The Companion September (Home Instead newsletter)

Home Instead

York & Ryedale newsletter

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

September 2017

New Lead CAREGivers and Key Player Assistant Here at Home Instead Senior Care York & Ryedale we introduced The CAREGiver Support Team in early 2017. This role has now evolved into the newly named Lead CAREGiver posts. The Lead CAREGivers Lorna, Rete, Jenny, Barbara and Inga will continue to work in their role as CAREGivers but they will also work one day a week from the office and will be involved in Support Visits, Care Certificate Observations, Introductions and Service Reviews, to name but a few of the tasks they will be carrying out.

Annette has taken up her new role as Key Player Assistant. She will be based in the office two days a week and in addition to the already stated tasks she will also help with the writing of Care Plans and aspects of training.

“The Lead CAREGivers are an integral part of the relationship between the clients, CAREGivers and the office. This is an exciting role and shows a career path through the Care Sector with Home Instead Senior Care York & Ryedale. �

Andy Boast, Head of CAREGiver Experience.

Ruth ties the knot

A huge congratulations to our CAREGiver Ruth who tied the knot last month!!

Rievaulx Abbey

And the winner is…

Sutton Bank

Wandalee

Home Instead Senior Care York & Rydale have been holding a competition amongst their staff over the summer holidays.

Staff were asked to take a Home Instead Bag with them on their travels over the summer, and get a picture featuring the bag. The ‘Bags on Tour’ competition winner, CAREGiver Wandalee, came into the office to claim her £25 high street voucher prize!

Wandalee’s winning picture (right) was taken in Bulgaria on a family holiday. She got very creative and featured, a colourful beach towel, sunglasses, book, sun cream, cocktail and obviously her Home Instead bag.

Home Instead York had some fantastic entries from all over, including Barcelona, Paris & Zante to name just a few. Thank you for all those who took part, it was great fun seeing where everyone had been on their jollies!

The Arc de Triomphe, Paris

The Louvre, Paris

Bilsdale

Eiffel Tower, Paris

Bulgaria

York International Balloon Fiesta 2017 York Balloon Fiesta will take place during the last weekend of September 2017 between the 29th September and 1st October at York Racecourse, York, YO23 1EX. There will be Hot Air Balloons flying out from York Knavesmire throughout the weekend and it’s expected that over 45 pilots and crew will be taking part. The really good news is that this event will be totally free to attend, no tickets are required, you can just turn up.

Keep an eye on www.yourlocallink.co.uk for more information.

Accessing NHS Dental Services – Healthwatch Survey Healthwatch York aims to put you at the heart of health and social care services in our city. By getting feedback on your experiences they can see what is working well and what needs to be improved.

This year they are getting feedback on accesses to dental services and this survey gives you a chance to have your say.

Have you or a member of your family struggled to get a dentist in York? Have you visited a dentist in the past two years? If so, they’d love to hear more about your experiences, both good and bad.

The survey is anonymous and the findings will be included in a Healthwatch York report and presented to the York Health and Wellbeing Board.

If you’d like to take part in the survey go to www.surveymonkey. co.uk/r/YorkDental or to fill in a hard copy of the survey then email Healthwatch@yorkcvs.org.uk or tel 01904 621133. The closing date for responses is 7th October 2017.

Anyone need an abacus?

The National Numeracy Challenge is a website run by the charity National Numeracy which helps you to assess your numeracy, learn everyday maths, gain confidence and work towards getting the Essentials of Numeracy – the basic maths skills which you need in daily life.

After registering you answer a few short questions on how you feel about maths. You then ‘Take the Challenge’ which is a set of questions which helps you find out your overall numeracy level as well as your maths strengths and weaknesses. The Challenge then directs you to the right learning resources for you, allowing you to learn at your own pace. To take the test and access maths resources go to www.nnchallenge.org.uk.

Congratulations and Thank You! Julie embodies the Home Instead Senior Care definition of a CAREGiver. She gets on quietly delivering the highest level of support to the people she cares for with a smile and an assurance that makes them feel happy and confident when she’s around.

That’s why Julie was nominated for CAREGiver of the Year – an annual, national award to recognise the amazing work that Home Instead care professionals do.

Julie did incredibly well to make it as far as the second round of the competition and so we wanted to say our own thank you by presenting her with some bubbly. Well done Julie!

Well done to CAREGivers David and Carolyn, who this month collected their certificates for completing the Care Certificate.

Earlier this month, Rete received her certificate for all her hard work in completing her Level 3 Diploma in Health and Social Care.

Andy’s Advice

When you are completing your Client Activity Logs remember to document your start and end times as the exact time you arrive and leave your client, not what is on your schedule.

This is a legal document and needs to be a true record. For more advice on this see the Log Advice document in the Client Journal.

Now wash your hands!

Washing your hands is one of the easiest ways to protect yourself and clients from illnesses such as food poisoning and flu.

Washing your hands properly should take about as long as singing “Happy Birthday” twice (around 20 seconds). Always wash your hands: • after using the toilet • after handling raw foods like chicken, meat and vegetables • before eating or handling ready to eat food • after having contact with animals, including pets Washing your hands properly removes dirt, viruses and bacteria to stop them spreading to other people and objects, which can spread illnesses such as food poisoning, flu or diarrhoea. Using soap and water is sufficient to remove dirt, viruses or bacteria and can reduce the risk of diarrhoea by nearly 50%. Have a look at the video www.nhs.uk/livewell/homehygiene/pages/how-to-wash-yourhands-properly.aspx.

Health apps If you go to www.nhs.uk/livewell you will find a new apps library which contains a number of digital tools and apps that you can use to help you manage your health.

There is a selection of tools which cover areas such as health and fitness trackers, audio guides to boost your mood and apps to check your heart rate.

Have a look at ‘Sugar Smart’, which shows you how much sugar is in food. ‘Easy Meal’ helps you plan healthier meals.

‘Brush DJ’ supports you to brush your teeth for the right amount of time and ‘Talking Point’ is an online community for people affected by dementia and there are lots more.

The library is expanding to cover many more areas and the clear labelling system helps you navigate the ones which are backed by clear evidence that they work.

So take a look and pick one that works for you.

Use up your old Quids With the new 12-sided £1 coin now in circulation, the current round version will stop being legal tender and so won’t be accepted in shops from 15 October 2017.

After that, if you still have any old £1 coins, you won’t be able to spend them, so check your piggy banks and coin jars as it’s all too easy to squirrel money away and forget about it.

Many banks and building societies will continue to accept the

old pound coin even after 15 October if you are their customer but you will need to take them to your bank. The best option is to simply spend your old pound coins now and save yourself a journey.

Have an enjoyable day at York Bird of Prey Centre If you are looking for a fabulous day for clients then the York Bird of Prey Centre near Huby is a super place to visit.

The Centre is home to over 80 birds with 45 different species and holds two flying displays every day. In addition, there are opportunities to meet and handle the birds throughout the day. There is a gift shop and café selling hot and cold drinks, sandwiches, confectionery and a variety of gifts.

One of our clients, Val, enjoyed a super day out with her CAREGiver Liz. The Centre is particularly suited to older people as it’s flat and easy to get around and according to them both the café serves a cracking cuppa.

Have a look at the centre website at www.yorkbirdofprey.co.uk.

If you know somewhere that you enjoy taking your clients let us know and we can include an article about it for the future.

DID YOU KNOW?

Home Instead York provided over 51,000 hours service to clients last year

Home Instead Senior Care 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

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