride here for you Scarborough Dial A Ride is a local, independent community transport charity that was established in 1983.

They have a fleet of 8 accessible minibuses and 2 wheelchair accessible cars and a team of drivers and passengers’ assistants who are mainly volunteers. Their aim is to support people’s independence with safe, reliable and affordable, door to door service which can be used by anyone aged over 60 or people of any age with a disability.

Dial A Ride can take you shopping, keep health related appointments and depending on the Covid 19 situation and guidelines, to attend social clubs, daycare, to go to the hairdressers or just visit family and friends. Fares are kept as low as possible. For example, a return trip from Newby into town or to Scarborough hospital is just £4.90 and the same trip from the Cayton, Eastfield area would be just £6.40 return. If someone goes with you from the same address i.e. carer, they pay a flat fee of just £2. The only other charge they make is a £3 annual membership fee. Currently, North Yorkshire County Council will cover the first fare of anyone who has not used us before although you will still need to pay your membership fee but this gives you a chance to

give Dial A Ride a go for the first time for just £3.

Minibuses are staffed by a driver and passenger assistant and together they ensure you have a safe and enjoyable journey, offering assistance if needed; carrying shopping bags, helping you get on and off the bus etc. All their minibuses are either low floor or have hydraulic tail lifts. They incorporate drop down steps and grab rails for ease of boarding and can accommodate most types of wheelchairs and can also carry motorised scooters. All drivers and passenger assistants work incredibly hard to provide our friendly and reliable service, all are DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checked and receive appropriate training.

To ensure Dial A Ride can keep operating in the current situation and to help keep everyone safe and well, they have numerous additional protocols and procedures in place during the pandemic that are over and above their usual cleaning regime. Currently, they are asking that passengers also wear face masks while travelling.

Dial A Ride operates Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm. To find out more information or to register or book a journey, please call 01723 354434 or visit their website www.scarboroughdialaride.org.

Home Instead Senior Care 409a Scalby Road, Scarborough YO12 6UA Telephone: 01723 263 263 Email: info@hiscscarborough.co.uk www.homeinstead.co.uk/scarborough-ryedale

Safe ■ Effective ■ Caring ■ Responsive ■ Well-Led “Each Home Instead Senior Care® franchise office is independently owned and operated.”