The Companion - March Edition

Home Instead

YORK newsletter

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Check out our website: www.caregiver support.co.uk

March 2021

‘Star of the show’ Douglas appears on Look North Home Instead York Client, Douglas was interviewed recently by BBC Look North for an independent study, funded by Home Instead UK, that The University of York are conducting into home care.

The University aim to identify the effects of receiving care in your own home, compared to in a care home, understand a bit more about the service Home Instead delivers and use Douglas as an example of showing the fantastic relationships that clients can build with their Home Instead CAREGivers.

We’d like to say a huge thank you to Douglas’s CAREGiver Mel, who helped organise the interview, and featured herself in the Look North report. But of course, a special thank you should go out to the real ‘star of the show’ Douglas!

Welcoming Karen to the Home Instead team We’d like to say a huge welcome to Karen Leaf, who joined us last month as our new Training & Development Coordinator.

In her role, Karen will be responsible for the training journey of all Home Instead staff from their initial introduction training through to continued specialist development. Karen will be your port of call for any training requests and you will receive regular contact from her regarding completing of any mandatory training requirements.

We hope you will join us in making Karen feel as welcome as possible.

Welcome Karen!

karen.leaf@hiscyork.co.uk

Care Quality Commission - Achieving Outstanding

Karen celebrates 5 years’ Huge congratulations to Karen who last month celebrated 5 years’ service with Home Instead.

Thank you for all your hard work over the years, Karen.

Here’s to many more!

IQ online logs receives very positive feedback

Hopefully 2021 is going to be a much more positive year and as concerns about COVID 19 recede we can focus on preparing ourselves for achieving an ‘outstanding’ rating again when the Care Quality Commission (CQC) assess us against the standards of Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive & Well Led. Last time we achieved outstanding in both Caring and Well Led and we hope that some of the amazing work we have done over the last few years will help us also achieve outstanding in Safe, Effective and Responsive.

We have now been using the IQ online logs for some time and the feedback has been very positive. The online logs allow us to be much more responsive to any issues or concerns that may arise; we can also look at any developing patterns.

Below are some very important points that must be considered when writing the logs. Please take the time the read through:  While we are well aware that clients can sometimes be difficult and frustrating, please be careful about how this is worded in the logs. Saying the wrong thing is likely to cause distress to family members who might already be struggling with the situation. Please report any difficult situations with clients directly to the office.  Please remember that we are a non-medical service and we are not trained to carry out medical procedures such as full dressing changes. If you feel your client needs input from another service (such as the district nurse), inform the office and we can get in touch with the relevant services.

 Always proof read your notes before submitting them, check for spelling and punctuation errors.  Always remember to ensure the clients name is correct – we have had several instances where the wrong name has been written in the logs.

This does not display person centred care.  Check that every task has been completed before leaving a call. We have found that some CAREGiver’s are not completing all tasks, and then are not logging out of the visit.  Avoid using undignified phrasing such as ‘creamed legs’, ‘fed client’ etc.

These phrases are not person centred and are not nice for the family to read.

Always remember that your client and/or their family will read these logs – your notes must be legible and respectful at all times.

The introduction of IQ and the roll out of EMAR, electronic logs and our ability to audit and review our care as it happens take us a long way in achieving what the standards are all about. We have also invested in new roles with two new Care Managers and a dedicated trainer who launched My Learning Cloud and access to eLearning to help us develop the skills of everyone. We receive super feedback and comments from clients and their families about the care you give so as we continue to develop our services, we put ourselves in a very positive position. We don’t know when CQC will decide to visit us but we are determined to be ready! Watch this space as we continue our journey to change the face of ageing and achieve a CQC rating that represents the fantastic care you give.

Turning off of IQ Text Messages on March 1st From the March 1st you will no longer receive your automated reminder text message about the upcoming daily schedule.

The decision to turn these automated texts off is not something we have just decided upon, we have left it in place for a number of months whilst getting you all comfortable with using the IQ portal for your schedules.

We feel that you are all now more than settled in using the IQ

portal successfully and therefore the time has come to turn these automated texts off. Going forward we would encourage you to check your IQ portal on a daily basis.

If you do have any questions regarding the turning off, of the IQ text messages, please speak to one of your Care Managers or, if you have any queries in regards to your daily schedules, contact scheduling on 01904 599884.

Home Instead sponsors ‘Love Your Garden’ You may have seen on TV that Home Instead are the proud sponsors of ‘Love Your Garden’ on ITV. Schedule times for Love your

Garden are Mondays at 8pm and Sundays at 1pm. Keep an eye out for the advert over the next few weeks and let us know what you think!

95%

It has been wonderful to see you all getting your COVID-19 vaccines at the mass NHS Vaccination centre.

So far, 95% of the team who can have the vaccine have had it. We strongly encourage any remaining team members who have not yet had theirs to book it in.

You are not only reducing you and your client’s chances of becoming ill

of the team receive vaccine

with COVID-19, but you are also playing a huge part in the most important step in getting the country back to some sort of normality as soon as possible, which I know we all can not wait for.

Thank you to everyone who sent your selfies across after receiving your vaccines, they were wonderful to see and nice to finally have something positive to smile about!

We are excited to introduce to you our new name and logo Over the course of this year, you’ll begin seeing the new Home Instead name and logo more and more in our communications, signage and community outreach efforts.

You’ll also notice that with the new name, we’ve updated our website – HomeInstead.co.uk – to share more about the ways we can support our clients and their families in their ageing journeys at home.

The name Home Instead also allows us to appeal to a population beyond frail ageing adults, in addition to paving the way to offer other services for individuals who want to age at home in the future.

Why we’re making this change Transitioning to the name Home Instead is easier for our clients, their family members and others who support them to remember, and it actually aligns with how people looking for care already talk about and search for us.

We’ve also found that the terms ‘senior’ and ‘senior citizen’ are in decline, while terms like ‘older adults’ are increasing in popularity. The current baby boomer population is beginning to redefine how ageing is experienced and perceived, and it’s crucial for us to proactively adapt to meet the changing expectations of ageing adults.

What this means for you The change in our name and logo will not impact you, your role or your day-to-day activities in any way. You are still empowered and encouraged to continue delivering the same level of support, communication and care to our clients and families. There is a chance that you may be asked about the

Home Instead 10 Clifton Moor Business Village James Nicolson Link, Clifton Moor York YO30 4XG Telephone: 01904 690884 Email: info@hiscyork.co.uk Web: www.homeinstead.co.uk/york

rebrand, but we will provide you with all the resources you need to help you seamlessly address any questions or concerns individuals may have about the change.

Our commitment to our clients and families Likewise, our new name and logo will not change how we serve our clients and families.

For more than two decades, Home Instead has remained steadfastly committed to our mission: to enhance the lives of ageing adults and their families. This remains – and will always remain – the same: we’re deeply committed to providing our clients and families the same level of highly personalised care, compassion and support needed to fulfill a joyful and quality life at home. Our transition to Home Instead and our new logo does not change that; in fact, it amplifies it.

As we celebrate this exciting transition to Home Instead, I want to thank you again for your ongoing commitment to this team and our clients. You are at the heart of what we do, and it’s thanks to individuals like you that we are where we are today.

Live well, your way with care at home

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