Springhill Care Newsletter
2019
Springhill Care Group shines through with Platinum award The IIP report said: “Evidence was presented of significant development in its approach to innovation and continuous improvement. The working environment developed as a result of the effective leadership approach has been fundamental to the creating of a highperformance organisational culture.
Springhill Care Group has been awarded the prestigious Platinum award from Investors in People – the highest accolade that can be achieved through the scheme held by only two per cent of all organisations which have been assessed.
“Both managers and staff across all three nursing and care homes within Springhill Care Group described how they experience very effective leadership through a very inclusive and collaborative leadership style. People described how everything they do and the way they do things is driven by the company values. This starts with values-based recruitment.”
Assessors highlighted the ‘high performing’ Springhill Care Group for how it has further strengthened its organisation since it was awarded a Gold standard three years ago to join only two per cent of IIP accredited clients to achieve Platinum.
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Built on the three pillars of leading, supporting and improving, the IIP framework sets out what it takes to deliver a people management system that enables organisations to succeed by realising the potential of their people.
As part of the IIP online assessment process, the care group exceeded both the IIP average and care sector benchmarks with an organisational benchmark score of 799 out of 900 where care sector average is 765 and overall IIP average is 724.
Donna Briggs, managing director of Springhill Care Group, said:
“This is great news for all staff because they help to make us the organisation we are. I’d like to thank our staff team for creating the culture of excellence we have which ultimately ensures that the quality of care for our residents is secondto-none.”
Chris Jones, Director of Operations at IIP, said:
“Platinum is our highest award and recognises high performance achieved through integrated people practices. Springhill Care Group first achieved Investors in People in 1995 and since then we have seen the group go from strength to strength.”
Assessors added that on-site evidence presented was found to fully validate the online results of the IIP survey amongst all staff and was “a very strong performance against an internationally recognised business transformation framework.
The assessors cited examples such as the Admiral Nursing Programme offering guidance in dementia care and programmes developed in the Assistant Nursing Practitioner and Teaching Homes programmes.
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Springhill’s Caring Heroes - page 6 Virginia’s latest blog - Transformational journey - page 7 Mike’s latest blog – The importance of teamwork - page 8
Birch Green Care Home - pages 9 & 10 Celebration time - New blog by Jakki - page 11 Riversway Nursing Home - pages 12 to 15
Springhill Care Home - pages 16 to 20 Photos from around the group - pages 21 to 23
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At Springhill Care, it is our vision to be recognised as a provider and employer of choice in the communities in which we serve. At the end of May we received the fantastic news that Springhill Care Group has been awarded Investors in People ‘Platinum’ level of accreditation, when recently assessed against the sixth generation of the globally recognised standard. This independent recognition of Springhill Care as a ‘high performing organisation’, is the highest level that can be awarded to an organisation, and is further testament to the exceptional standard of care and service you all provide to our residents each and every day.
What is it all for…? The achievement of ‘teaching care home’ status for Riversway Nursing Home, CQC recognition of the ‘outstanding’ leadership at Springhill Care Home, along with the achievement of an overall ‘outstanding’ rating outcome in the Cared4Quality independent audit report for Springhill Care Home and the solid ‘good’ CQC outcome ratings across all our services, we are certainly on the trajectory to achieve our vision. Our ultimate aim, is to provide the best possible residential and nursing care for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Frameworks such as the prestigious, globally recognised Investors in People framework, provide us with a best practice benchmark, guidance and
support to ensure we are working towards achieving our vision, after all, our vision can only be achieved through our people. For many years, we have worked with the Investors in People standard to ensure that our organisational development, values, culture and learning and development strategy are all aligned to achieving our vision.
Each and every one of you make a valued contribution to the success of Springhill Care, whether you are a maintenance operative, chef, housekeeper, lifestyle support, manager, administrator, trainer, health care assistant, assistant practitioner or nurse, we all share one common aim, a shared professional goal - to provide the best possible care and service to our residents. Well done team Springhill Care, I am very proud of you all. Thank you
Springhill’s Caring Heroes Springhill Care Home in Accrington is nominating two sets of Caring Heroes for their outstanding contributions. Laura Foulger has been nominated by a relative of one of our residents, John, for going over and above her duties. Laura has been praised for supporting John by researching Easter and the importance to the Catholic faith, helping John dress smartly and his family have been very impressed. Meanwhile, the kitchen team at Springhill Care Home have been nominated for the work they have done to research and develop new menus. The tasty food was presented to residents, staff and family members recently at a special tasting session and was extremely well received.
Thanks to everyone involved for their efforts you are all #CaringHeroes
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By consistently driving continuous improvement not only through our internal performance management system and organisational development model, but also embracing innovative practices for example, the Teaching Care Home programme and Admiral Nursing programme, we have embedded and continue to build a transformational culture.
We are delighted, extremely excited and proud to announce that Springhill Care Group has achieved their strategic goal of being recognised by Investors in People as a ‘PLATINUM’ organisation. We are overjoyed by this latest achievement. This award is testament to all of the hard work undertaken by the Investors in People Steering Group, the leadership team and the wider workforce.
We have been on a transformational journey over the course of the past few years in a bid to strengthen our performance to achieve a position where we are now viewed as a high performing care group. Benchmarks, again another huge success.
We are now officially recognised as a high performing organisation because we have adopted high performance working practices and continue to develop high performance teams. Our leadership standard with stretching competencies is clearly aligned to the company values and desired behaviours which has equipped leaders with the skills necessary to build workforce capability to create a high performance organisational culture.
Our results have indicated that Springhill Care Group as part of the Investors In People on line assessment process exceeded both the Investors In People average and care sector benchmarks, again another huge success.
This achievement demonstrates we really do care and invest in our workforce and recognise that without our people being developed, engaged and supported we cannot achieve our vision of becoming an employer and service provider of choice in the communities which we serve.
Congratulations to team Springhill
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the Group, but to excel in everything we do; we are passionate and ultimately believe in the company’s Vision, Mission and Values. If we reflect back over the past few months, we have achieved a tremendous amount and without team work across the Group, this would not have been possible. I’d like to look at a couple of achievements in addition to Investors in People, Platinum status. We were successful in reaching the Finals of The British Care Awards and our nominated colleagues who were from across the Group, were supported on the night by the entire Board. It was a fantastic achievement and without team work this would not have been possible.
This month I would like to look at the importance of team working and what better way than by looking at our newest accolade and success, Investors in People Platinum status. This great achievement was gained by positively engaging with each other and being committed in our desire to reach our ultimate goal. Everyone within the Springhill Care Group has had a part to play in this success.
So what does team work mean to us at the Springhill Care Group? Well it’s a way of working and it’s something that we do particularly well – we constantly strive for results and outcomes and we succeed because we are all eager to drive the business forward, to develop not only our practices collectively across
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Our recent success in securing a place on the Teaching Care Homes Programme, a prestigious programme based on working collaboratively for shared outcomes, was massive. We were able to showcase our award winning organisation during the selection process, supported on the day by all the Board members and I believe our team working culture, contributed to the positive results we wanted. As we can see from the examples above, teamwork flows from the top down; we all recognise the importance of working together; everything that is achieved is always as a result of successfully engaging our colleagues and stakeholders.
On our journey forward we must continue to support each other and remember that teamwork is crucial in maintaining our place as market leaders in the care sector.
Birch Green Care Home
Celebrating our nurses Birch Green Care Home celebrated the work of its staff to mark National Nurse Week. This week also saw National Nurse Day, and Florence Nightingale’s birthday. So to show their appreciation, Birch Green presented its nurses with a little thank you token – a personalised fob watch.
We’d all like to take this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to all our nurses for the fabulous job they all do.
www.birchgreencare.com
Solving puzzles at Birch Green
Recently we had a fun puzzle day at Birch Green. Some of our ladies joined the lifestyle team in adding some colour to black and white puzzles, which we then cut into jigsaws and shared with everyone to help us to solve them. Teamwork was the name of the game and everyone worked hard together.
Fun in the sun
Recently we put on our sun cream and summer hats and made the most of the glorious weather. Our ever-popular lunch club was enjoyed outside in our garden – there’s nothing better than lunch al fresco, and in true Birch Green style we finished the afternoon with a good old sing-song.
Jamie qualifies Birch Green Care Home’s Jamie Matthews has qualified to become an assistant practitioner. Jamie, one of Birch Green’s team leaders, joined the home six years ago and since then has steadily progressed. She has spent the last two years studying for the qualification and has passed with flying colours. Mike Lakins, head of learning and development for the Springhill Care Group, said:
“This is a fantastic result not only for Jamie but for the Springhill Care Group. “We always support staff to achieve their career aspirations and to take full advantage of the training opportunities on offer - well done Jamie, this is truly deserved.” What a fantastic achievement for Jamie who has worked to see all her hard work and commitment pay off.
Congratulations Jamie from everyone at Springhill Care
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We have just completed the Dementia Champion training at Springhill Care home, looking at the Bio-Psycho-Social model; Dementia, Depression and Delirium - the differences; good communication; the importance of families and also meaningful activity for our residents amongst other topics. The term Springhill Dementia Champions is well deserved as they have had a lot of obstacles to overcome in getting their badges due to unplanned events; however five carers: Janet Cornthwaite, Justyna Majcher, Denise Walkden, Julie Stevenson and Donna Greenhalgh have managed to achieve this accolade. The Dementia Champions had to present a case study to Directors; managers and trainers with the home. These presentations should not be underestimated; a huge amount of planning, writing and practise goes into them. Permission to work with the resident and family is sought and then the Dementia Champion has to identify and explain how the Life story of the resident; the families; the process of either dementia care, or in one case mental illness; and the social care environment come together to make up the resident for whom they care. The presentations went remarkably well, the case studies were extremely moving and highlighted the amount of compassion and empathy with
which Donna, Julie, Denise, Janet and Justyna work. Donna Briggs, managing director, spoke of the ‘moving and excellent care’ which the presentations captured. Bernadette Bennett, deputy manager, agreed that the ‘excellence of good dementia care in practice at Springhill’ was shown and said that the presentations ‘really allow you to see the whole person’. Curtis Bennett, general manager, said that he was proud of all of his staff. I was also very proud as I knew to what extent the new Dementia Champions had had to work to achieve this standard. So I was very pleased to see Donna Briggs present the certificates and badges to the Dementia Champions to recognise this excellent work.
I have heard that they are wearing them with pride.
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ermission to work
Riversway Nursing Home this excellent work.
Riversway ‘rocks’ to silent disco At Riversway we love trying new activities, and recently we held an amazing ‘silent disco’ for residents to enjoy. Everyone had a great time, wearing headphones to listen to music and sporting colourful accessories including giant sunglasses and glow sticks. The lounge was also full of colourful lights while our group enjoyed some wonderful entertainment.
To view more photos & videos on our Facebook page go to @riverswaycarehome
www.riverswaycare.com
Down on the farm A recent trip saw Riversway residents visit the popular Bristol attraction, Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm. The family owned zoo is set on a working farm in 100 acres of countryside south of Bristol. Our group had so much fun spotting the animals, and made time for sandwiches for lunch followed by ice cream.
Wine Wednesday Recently a new activity was launched for residents at Riversway Nursing Home – Wine Wednesday. Selections of wine were on offer, from rose to white, and the drinks were accompanied by food options including tapas, cheese and raspberries. We had a great evening and heard stories about Dionysus, the Greek God of wine and celebrations, but most enjoyed the chance for a chat and socialising.
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Enjoying the ‘magic table’ We love incorporating technology into our activities at Riversway and recently got to try out the ‘magic table.’ This device projects images onto a table which can then be interacted with, and we have great fun playing a number of games. Everyone was very interested to see it in action, and loved what it could offer, from a football game to interactive autumn leaves.
Dance therapy with Lottie We all enjoyed taking part in a recent Dance Therapy session here at Riversway. Lottie came to visit and helped us to dance and sing along, learning new routines and enjoying the gentle exercise with balloons.
It was great to watch Lottie dance to some classical music too.
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Jacqueline’s washing line wish A member of the local community helped one of our residents’ wish come true recently. Jacqueline had taken part in The Bristol Wishing Washing Line project, which sees residents of care homes hang their wishes on a special line in a local supermarket. People in the community can read the wishes and help to make them come true. Jacqueline’s wish was to go out to a café, and local resident Simon, who works as a health and safety manager for Co-Op, decided to come and make it happen. Simon offered us a treat of cake and tea, and on the way back met up with Emma who was visiting Riversway with a box for everyone to add their wishes into.
Some of these wishes will be for use within Riversway, and some will be added to the Wishing Washing Lines in the community.
Trip to the museum A recent trip saw a group from Riversway Nursing Home head to Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. Our residents had so much fun, enjoying seeing the exhibits including impressive paintings. We also made time for a hot drink and plenty of cakes. Monica, Leone and Pamela said that they'd had a wonderful time.
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Springhill Care Home
We’re dementia champions Staff at Springhill Care Home know what it feels like to be ‘Dementia Champions’ after completing their training. Care staff Janet Cornthwaite, Denise Walkden, Donna Greenhalgh, Julie Stevenson and Justyna Majcher completed an intense training programme led by Jakki Whitehead, Springhill Care Group’s Admiral Nurse – a specialist in dementia care. The training covered a range of topics including the facts and figures around dementia such as the amount of people diagnosed and how nutrition and good health can help.
The group learned about the importance of communication in providing good dementia care, and how important life history and meaningful activities are. Finally, the group presented a case study to directors, managers and trainers at Springhill Care Home, which required a significant amount of planning, writing and rehearsing.
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The presentation involved seeking permission to work with residents and family members, before identifying and explaining the resident’s life story and how dementia care and the social care environment has affected them. Following the training, one of the new Dementia Champions praised the training as ‘emotional but very worthwhile.’ Jakki Whitehad said:
“The presentations were very challenging but went extremely well. The case studies were very moving and highlighted the amount of compassion and empathy with which Donna, Julie, Denise, Janet and Justyna work. “We all agreed that the group highlighted the great work being done at Springhill and we are very proud of them for completing the training. “From a personal point of view I know how hard our new Dementia Champions needed to work to achieve this standard, and I was delighted to see them presented with their certificates and badges.”
Getting online at Springhill Springhill Care Home held a ‘smartphone and tablet workshop’ recently to help our residents face their fear of computers! First we learned how to sign into WiFi in order to browse the internet, then moved to using apps such as Google Maps. One residents used this app in order to look at the house he lived in when he was younger. We then used YouTube to search for our favourite music and locations, before moving to Google searching for information on Accrington and Oswaldtwistle. It was a fun and informative session delivered by Lancashire Adult Learning, and we managed to dispel a few misconceptions about using the internet. We have one more session left, but anyone interested in another should speak to our Wellbeing Lead, Victoria Huntriss.
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‘Finding Ethel’ at Springhill Residents at Springhill Care Home recently enjoyed taking part in an activity related to the local heritage project named ‘Finding Ethel.’ The session proved very popular and saw residents and staff looking through a first edition of a book written by local author Ethel Carnie Holdsworth. We refer to Ethel as ‘Our Ethel’ due to the local connection – she was born in Oswaldtwistle in 1886 and lived in East Lancashire for most of her life. It was very interesting to read through an extract from one of her books and some of her poetry, and we spent time considering what life would have been like for her. We even tried to get to grips with some old time Lancashire dialect, for example ‘Furze Bush’ which we believe must refer to a gorse bush which we still see in abundance across our countryside. It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and we’re looking forward to the next time we ‘find Ethel,’
These sessions are open to family and friends – anyone wishing to attend should speak to a member of the lifestyle team at Springhill Care Home.
Springhill marks VE Day Residents and staff at Springhill Care Home gathered to mark VE Day recently. To commemorate the Victory in Europe in May 1945, we all watched news footage and announcements from the time and shared our own wartime memories and those passed from family members. There were a range of newspaper articles from the day that we made available along with photographs of people gathering to celebrate the end of the war. It was a lovely occasion with tea and beautiful cakes, and later in the afternoon music and dance. 18 | P a g e Springhill Care Group – June 2019
Springhill Teddy on tour It was a fun filled adventure holiday and Teddy especially enjoyed crabbing with Charlie and Arthur and making new four legged friends whilst out walking.
Springhill Care Home’s resident teddy bear has been on an exciting Scottish adventure with Sam and Gemma (Springhill Care Home), Bev (Head Office) and family when they recently went to Dumfries and Galloway on their holiday.
A big thank you to Sam, Gemma and Bev for sending us the fabulous photos, it looks like you had a great time. They all enjoyed visits to Galloway Forest and River and Galloway Harbour, the coastal village of Garlieston, Glenluce Abbey and last but not least Port William.
We’re looking forward to seeing where Teddy ends up next and we would love for anyone going away on holiday to take him on their travels. #SpringhillTeddyOnTour
Please get in touch with a member of our Lifestyle team at Springhill Care Home if you’d like to include Teddy in your own adventure and don’t forget to send us the photos!
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Springhill sewing club Springhill Care Home’s popular sewing club met recently. The club is a great chance for people to socialise while being creative and learning new skills, and one of our residents has been working hard on a cushion cover with a little help from a friend who visits each week. Once complete, the cover will be added to her wheelchair and this is a great example of putting skills to good use while having a great time!
Up and Active Residents at Springhill Care Home will help transform our garden in coming months thanks to a series of gardening sessions. Delivered by the Up and Active team from Hyndburn Leisure, the plan is to plant wild flower seeds and help them grow to make Springhill’s outside areas even more beautiful. Plans are also in place to grow some vegetables. Ian from Up and Active led the first session, which took place indoors thanks to poor weather. Residents learnt about how to grow potatoes, with Ian using pine cones as a substitute for the vegetables! Everyone had lots of fun and Ian even came equipped with a ukulele to lead a good sing-song. Hopefully the weather will stay fine for our next session so everyone can enjoy some time outside
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Photos from May 2019
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Photos from May 2019
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Photos from May 2019
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How can I feedback?
Share your experience of Springhill Care on www.cqc.org.uk
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Review us at www.carehome.co.uk or pick up a review card in one of our reception areas
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