Iris Newsflash June 2026

Iris Newsflash June 2026 LINE MANAGERS: Please ensure a copy of this newsletter is either downloaded, printed, displayed or shared with your teams.

Hi everybody. How hot has it been recently?! Please ensure that you take sensible precautions to keep yourself safe and well, both in work and at home. Especially when you’re looking after the people we support across Iris Care Group. Stay hydrated, take regular breaks where appropriate, and be mindful of those who may be more vulnerable to the effects of the heat.

With effect from June, I will be meeting with and interviewing some of our sponsored colleagues to learn more about their experiences of living and working in the UK. I will also be getting some feedback on how they feel about working for Iris Care Group. These conversations will help us celebrate the contribitions of our overseas colleagues, gain valuable feedback, and ensure we continue to provide a positive and supportive working environment for everyone. Our first two colleagues to feature this month are Chiazoka Onyeagocha and Gloria Alaba. I would like to thank them both for taking the time to share their experiences.

As always, there is plenty happening across the organisation, so please read on for updates, achievements, important reminders and news from colleagues across our services.

Yvonne Spotlight On... Gloria Alaba Gloria Alaba Home Manager at Cherry Tree Lodge As part of our ongoing commitment to understand the experiences of or sponsored colleagues, we recently with one of our managers, Gloria Alaba, about her journey with the organisation.

Having joined the organisation as a Support Worker in 2022, Gloria progressed through several roles, including Senior Support Worker, before becoming a Manager at Cherry Tree Lodge in Gloucester.

Iris Newsflash June 2026 Reflecting on her experience, Gloria described the recruitment process as “swift and seamless” and highlighted the opportunities for career progression as one of the key reasons she has remained with the organisation. Gloria feels that the organisation is committed to providing person centred care, and a high quality of care, to the people we support.

Gloria said: “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and received great support throughout my journey. The organisation invests in training, and I’ve always felt encouraged to develop and aim higher.”

When discussing sponsorship compliance, Gloria emphasised the importance of understanding and following visa requirements, noting that managers regularly reinforce key responsibilities and provide clear guidance when rules change. “The communication is very clear. We all have a responsibility to comply with the requirements, and managers make sure everyone understands what is expected.”

Gloria also spoke positively about the culture within the organisation, describing an open door approach from managers and strong communication across teams. She said: “I feel respected, valued and listened to. I’ve been given opportunities to showcase my abilities and develop my career. I couldn’t have achieved what I have without the support of my colleagues and managers.” Overall, Gloria described her experience as very positive and values the staff wellbeing, diversity, equality and inclusion promoted by the organisation.

Looking ahead, Gloria has ambitions to continue learning and developing. This includes studying for further courses in social care leadership. Looking ahead, Gloria said: “I feel committed to the organisation. There is still so much for me to learn here. I want to thank the organisation for the opportunities given to me.”

Spotlight On... Chiazoka Onyeagocha Having joined the organisation in 2020, after working through agency placements, Chiazoka said she was attracted by the stability, consistency and sense of belonging that comes from being part of a permanent team. “With agency work, you don’t always know who to speak to. At Iris Care Group, you have direct contact with managers and feel part of the organisation.”

One of the most rewarding aspects of Chiazoka’s role has been the personal growth she has experienced. Through opportunities to learn, develop and take on new responsibilties, Chiazoka feels she has gained confidence and discovered strengths that she didn’t realise she had. “The organisation has helped me see myself differently. I’ve grown in confidence and have had opportunities to develop, particularly with governance and leadership.”

Iris Newsflash June 2026 Learning and development continues to be a major highlight. Chiazoka praised the introduction of Kallidus and the range of training opportunities available, adding that she actively encourages colleagues to make the most of these resources. When asked about sponsorship support, Chiazoka said: “I’ve always known who to speak to if I have questions.

The support around sponsorship and visas has been very clear.”

Reflecting on life in the UK, Chiazoka spoke positively about embracing different cultures and helping to create an inclusive environment in which everyone feels respected and valued. Looking to the future, Chiazoka said that she remains committed to organisation and passionate about what she does. “I love making making a difference to people’s lives.

That’s what keep me here.”

In terms of further improvements, Chiazoka highlighted the importance of continued investments in our services and environments. She emphasised the impact that these environments have on the wellbeing of the people we support.

Whitworth Road Update We’re very excited to announce that Whitworth Road, our brand new Residential service in Swindon, will officially open in July.

After a successful Open Day in May, the team are currently working through registration with CQC ahead of welcoming their first resident on 14th July.

Below is a selection of photos recently taken of Whitworth Road. If you’d like more of a detailed look around, you can access our video tour here.

Care Sector’s Got Talent Our Chairman, Peter Kinsey, has shared a fantastic opportunity that we thought may be of interest to your team and the people you support. Care Sector’s Got Talent is an annual talent show that celebrates the hidden talents within the care sector. You can find more details here.

The competition is open to everyone who is working in, or supported by, the care sector.

Video auditions are currently being accepted. Finalists will be invited to a live event in Birmingham, where they will perform in front of an audience. The overall winner will also receive a prize (details to be confirmed). You can sign up to take part here.

Iris Newsflash June 2026 If you do decide to get involved, the Marketing team would love to hear from you so that they can help to share and celebrate your involvement. You can contact them via: marketing@iriscaregroup.co.uk.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Committee At Iris Care Group, we’re always looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact, strengthen our ESG commitments, and make our organisation an even better place to work.

To help shape these efforts, we’d like to invite two Support Workers and two people that we support to join our quarterly ESG Committee.

This is an opportunity to share your ideas on how we can reduce our carbon footprint, improve day-to-day working life for everyone across our services, and explore new activities, learning, and training opportunities for the people we support. Your voice matters and we would love to hear your suggestions.

If you would like to get involved as a Support Worker, or you know of a person we support who would be interested, please contact: George Cassell Chair of Environmental, Social and Governance Committee George.Cassell@iriscaregroup.co.uk

Is Your Mandatory Training Up to Date?

As part of our ongoing commitment to provide safe, ethical and high-quality care, we have launched a new mandatory learning programme titled: Ethics, Integrity and Modern Slavery Awareness. This course brings together three important areas of compliance training. This includes: Anti-Bribery, Anti-Corruption and Ethical Conduct, and Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness.

Working in health and social care, we all have a responsibility to act with integrity, safeguard the people we support, and speak up when something doesn't feel right. This programme uses practical workplace scenarios to help strengthen your understanding of these responsibilities and the role each of us plays in protecting others.

The course has now been added to everyone's training profile and can be found under ‘Iris Care Group Corporate Compliance’. Please complete the training promptly. If you have any issues accessing the course, please contact the Learning & Development team.

Healthcare Guardian You will all, by now, be aware that we rolled out a new incident management reporting system in May. This system is called ‘Healthcare Guardian’ and all staff are asked to ensure that they complete the Healthcare Guardian online learning on Kallidus at the earliest opportunity.

Iris Newsflash June 2026

Reminder: Duty to Disclose Police Arrests As a health and social care organisation, we have a responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the people we support. We would therefore like to remind all employees that if they are arrested, charged with an offence, or become subject to a police investigation, they must inform the HR Team immediately. All such disclosures will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Disclosure does not automatically mean that any action will be taken. Each situation will be considered on its own merits, taking into account the nature of the circumstances and any potential impact on your role, professional responsibilities, safeguarding obligations, or regulatory requirements.

If you are ever unsure whether something should be disclosed, please speak with HR for confidential advice and guidance.

Is Your Vehicle Insurance Suitable for Work-Related Travel?

Many colleagues use their own vehicles to travel to and from work, visit different sites, attend meetings, or carry out other work-related duties. It is important to ensure that your vehicle insurance provides the appropriate level of cover for how you use your vehicle.

Please note that most insurance providers classify travel between your home and your normal place of work as commuting. If your policy only covers "social, domestic and pleasure" use, you may not be insured for your daily journey to and from work.

In addition, if you use your vehicle for any work-related travel during the working day, such as travelling between sites or attending meetings, you may require business use cover.

We encourage all colleagues who use their own vehicle for work purposes to check their insurance policy and, if necessary, contact their insurer to ensure they have the correct level of cover in place. Driving without the appropriate insurance could invalidate your policy and may have serious consequences in the event of an accident.

If you are unsure whether your insurance is suitable for your circumstances, please contact your insurer directly for advice.

An Update from Carole Crocker, Head of Quality I am aware that some medications are in medicine cupboards located in individual rooms or kitchens.

Please ensure you continue to carry out daily temperature recordings, and at times of extreme heatwaves, please check and check at regular times during 24 hour periods.

Iris Newsflash June 2026 Most medicines are unlikely to be affected when they experience short periods of time over their recommended temperatures. For most medicines, the recommended maximum temperature is 25 degrees centigrade.

However, many medicines now come with instructions that they can be stored up to 30 degrees centigrade. It’s unlikely that you will consistently reach these maximum temperatures indoors. Therefore, we advise you to monitor the temperature as a starting point.

I recommend that throughout services, we follow the advice provided by DOH/WAG/WHO below.

If the readings are consistently high, and above 25 degrees for several days, then you need to take action.

Start off by taking some simple steps first: Close curtains or window blinds if that is an option available to you.

See if you can remove any electrical devices that might be generating heat. If this doesn’t work, then add some fans to the room. Or ice packs within the medications cabinet.

Carry on taking temperatures to see if this has addressed the problem. This might be enough to protect the medicines over the summer months this year.

Keep the temperature logs as evidence both in the cabinet and the rooms where meds cabinets stored.

If you can, in the short term, put medicines in containers with lids & locks and put in domestic fridge (please note, this is a short-term last resort).

Moving forward, we will work on longer term options which might include moving the medicines to a more suitable and cooler room, or adding a portable air conditioner to the room. Then take more sample temperatures to confirm the problem is solved.

Update from your HR Team All staff are reminded that it is company policy for all employment references, whether being requested or sent, to be managed centrally by the HR team. This is vitally important in order to ensure consistency and compliance with both data protection legislation and company policy.

Update Your Softworks Record Please take a moment to review and update your personal details, including your ethnicity and nationality. Keeping this information accurate helps us ensure our records are up to date and supports important initiatives around equality, diversity and inclusion.

You can easily update your details by logging into Softworks via the web and checking your personal profile. Thank you for taking the time to keep your information current.

Iris Newsflash June 2026

Shoutouts!

Nursing Team at Pinetree Court Hospital Maintaining our own personal, as well as professional, development is so important.

Pinetree Court Hospital recently held a Nurses Development Day. Below are some photos from the event.

Christine Fish Huge congratulations to Christine Fish at Pinetree Court Hospital who recently sat and passed her Nurse Prescriber exams.

Theresa Kadoch Congratulations to Theresa Kadach, who has been appointed as General Manager at Pinetree Court Hospital. We wish you all the best in your new role Theresa.

Tiegan Wakeham A big shout out to Tiegan Wakeham, Assistant Psychologist at St Peter’s Hospital who has been offered a place on the much sought-after Doctor of Clinical Psychology clinical training course at Birmingham University. Good luck with your studies Tiegan.

New Starters We wish all our new starters in May and June a very warm welcome to the Iris Care Group: Susan Shimenenge – Behavioural Support Coordinator Sourav Shuva - Learning Support Assistant Caitlyn O’Leary - Behavioural Support Coordinator Adam Robins - Support Worker Chukwuebuka Echezona - Support Worker Chioma Anachuna - Support Worker Oresegun Moninuola - Support Worker Matthew Summut - Contractor Sixtus Ubana - Support Worker Amy Andrews - General Lecturer

Iris Newsflash June 2026 Amy Morris - Senior Staff Nurse Patience Ikekhuah - Support Worker Auguster Ndukwu - Support Worker Teigann Burr - Support Worker Naveen Vijayan - Support Worker Stephen Evans - Support Worker Carys Reynolds - Support Worker Ruby Briggs - Support Worker Ehije Ilenbarenemen - Support Worker Aysha Clarke - Assistant Manager Debbie Clarke - Support Worker Helena Peroutkova - Support Worker Uniqueka Karumna - Support Worker Ekechukwu Onyinyechukwu - Support Worker James Barker - Quality Assistant Darren Tandy - Support Worker Shirleen Jepkorir - Support Worker Zarrin Priankah - Staf Nurse Shabna Afsal - Support Worker Ufoma Achugbue

Yvonne Murray Chief People Officer communications@iriscaregroup.co.uk As always, please do forward ideas, suggestions and feedback communications@iriscaregroup.co.uk - this is your comms update - we’d love to hear from you!