The Carer Digital - Issue #102

T H E P U B L I C AT I O N F O R N U R S I N G A N D R E S I D E N T I A L C A R E H O M E S

W W W. T H E C A R E R U K . C O M

The Carer Digital

THECARERUK

THECARERUK

Issue 102

Sharp Decline in Number of Care Home Residents Compared to Pre-Pandemic Levels

The number of care home residents has fallen by eight per cent when compared to pre-pandemic levels, leaving care providers in a “precarious” position with more than a fifth of beds in England lying empty, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

From 1 March 2021 to 28 February 2022, there were an estimated 360,792 care home residents in England, which is a 7.9% reduction from before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (2019 to 2020; 391,927); of these, 34.9% (125,954)

were self-funders, which is a 12.4% drop compared with pre-coronavirus pandemic (143,774; 36.7% of the total).

The ONS stated: “The overall care home resident population and occupancy has decreased”, after it analysed data from care homes for adults of all ages collected by the Care Quality Commission, covering more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of care homes.

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PAGE 2 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

EDITOR'S VIEWPOINT Welcome to the latest edition of The Carer Digital!

Another deeply concerning statistic in our front page story - up to one fifth of care home beds in England are currently lying empty.

This absolutely beggars belief. Earlier this month we published a story which revealed that over half a million people are waiting for social care (https://thecareruk.com/more-than-half-a-millionare-waiting-for-social-care/) A survey conducted by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) revealed that than half a million people are now waiting for an adult social care assessment, for care or a direct payment to begin or for a review of their care.

That was an alarming jump on a report again by the ADASS in 2021 which revealed that 75,000 people were waiting for adult social care, a 5-fold jump.

Shock figures by age UK in 2019 revealed that as many as 81 people a day were dying while waiting for adult social care, and at the time of writing this article it has been difficult to get up-todate figures, but watch this space!

It is a perfect storm, and the government really does need to take control. As one care provider and spokesperson pointed out, “Covid-19 devastated bed occupancy. There was tragic loss of life and after its peak homes were restricted in taking new admissions as Covid breakouts continued.

“Now, admission levels are struggling to recover because confidence has been affected. At the same time, the sector is going through a staffing crisis with many providers in both care and nursing homes, and in home care, struggling to fill shifts.

“And now rocketing bills, including gas and electric, are placing huge financial pressures on those homes.”

In the 21st-century a first world country with half a million people waiting for social care, and has one fifth of residential and nursing care beds lying empty is not a record to be proud of.

One of the real alarming aspects on this issue is the fact that many providers are predicting things are going to get worse, as if they weren’t bad enough.

The ADASS reported earlier this month that the capacity of the care sector to deliver on people’s needs has been sharply reduced, at the same time as England’s ageing population develops ever more complex care requirements.

It says that “despite staff working relentlessly over the last two years, levels of unmet, under-met or wrongly-met needs are increasing, and the situation is getting worse. The growing numbers of people needing care and the increasing complexity of their needs are far outstripping the capacity to meet them.”

The report also says that the government’s focus “of resources on acute hospitals without addressing care and support at home, means people deteriorate and even more will need hospital care.”

Editor

Peter Adams

We previously reported that the government’s social care reform could be as much as £10bn higher than its own estimates, according to a report by the County Councils Network, stating that rolling out these reforms could cost local authorities in England a minimum of £25.5bn. This is nearly £10bn more than the government's estimates.

The warning signs are there and cannot be ignored, and once again, we very much hope to include thought led articles from leading industry observers on how the government should and must act to avert the sector collapsing.

We would also take this opportunity to congratulate Tony Postiglione, a support worker at Meadowview Nursing Home in Calow Chesterfield and The Carer’s latest Unsung Hero! (See page 7).

Tony has faced severe health challenges in recent years and has continued to dedicate himself at a time of severe adversity, working not only his own shifts but volunteering to do additional ones to cover staff shortages and illness, and at the same time mentoring young workers new to the sector. Tony is well known for keeping the homes spirits high and has been dubbed The Karaoke King!

When we rang the home to inform them that Tony was our latest Unsung Hero, I could hear staff cheering in the background which was a very humbling experience!

Once again it was extremely difficult to pick an overall winner - almost impossible in fact!

We had the most heartwarming and uplifting stories of dedication, so once again we have decided to add on a few runner-up prizes.

They were all fantastic nominations, and we are only sorry we cannot reward everybody. One rather unique nomination took our eye “Ruby and Katie” - two 14-year-old girls who volunteer at Frenchay & Crossley House nursing home in Bristol.

We do regularly include stories of care homes regularly linking with local schools, and organisations to engage with residents, anything from singing, working with new technology, gardening, fundraising etc, but I think this was the first time any school children actually received an Unsung Hero nomination, so very well done Ruby & Katie! Yet another example of the dedication and affection from all ages have when it comes to the adult social care sector.

Thank you all so very much for your nomination and please do watch out for our next Unsung Hero award coming soon, and again the prize is a wonderful we hamper of Scottish goodies!!!

Talking of time for celebration, We are always delighted to receive many, many stories from various homes throughout the United Kingdom of celebrations, tributes, and initiatives, and this week it is the Queen’s forthcoming Jubilee, and we look forward to receiving as many tributes as possible. (See pages 12-13 for just some of the stories we’ve received so far.)

This of course is the generation that makes so very proud, those who have lived through wars, “cold” wars, lived through times of great sacrifice upheaval and change, and who better to pay tribute to her Majesty the Queen?

So, very well done residents, care homes, staff and event organisers putting on such fantastic homages, and please do keep them coming, particularly during the Jubilee weekend. We will be delighted to do a dedicated feature next week.

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 3

Sharp Decline in Number of Care Home Residents Compared to Pre-Pandemic Levels

(CONTINUED FROM FRONT COVER)

RINGING ALARM BELLS

“Care homes are in a very precarious position, but the Government still insists there is no funding crisis in the sector.

“Covid-19 devastated bed occupancy. There was tragic loss of life and after its peak homes were restricted in taking new admissions as Covid breakouts continued.

“Now, admission levels are struggling to recover because confidence has been affected. At the same time, the sector is going through a staffing crisis with many providers in both care and nursing homes, and in home care, struggling to fill shifts.

“And now rocketing bills, including gas and electric, are placing huge financial pressures on those homes.

“All in all, this is a terrible time for the social care sector – the worst I have known in more than 33 years providing care.

“We continue to lobby for more Government support, including earlier access to the Health and Social Care Levy proceeds. At the moment, the bulk of that £36bn fund is set to go to the NHS first – but we are calling for social care to get an equal share quickly – otherwise, care providers are going to go out of business and that will leave hundreds of thousands of people without the care they need.

“However, social care minister Gillian Keegan continues to live in denial, claiming just last week that there was sufficient funding to allow councils to effectively deliver adult social care services.

“I, and I am sure many local authority directors, would beg to differ.

But whilst we continue to fight against this lack of awareness, care providers will continue to fight for survival.”

The shock new figures on the number of empty care home beds should be ringing alarm bells in the Government, providers have warned.

But instead they say, the Government continues to deny there is a crisis in the sector, the Independent Care Group (ICG) says.

ICG Chair Mike Padgham said: “This doesn’t come as a surprise, but alarm bells should be ringing in Whitehall.

Nuffield Trust researcher Camille Oung said the pandemic will have a “destabilising effect” on social care for some time.

She said: “A combination of hesitancy in people choosing care homes, a preference for receiving care at home and heavy costs for people paying for their own care are keeping occupancy down.

“Many care providers are also experiencing severe staffing short-

Consequently, the fall in occupancy rates has led to care homes receiving less income.

ONS statistics further revealed: • The South East had the highest proportion of self-funders in care homes (44.1%), which is statistically significantly higher than the North East, which had the lowest (21.5%).

• Care homes located in the least deprived areas had a statistically significantly higher proportion of self-funders (52.5%) than care homes in the most deprived areas (18.7%).

• Smaller care homes, with 1 to 19 beds, had the lowest proportion of self-funders (12.5%), which is statistically significantly lower than all other care home sizes.

• Care homes providing care for older people had the highest proportion of self-funders (47.1%), which was statistically significantly higher than all other care home types; care homes for younger adults had the lowest proportion of self-funders (1.9%).

• The coverage of the care home population has improved in this release (68.6%) compared with the previous release (39.1%); statistical comparisons between years cannot be made because of differing response rates from care homes in each year.

Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, which represents care homes, told attendees at the Residential & Home Care Show on 18 May that care home occupancy levels “have not returned to normal”, and this was putting “an enormous strain” financially on care providers.

“DESTABILISING EFFECT”

ages, meaning some care homes cannot even welcome more people because they lack the staff to care for residents.

“All of this makes a system that is already difficult to navigate even tougher.”

She added that Government reforms to introduce a care cap from October may help but do not address the issues facing providers and residents now.

“STEALTH TAX” ON COST OF CARE Scott Gallacher, chartered financial planner at financial advisers, Rowley Turton: “An increasing number of people are having to use their hard-earned savings to pay for their care. Anyone with more than £23,250 in savings, investments or property (apart from their own home in some circumstances) normally has to pay for their care themselves.

And the government has frozen this £23,250 limit for over ten years.

Had they increased this limit in line with inflation, it would now be over £35,000. Hence, today many more people are having to use their savings to pay for their care than previously. In effect, this is a stealth tax on the cost of care.”

Joshua Gerstler, chartered financial planner at The Orchard Practice: “It is quite common nowadays for us to include the cost of care in our clients’ financial plans. Sometimes this will come from savings and investments and in other cases it may be paid for via pensions. Often the equity in a client’s home will be used. Our clients often allow about £60,000 per year for this.”

“AMBITIOUS TEN-YEAR PLAN A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are committed to quality care and provision for people in care homes and our white paper sets out an ambitious 10-year vision for adult social care, backed by £5.4 billion.

“This will include £500 million of investment to develop and support the social care workforce over the next three years to boost the sector’s ability to recruit and retain staff, improve learning and development, and better support mental health and wellbeing.”

PAGE 4 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

QCS Launches Bereavement Support Resource for Social Care Workers, Families and Loved Ones

By Abi Spence, QCS Registration and Inspection specialist (www.qcs.co.uk) For those working in the social care sector, coping with the loss of a person they have been caring for can be very difficult, particularly when they have had a longstanding and meaningful relationship. Moreover, they are often called on to support relatives in the moments, hours and days of the person’s death.

Abi Spence, a Registration and Inspection specialist for Quality Compliance Systems (QCS), offers guidance for registered managers and care workers on how to provide appropriate support and to look after their own wellbeing with the help of the new QCS Bereavement Support resource.

Many care workers had to deal with an unrelenting loss of life during the pandemic, particularly within residential services for the elderly.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), total deaths of care home residents in England increased by 16.5% between the first and second waves of the pandemic (85,305 and 99,380 deaths respectively).1 The challenges faced by those working in the care sector were unremitting. Reflecting on the harsh realities of these difficult times provides us with an opportunity to review some of the lessons learned.

A key lesson was that when dealing with the intense pressure and fast pace of the pandemic, many care workers were unable to grieve: their emotions were paused while they dealt with the onslaught.

EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH DEATH It has opened up a welcome wider conversation, about how people within the sector are equipped and prepared to deal with death, and how we ensure that we’re looking after the well-being of the social care workforce.

In its May 2022 report2 on the ‘Health and wellbeing of the adult social care workforce’, the government said it ‘is committed to helping staff recover from their extraordinary role in helping the country through the pandemic’.

But it’s clear that the fact that care workers have to constantly deal with the passing of those they care for has sometimes been missed by wider society.

PERSON-CENTRED SUPPORT As human beings, we have feelings and emotions. In the care sector, we talk about person-centred care.

And it this approach that is also appropriate for helping our care workers when faced with the challenges of bereavement - of colleagues, of those they support, and the families and loved ones of the deceased.

In response to this need, QCS, the leading provider of content, guidance and standards for the social care sector, has developed its Bereavement Support resource. It contains a full range of advice and guidance to support the carer’s wellbeing when someone they have cared for has passed away, and for registered managers to support their workforce too.

In addition, it offers resources for carers when offering person-centred support to the relatives and significant others of a person who has died, as well as for the bereaved person’s family and friends.

SUPPORT FOR CARE STAFF Coping with the loss of the person you have been caring for can be traumatic, especially if it has been a long-term, close relationship. It’s important to understand that how a death will impact someone depends on the person, as everyone is different.

Care staff may display symptoms of grief such as sadness, confusion, anger, even shock. Or they may feel

nothing at all. Whatever emotion they feel, it is 'normal' as grief and bereavement look different for everyone.

Registered managers can take a preventative approach by checking in with the individual and the wider workforce too. Observation is key, and just asking someone if they are OK is important.

Colleagues will often notice whether the individual is putting on a front, or if their disposition has changed, and can tell their manager. This applies both in the short term and over time. It’s all about knowing your workforce and understanding what is and isn’t normal for that person.

Registered care managers can ensure their staff are trained before they need it. End of life training is very helpful, as are regular talks within the care setting about death, whether one-on-one discussions or team meetings.

Yearly events such as Hospice UK’s Dying Matters Awareness Week are useful to provide a focal point to come together to talk about death, dying and grief. Within Bereavement Support, organisations and resources such as these are sign-posted for both registered managers supporting their teams, and for individual carers to learn what they need to do to help themselves.

Guidance on how to support family members and friends It is always difficult to have conversations with the bereaved after a death, whether expected or unexpected. However, it is an important part of continuing to deliver person-centred care and support, especially for those who are involved in developing and supporting end-of-life care planning.

The QCS Bereavement Support resource provides care workers with easy-to-use support and guidance to ensure they deliver sensitive care to the families and loved ones of the person who has passed. Multi-media resources including leaflets, posters, checklists and podcasts guide carers on how best to support family and friends immediately after their loss. You can listen to the podcast for free here: www.qcs.co.uk/thecarer-podcast.

SUPPORT FOR THE BEREAVED It can be challenging to know what to do when a close family member or friend passes away. Within the QCS Bereavement Support resource is a checklist that gives practical information about where to start and what can’t be delayed. It includes advice for the bereaved on practical arrangements such as how to register a death, arrange a funeral and a glossary of legal terms to navigate such as ‘next of kin’. You can download the checklist for free here: www.qcs.co.uk/thecarer-checklist.

It also includes a range of best practice signposting materials for care homes on where to go for support for the bereaved, care workers and others through grief.

A GROWING BEREAVEMENT RESOURCE The QCS Bereavement Support resource has been designed to help people through their journey by de-mystifying the process and taking a person-centred approach. By creating a dedicated resource for bereavement, where everything is brought together in one place, it allows carers and registered managers to access everything they need.

It is based on people’s lived experience, to ensure it is tailored to needs and compliments existing training.

But it is a growing resource, and as such, QCS is happy to get feedback from users and add to the content.

1. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/deathsinvolvingcovid19inthecaresectorenglandandwales/deathsregisteredbetweenweekending20march2020andweekending21january2022 2. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-wellbeing-of-the-adult-social-care-workforce/health-and-wellbeing-of-theadult-social-care-workforce

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 5

Entries Now Open for the NACC Awards 2022 The National Association of Care Catering (NACC) has launched the NACC Awards 2022.

The prestigious awards recognise and celebrate excellence, innovation, dedication and outstanding contributions within the care catering sector.

Everyone working in or associated with the care catering is encouraged to enter and shine a light on the teams and individuals that go above and beyond to deliver exceptional service every day – from care homes, Meals on Wheels services and Lunch Clubs to suppliers to the sector.

The NACC Awards 2022 are officially open for entries with the deadline of Friday 15 July 2022.

2022 sees the introduction of The Bev Puxley Award in memory of Bev Puxley, who sadly passed earlier this year. As well as an accomplished and celebrated chef, Bev was a longstanding friend, supporter and champion of the NACC and care catering, and the esteemed NACC Awards head judge for more than 15 years.

The Bev Puxley Award, sponsored by Worshipful Company of Cooks of which Bev was a past master, will be presented to a care chef who has made a significant contribution to the enhancement of care catering within their workplace – reflecting the great influence and legacy of Bev himself.

• • • • •

The NACC Awards 2022 categories open for nominations include: Care Establishment of the Year Award, sponsored by Hobart UK Meals on Wheels Award, sponsored by apetito Catering Team of the Year Award, sponsored by e-f group Catering Manager of the Year Award, sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions Our Care Catering Hero Award, sponsored by Bullseye Food Packaging

• NEW The Bev Puxley Award, sponsored by Worshipful Company of Cooks The shortlisted finalists will be revealed in August, with the overall winners announced at a special gala awards dinner on 6th October 2022, which is part of the NACC Training & Development Forum held at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham.

In addition to the six categories open for nominations, the recipients of the coveted NACC Region of the Year Award, sponsored by Meiko, the Pam Rhodes Outstanding Achievement Award, sponsored by Anglia Crown, and the NACC National Chair’s Award will also be honoured.

The NACC Awards 2022 nomination brochure with full nomination requirements can be downloaded here https://bit.ly/TDFAwards2022 Sue Cawthray, National Chair of the NACC, said: “The launch of the NACC Awards is always an exciting moment. Across the country people in care catering work innovatively and tirelessly to deliver excellence and enhance the quality of the lives of the people they support, and it’s important that we recognise and celebrate their inspirational work.

“The introduction of the Bev Puxley Award, whilst a sad addition to the award categories, is also a very meaningful one. Bev really understood the value of good food and nutrition and the importance of providing access to first class catering in care settings. He was a true champion of our sector and association. His dedication to our work, including head judge of both the NACC Awards and the NACC Care Chef of the Year competition, has helped raise awareness of care catering. This is a most fitting tribute to an incredible chef that has made a lasting, positive impact on our sector.

“I know for a fact that we have many examples of outstanding contributions within our sector. I encourage all our members to enter the NACC Awards 2022 and give the amazing care catering teams and individuals the recognition they deserve. I can’t wait to read all the inspiring and humbling entries.”

Hallmark Care Homes Team Raise Thousands for Alzheimer’s Society Through 26-Mile Walk Team members from multi-award-winning care provider, Hallmark Care Homes have raised more than £8,900 with a 26-mile charity walk.

37 team members from the family-run care provider took part in the difficult trek around London on Saturday to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society.

The participants, which included Hallmark’s Managing Director, Aneurin Brown decided to take on the Trek26 walk for the dementia charity after experiencing dementia first hand within their roles.

Aneurin Brown said: “We are absolutely delighted to have raised this tremendous amount. Dementia affects the people we care for everyday in our roles, and it feels amazing to give back to a charity that does so much to support both people living with and caring for someone living with dementia during our 25th year. I’m incredibly proud of my team for completing this gruelling challenge and for all

of their fundraising efforts to date.”

Nick O’Donohue, Alzheimer’s Society Area Manager, said: “We would like to thank all 37 of the Hallmark Care Homes employees who took part in Trek26 for us. Money raised will help Alzheimer’s Society reach and support more people through our vital services, which have been a lifeline for so many people living in London.

“We’re calling on people from across the capital to go the distance and don their boots for a Trek26 challenge in 2022. Every pound raised will help Alzheimer’s Society provide crucial information and support, improve care, fund research and create lasting change for people affected by the condition.

“We are in awe of the resilience of supporters like the Hallmark Care Homes team, whose dedication to fundraising for Alzheimer’s Society ensures that we are able to support those who need it most.”

PAGE 6 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

Want To Grow? There’s Capital For Care Out There lenders and international operators to name a few. Where high street banks were once the only option for debt funding (borrowing), now there is a proliferation of sources looking for a stable income stream – as Alantra can attest to based on their regular inbound enquiries and instructions.

A RANGE OF OPTIONS Inflation, ageing and the decline of the high street are often the topic of negative headlines. But they can also be opportunities for the care sector, as Freeths Care Team heads Phil Baigent and Thomas Golding and Alantra experts Justin Crowther and Hoong Wey Woon revealed in a webinar on 24 May 2022.

APPEALING TO INVESTORS Currently, there is a lot of liquidity in the market and with investors increasingly moving away from the high street and retail to other sectors (retail’s share in the Investment Property Databank has halved, alternative sectors like healthcare have filled the gap. The care sector offers investors stable cashflow – based upon an ageing population and with good operators maintaining high occupancy and fee levels.

Well-run care businesses offer both cashflow and a property portfolio, which is attractive to investors.

INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES The options for investment have gone global. Fifteen years ago, the UK market was served by a small number of UK based funds and banks. Today it is an international marketplace flooded with European, North American and other non-UK money consisting of infrastructure funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), pension funds, debt

Based upon these new and numerous funding streams, care businesses can obtain investment from different jurisdictions (Europe, USA and beyond) and gain the ability to grow - with the right funding stream and partner. And there is a wealth of options for funding: opco (operating company), propco (property company), ground rent sale, private equity, debt funding, development funding, forward funding, REITs and mergers and acquisitions. Indeed, many operators (and sector developers) are mixing and matching to raise financing that works for them.

QUALITY MATTERS The experts highlighted the major changes in the care sector that drive success. Above all, quality matters – there is a positive correlation between CQC (Care Quality Commission) rating, provision/standard of care and valuation. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are also increasingly important, with some investors willing to pay more if a business is ESG compliant.

How we live our older years is changing and so are care homes.

There is a shift towards seeing residents as customers rather than patients and providing a fulfilled life and better later-living. The quality of a facility, and the quality of care provided, matter to investors.

PREDICTIONS FOR THE NEXT 12 TO 24 MONTHS The panel acknowledged that there are challenges for operators on

the immediate horizon, including rising construction costs, staffing and inflation. However, taking into account the ageing population and that a significant number of care homes need to be replaced over the next 20 years, the panel were cautiously optimistic about the future. They predicted: • more opco sales - reflecting what is already happening in Europe and the US where opcos are trading at healthy multiples • private equity becoming more involved in elder care • an increase in joint ventures whether between institutions and operators, or between operators with other capital providers.

TIPS FOR CARE OPERATORS SEEKING FUNDING • Get a well-prepared, clean set of financials showing past, present and predicted future performance.

• Present the information in the format the investor needs it in to get the right result; institutions, banks, funds all have very sophisticated riskunderwriting systems. It’s a lot of work, don’t underestimate the process.

• Be prepared for scrutiny, especially of property assets and get help if you need it.

• Look at your quality indicators and address any issues.

• Be clear about what funding you are asking for and why.

If you need help to navigate opportunities in the care sector, contact Phil Baigent (phil.baigent@freeths.co.uk 0345 634 9799) or Thomas Golding thomas.golding@freeths.co.uk 0345 050 3647) in the Freeths Care Team or Justin Crowther (https://www.alantra.com/teammember/justin-crowther) or Hoong Wey Woon (https://www.alantra.com/team-member/hoong-wey-woon) at Alantra.

Local Care Home Embraces Flower Power Residents at Magnolia Court in Golders Green celebrated Chelsea Flower Show which took place from 24 to 28 May 2022 - as well as watching the show on TV, they also held their own competition for the green-fingered.

Created and run by the Royal Horticultural Society, Chelsea Flower Show is the world’s greatest flower show with stunning garden designs and gorgeous floral designs. Residents were delighted to see the show return to its rightful place in the spring season after a move to September last year.

Residents took part in flower-based activities throughout the week including a flower arranging competition and planting flowers and shrubs in the garden which everyone really enjoyed. Their collective knowledge about flowers gained from years of gardening experience

was very impressive.

Octavian Stanciu, General Manager at Magnolia Court said: “Our garden is a much loved space, our residents really enjoy looking after the plants and flowers and watching them grow and change through the seasons. It has been wonderful to see all the beautiful garden designs at Chelsea, it has given us real inspiration to try some new planting schemes and see what we can achieve in our own garden.”

Bill Crowhurst, a resident at Magnolia Court added: “I just love to watch the Chelsea Flower Show, to me it is the absolute highlight of the gardening year. I don’t know how they manage to come up with such innovative designs each year but it is just so lovely to see all the gorgeous blooms and beautiful colours.”

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 7

Say Hello to the Carer’s Latest Unsung Hero…

TONY POSTIGLIONE

We here at the CARER are thrilled to announce that Tony Postiglione, a support worker at Meadowview Nursing Home in Calow Chesterfield is our latest Unsung Hero!

Again we had a phenomenal response to our unsung hero award, a small gesture on our part to award somebody within the residential and nursing care environment who has gone that extra mile and deserves a better recognition !

Deserved winner Tony has combined role as a support worker with entertainments and has been dubbed by colleagues as the “karaoke king” During these past years, and particularly during the pandemic, Tony has faced an extremely challenging personal health battle but has insisted on coming to work carrying on his duties, stepping in and covering shifts due to staff illness and shortages, and taking on the role of mentoring younger people entering the sector for the first time.

Tony was nominated by Meadowview Nursing Home registered manager Gillian Kent who said: “Tony is one of the most dedicated, committed and selfless people I have ever had the honour to work alongside “ “Throughout all of his treatment (due to his serious illness) health issues good times and bad he has insisted on coming to work, battling on and providing our service users with not only first-class

care but ours of entertainment as our Karaoke king.”

“He honestly never stops”.

“Despite his health issues we see the pleasure he gets in knowing that he can raise the spirits of all of our service users and the moods of his co-workers.”

“He always steps and volunteers to work extra hours when are short of staff.”

“Tony has been a great role model for the young lads who come into care, we love it when he mentors our new staff as they all share his relentless work ethic, love of their careers and his ability to bring a joyous atmosphere to the gloomiest of days.”

“We all are in complete agreement that he is our outstanding unsung hero.”

“When we presented Tony with his wonderful prize, he was absolutely thrilled and for once, lost for words.

“This was short lived as he soon burst into song, and we shared a bit of an ad hoc version of Vera Lynne’s ‘White cliffs of Dover’.

We here at The Carer are delighted to award worthy winner Tony a luxury “celebration” hamper packed full of all those delightful luxury extras that make any celebration a truly memorable occasion!

It always has become increasingly more difficult over the years to pick an overall winner, and we are

delighted to add some Marks & Spencer vouchers as “unofficial” runner-up prizes.

• Susan Clark from Claremont House Dumfries • Jane Smith of Cann House Care Home Plymouth • Annesta Horrocks from Edensor Care Essex We are also delighted to include Ruby & Katie, Two 14-year-old girls who volunteer at Frenchay & Crossley House nursing home in Bristol.

“They come during school holidays and weekends, they work in our kitchens washing up and making tea for our residents, they also do activities with our residents, sit and chat to them and find out interesting things about their lives, this is not only amazing for our residents well being but it also helps my staff team learn new things about our residents”! Says registered manager Karin Brownlie So, two gift vouchers are also off in the post to Ruby and Katie - well done!

In fact, well done to you all!!!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who put forward nominations we had a wonderful response, it may sound tired old cliché, but it is not meant to be, when we say, that in our eyes “every nomination was a winner” and we are just sorry we cannot give an award to everybody!

Watch out for further details of our next “Unsung Hero” with the same great prize of a luxury celebration hamper!

Care Assistant Takes on Yorkshire Three Peaks and Raises Hundreds for Home A care assistant at a Scarborough based home took on the gruelling Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge and has so far managed to raise more than £600.

Laura Lawson works as a care assistant at MHA Priceholme and decided to do the challenge to raise funds for the home’s amenity fund, which will support the home in providing various activities and events for residents.

The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge is a walk of 24 miles on the peaks of Pen-yghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, the highest peaks in the county.

Laura has been at the home, which provides residential care for up to 32 people for just over a year and says the challenge was “tough but enjoyable”.

She added: “I am very glad I did the challenge and the support I received from those who were with me on the day was what got me to the finish line.

“As part of my training I was walking up to 18 miles a day and it helped me massively whilst doing the challenge. The weather was pretty bad with rain and hail

storms but I managed to keep going and I am very proud of myself.

“The support from the home, whether that's residents or staff members has been immense and they all got behind me.

“I really enjoyed the challenge. It was the first time I did it and it will probably be the last!.

“I set a target of £150, but to see the response of the JustGiving page has been amazing and I am very happy with the figure we have reached.

“The amount will benefit the residents greatly, and I am very thankful to each and every one who contributed towards the amount.

“I am hoping to do another challenge, the Lyke Wake Walk in the future and I am confident I will generate similar interest.”

PAGE 8 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

Supporting Vulnerable People To Manage Their Contact With Charities: The Role Of The Fundraising Preference Service

By: Gerald Oppenheim, Chief Executive of the Fundraising Regulator (www.fundraisingpreference.org.uk)

As we mark Carers Week, we are reminded that care workers perform one of the most important jobs in our society, providing assistance, comfort, and kindness to the most vulnerable people in the UK. According to the Kings Fund, 841,000 adults in the UK received adult social care in 2020/2021 with that number only set to rise in the coming years as the number of retirees grows.

Under increasing pressure to maintain a high standard of care for their clients and patients, it’s vitally important that civil society works together to ease the burden on carers and make some of the less thought-about areas of caring more straightforward.

One such area is charitable fundraising. In particular, making sure that people in vulnerable circumstances are supported to give to charity safely because it is vitally important that all charity donors are not at risk of being taken advantage of or feel pressured to give.

To help make sure that charities are only contacting people who want to hear from them, the Fundraising Regulator runs the Fundraising Preference Service (FPS). The FPS is the UK’s only official free service that allows people to opt out from receiving direct marketing from multiple charities.

A key feature of the FPS is that it allows individuals, including those who are caring for a vulnerable person, to supress charity communications on behalf of someone else.

In fact, around a quarter of people that use the FPS do so on behalf of someone else. This makes it signifi-

cantly easier to protect adults in care who may suffer from a condition that impacts their ability to make informed decisions about giving to charity.

Using the FPS is also helpful for charities. Without the FPS, a charity may not know a that a person who has previously agreed to be on their mailing list no longer wants to hear from them. When someone uses the FPS, an alert is sent directly to the charity, informing them of the individual’s wishes to stop contact.

We understand that your time as a carer is limited, and that assisting with your clients’ finances is secondary to your other work, but if you suspect that someone in your care is unable to make sound judgements when giving to charity or is overwhelmed by too many mailings, now might be the time to use the FPS. By doing so, you can protect the person you are caring from well-intentioned but inappropriate direct marketing. The FPS will let charities know in a matter of minutes and cut down on the number of donation requests that they may receive by phone, email or in the post.

Before the FPS, people trying to stop direct marketing from charities would have had to contact each one individually. This can be an immensely time-consuming task, as well as a source of stress and worry for those involved. With the FPS it is possible to opt out of communications from up to 10 charities at a time via the online portal or up to 20 via the FPS telephone line.

It may be that financial support is outside the scope of work you perform with a client, but, as you know, carers are one – vital – part of the support network on which vulnerable individuals rely. If the friends and relatives of those in your care express concern about charity communications, please do inform them of the Fundraising Preference Service.

Together, we can ensure that charitable fundraising always happens in a way that is open, honest, respectful and takes particular care of people in vulnerable circumstances.

Greensleeves Care Welcomes Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care Henley House, a new Greensleeves Care home in Ipswich, recently welcomed Professor Deborah Sturdy OBE, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, and her DHSC colleague, Fred Atkinson, as part of the care charity’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

Professor Sturdy spoke with members of the Henley House team about the care sector, as well as meeting with the home’s Residents’ Committee.

The Residents’ Committee was highlighted in Henley House’s recent (and first) CQC inspection, which praised the fact that residents are involved in making key decisions in the running of the home, which strives to be ‘resident-led.’

Professor Sturdy also spoke with Jill Pye, a retired nurse who is now a resident at Henley House, about the ways in which the profession has changed throughout the years and the challenges it faces today. Jill, along with fellow resident Joan Marsden, were recently recognised in the local news on International Women’s Day for their work as part of the Residents’

Committee.

Together with Paul Newman, Chief Executive of Greensleeves Care, Professor Sturdy unveiled a plaque which marks the commemorative tree that residents planted to celebrate Greensleeves Care’s Silver Anniversary on 1st April this year.

Paul Newman said: “On behalf of the residents and my colleagues, we would like to thank Deborah and Fred for visiting Henley House. Residents and colleagues were delighted to show off their new home and highlight best practice. The event flowed and everyone enjoyed discussing the intrinsic importance of the care sector to society, as well as the challenges facing today’s sector.”

Professor Sturdy was appointed as the first Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care in 2020. According to Gov.uk, this new role was created with the aim of representing social care nurses and providing clinical leadership to the workforce whilst ensuring the provision of ‘high quality, personalised, joined-up care.’

Care Home Uses Gardening Club to Promote Intergenerational Relationships Ahead of National Children’s Gardening Week 2022 A Hertfordshire care home is using its beloved Gardening Club to reconnect residents with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren through some green-fingered fun to mark National Children’s Gardening Week 2022 (May 28th to June 5th).

Residents from Foxholes Care Home, near Hitchin, recently visited the local garden centre, Hitchin Garden Centre, to personally select flowers and plants to help grow and maintain in their own miniature gardens on the grounds of Foxholes.

National Children’s Gardening Week aims to inspire and encourage people of all ages to grow and enjoy plants, from indoor plants and window boxes to large gardens and community spaces – with Foxholes using their gardening club to promote exercise, independence and positive well-being for residents and their younger family members.

Foxholes Care Home resident, Loretta Concannon, who can often be found tending to her garden with her grandchildren, said: “Having my own little garden at Foxholes means so much to me and my family. The grandchildren love getting their hands dirty and it gives us all something to look forward to doing together whenever they visit.”

She continued: “After our trip to the garden centre, we were provided our own miniature gardens to maintain while we planted everything ourselves alongside our families.

Whenever my grandchildren come to visit, we always go out together to water the plants, which usually prompts several questions regarding nature. They are learning so much and growing up so fast. Thank you, Foxholes!”

Neil Gandecha, Estate Manager at Foxholes Care Home, said: “Our residents got to enjoy some quality and meaningful time visiting the garden centre to pick their plants, and are excited to take part in some green-fingered fun on National Children’s Gardening Week.

“With the days finally warming up, we felt now was the perfect time to promote intergenerational relationships between residents and their grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren, by getting outside and tending to the miniature gardens. The Gardening Club is one of our biggest activities at Foxholes and one we are excited to open up to family members of all ages. As always, we provide the truggs and the soil, though what is planted and maintained is completely determined by our residents and loved ones.”

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 9

NCF Launches New NFP Badge to Demonstrate Quality in Care Provision The National Care Forum (NCF) has launched a new NFP badge to help people better recognise social care services operated by not for profit providers.

In a survey carried out by the NCF of 1,500 adults in England, 75% of those sampled preferred not for profit organisations or local authority provision over that offered by other provision. This positive public perception is the backbone to the launch of the NCF NFP badge announced today.

Liz Jones, Policy Director at the National Care Forum said: “Our survey found that, when asked, people would like to be able to choose care homes run by not for profit providers when making a decision about which care home to choose for themselves or their loved one. This badge is a direct response to that survey finding and makes it easier for people to identify NFP providers to give them confidence that the provider works to the ethos of the NFP sector.

“This ethos means a singular focus on improving their social care services now and in the future. NFP providers re-invest all their income back into the services they provide and the staff who deliver them. The focus is on improvement and innovation for all the people they support, and the reward and recognition of their staff. In addition, it often means having stronger links to their local communities where they will often have a long history of responding to evolving community needs. There is clear governance and accountabil-

ity arrangements for how they operate.

“It is important to recognise and celebrate this ethos and this new badge is a simple way to help people recognise and celebrate these qualities.”

Mario Ambrosi, Director of Communications and Marketing at Anchor Hanover said: “With research showing many people prefer a not for profit provider, this excellent initiative will make it easier to identify when a care home is not for profit and part of the NCF. Those moving into a care home, or supporting a loved one to do so, need good information about what matters to them and the badge is an important way of helping people make the right decisions for the circumstances.”

Abby Symons, Head of Sales and Marketing at Sanctuary Care said: “Choosing a care home for yourself or a loved one is a highly emotive decision and it is imperative that people have the right level of support and information during this process. The badge is a simple way for the public to identify the principles by which not for profit providers work so that when they see the badge they can have confidence.”

Organisations displaying the new badge are all NCF members and are committed to providing quality care and support services to adults in the UK.

Gisela and Sonja Visit the Palace Ahead of Platinum Jubilee Celebrations Two Jewish sisters from Manchester have commemorated their British Empire Medals (BEMs) alongside members of the royal family at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party, hosted on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.

Gisela Feldman, 98, and Sonja Sternberg, 96, travelled to the capital from their home at Belong Morris Feinmann care village in Didsbury to enjoy an afternoon of tea and cake and the opportunity to explore the palace gardens. Joining them and the other guests invited in recognition of their achievements and service to the country were Prince Edward, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Kate Middleton, and Princess Alexandra, the Queen’s first cousin.

The siblings have dedicated their lives to Holocaust education, sharing their personal experiences, the plight of modern refugees, and keeping alive the memory of those lost so that future generations all over the world continue learning about WWII. Gisela summarises: “We are the last generation of eyewitnesses – people cannot deny what we experienced. It is said that bad things only happen if good people do nothing, and this is what drives us to educate others to do better.”

Gisela and Sonja fled Nazi persecution in 1939, along with 900 Jews, travelling via sea to Cuba on a journey now coined the ‘Voyage of the Damned.’ The ship was denied entry to the country and later, the USA, forcing it back to Europe where some of the refugees were rehomed throughout the continent. Others

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less fortunate lost their lives, along with the sisters’ father and 30 of their relatives.

The pair were appointed in the 2020 New Year honours and awarded their medals by Sir Warren Smith, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, who represents the Queen in the area. After a two-year wait owing to the pandemic, they have now been able to mark the occasion at the palace for one of the Queen’s annual parties, amongst much excitement in the lead-up to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, next week.

Speaking of the Garden Party experience, Gisela Feldman said: “It was very exciting; we had the most beautiful weather for high tea in the garden – I feel honoured to have shared the day with my family.”

Sonja Sternberg added: “I saw Kate Middleton and would have liked to tell her I’m the same age as the Queen. It was the most thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

In related news, Gisela and Sonja are also set to feature in Belong Morris Feinmann’s Holocaust Survivors exhibition, due to open this summer at the Palatine Road care village’s onsite synagogue.

Members of the public will be invited to experience the stories of those who lived through the Holocaust, with more event details to be announced in the coming weeks.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 11

Solving Two Crises at Once for Refugees and the Social Care Sector

The CareTech Foundation has partnered with Breaking Barriers, intending to create a bespoke recruitment pathway for refugees into the social care sector and to influence the wider health and social care sector to support refugees in employment.

Since pandemic restrictions have eased, some trends in the health and care sector have reemerged. According to Skills for Care, vacancy rates in England are at 8.2%, which is even higher than their pre-pandemic levels, and 105,000 vacancies are being advertised on average each day. Turnover is also high, at 34.4%.

Many are turning to overseas labour to try to fill these gaps, but a ground-breaking partnership between the Foundation and Breaking Barriers is paving a new way.

Breaking Barriers is a specialist charity that supports refugees into meaningful employment with advice, experience and education. The charity believes in the power of responsible business and forge innovative partnerships so that businesses can support refugees too.

Breaking Barriers has found that the health and social care sector ranks as one of the top sectors in which their clients aspire to work. There is clearly high demand and desire for people of refugee background to work in this sector, yet refugees can find it challenging to secure employment.

There is no national strategy or policy in place to support refugees to get into work or education. In 2019, there were nearly 375,000 refugees in the UK, each with their own unique story, background, work experience and skills. This number is likely to have significantly increased as a result of the crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine.

People from a refugee background speak a myriad of languages, a lot speak excellent English, and of the refugees that Breaking Barriers support 39% have completed higher education and nearly 60% have four years plus employment experience.

However, applications for asylum can take months or years to process during which time most people are not allowed to work. This leads to gaps on CVs and a lack of UK work experience.

Other barriers for refugees include English language skills, adjusting to a new way of applying and interviewing for jobs, understanding cultural differences in the workplace and a fear of stigma from colleagues.

Businesses face challenges too. Research by Breaking Barriers and their partner Grant Thornton UK LLP showed that UK businesses are keen to get behind refugees but lack confidence when hiring and supporting them. 62% of the 601 mid-sized businesses surveyed are open to the idea of hiring refugees, just over half have already done so and 51% are saying they are likely to hire in the next 12 months.

But many also say that they lack confidence, with 40% saying they need additional support to recruit refugees. Employers’ main concerns regarding refugee recruitment are cultural barriers, how to access the refugee talent pool, and how to manage the legal right to work for refugees.

To overcome these challenges, Breaking Barriers and the Foundation have developed a long-term partnership. Activities will include a bespoke recruitment pathway to support refugee clients into employment with social care providers, including CareTech PLC, a roundtable with stakeholders from across the care sector, a sector-specific best practice guide to engage the care sector and encourage them to take action for refugees, and funding for Breaking Barriers’ employment programmes. Initially piloted in London, the programme will be scaled up nationally.

The Foundation will be openly sharing everything they learn through the partnership to support and inspire other businesses within the social care sector to unlock the potential of refugees.

The Carer is published by RBC Publishing Ltd, Suite 4, Roddis House, Old Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth, Dorset.

Contributions are welcome for consideration, however, no responsibility will be accepted for loss or damage. Views expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial team. Whilst every care is taken when compiling this publication to ensure accuracy, the publisher will assume no responsibility for any effects, errors or omissions therefrom. All rights reserved, reproduction is forbidden unless written permission is obtained.

All material is assumed copyright free unless otherwise advised.

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PAGE 12 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

Royal Engagement at New Care’s Care Homes Care home provider New Care enlisted the help of ‘The Queen’, Isla Bates aged 3, to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee with care home residents across its portfolio of homes in Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Nottingham, UK. At each of its 10 care homes, the royal engagement has comprised a red carpet arrival for Isla to the national anthem followed by the planting of a tree to leave a lasting ‘green’ lasting legacy for residents at each of the stunning care facilities.

The tree plant is part of The Queen’s Green Canopy; an initiative designed to enhance the environment and create a legacy in honour of The Queen’s leadership of the nation, with the

ultimate aim of benefiting future generations.

Isla’s mother, Alex Fairhurst, who works for New Care, comments: “Isla has thoroughly enjoyed her mini royal tour, travelling around each of the New Care homes to plant a tree.

She has especially loved dressing up as The Queen, perfecting her royal wave and making our residents smile. It is a real privilege for Isla to be involved in the Platinum Jubilee and by planting the tree she is playing her part in improving the environment and leaving a lasting legacy at each one of our care homes across the UK.”

Eston Care Home Residents’ Musical Tribute to Her Majesty Residents from Astune Rise care home in Eston, near Middlesbrough have taken part in ‘Together in Music’, a project curated by Orchestras Live and Redcar and Cleveland Council to create a piece of music in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Working with Manchester Camerata, a charity which believes in the power of music therapy, ‘A Woman of Our Time’ has been composed by residents of Astune Rise care home and three other homes from the area and will be played for the first time during a concert on June 1st at Redcar’s Tuned In youth centre featuring the Manchester Camarata Orchestra and singers from Guisborough Choral Society Members of Camerata in the Community visited the home with a selection of musical instruments and worked with a group of residents to create

the composition, which celebrates the Queen’s 70-year reign.

Home manager Caroline Bowstead said: “The residents absolutely loved being part of this project. We’re making a huge fuss over the Jubilee and pulling out all the stops to celebrate so to be asked to help with this amazing piece of music was fantastic.

“We are all looking forward to attending the concert and hearing it played by the orchestra and of course singing along and waving our flags to Land of Hope and Glory!”

Primrose Court Care Home in South Bank, Shoreline Nursing Home and Sandbanks nursing home, both in Redcar are the other homes who collaborated on the project.

Southgate Care Home Delighted to Receive Thank You from the Queen

Southgate Beaumont in Southgate have been busy making plans for the coming platinum Jubilee and to show their support they wanted to send a letter of congratulations to The Queen.

With the help of Samantha Neal, Customer Relationship Manager at Southgate Beaumont, residents wrote a letter to Buckingham Palace expressing their excitement about the coming Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

They posted the letter and were absolutely delighted when a few weeks later the received a reply from Buckingham Palace. They received a lovely card from The Queen thanking them for their kind messages.

Beatrice Godfrey, General Manager at Southgate Beaumont said: “Our residents love a party and they love the Queen so they all super excited about our coming celebrations.

We are holding a “Right Royal Garden Party” on the 10th June for residents and the local community and are busy preparing. Lots of our residents got involved in writing to the Queen which is a lovely way to say thank you to our longest reigning monarch. They were so delighted to receive the card from the Queen, it’s taken pride of place in our home.”

Rosalind Simpson, resident at Southgate Beaumont said: “The Queen is an amazing lady who has been through so much lately so it was a wonderful way to pay our respects and let her know how well loved she is.”

Oxford Based Care Home Produces 3D Queen Figure Ahead of Jubilee Preparations An Oxford based care home has been getting stuck into preparing for the Queen's Jubilee, by making their own Queen.

Residents at MHA Brookfield have been getting creative and made their own version of the Queen, with cardboard tubes.

They have been busy painting and decorating the life size figure and even attached some flowers to the hat to replicate the Queen's fashion sense.

The home, which provides nursing and nursing dementia care for 66 residents, has placed the figure in the reception area which is accompanied by a corgi and donkey.

Victoria Davidson, activity coordinator said: “Like the whole country we here at MHA Brookfield are patiently waiting for the Jubilee and wanted to do something we can all contribute to.

“Initially we were thinking of buying a cut out, but they are very expensive and that's when we decided to see what we can do with the stuff we already have.

“Everything we used was either donated to us or we made the most of items that we have used previously, like for example the items used to make the body.

“Previously we used the same cardboard tubes to make a Christmas nutcracker so we do try and utilise the items we have to maximise the usage.

“In total it took us a couple of afternoons to complete the figure and I am very impressed with the way residents got stuck in.

“The lilac paint was donated to us so that's why we decided to stick to the lilac theme.

“The residents have really enjoyed making the figure and are very pleased with the outcome, just like the rest of us.”

Rose House Care Home Creates Beautiful Jubilee Display from Residents’, Staff and Relatives’ Hand Cut-Outs Much like everyone else, Rose House care home are eagerly preparing for the Jubilee celebrations next week, decorating their home, organising events and preparing for a long weekend of fun and themed activities.

With such important relationships between members of Rose House’s community, the team sought to reflect that in their decorations for the Platinum Jubilee and have made a brilliant Union Jack window display made from every residents’, staff members’ and relatives’ hands cut out.

Lisa Facer, who is the Home Manager at Rose House, commented: “I am so proud of everyone in our close community that has helped to create our lovely display. The display is located in a prime position so that walkers-by can see the finished piece and see how close and connected we are at Rose House. I would like to say thank you to my wonderful team for working together to help the display come to life. The project has made all of us very excited for our Jubilee celebrations next week.”

In addition to the display, Rose House residents have also been making crowns for their celebrations and the team are currently running their Jubilee raffle.

Jon Sends His Art to Her Majesty the Queen The people who live at Aliwal Manor Care Home in Whittlesey have been preparing for the Queen’s upcoming platinum jubilee by making some arts, crafts and decorations to put up around their home.

During a recent craft session, residents were given a variety of royal-themed templates, paints and decorative items to make some jubilee themed art.

Jon, who lives at the home, decided to use a template of the Queen’s head his art piece.

He placed this on a plain piece of paper and dabbed red and blue paint around the edge of it.

He then removed the template to reveal a perfect picture of the Queen.

Jon was really happy with how his idea turned out and the team was equally impressed

with his creation. Sarah, who is a Lifestyle Coordinator at Aliwal Manor said, “This is fit for the Queen”, and suggested they sent the art to her majesty.

Jon was initially sceptical and said, “I don’t think she will reply,” but went ahead with the idea in case she did!

Together, Jon and Sarah wrote a letter to accompany the picture, found out her mailing address and sent it off it in the post. Jon and Sarah then had a chat about the Queen and laughed as they said, “What if she does reply?”

Jon is now eagerly checking the post each day to see if he receives a response from her Majesty.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 13

Witney Care home celebrates the Jubilee with a Virtual Walk to Buckingham Palace Madley Park House, run by the Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) is organising a fundraising virtual walk from the care home in Witney to Buckingham Palace on Friday 3 June, as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Team members, residents and visitors will share the 68-mile journey on a treadmill in the home.

The challenge aims to raise funds to go towards the purchase of a ‘Magic Table’, a digital touch-screen device which allows users to play interactive games, both individually and as part of a group. The cutting-edge product has been proven to encourage social and physical stimulation with specific benefits for those with a diagnosis of dementia.

Madley Park House will also be holding a Jubilee Party in honour of Her Majesty

The Queen on Friday 3 June for residents, their friends and family members and employees.

The idea for the fundraising walk came from Home Manager Niki Rowlands and Activities Coordinator Sian Standbridge. Niki said: “We wanted to do something fun for the Jubilee and walking to Her Majesty’s London home seemed like a worthwhile challenge that lots of people could get involved in. We are all looking forward to a big party on the day and everyone is welcome to contribute to the walk, whether that’s a few steps or a few miles.”

For more information and to sponsor the challenge visit: Madley Park's walk to Buckingham Palace - JustGiving at https://tinyurl.com/2ze4jd55

Queen Keeping an Eye on Jubilee Preparations at Aldringham Court in Suffolk The Queen has been busy checking up on preparations for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations at Aldringham Court in Suffolk and lending a listening ear to residents at the home.

The home, in the village of Aldringham, is taking part in a whole weekend of events with the local community and hosting the village with a fun day event on Friday June 3rd.

The guest of honour, a life-sized cut out of Her Majesty, has already made her way to the home and is busy causing a stir.

Home Manager Sarah Robertson said, “We are all very excited. It is very much a community weekend with everyone coming together to celebrate the Queen’s reign.

Residents and our activity team have been working together to make decorations and

bunting and our catering team will be busy getting refreshments ready for the weekend.”

The fun day in the beautiful grounds at Aldringham Court will include something for everyone and all ages are catered for.

“There will be races and games for the children, live rock n roll music, traditional afternoon teas, fancy dress and Bake Off competitions,” added Sarah.

The life size cut-out of Queen Elizabeth will also be mingling with the people of the village out in the grounds.

“We have had the Queen with us in the home for a couple of weeks now and it has been lovely watching people come and have their photos taken with her, some of the residents come and have a chat with her too – telling her all sorts of things,” said Sarah.

Puddings Fit for the Queen: Signature at Reigate Grange Wins Platinum Jubilee Competition Jason Hall from the Catering team at Reigate Grange, a luxury care home in Reigate, has won a companywide Signature Senior Lifestyle Competition for the best Platinum Jubilee Pudding.

Signature asked residents and staff - from each of their 36 residential care homes across London and the south east, - to submit sweet pudding recipes fit for Her Majesty the Queen, to mark her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The Platinum Jubilee commemorates the Queen’s 70-year reign as the United Kingdom’s Monarch and Head of State, and is celebrated across the UK Commonwealth with thousands of events and festivities.

In total, 24 entries were submitted from colleagues and residents, before Chris Burdett, Group Food and Beverage Manager, and George O’Malley, Head of Customer Experience, announced Jason Hall as the winner for creating a show-stopping cake worthy of any Buckingham Palace banquet.

Jason’s four-tiered sponge cake embraced the patriotic colours of the United Kingdom and was topped with sliced strawberries. The judges also notably honoured a colleague at Signature at Camberley, who masterfully crafted a pillow cake with corgi dogs appropriately

placed on top.

The competition forms part of the wide range of events organised by the in-house activity teams at Reigate Grange and other Signature Homes on a weekly basis, to enhance the physical and mental wellbeing of all the residents.

Chris Burdett, Group Food and Beverage Manager for Signature Senior Living, said: “Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone who took the time to make and submit such creative, attractive and delicious puddings. All of them hit the brief with great precision and made me proud to be British!

“We asked all entrants: ‘Can you make a pudding fit for the Queen?’. The answer was a resounding YES!” Jason Hall, a Chef in the Catering Team at Signature at Reigate Grange, added: “When you see the quality of the entrants across the entire business, I really am pleased to have been announced the winner. I have some incredibly talented colleagues, who work hard every day to provide the highest quality meals for our wonderful residents.

“At Reigate Grange, our food is always fit for Her Majesty – we would welcome her to try the menu any time!”

Jubilee Garden Unveiled by Lord Lieutenant at Shefford Care Home A Jubilee garden set up at a Shefford care home has been unveiled by the Lord Lieutenant ahead of The Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The garden is in the front yard of MHA Oak Manor and to mark the occasion a new cherry blossom tree was unveiled by HM Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Helen Nellis.

The cherry tree has been officially added to the Queen’s Green Canopy Map and is one of two in the town.

The home offers 64 places for residential and dementia care and as part of the unveiling ceremony, there was a chance for residents to mingle with the Lord Lieutenant.

Residents also sang the national anthem and planted gravel in red, white and blue to replicate the Union Jack.

Fay Gooch, home manager, said: “After I applied to be added to the Queen’s Green

Canopy Map I asked if the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire would like to come down to unveil the tree and she was more than happy to visit.

“The residents loved it, they were over the moon. It was a glorious day and they all had a lot of fun.

“The Lord Lieutenant was amazing with the staff and residents. She spent a good amount of time with them and the residents really enjoyed speaking to her.

“Some of the residents were sharing their 100th birthday cards that they received from the Queen and were very proud.

“It was a really proud moment for all of us at MHA Oak Manor and hopefully we can continue to add more trees to the garden in the future.”

Platinum Jubilee: Veterans Celebrate Her Majesty’s 70-year Reign Residents at Royal Star & Garter have reflected on Her Majesty The Queen’s 70year reign and sent her their best wishes, ahead of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

In a video published by Royal Star & Garter, veterans sent goodwill messages and praised The Queen, who is also the charity’s Patron.

Royal Star & Garter provides loving, compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia, from Homes in Solihull, Surbiton and High Wycombe.

Sue, who lives at the Solihull Home with her husband Harry, a WWII Navy vet, congratulated The Queen and said: “We have also been married for 70 years, so we know what 70 years is!”

Army veteran Paul, from Surbiton, said: “I think we are very fortunate to have had her as our sovereign.” Michael, an RAF veteran at the same Royal Star & Garter Home, said of the Jubilee: “It’s a remarkable achievement, quite remarkable.” Jean, from High Wycombe, added: “I think she’s the most wonderful woman, and has done a magnificent job for everybody.”

The Queen has been Royal Star & Garter’s Patron since 1953. The charity will be holding a series of parties and events with residents at its Homes to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.

A Rosey Outlook for Abbeyfield in Hadleigh Vice Chair of Essex County Council, Cllr. Jillian Reeves, joined Abbeyfield House in Hadleigh, Benfleet for the planting of a special commemorative rose to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Residents, staff and volunteers gathered for the planting and tea in the sunny garden at Abbeyfield House, a sheltered housing scheme managed by The Abbeyfield Society and home to up to 14 older people. The garden in includes a summer house – the perfect spot for residents to relax and meet their friends and family – which will overlook the place where the rose is planted as a reminder of the occasion.

Each resident at Abbeyfield House has their own en-suite room and receives three delicious meals a day. They also have access to the communal areas and a varied schedule of activities inside the house and trips out.

After the planting, Jillian was presented with a bunch of flowers by resident Mr

Anthony Dann.

Jillian said, “Thanks to Abbeyfield House for their very kind welcome, hospitality, cakes and flowers. I had some interesting conversations with several of the residents, and it was a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.”

Sheltered Housing Manager, Barbra Jones, said, “We are all delighted that Jillian was able to join us today and take part in a very special event. Our residents have some very fond memories of the Queen’s 70 year reign and we hope they will create many more in our garden.

“The rose will stand as a permanent reminder of the respect our residents have for Her Majesty and will be enjoyed for many generations to come.”

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 15

Life Becoming Unaffordable for Pensioners on Low/Modest Incomes, Warns Age UK Life is fast becoming unaffordable for many older households on low and modest incomes, with millions unable to pay for basic items, according to a new report published today by Age UK. In its new report, It Doesn’t Add Up, the Charity is warning that those on the very lowest incomes are spending almost a fifth (18 per cent) of their after-tax household income on energy bills because of April’s price cap rise, with one in three older households (29 per cent) in England ‘fuel-stressed’– spending more than 10 per cent of their posttax income on energy bills to maintain an adequate standard of warmth.

With inflation at a 40-year high – and warnings of worse to come – Age UK is estimating that two million older households won’t have enough money to cover their essential spending over the next year.

Higher prices have resulted in older households on the lowest incomes unable to cover essential day-to-day costs, with an increasing number turning to Age UK’s national advice line for support. From January to March this year, Age UK’s Advice Line saw an eight per cent rise in calls compared with the same time last year, a significant increase on the already high numbers of calls taken during the Covid19 lockdown in early 2021.

Calling on the Government to get a grip on this growing crisis, the Charity is urging Ministers to bring forward a package of measures to support those who lack the income and resources to cope with rising inflation.

MEASURES SHOULD INCLUDE: - Raising the level of benefits and the State Pension during this finan-

cial year so they keep pace with inflation - Targeting a direct one-off payment of £500 to those on the lowest incomes to help mitigate the impact of energy price rises.

- Introducing improved social tariffs into the energy market.

- Doing more to ensure everyone eligible for benefits such as Pension Credit receives their entitlement.

Even before Ofgem’s warning this week that the energy price cap is likely to surge to £2,800 in October – an increase of around £800 a year on the average bill – many older people were looking ahead with trepidation and increasingly using desperate coping strategies to cover their essential costs. Many older people are now only leaving home for health appointments and have cut back on seeing grandchildren, family and friends, to save on fuel and travel costs – leaving them feeling lonely and isolated. Some are going to extreme lengths such as eating just one meal a day or showering just once a fortnight in a bid to keep costs down, whilst others are going without dental treatment, cutting their own hair, borrowing money to buy heating oil, and staying in bed all day to stay warm.

The report outlines how people with disabilities and those caring for them face higher costs to keep safe and well. Even as the weather gets warmer, they still need to use significant amounts of energy for things like doing a lot of laundry, keeping their home very warm or using specialist medical equipment.

In a recent snapshot survey by the Charity, over 36,000 older campaigners said they were worried about the cost of living, and a third of

those responded in more detail to express their concerns, their fears for the colder months ahead, and the stark reality of not having enough money to cover the basics. Extreme budgeting and having to make daily decisions about what to cut back on are undoubtedly taking their toll on people’s mental health, with many reporting feeling anxious and depressed.

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said: “Talking to older people who rely on their State Pension certainly brings home just how serious the situation is for them. It comes to something when you hear a woman in her seventies describe how she is adopting strategies learned from her own parents’ experience during World War Two, to stay solvent in 2022.

“At Age UK we are detecting a real undercurrent of fear among some of our older population because they hear the talk about price rises accelerating later in the year and they know they’ve no chance of withstanding them, without more external help. If ever there was a time for Ministers to reassure older people that they are intervening to shield them from inflation, it’s now.

“Older people aren’t stupid and they realise that if they are struggling to keep their heads above water as things stand, the chances are they’ll slip under altogether in a few months’ time. This makes it a horrible time for them, as they see their modest expectation of living decently in retirement slipping out of reach, certainly temporarily, possibly forever.

“The Government must act quickly and decisively so pensioners on low and modest incomes can weather this storm.”

“First of its Kind” Collaborative Community Pilot Scheme Opens at Aberystwyth A collaborative community pilot scheme set up by a Welsh care home and community centre has been unveiled in Aberystwyth.

MHA Hafan y Waun care home and MHA Communities Aberystwyth will be working together to encourage members of the community to get involved.

The scheme was open to the public on Wednesday 18 May at its base at Waun Fawr in Aberystwyth.

The open day was split into two parts, with members of the community and family and friends of residents in attendance helping to establish and strengthen potential local partnerships.

The High Sheriff of Dyfed Rowland Rees Evans and his wife Sian Rees Evans were invited to officially open the scheme, which included presentations from scheme manager Karen Rees Roberts, and Richard Sproson, legacy manager

on the importance of volunteer and fundraising.

Activities will be based on the needs of the community, with the purpose of the scheme to support older adults in the community through music therapy to improve wellbeing and quality of life by offering a safe and welcoming space to help those living in isolation, living with a mental or physical illness, or living with a long term health conditions.

Karen Rees Roberts, scheme manager said:” It’s fantastic to finally see this project come to life.

“It's been a long time in the planning, and it's a first of its kind for MHA. We are building towards delivering some great community support and were very pleased to host The High Sheriff of Dyfed Rowland Rees Evans and his wife Sian who kindly celebrated with us by officially opening the scheme”

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PAGE 16 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

Dundee Researcher Receives £235k Funding Boost for Dementia Science A Scottish researcher based at the University of Dundee has received £235,000 to investigate how changes to the barrier between the blood supply and the brain contributes to Alzheimer’s disease. This funding boost forms part of Alzheimer’s Research UK’s £2 million commitment to 15 new research projects across the UK and is announced during Dementia Awareness Week (Monday 30 May – Friday 3 June).

Dr Fiona McLean is a neuroscientist working to understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia.

Amyloid is a hallmark protein that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers think that this sets off other damaging processes which lead to symptoms like memory loss and confusion. In 80-90% of Alzheimer’s cases, amyloid clumps are also found embedded in blood vessels in the brain.

Blood vessels play a vital role in delivering oxygen to our brain. But in the brain, there’s a specialised group of cells that forms a barrier between the blood vessels and the nerve cells. This layer of protection is called the ‘blood-brain barrier’. These cells determine what gets into the brain and what doesn’t.

In her Fellowship project, Dr Fiona McLean from University of Dundee will study the blood-brain barrier and how it acts differently in Alzheimer’s. The blood-brain barrier deteriorates in the disease, allowing toxic

substances to enter the brain. Dr McLean will look at when and how the build-up of amyloid causes the blood-brain barrier to break down.

The aim is to find ways to reverse these changes in the blood-brain barrier in the very early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and keep the brain healthy.

Dr Fiona McLean from the University of Dundee said: “Funding from Alzheimer’s Research UK has allowed me to develop my research that could ultimately help the search for future dementia treatments.

‘My work focuses on a group of specialised cells in the brain that forms a barrier between blood vessels and the rest of our brain cells. This layer of protection controls what is allowed to enter our brain’s environment, but in diseases like Alzheimer’s this barrier can become leaky and let in toxic molecules.

“My research will provide insights on how the blood-brain barrier becomes leaky in Alzheimer’s with the hope of finding ways to slow down, stop or even reverse this happening.”

Dr Sara Imarisio, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: Sara comments on morning sleep and dementia“Dementia affects nearly one million people in the UK including around 90,000 in Scotland alone. This condition is not an inevitable part of getting older, but the result of diseases that damage the brain. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, and ground-breaking research in Dundee will help to unpick the complex processes that contribute to its causes and drive progress towards new treatments.

“It’s not only researchers that can make a difference when it comes to dementia research. We urgently need people living with the condition and healthy volunteers to sign up to take part in vital research studies.

To register your interest and Join Dementia Research you can call our team on 0300 111 5111 or email infoline@alzheimersresearchuk.org”

Volunteers’ Week – Why People Love Sharing Time with Royal Star & Garter Residents

Volunteers at Royal Star & Garter’s three Homes have spoken about why they love spending time with residents.

Jules Bendell, Christine Mitchell and Paul Wood were speaking ahead of Volunteers’ Week, which runs from 1-7 June.

Royal Star & Garter is a charity which provides loving, compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia, and has Homes in Solihull, Surbiton and High Wycombe.

Volunteers were an important part of life in the Homes, but visiting restrictions during the pandemic meant they were unable to come in -

though some were able to continue their support through activities like the Zoom choir.

However, in November 2021, the charity appealed for volunteers to return after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

Christine Mitchell joined Royal Star & Garter’s Solihull Home as a Healthcare Assistant in 2009. When she retired in 2021, she knew she wanted to keep coming to the Home as a volunteer. She now helps out with outings, or at the Home assisting with activities and chatting to residents. She said: “I enjoy coming in and I enjoy the residents’ company and the staff’s company. Before I retired I knew I could come back as a volunteer – it's such a lovely Home to come to.”

Jules Bendell was one of the first volunteers to help at the High Wycombe Home when it opened in 2019. Her husband Anthony ‘Bugs’ Bendell AFC OBE was a decorated RAF pilot and former resident at our Surbiton Home, and the charity named its High Wycombe Home’s second floor, Bendell House, in his honour. Jules said: “It’s lovely to be back and see residents and staff again. I chat and spend time with residents, I help with activities and at lunchtimes too. It’s nice to be back in the Home, it’s rewarding to help people.”

Paul Wood is about to start volunteering at the Surbiton Home. The Royal Marines Commando veteran was seriously injured in Iraq in 2004, losing the use of a hand, and later was medically discharged.

Since then he has volunteered for Armed Forces charities and fundraised for wounded and injured service personnel. He said: “I am really looking forward to coming to Royal Star & Garter. It will be nice spending time with residents at the Home. As a veteran myself I think I will be able to relate to their journey.”

Volunteers' Week is an annual celebration of the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering. It is a chance to recognise their work in communities, and to say thank you.

Reality TV Star Visits Cheshire Care Home to Combat ‘Empty Nest Syndrome’ Ahead of Global Day of Parents With Global Day of Parents set for June 1st, a Cheshire care home has welcomed reality TV star and medical student Priya Gopaldas to its facilities to explore the role of a carer and to see if the correlation between parenting and caring can help alleviate the symptoms of ‘empty nest syndrome’ – a condition her parents have experienced first hand.

The visit was organised following research that indicates more than 70% of parents feel a sense of loss when their children leave home. With Priya’s own parents able to relate to the feelings of empty nest syndrome, she shadowed carers and interacted with residents to get to grips with the requirements of the role – seeing if a parent’s natural caring instincts would be a good fit for the sector.

With Global Day of Parents a UN recognised day that seeks to celebrate the selfless commitment of parents, Handsale, a care group with homes throughout the UK, invited Priya, who is a fifth year medical student, to Priesty Fields Care Home in Congleton ahead of it.

Priya, who herself has left the nest, wanted to help showcase that those with a natural disposition to care for others could potentially be suited to a role in the care sector to help ‘fill the gap’ at home, as she sat down with residents and staff to better understand the possibilities that come from a career in care.

As part of the experience, Priya spent the day shadowing carer Lucy Sheridan, whose 19-year-old daughter plans to go to university in September.

The reality star also accompanied Olivia Cheetham, who plans to fly the nest herself to pursue a nursing degree when she sets off to The University of Manchester in a few months' time.

Both carers recounted inspiring and rewarding stories they’d experienced since joining the care sector, believing that a sense of ‘belonging’ and ‘purpose’ was achieved when working in care, something that can help fill the gap left by a child leaving home.

Reflecting on her visit, Priya said: “It was so lovely meeting the carers.

Accompanying Lucy was so insightful as she found that caring for her kids at home was transferable to her job as a carer, which was so great to see ahead of Global Day of Parents. Since flying the nest, my relationship with my parents has definitely changed. Obviously, being away from home, you don’t get to speak to or see them as much as you’d like, so it’s nice when I do go back home, but I do find that they can be a bit lonely and worry about me quite a lot. I definitely feel it could be beneficial for them to look after or care for someone else to help fill that void.”

She continued: “From what I’ve seen today, I’m certain that natural parental skills do transfer towards a career in care and I think there are those suffering from empty nest syndrome who could benefit immensely. The skills they’ve acquired as parents are so transferable to an environment like Priesty Fields. You’re constantly looking after others and chatting to people which brings several mental health benefits, especially as it’s important to socialise and uplift others to help you feel better in yourself. I definitely think caring is a perfect solution for empty nest syndrome.”

Rishi Sodha, Care Director at Priesty Fields, said: “It was great having Priya along to visit us. Our team of carers really appreciated it, while the residents enjoyed chatting with her too. The fact that Priya can see how empty nest syndrome is affecting her own parents just reinforced what we were looking to convey – that a job in care offers a rewarding opportunity for parents to embrace, should they be missing their previous role looking after their own children. Those that care – care, and parents are natural carers.”

You can watch a video of Priya spending the day in the life of a carer, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHwPbyf3PQ4&t=2s

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 17

Call for Government to Change Course on Care CARE providers have called on the Government to change course on getting urgent support to the country’s oldest and most vulnerable.

The Independent Care Group (ICG) said the Government’s U-turn on an energy supplier windfall tax showed it was capable of changing course.

Now it wants to see the Government alter plans for the Health and Social Care Levy so that social care gets urgent help.

ICG Chair Mike Padgham said: “The Chancellor has said ‘being able to change course is not a weakness it is a strength’ – well we want to see another demonstration of that strength to help a sector in crisis.

“The Government has proved that it can change course, introduce a windfall tax on energy suppliers and help hard-pressed families.

“It is time to see a change of course on the Health and Social Care Levy, with money diverted now to social care rather than in years ahead.”

The Levy is due to raise £36bn over the next three years but the bulk of that is to be spent on the NHS in the first instance.

But Mr Padgham added: “Yes, the NHS needs support, but it will be pointless bailing out the NHS if social care is leaking at the other end.

“Without a change of course, the boat will sink and

more people will end up without the care they need.

“Social care and NHS care need equal support – one cannot operate properly without the other – and we need the Government to recognise that and to act, diverting some of the earmarked money to social care so that we can address the staffing crisis which is crippling care.”

He said further evidence of the issues facing social care had been provided this week by the County Councils Network. It reported that planned Government reforms could cost more than £10bn more than estimated and need an extra 5,000 staff at a time when the sector is enduring a recruitment crisis.

The ICG wants to see: • A root and branch overhaul of the way social care is planned and funded • NHS care and social care merged and managed locally or nationally • Extra funding for social care, funded by taxation • Dementia treated and funded like other high priority illnesses • A fixed percentage of GDP to be spent on social care • Proper pay, conditions and career structure for carers • Social care businesses to be zero-rated for VAT.

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Back Together Again – Nursery Children Spread Joy at Braintree Care Home Children from a Bocking nursery were back visiting delighted elderly residents of a nearby care home after more than two years away.

After the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to visits, youngsters from Scallywags Nursery in Church Street returned to The New Deanery to enjoy colouring pictures with residents and singing.

The home’s Activities Manager Jo Whitehouse also arranged a special treat, introducing friendly Shih Tzu dogs Lilly and Lola, belonging to Head of Maintenance Mark Wadforth, to delight young and old alike.

New Deanery resident Shirley Bonner described the visit as a “magical morning” while Heather Page added: “It was lovely to see the children again after such a long time, the little boy with me was such a dear and didn’t leave my side.” Resident Terry Stubbs said: “It was fantastic to see the little ones, they bring in the sunshine and laughter.”

Jo said: “Our residents have really missed the chatter and smiling faces of the nursery children, who were regular visitors before the pandemic. It has been a tough two years and we were thrilled to welcome our young visitors back.”

Scallywags Nursery Manager Tina Childs said: "The children loved being able to go back into the home after the pandemic restrictions and to be able to sing

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PAGE 18 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

Adult Social Care - Navigating the Current Challenges

By Kiri Holland, BDO LLP (www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/industries/health-and-social-care)

It is now well over two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began to dominate the health and care landscape. The effect on care providers and the people they support has been unprecedented. It is no exaggeration to say that the pandemic has permanently changed the adult social care landscape.

The wider economy has seemingly shifted its focus to a post-pandemic world, while health and care systems are still engaged in dealing with its effects. Adult social care providers continue to remain at the forefront of the response to COVID-19.

Subsequent waves of variants led to high levels of infections nationwide. While death rates have thankfully remained relatively low, the requirement for care homes to close their doors to new admissions whenever an outbreak was identified has reduced occupancy levels, resulting in ongoing financial pressures.

Workforce challenges have been felt across the sector. Health issues, including mental health concerns, have been an issue for both employers and employees, coupled with opportunities for staff to move to

alternate industries offering both higher pay and reduced stress levels.

Many social care providers have sought to compete by increasing wages or paying bonuses where funding allows (including via the Workplace Recruitment and Retention Fund) but in many cases, this has had a limited impact. Agency staff have historically been utilised to cover staffing gaps, but more recently there has been limited availability and if identified it has often been at a significantly higher cost.

Providers are rightly prioritising safe care. For home care providers in particular this means they may not have capacity to accept new opportunities or replace lost care hours. A contraction in the hours of care delivered not only affects the financial position of the providers in question but will also result in unfulfilled needs across the sector, impacting capacity in the wider health environment, for example by preventing hospital discharges.

Against this context, providers are braced for further developments which are likely to harm their financial strength: • The increase of 1.25 percentage points on National Insurance Contributions (employee and employer) which has now been implemented. This directly increases employer costs and also reduces employee take-home pay at a time when providers are already struggling to offer pay rates at a level to attract new recruits to the sector.

• The recent rise in the National Living Wage from £8.91 to £9.50 (6.6%).

• General inflationary pressures leading to increased prices for food, fuel and other costs. As measured by CPI, inflation was 9% in the 12 months to April 2022, with the Bank of England expecting it to reach around 10% this year. Capital expenditure, which may have been delayed by the pandemic, now requires higher materials and contractor costs on top of material shortages on large-scale capital projects. Rent increases may also be linked to inflation.

• Energy costs continue to rise and providers are braced for drastic increases as and when their energy contracts fall due for renewal.

• The Infection Control Fund grant came to an end in March 2022. It is welcome however that free provision of PPE will continue.

• Many providers will support the government’s decision to remove legislation requiring all health and care workers to be vaccinated. It should be remembered however that care home providers have already invested time and money in complying with the legislation, which has exacerbated staff shortages in residential settings. In addition, many experienced and trained employees had left the sector before the decision was reversed.

These are uncharted waters. Providers are having to plan for the immediate future while, in many cases, being uncertain of what fee increases will ultimately be secured this year from local authorities.

Some providers have called on the government to ensure fee increases are adequate. Given the combination of increased staff costs and general inflationary pressures, we expect providers to seek fee increases of at least 6%. It is uncertain whether this level will be met, and in practice local authorities often announce increases late, meaning that providers’ cash flow forecasts remain subject to significant uncertainty.

How can providers navigate through the uncertainties they are facing?

There is no simple answer to the sector’s issues, but providers should accurately establish their current and forecast position as early as possible and consider mitigating steps to deal with funding concerns.

Steps may include: • Review profit and loss and cash flow projections to ensure they include realistic cost assumptions and adopt a prudent approach to likely fee increases.

• Seek to identify any funding requirements and consider mitigation strategies.

• Review contractual positions and undertake negotiations with customers and suppliers.

• Consider early discussions with key stakeholders such as lenders and landlords.

Seven Habits Reduce Dementia Risk Even with Alzheimer’s Risk Genes Researchers in the US have found that people who adopt seven health habits are less likely to develop dementia, regardless of their underlying genetic risk. The findings were published in the journal Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The seven habits form the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7, which are lifestyle adjustments that improve heart health.

These habits are: • exercising regularly • eating healthily • not smoking • maintaining a healthy weight • keeping blood pressure in check • having healthy cholesterol levels • maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.

• What did the researchers do?

The researchers monitored over 8,800 people with European American ancestry and over 2,700 people with African American ancestry for 30 years, starting from when they were around 54 years old. At the beginning of the study, people completed questionnaires to assess how well they followed the Life’s Simple 7 habits. The researchers then scored them from 0-14, with 14 being the healthiest score. The participant’s weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels were also measured.

Researchers analysed the genetic make-up of each participant and gave them a score based on risk genes for Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia. This allowed the researchers to see how people’s heart-healthy habits affected their risk of dementia, even when they started with a high genetic risk of developing the condition.

Around 18% of participants with European ancestry went on to develop dementia during the study. In this group, researchers found that people who scored highly for following Life’s Simple 7 habits had a reduced risk of developing dementia by the end of the study. This was even true for people who had the highest genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. These results suggest that Life’s Simple 7 habits could have a significant influence on dementia risk in people with European American ancestry.

The results were less clear for people of African American ancestry. 23% of people in this group went on to develop dementia. It is unclear whether adhering to the healthy habits alone was enough to significantly reduce dementia risk in this group. This could be due to other underlying factors contributing to risk or because of the relatively small sample size of African American participants, who were mostly recruited from the same city.

Dr Rosa Sancho, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Dementia risk depends on many factors. Some, like our age and genetic make-up, we cannot change, while others, like diet and exercise, we can. This study supports the idea that what is good for the heart is also good for the brain – and that this holds true even for people with a higher genetic risk of dementia, at least for participants of European ancestry.

“Although the researchers monitored participants for all forms of dementia, when grouping people according to genetic risk they focused only on genes that increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease, just one cause of dementia. Also, health scores were taken at the start of the study, but what we don’t know is whether the participant’s healthy habits lasted for the duration of the study.

“For a better understanding of how healthy living could help to overcome genetic risk, future research will need to incorporate risk genes for all forms of dementia. Ideally future studies should also include continually monitoring health habits in the participants to assess long-term effects of a healthy lifestyle.

“The lower number of African American participants means that the findings for this group are less clear. We will need further studies to assess how good heart health affects dementia risk in the wider population, with sufficient people from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

“We do know that it’s never too early or too late in life to take steps to reduce our risk of dementia and improve our brain health. Not smoking, only drinking in moderation, staying mentally, physically and socially active, eating a balanced diet, and keeping cholesterol and blood pressure levels in check can all help to keep our brains healthy as we age. Find information and advice on brain health at www.thinkbrainhealth.org.uk”

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 19

Older People are Less Likely to Receive Mental Health Support Age UK has drawn attention to the fact that older people are just as likely to be living with depression and anxiety as younger age groups, but are much less likely to be receiving the support they need.

In 2020/21 just 5% of referrals to NHS talking therapies were people over 65, significantly below the 12% hoped for and expected . The pandemic didn’t help of course, but in fact the proportion had already been declining for the previous two years before COVID-19 arrived.

Many older people find it very difficult to discuss their mental health but there is still a significant need.

According to the latest data extracted by Age UK, of people over 65: • Over half a million (579,803) experience anxiety disorder • Just under half a million (487,100) experience a major depressive disorder • Just under 200,000 (191,740) experience chronic depressive disorder • And over 140,000 (140,332) experience bipolar disorder.

It is also notable that a larger proportion of woman aged 65+ experience these difficulties than men. This is particularly the case among those reporting anxiety disorders, where nearly double the number of women are impacted compared to men.

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK’s Charity Director, said: “Only some of us will experience a mental health condition, but most of us can feel depressed and lonely at some point in our lives. As we get older, we can also become especially vulnerable to factors that lead to depression such as bereavement, physical disability, illness and loneliness.

“The pandemic has hit older people particularly hard, making many of these risk factors unavoidable during their daily lives over the last two years. In fact though, depression isn’t a natural part of ageing, but older people often don’t seek help for their mental wellbeing and so they miss out on treatments that are available to them on the NHS. It is vital they get the help and support they need and talking therapies could make a huge difference to them. Older people shouldn’t be afraid to raise any mental health concerns with their GP. “Mental health impacts on the physical health of older people and

“We’ve known throughout the pandemic that there was a lot of unmet need for mental health support. Services were reduced and people were told to stay at home. Whilst this will have reduced a person’s risk of getting Covid, it will have undoubtably have increased feelings of loneliness, isolation, stress and worsening or sometimes new mental health concerns. As a result, levels of anxiety have increased with increased numbers of people struggling with social anxiety and even agoraphobic tendencies. There is also an increase in the need for bereavement counselling, with grief being complicated by people not being able to be with loved ones when they died and, in some cases, not being able to attend their funerals.

“This level of need has led to a sort of ‘ticking time bomb’ for mental health support and we are now starting to see that come home to roost. In March, for example, our Counselling Service provided more counselling hours than it has in any other time since its creation more vice versa. For example, older adults with physical health conditions such as heart disease have higher rates of depression than those who are healthy. In addition, untreated depression in an older person with heart disease can negatively affect its outcome[iv], making it all the more important that anyone struggling with a mental health problem speaks out and asks for the help they need.”

“The pandemic has had a big impact on us all and very few of us are emerging from it totally unscathed. We know that many older people may feel reluctant to start a conversation about their mental health with their GP, but NHS treatments such as counselling are just as effective in older people as they are with other age groups. There is a commitment by NHS England to increase overall access to talking therapies, but older people seem to be continually missing out. For this reason we think that there should be a specific target for older people; without it the chances are the trend will continue to move in the wrong direction, with even fewer older people being enabled to access talking therapies than there are now.

Peter Ireland, Counselling Manager for Age UK Manchester, said:

than 25 years ago.”

In Age UK’s most recent survey of older people on the impact of Covid (April 22) we heard many comments like these: ‘I have felt extremely lonely for the first time in my life as I have taken shielding very seriously. I have been at home, only leaving for medical appointments. My anxiety is sky high.’

‘There are days when i don’t want to be here anymore as my quality of life is so bad with psoriasis, depression, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and little health care interest, [while] on top of that money worries…’

‘I’m more depressed, prefer my own company, got used to not seeing family. Seem to have lost confidence outside the home. I’m working on it. It takes effort.’

‘The pandemic has had an effect on my whole life and if the pandemic hadn’t happened, I would still have been able to get enjoyment out of life despite my health problems and would have been able to cope with my problems more easily.’

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PAGE 20 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

Improving Care Home Staff Retention with Career Growth and Development Due to persistent workforce problems over the last two years, employers and providers of social care have had to adopt a range of strategies to help retain and support their staff. However, staff retention continues to be at an all-time low in the sector. Jacqui White, Group Operations Director of White’s Training, discusses the benefits of employers offering more training courses to care workers in times of crisis.

With reports suggesting that many care workers have considered quitting over the last year, as well as suffering from the aftereffects of working on the frontline during a pandemic, the home care industry is facing staff turnover like never before. 66% of home care providers are experiencing more staff quitting their jobs than before the pandemic, with low pay and COVID burnout blamed for worsening the care recruitment crisis.

Staff who work in care homes provide care and support to society’s frailest and most vulnerable people. At all times, care home providers must have enough qualified, competent, professional, and experienced workers to meet the needs of the people who use the service.

Nonetheless, attracting, recruiting and retaining employees is a constant challenge.

RETENTION REALITY While home care organisations vary in size, service users, staff demographics, and even location, there is no one-size-fits-all approach for snoring employee retention. However, there are a number of key areas that could be improved, including communication and culture, as well as providing professional training opportunities.

Investing in employee retention is critical to any company's success. It promotes high-quality care continuity, a positive workplace culture,

space of five years. Whilst 59% of the audience believed that if their company appreciated them more, it would have boosted their enthusiasm and career within the sector.

Having a care qualification or ongoing training can make carers: feel their profession is more valued and higher status, feel more competent, capable and confident in their role and more likely to stay in social care with their current employer.

A training programme can improve the integration of new team members and give management and care workers the opportunity to get to know one another better and strengthen team harmony. Research indicates that staff are 58% more likely to stay 3 years if there is a structured onboarding programme.

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employee well-being, time and cost savings and positive Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings. Employers with a turnover of less than 10% reported that their main activities contributing to staff retention were: • Investing in learning and development (94%) • Embedding the values of their organisation (92%) • Celebrating the organisation’s and individual achievements (86%) • Involving colleagues in decision making (81%)

UNFULFILLED MEANS UNSUCCESSFUL According to a recent study by TotalJobs and Care UK, nearly onethird of social care workers want to leave the industry totally within the

As the industry looks towards a more stable future for employees working in the care sector, we are here to advise and support the employers' next steps. White’s Training provides a variety of courses for home carers from Dementia and Parkinson’s Awareness, to positive behaviour support.

These courses are a part of White’s Training's Centre of Excellence, and are currently being delivered virtually, face-to-face or via e-learning. They are also able to help support your in-house training plan by offering Train the Trainer courses and ongoing support.

Employers who embrace training courses demonstrate their dedication to their employees' self-worth and value. Offering this as a business makes it more enticing to carers looking for future positions.

For more information on carer training, please visit: https://whites.training/courses/

Abbeyfield Care Home in Sherwood Rebranded to Better Serve the Community The Firs Residential Care Home in Sherwood has changed its name to Sandwood Care Home in a renaming ceremony on 10th May, in order to better reflect the nature of the home and the services it provides.

After an in-depth consultation, the home, managed by The Abbeyfield Society, made the difficult decision in February to end its nursing provision and to close the neighbouring Sycamore House and Kenyon Lodge properties.

The purpose-built care building, Sandwood Care Home, enables Abbeyfield to provide a new residential service that delivers excellent care for its residents, maintains best practice standards, and concentrates the efforts of its staff team amid the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges faced by the care sector.

The renaming of the care home and remodeling of the services encompassed the refurbishment of the home’s day centre, which was re-opened at an event by guests of honour Ron and Brenda Kenyon, who were involved with the initial building of The Firs. Now including a new coffee hub and kitchen area, the Sandwood Centre enables Sandwood Care Home to provide a wider range of community-based activities benefitting residents, their families and other individuals and organisations from the

local area.

Abbeyfield’s Regional Operations Manager, Jacqueline McCann, said, “We are pleased to offer the new residential provision and delighted to be able to maintain our reputation for providing excellent care for older people in the Nottingham area.

“The new names of Sandwood Care Home and the Sandwood Centre were chosen to reflect the city’s famous history. Nottingham was originally built upon a labyrinth of tunnels and caves carved from sandstone. The Sherwood area is also renowned for its namesake, Sherwood Forest, home of the Major Oak Tree, the hideout of the legendary Robin Hood.

Both are important historical associations for the people of Nottingham, so we decided to combine the two to form our new name.

“We look forward to continue celebrating our new home, with its focus towards community engagement, at our Jubilee party on 4th June, for which we are opening our doors, and our garden (weather permitting), to the local neighbourhood.”

Sandwood Care Home now sits alongside Abbeyfield-run The Firs Complex, an Independent Living service for older people, which has retained its original name.

Toddler Group Shows Their Jubilee Crowns At Moors Manor Care Home Moors Manor care home, in St Leonards, near Ringwood host a parent and toddler group for members of the local community. The group takes place on every Friday morning and welcomes the group of play games, have snacks and do different activities.

The group this week made Jubilee Crowns which they showed to the residents in a little Jubilee parade. They talked about how they made them and even had a photo taken with Her Majesty ahead of her big day.

General Manager, Tracey Aldin of Moors Manor, said: “We love having the group in the home, the residents here have lots of fun seeing them and loved their creative crowns. We are busy planning some more activities the toddlers

and residents can do together, especially taking advantage of the garden in the summer” Janet, a resident at Moors Manor said “It was marvellous to see the smiles on their faces and the pride they had in the crowns they had made, I am looking forward to joining them to make some more wonderful creations” Moors Manor care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. Moors Manor provides residential care, dementia care for 66 residents from respite care to long term stays.

Care Home Shows Dementia-Friendly Activities in Café Event As part of Dementia Action Week, Sir Aubrey Ward House, care home of The Fremantle Trust, put together a specialised café event to highlight lesser-known activities for people with dementia.

As the event began, residents and visitors including family mem-

old classics from entertainer and Elvis impersonator Gary Ronan.

Activity Organiser Victoria Williams commented: “It can be hard to know what kind of activities you can do with a loved one that has dementia. In this event we really wanted to give an example of

bers and representatives of Dementia Action for Marlow enjoyed

something creative and musical that people with dementia really

the vast selection of pastries, tea and coffee before settling in to

respond to. It was so brilliant seeing how much our residents and

start the chosen activity. Once full and satisfied, the team provided

visitors enjoyed the entertainment.”

the group with drawings of flowers, coloured paper and glue to encourage them to be as creative as possible by creating a unique flower.

To top it off with a bang, residents got up on their feet to enjoy

After taking part in the event, resident Janet commented: “Doing art and crafts is wonderful. I like to join in that sort of thing. I certainly enjoy that and I love the singing and dancing. I will always do that any time I can.”

PAGE 22 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

Why ICSs Will Stand Or Fall

By Their Data Capabilities

By Clare Rafferty, Patient Experience Expert for Healthcare at Netcall (www.netcall.com) As NHS waiting lists continue to spiral out of control, leaving people to face elapsed treatment times and lower levels of support – never has the efficiency of today’s healthcare system been more in the spotlight. Despite plans to tackle it, this colossal backlog will not begin to subside for at least another two years. In addition an ageing population, patients with multiple morbidities and the mental health of the nation are all putting health and social care services under more pressure than ever before. Added to this, funding constraints dictate the requirement to do more with less.

Amidst these challenges and in recognition of the fact that the current model of health and social care needs a radical rethink, the concept of Integrated Care Systems (ICS), designed to form new partnerships between organisations including hospitals, local authorities and wider community services, was born. ICSs are being positioned as the key to better and more joined-up healthcare services driving improvements in the populations health.

However, despite their promise, it would be naïve to think that the move to an ICS model alone will be the silver bullet for the challenges facing today’s over-stretched health and social care system.

A LARGE-SCALE CHANGE PROGRAMME The move to ICSs represents a large-scale change programme, which calls for an overhaul in the way leaders and organisations work together to deliver more joined up and seamless healthcare across often disparate bodies or organisations. To unleash the full potential of ICSs and make sustainable changes, healthcare organisations will need to radically transform current ways of working. And this calls for a culture-first approach - closely followed by a digital one.

For the move to ICSs to be a success long-term, healthcare organisations must prioritise integration to enable better collaboration. Such a migration requires deep unification between all organisations involved in the population’s health and wellbeing to really make a difference to patient and citizen outcomes. Currently, that level of collaboration is falling short, both from a cultural and tech perspective. Many local authorities and healthcare organisations still rely heavily on outdated legacy systems running often disparate systems from multiple vendors. This leads to a lack of interoperability and data silos. The systems simply do not talk to each other in the way that they should!

CREATING A COLLABORATIVE CULTURE THROUGH TECH INTEGRATION Multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) must be able to communicate and share data effectively to put the patient at the heart of everything they do. To do this, data must be used to create a culture of trust and learning between all members of staff and patients. They say that ‘knowledge is power’ and this is true when it comes to change. Openly sharing data and information will ease the current uncertainty that staff members and patients often feel, creating a culture that gives everyone permission to work on system transformation.

Fortunately, there are technologies available that have the power to break down barriers between MDTs that deliver health and social care to patients. With operations currently running in silo, GPs/primary care, acute care, and adult social care organisations all use different systems, which is where challenges such as duplication of effort, missed information and delays can occur. Bringing these various systems and departments together should therefore be a priority. In an ideal world, there would be one platform where all

healthcare professionals, departments and organisations can communicate to deliver a single care plan.

That plan can then stay with the citizen, who should be involved in and have access to it, with all the key professionals involved in the patient’s care able to add and update the record.

By using Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) technologies such as low-code, applications can be built to enable multi-disciplinary teams to work together and integrate with existing IT estates, providing new front ends and portals. This allows organisations to capture, and unify data from existing systems, breaking down silos and providing more accurate information leading to improved clinical insights.

EMBRACING INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION TO REDUCE ADMIN TIME Another key part of unlocking better healthcare is reducing the amount of time that staff, particularly clinicians, spend on administrative duties, as opposed to spending time on the front line with patients. To overcome this and enable healthcare staff to focus on patients – rather than administrative duties – intelligent automation should be a key consideration across an ICS. Through intelligent automation, the workforce would see a reduction in routine tasks and admin that would enable staff to spend the time they gain back on patient care. For example, acute trusts can make a savings time of a total of 99.8% in screening diabetes patients. The power of automation is clear in this context; however, many organisations are at a loss around how to implement it, and how this can be done quickly without interrupting existing systems. By combining tools such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA) with low-code, organisations such as the NHS can turbocharge development. Thanks to the iterative design of low-code, which requires minimal intervention from IT or highly skilled coding professionals, apps can be built up to ten times faster than traditional methods used to automate manual processes.

Whilst this is certainly good news for the patient experience, automation of this nature also brings huge benefits to the people at the coal face – the healthcare workers. Facing these pressures day in day out, many frontline employees are rapidly experiencing burnout. In addition to staff wellbeing, burnout can have a devastating impact on patient care. According to written evidence from the Royal College of Nursing following meta-analysis of 21 studies, ‘burnout was linked to a decline in patient safety and outcomes, and an increase in patient dissatisfaction and complaints’ – making it extremely important to tackle head on.

Technology that can alleviate the burden on human workers will be pivotal in the months ahead to ensure the health of the nation is prioritised.

MAKING EFFECTIVE USE OF AVAILABLE SKILLS ICSs also have a huge role to play in the effective use of available skills, as outlined by the NHS People Plan. Digital technology can ensure that the organisation delivers the right information, in the right hands, at the right time. This is a huge opportunity for wellness services to be integrated more comprehensively into the wider health system, to deliver joined up care to the people who need it. RPA technologies, for example, can be built into processes, via low-code platforms, to effectively route tasks to the appropriate department. And within that department, the right professional. Making use of the available skills in this way will not only lead to better responses, but it will also result in faster resolutions.

Ultimately, greater collaboration between healthcare and wellbeing organisations, through cultural change, facilitated with the right technology, will enable providers from the wider ecosystem to offer better care provision to the citizens they serve. The NHS Long Term Plan makes a clear commitment to a “digitally-enabled” future to provide digital access to NHS services for patients. In the long run, the ICS strives to create a wellness system as opposed to a care system. To create the right environment for this model to succeed, we must empower citizens to be more involved in their healthcare and the professionals that surround them to be able to share data and collaborate effectively. Delays to digital transformation in this area will only see waiting lists continue to spiral out of control and the health of the UK population decline.

Innovative technologies that enable rapid transformation will be pivotal to the success of ICSs. Now is the time to embrace these digital transformation to address this increasingly urgent issue and put data at the centre of the nation’s health.

Renaissance Care Announces Multi-Million-Pound Investment and Sets Out Future Plans for Growth Scottish care home group, Renaissance Care, has announced plans to spend around £14 million on energy efficiency focused refurbishments, while providing additional beds across its existing care home portfolio, as part of a post-pandemic investment drive over the next three years.

Executive chairman, Robert Kilgour, announced the investment plans as he confirmed ambitions to double the firm’s size, as it looks to run 30 homes across Scotland after securing new multi-million-pound bank facilities and also gaining access to an initial £30m of additional acquisition funding.

The group, which currently operates 16 care homes throughout Scotland with around 1,200 staff, will spend over £6 million over the next three years on major refurbishments, kitting out its existing care homes with lots ofnew windows, full LED lighting, improved insulation, new boilers, and better heating controls as part of an energy efficiency drive.

The group also revealed plans to spend £8 million, subject to gaining planning permission, on six major projects - adding a further 56 new bedrooms, amongst other related improvements, at six of its existing care homes.

These moves are part of the group’s efforts to future proof the business and create a happy and safe environment for all residents and staff and to help with staff recruitment with currently around 60 vacancies across the group and in all disciplines.

As it looks to further growth, Renaissance Care is also developing its people strategy to ensure a good pipeline of staff across its homes, while retaining the best tal-

ent across the sector. As part of the plans, the group recently announced a full cultural review across its 16 homes in response to exhaustion across the care sector following the pandemic. Staff across the homes will now be offered a range of new benefits including flexible working, a pay review across all roles, and a health and wellbeing package.

The care home operator is additionally investing £500k on its operational management and accounting systems to improve administrative processing for all staff and to help it achieve its planned future growth and this also includes the rolling out of the Nourish ecare plan system across all its care homes.

Robert Kilgour, executive chairman of Renaissance Care, said: “This new investment is substantial but, in our view, vital in maintaining and improving the high standards at our homes.

“The last two years have been an incredibly tough time for residents, families and hard-working team members in care homes across the country and it is important to us that we provide the best possible care and facilities for our people.

“Despite all that we have been through since the start of the pandemic, we remain very positive about the direction of the business and our future plans.

“As we look to further growth, we are proceeding with our expansion plans to double the size of Renaissance Care across the country, becoming one of Scotland’s major care home operators. At the heart of that, we are investing, developing and working alongside our people, ensuring that we can attract and retain the very best of talent to instill a person-centred approach across each of our homes.”

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 23

Secretary of State Needs to Back Dementia Ambition with More Research Funding says Alzheimer’s Research UK Alzheimer’s Research UK said the government must increase funding for dementia research if its bold approach to tackling dementia is to be successful.

Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said he has an ambitious plan to tackle the dementia crisis, which will be unveiled later this year when the government publishes its Dementia Strategy.

Susan Mitchell, Head of Policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “It is encouraging to see the Secretary of State announce a more ambitious approach to dementia as an acknowledgement of the scale of the challenge – but with no disease modifying treatments available, we need to see funding for research to match this ambition and achieve long term solutions.

Given the government has so far not delivered on its 2019 ’Dementia Moonshot’ pledge to double funding for dementia research we need to see today’s commitments followed up by clear plans with accountability and

suitable funding to enable delivery.

“We’ve called for the creation of a Dementia Medicines Taskforce to address the urgent need for new treatments for people with dementia. Such a taskforce could turbocharge efforts to develop and deliver life-changing treatments but would need clear leadership from government to co-ordinate this activity.

“The government’s existing target of diagnosing two thirds of people with dementia has not been ambitious enough so we welcome a stronger focus on improving the timeliness and accuracy of diagnosis. We must invest in research to improve the way we diagnose diseases like Alzheimer’s and ensure that innovations in diagnosis make their way into the health service as quickly as possible.

“We are pleased to see the Secretary of State highlight the importance of preventing dementia through risk reduction. With up to 40% of dementia cases potentially preventable we must see the government embed approaches to good brain health across all policy areas to help more people reduce their risk of dementia.”

Portway House Appoints Head of Happiness When it comes to job titles, one forward-thinking care home in the West Midlands is leading the way in happiness, with a brand-new role for one of its newest employees created with that very word in mind.

Amy Evans, 34, has been appointed as Chief Happiness Officer at Portway House in Oldbury and will be responsible for keeping its residents entertained and spirits high, at all times.

Ms Evans from Langley, West Midlands comes with a wealth of knowledge in positive mental health after working in the sector for many years before joining Portway House, which is owned by the Superior Care Group.

Portway House manager Kim Young says: “Amy will be a real asset to our team and

know she will be great for keeping everyone, both residents and staff, upbeat and happy at all times – and it’s just what we need following the global pandemic.

“She will be responsible for all in-house singing, dancing, exercise and crafting activities with residents as well as a packed diary of day trips planned for later in the year.”

Amy comments: “I love the title and I love the role and I think it’s what all companies should have. Whilst I know that Portway House is a happy home anyway, it is always good to continue improving so that we can enrich residents lives as much as possible.”

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PAGE 24 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

Government ‘Failed in its Duty of Care’ to Doctors and the Healthcare Workers in its Handling of the Pandemic, says BMA A major review into the UK Government’s handling of the pandemic and its impact on the NHS, the health of the population, and doctors, has been undertaken by the BMA. The first two reports conclude that the UK Government failed in its duty of care to protect doctors and the wider healthcare workforce from avoidable harm and suffering in its management of the COVID-19 pandemic. This failure is evidenced in detail and published today by the BMA. The reports, part of a series of five, are the most comprehensive accounts of the lived experiences of doctors throughout the pandemic, collated from thousands of doctors across the UK, including those who were on the frontline during COVID-19. They also draw upon real-time surveys over the past two years, as well as formal testimonies, data and evidence sessions from stakeholders. Page after page details the devastating impact of the pandemic on medical professionals as individuals, and on the NHS, showing mistake after mistake – errors of judgement and policy made by the UK Government - which amount to a failure of a duty of care to the workforce.

In what is believed to be the first documented account of its kind, doctors from across the UK have spoken out about their own experiences during the pandemic, recounting their fears and anxieties as well as laying bare the shortages of PPE, a lack of timely and adequate risk assessments, and the huge impact on their mental and physical health.

The reports, which will also form part of the BMA’s submission to the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry, make a series of recommendations about lessons which must be learned as well as presenting evidence of where things went wrong.

Key recommendations for governments from the reports include: 1. UK and devolved governments should continue to carry out pandemic preparedness exercises for the most likely types of infections and must act on the lessons learned from these exercises and the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying key themes such as PPE stockpiling, testing, and public health capacity.

2. Public health systems should be resourced and funded to have adequate contact tracing capacity and be able to rapidly scale up testing for future variants or pandemics.

3. The UK Government needs to maintain an adequate rotating stockpile of suitable PPE and have plans to quickly scale up procurement and manufacturing if required.

4. General wellbeing support including timely and accessible occupational health assessments and support to access psychological support services must be made available for staff at all levels across all health services, with specific support also offered to ensure staff can recover from the pressure of delivering care during a pandemic.

5. The need for a continuous and transparent assessment of workforce shortages and future staffing requirement to ensure health services and public health systems are better prepared to deal with crises.

6. Improve capital investment, modernise physical infrastructure and improve ventilation of the NHS estate.

7. To mitigate inequity in the future, mechanisms must be introduced to make the experience of working in the NHS less variable by background or protected characteristic.

Care Provider Partners with Community Church to Offer its Residents Diverse and Inclusive Activities A specialist Cambridgeshire care provider has once again partnered with a local community church to promote the mental and physical well-being of its residents through engaging activities – specially designed for those with learning disabilities and in their old age.

Askham Village Community, near Doddington, recently welcomed the services of Fenland Community Church, a family-run organisation that seeks to call upon the power of religion to dismantle stereotypes and to view everyone as equals, regardless of their age or disability.

Through a combination of drama, music and other sensory focussed activities, the group’s universal aim is to bring a smile to the faces of social care residents — something it undoubtedly achieved during the recent visit to Askham, where a total of 18 residents were entertained in the Atrium of Askham House.

Represented by husband and wife duo, Edward and Marilyn, along with another team member, Rosie, the church group will now visit on a monthly basis following a successful day promoting mental and physical well-being through engaging activities. The group

used to visit Askham regularly and has done for over 15 years, however, due to the hardships of the pandemic, this has not been possible for over two years.

Some of the residents in attendance suffered from advanced dementia so the sensory engagement of such activities proved vital for their cognitive wellbeing — something Fenland Community Church recognises in its approach.

Jo Monaghan, Head of Care & Nursing and Registered Manager at Askham Hall and Askham House, commented: “Partnering with activity providers like Fenland Community Church is an integral part of our diverse care offering.

Seeing the smiles on residents’ faces highlights just how important it is to keep them engaged with stimulating activities, something Edward and Marilyn are so well versed in. Their approach reflects our own ethos here at Askham — where all individuals are equal regardless of their mental or physical condition.”

Jo continued: “Due to popular demand from both staff and residents, Fenland Community Church are now visiting us every month and will continue to encourage those staying with us to engage and have fun within a completely accepting environment.”

Runwood Homes Form Meaningful Connections Through Care Home Zoom Singalong The new Runwood Homes’ initiative, named ‘Musical Memories Together’, aims to bring homes across the Group together, to enjoy the benefits of musical connection.

The first singalong session took place on the 12 May and, going forward, will take place bimonthly.

Music and singing in the care home setting has invaluable benefits for residents.

Improving wellbeing, reducing stress and anxiety, and boosting feelings of belonging. Singing together helps residents to bond, connect and form and develop friendships. For people living with dementia, music and singing can help them to express themselves and help them to connect with loved ones.

Music and singalong sessions are a great reminiscence activity as well and can be good for memory recall.

Kieun Kwon, Associate Director of Dementia Services, understands the importance of musical connection within the care homes and, as such, was pleased to be able to launch this lovely initiative.

Kieun said: “It was a delight to see residents across our portfolio of homes enjoying the music and singalong session. Many residents have a passion for singing and music, so this was a great way to showcase that and provide an opportunity to

share in that passion and interest. Practicing the songs together helps socially, psychologically and emotionally, as well as physical improvement, such as breathing and lots of movement. We are all looking forward to the next event and seeing the long-term benefits that this initiative is sure to bring.”

Cathy, Wellbeing Lead at The Grange, hosted the first session with residents, and was so pleased to see nineteen other homes join in. Cathy began the session with a warmup exercise, including breathing and gentle movements.

The Grange care home, in Wickford, is home to the One Voice Choir, a group of talented residents who perform together at various venues and events, as well as performing over Zoom as well. The One Voice Choir was present for the musical memories session and was a great way to showcase their talents to the other homes. The initiative is also a great opportunity for residents across homes to sing along and perform together, which help residents and teams connect.

The first session saw attendees sing together to ten songs, including Yellow Submarine, by The Beatles, She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain by Vicky Aldridge, and Summer Holiday by Cliff Richard, to name a few.

The Care & Occupational Therapy Show 2022 A brand new show is set to take the care sector by storm this year.

Inspired Motive acquired the ‘South West Care Show’ during the pandemic and have rebranded the show to make it more encompassing.

With over 30 years of experience in the event industry, Inspired Motive will be hosting the Care & Occupational Therapy Show. The visitors will include buyers from Care Homes, Domiciliary care companies, Care Groups, NHS, Trusts, Individual Carers, and Individual Practitioners also.

Attracting 3000+ visitors, it will truly be a festival of business for the care community.

Their goal is to enable companies across the UK to exhibit innovative products that will aid care sector professionals to enhance their brand/services, with 175+ Exhibitors, 30+ Industry Leading Speakers and a Live Demo Area, the show is perfectly positioned to put you on the road to success.

The show will also be appealing to Occupational Therapists as there will be services exhibited by those that

cater to that market too, making it by far the largest care event in the South West.

The show has already confirmed impressive keynote speakers from the likes of Care England and Care Quality Commission with more to be announced in the coming weeks. They already have some great exhibitors at the show, from the likes of - Albert Goodman, Motor Tech, Appetito, Nourish, Oysta Technology and Reval Continuing Care. All of the show’s seminars are CPD accredited so you can also earn your CPD points whilst attending the show.

All tickets for the show are free and will be released over the coming weeks. You can keep an eye on show announcements and ticket availability via their website - www.careexhibition.co.uk If you are interested in exhibiting your own products/services at the show, please contact Luke Outram on 02045 178 888 or email - luke@inspiredmotive.co.uk.

PAGE 26 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Wall & Door Protection Reduce Your Operating Costs!! for a Caring Environment For 55 years Yeoman Shield wall & door protection systems from Harrison Thompson & Co. Ltd. have been delivering healthcare providers with a solution to costly and unsightly impact damage to interior walls & doors. This proactive approach to impact damage can show a year on year saving on maintenance time and budgets.

Offering a comprehensive range which includes, protection panels, protection rails, handrails and fire rated door protection systems, offered in over 48 colours, gives customers a wide choice to realise functional and aesthetic requirements.

The ability to incorporate colours, signage and images, into Yeoman Shield’s core products can be beneficial to mental health environments be that creating a calming atmosphere or a practical assistance in wayfinding.

The Guardian Handrail can also be supplied in an anti-ligature option safeguarding service users.

Fire doors are never more important than in a residential setting catering for those more vulnerable.

Yeoman Shield offer a full fire rated door protec-

Opeque can assist in reducing energy bills, complying with legislation, managing health and safety and achieving a sustainable operation.

Over years, Opeque has worked with various industry sectors, from tyre manufacturing to laundries, schools to hotels and hospitals to care homes, optimising their manufacturing procedures and facilities mantion system that when installed can prevent compromising impact damage and by doing so extends the functioning lifecycle of fire doors.

To complement these products is the company’s newly launched Fire Door Services giving reassurance to the building’s responsible person by offering fire door assessments, remedial and door replacement works all carried out under FIRAS accreditation.

Tel: 0113 279 5854 | email: info@yeomanshield.com www.yeomanshield.com See the advert on page 10.

Inclusive Furniture • Consider the elderly • Make the products affordable • Make rental to events an option • Use sustainable products where possible We then thought we need to provide picnic benches and outdoor furniture for people who use wheelchairs. There is definitely a need for disabled, easy access outdoor furniture. All made robustly to take the knocks from wheelchairs and manufactured from sustainable wood from environmentally friendly sources. They also need to make the user feel inclusive.

Consort Claudgen launches Consort Connect app Consort Claudgen have launched Consort Connect app which allows users to have complete control over their heating remotely via their smartphone or tablet. The app is free and downloadable from Google Play or Apple Store. It can control Consort’s Wi-Fi enabled heaters and SL heaters connected to an SLPBWIFI wireless controller. It gives quick access to four operating modes and provides a 7day timer with twenty-four heating periods per day. It is easy to set up and users can configure the settings of all connected heaters on

the app. Users can also view the energy consumption statistics. Other features include a lock function, open window tracking and response capability, and custom automations. There is a selflearning control ability utilising occupancy and temperature sensors, however, this is only available on the SLPBWIFI controller and Consort heaters with Wi-Fi and occupancy sensor.

For more information, contact our sales at 01646 692172 or visit www.consortepl.com or see the advert on page 6.

Safeguard Your Care Home with InVentry Care homes are crucial for our society, so it’s important to ensure they’re a safe setting to help staff carry out the best possible care.

With many family members and friends visiting their loved ones daily, InVentry is essential to track who’s entering and leaving your care home. Visitors are met with a simple signing in process and their information is stored directly in the system. This not only allows you to track who is onsite at any given time, but it ensures an even faster sign in during repeat visits.

You can also ensure that the contractors you have onsite have the skills to do the job safely by asking custom questions before they sign in, with options to include documents they may need to read upon arrival, ensuring health & safety and the security of

your site is always maintained.

InVentry can even help you become CQC and Care Inspectorate Compliant as our software allows you to receive star-rated feedback from those who have visited your care home. You can store this feedback within your system and note any actions taken to improve your processes and procedures!

Head to our website: www.inventry.co.uk or see the advert on page 11.

Frail & Thinning Skin Can Often Lead To Skin Tears Fragile or thin skin that tears easily is a common problem, especially among older adults. Our skin becomes thinner as we age, or as a result of sun damage and lifestyle factors. Thin skin bruises and tears more easily of course. Certain medications, such as long-term use of topical corticosteroids can also weaken the skin and the blood vessels in the skin Can skin tears be prevented? YES! Use Limbkeepers premium skin protectors!

So why Limbkeepers Protectors?

Limbkeepers arm sleeves, leg sleeves, and gloves help protect fragile, thin, bruised skin on arms, hands, and legs, from abrasions, skin tears, and injury from impact. Our non-compression arm protectors and leg

protectors provide seamless, form fitting, cushioned comfort and can be easily worn under apparel without bulk.

Our versatile products help to reduce injuries, allow you to continue daily activities and maintain quality of life and independence.

Made in the USA and supplied from the UK, they are sold in pairs and assorted colours at affordable prices.

Limbkeepers are available in regular or lightweight arm, forearm or leg sleeves.

Limbkeepers UK Ltd, Demontfort House, 7e Enterprise Way, Vale Park, Evesham WR11 1GS For more information or to buy go to www.limbkeepers.co.uk See the advert on page 7.

agement.

Applying industrial engineering principles, we address productivity, resource efficiency, quality control, health and safety and asset management, bringing people, utilities, equipment, and buildings together to realise product excellence.

We have worked with many care homes to provide laundry services and water hygiene and it is from these close relationships that we believe we can further assist your CARE HOME to reduce operating costs. or see the advert on page 11.

07831 873355, email Call or Email NOW: admin@opeque.com or visit www.opeque.com See the advert on page 19 for details.

WHY CARE HOMES? Not long ago we noticed that in our local park there was adequate seating for the non-disabled but none for the wheelchair-user, the more we looked the more we saw a complete lack of effort in complying with regulations and laws specifically brought in to counter this ignorance and discrimination.

We decide to act, our plan was: • Make our products both 'accessible & 'inclusive'.

• Design furniture with the wheelchair-user in mind • Act within both the Disability Act and the Equality Act • Provide quality products for non-disabled and disabled alike.

...because not only is it their legal duty under the discrimination acts people who happen to use wheelchairs also happen to enjoy sitting outside in fine weather, they are also appreciated in public places as well as private homes & gardens and places where care is a first priority Peter Cubbin Inclusivefurniture.com inclusivefurniture@gmail.com https://inclusivefurniture.com 07775717880 See the advert on page 19 for details.

Health and Safety Matters – Keep Up to Date The National Association for Safety and Health in Care Services ( NASHiCS ) focuses on all health and safety matters affecting the social care sector. The association has goes from strength to strength and has a growing membership across many providers and organisations covering the UK. Keeping up to date regarding Health and Safety matters is vital. The more you know, the more you can plan and the more you plan, the less you are susceptible in turbulent times.

Through the association you can Network with colleagues responsible for Health and Safety, share your own ‘best practice’ experiences and hear how others have overcome challenges.

Attend dedicated events, on health and safety at special member rates; and participate in national and local Networkers, Conferences and Seminars, in-person or virtual.

Advertise job vacancies free; and benefit from special member offers and rates from suppliers of goods services and equipment.

Receive regular update emails covering latest

Terryberry - Be Recognised, Be Engaged Terryberry is a global employee engagement solutions provider, HQ in Grand Rapids Michigan with UK offices in Cheshire and Cardiff, we help companies of all sizes, across all sectors. A dedicated account manager is included as part of all our employee reward & recognition programmes, who are on hand to guide you through every stage of the process. We’ve helped companies such as Co-op, AstraZeneca, Coca-Cola, M&S, Airbus, Jaguar Land Rover & The White Company run successful Long Service Award and Employee Benefits schemes.

Visit our website: www.terryberry.com/gb to learn more about our 360 Recognition platform.

See the advert on page 21 for details.

developments and safety alerts/news; while giving access to current information, links on key safety topics; and monthly our highly praised e-News.

Matters cover range from fire safety, training, infection control, lone working, falls prevention, first aid to stress, legionella, case law, regulation, people moving people and mock courts to mention just a few. See our website for report on past events – www.nashics.org We have national links with other organisations, government bodies and enforcement agencies. Our aim is to promote and improve safety and health in care practice by providing a sharing and networking forum for debate, and discussion.

Joining NASHiCS is a great and easy way to keep informed and aware. Health and Safety is an essential and matters to everyone involved with social care now and in the future.

Find out more – administrator@nashics.org | www.nashics.org | 07840 160 030 See the advert on page 11 for further details.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 27

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Forbes Helps Care Homes Maintain Cash’s Labels- “The Name Critical Hygiene Standards Behind the Name” For the care sector, laundry has always been absolutely central to infection control. Furthermore, in order to ensure continuity of service, it is essential to have a reliable service partner in place when needed.

Any prolonged machine downtime can have significant operation implications for a care environment, so it is important to have access to a same/next day breakdown response. Home residents deserve the very highest standards and care operators need to source laundry equipment that is both cost and energy efficient whilst meeting the most stringent hygiene standards.

Forbes Professional is proud to be Miele‘s national distribution partner. This enables us to offer their new Benchmark machines, which truly set new standards in laundry care. Combining high performance levels with both user and sustainable efficiency, they effortlessly meet all of the challenges of the care sector’s laundry operations. Optimised and intelligent technology combines with simple connectivity for fast and efficient cycles whilst thermo and chemo-thermal disinfection enable the critical hygiene control.

Forbes offers prospective clients comprehensive site surveys and entirely transparent cost calculations.

Our in-house engineers fully install and commission all equipment as well as offering complimentary usertraining. Our ever popular Complete Care rental solution is a more sustainable alternative than outright purchase. It also gives care homes access to our multiaward winning service support at no extra cost for the life of the contract. www.forbespro.co.uk info@forbes-professional.co.uk 0345 070 2335 See the advert on page 14.

Renray Healthcare Renray Healthcare has been producing high quality furniture for over 50 years and is one of the UK’s largest and leading suppliers to the healthcare sector.

Whether you require a fast efficient delivery of quality

furniture or a full room installation and fitting service, we have the experience and resources to handle your contract.

We manufacture and assemble our products in our own purpose built factories in Cheshire and Europe to British Standards. Hence we are able to ensure your furniture is produced to the highest quality, working with you to plan and meet your projects time schedule and budget.

We understand you are purchasing furniture that is fit for purpose, stylish and will continue to perform well into the future, which is why we design and build our furniture with you in mind.

Telephone: +44 (0)1606 593456, Email: info@renrayhealthcare.com, www.renrayhealthcare.com or see the advert on page 3 for details.

Free Online PAT Testing Course Everyone can benefit from free training! Parker Bell offers a free online PAT Testing course, which is ideal Care Home Managers and maintenance staff. It gives you all the information about your legal obligations and responsibilities. It also covers practicalities such as: • Equipment needed • Full visual Inspection • How to do a PAT Test • What records to keep As a result of the pandemic, many have found their working environment has changed dramatically. You may no longer allow people/contractors on your premises, PAT Testing is straightforward to do and can be easily managed in house. Our free course will show you how you can PAT Test, and what’s more, the HSE say any competent person can do it!

How do you access the free PAT Testing Course?

It’s simple, just go to www.onlinepattestingcourse.co.uk. Here you will be able to access the course, you just need an email address to sign up. The course is made up of short modules and is simple to follow.

Who should do the course?

Probably everyone should do the course, as it shows you basic electrical equipment safety; which given the

amount of electrical equipment we now have in our homes makes sense.

Both employers and employees are responsible for inspecting and maintaining electrical equipment in the work place. So you should encourage all staff to do the course.

What equipment do you need?

Any competent person can PAT Test, however you will need to use a PAT Tester that give you and outcome Pass or Fail. It’s great if the PAT Tester has readings as well, but they are not essential.

How often should I PAT Test?

Frequency of PAT Testing is dependent on your Risk Assessment. You need to include the routine inspection & maintenance of electrical equipment in your Risk Assessment and the risk should determine the frequency. Factors affecting the frequency include: • What the electrical equipment is • How often its’ used • Where its’ used • Who uses it Want to discuss further?

You can call us on 01392 364933 or email sales@parker-bell.co.uk We are always happy to help!

See the advert on page 7.

Taking Care of Your Needs Passive fire protection needs to be at the forefront of all our minds but what is passive fire protection?

Passive fire protection assesses a building in detail, poorly maintained fire doors, voids in ceilings & service shafts and penetrations made in walls, floors or ceilings can become conduits through which fire and smoke can spread. By identifying these failures within the fabric of the building, specialist repairs can be made to reinstate the compartmentation of the building to maximise the time available to evacuate the property, and or prevent a fire from taking hold in the first place.

For many this remains a concern and knowing where to start can be stressful. It is important that you do your due diligence and you seek out a trained, competent, third-party accredited company to work with you and to discuss your needs.

We are often told how a client has struggled to secure the services of a passive fire contractor. We have found many companies would prefer to concentrate on large, long term contracts rather than smaller

At Cash's, we aim to capture, reinforce and communicate our clients’ brand equity through quality and innovation, from design to distribution.

Our product range fully caters for the needs of both small and large retailers and brand owners alike comprising of woven and printed labels, woven badges, care labels, branded and promotional swing tags, garment accessories, packaging and barcoding. Our ground breaking labelling and security technologies are also able to provide an unrivalled level of protection to our customers' brand

by assisting to combat counterfeiting and grey market activity.

Our industry leading eCommerce system is designed to reduce cost, improve efficiency and streamline supply chain management and will fully protect the integrity and accuracy of critical business data. The order entry process is very simple meaning suppliers and vendors can spend their valuable time on tasks other than ordering apparel labelling and accessories.

Visit www.cashslabels.com or see the advert on page 15.

Otiom, the World's First IoT Device Designed To Prevent People With Dementia From Becoming Lost

Although commonplace, wandering can be dangerous or even life-threatening for people with dementia, and the stress can weigh heavily on friends, family and carers. Otiom - is beginning to make a positive impact in the social care sector and is demonstrating its potential to be a gamechanger for the care of people living with dementia.

WHAT IS OTIOM? Otiom is a unique and discrete tagging device which people with dementia can easily carry. It utilises IoT technology to ensure reliable tracking indoors and outdoors, and has a long battery life.

THE OTIOM SYSTEM: Firstly, the tag: the monitoring device which is carried by the person with a tendency to wander.

Secondly, the home base: which is placed in the home of the person with dementia. The Otiom tag constantly communicates with the home base via Bluetooth while the person is at home.

Thirdly, the app: which is free on iOS or Android and allows an unlimited number of caregivers or relatives to operate the system.

The app allows caregivers to set a safety level depending on individual circumstances. The safety levels have been designed to cater for all stages of dementia. At its lowest setting, location data can only be accessed when carers are concerned about a per-

son’s whereabouts to manually raise the alarm. The fact that tracking is non-constant helps avoid any invasion of privacy for the person with dementia.

Otiom can be managed using a smartphone and a safety zone can be set outside the personal home or care facility where the person resides, including gardens or community areas. If the person leaves the safety zone, an alarm will be triggered and the Otiomapp will show the current location.

Please get in touch if you would like to learn more about Otiom.

Call: 0131 467 5764 Email: Mail@pentlandmedical.co.uk www.pentlandmedical.co.uk See the advert on page 9.

MOWOOT II Combats Chronic Constipation MOWOOT II is a revolutionary non-invasive and nonpharmacological solution to chronic constipation.

Developed by a team of medical professionals, MOWOOT II delivers gentle abdominal massage that speeds up intestinal transit in people with chronic constipation.

Clinically proven and free from side-effects, MOWOOT II Chronic Constipation Therapy System fights constipation effectively, safely and comfortably without laxatives, enemas or colon cleansing supplements.

Comfortable during use, MOWOOT II treats and manages chronic constipation in people with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease as well as helps to combat medication-related constipation issues. MOWOOT II also fights chronic constipation in menopausal and post-menopausal women and elderly people.

In a published clinical study*, MOWOOT II increased evacuation frequency, softened stools, improved reg-

ularity, reduced gasses and bloating and relieved abdominal discomfort. Results showed that as many as 72.2% patients experienced increased bowel movements, 77.4% patients manifested reduction in constipation symptoms and 81.0% patients enjoyed better quality of life.

In just 10 to 20 minutes per day of abdominal massage with MOWOOT II, significant improvements were noted only days after the first treatment, whilst regular applications of MOWOOT II delivered positive health benefits and better quality of life.

MOWOOT II – effective, safe and comfortable solution to chronic constipation! *McClurg D; Booth L; Herrero-Fresneda I. Safety and Efficacy of Intermittent Colonic Exoperistalsis Device to Treat Chronic Constipation: A Prospective Multicentric Clinical Trial. Clin Trans Gastroenterology 2020; 11(12): e00267.

See the advert on page 5 or ontact Win Health Medical Ltd - 01835 864866 - www.win-health.com

properties. We realised very quickly that we had an opportunity to provide a bespoke service for each of our clients taking care of individual needs. Over time we have become specialised in working within a live environment such as residential accommodation.

When the project is complete, it does not mean the end of our relationship, UK Passive Fire Solutions is part of East Riding Group Ltd. We can offer many other services to you such as UK Pest Control Service and our Hospitality, Kitchen & Hygiene Products (HKHP) UK Passive Fire Solutions work with you from start to finish. Call or email today to get more information and receive your information pack; email info@ukpassivefiresolutions.co.uk or call: 01262 469872.

See the advert on page 6 for further information.

PAGE 28 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

CONTINENCE CARE Top Tips For Healthy Skin When Living with Incontinence Healthy skin is a physical barrier against the external environment. The pH balance of skin should be between 4.5 and 5.5 to discourage bacterial growth.

HOW TO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN A NORMAL PH BALANCE: • Prevent changes to normal skin pH by cleaning up quickly after each episode of urine loss.

• Choose mild skin cleansers, moisturisers and sealants.

• Be aware that perspiration, in combination with continence pads and briefs, creates an extra risk factor for skin problems.

DO’S AND DON’TS WHEN CARING FOR YOUR SKIN • Always use the pads prescribed for you and make sure that they are fitted correctly • Tell your nurse if your skin is wet when you change your incontinence pad • Tell your nurse if you have eczema or psoriasis or are prone to other conditions that affect your skin • Note the condition of your skin whilst using incontinence pads • Tell your nurse if there are any changes to your skin.

• This would include if your skin becomes red, sore or broken.

• Tell your nurse if you are using any ointments or creams

• Wash your hands before and after changing your pad • Don’t apply ointments or creams unless prescribed by your doctor or nurse.

• Don’t use talcum powder on your bottom or groin area. It can cause friction which may damage the skin and also affect how well your pad works.

• Don’t wear more than one pad at a time

Important advice Oil based barrier creams may reduce the performance of the pads. If barrier creams must be used, they should be applied sparingly and only on areas that require treatment. Used products should be disposed of in the appropriate manner, they cannot be flushed down the toilet.

The iD range of products is available to buy from www.id-direct.com or via Ontex - See the advert on page 7 for details.

Help To Manage Your Incontinence Issues Independently The Bendi Bag is ideal for wheelchair users who can sometimes find toilet access difficult The Comfort Leg Bag range comes in variety of materials from velvet smooth, real cotton and flock backing The Children’s Bag with smaller capacity and proportions comes with a discreet and secure twist tap that will not open accidentally while moving, or out and about

Urinary incontinence affects millions of people in the UK. Although a widespread problem, incontinence remains a taboo topic.

Embarrassment often stops people from talking about it, let alone feeling able to access products and services that can help them. So, without the correct help and support, the problem often remains unsolved, which has a negative impact on people’s lives.

COMFORTABLE AND EFFECTIVE Since 1976 Manfred Sauer have provided a range of innovative urology products to help sufferers of urinary incontinence. But unlike other providers, our products are often designed and tested by both end users and healthcare professionals to ensure effective and user-friendly solutions that work. This means your incontinence issues can be managed independently, without worrying about frequent emptying or toilet access and do not impinge on your ability to live life to the full.

Read about four of our most popular product ranges, which are all available on prescription.

SHEATHS We offer 5 types of urinary sheath to facilitate the drainage of urine away from the body into a drainage bag. They are made from either latex, or synthetic materials and available in a range of sizes. We also offer skin friendly tapes, straps and adhesives, hair guards, measuring tape as well as Preventox, which cleans and protects the skin, so you are always comfortable and have the best fit possible.

IQ CATHETER

LEGBAGS We supply four main types of leg bags with varying capacities.

Perfect for being outdoors, and packed full of unique features and benefits, you now have a choice when it comes to managing your incontinence issues.

The shape of our Discreet Thigh Bag allows for it to be worn high up on the thigh area and can even be hidden under shorts, skirts and even swimwear

Thousands of people across the country must perform Intermittent Self-Catheterisation (ISC) to effectively empty their bladder and having something that is simple to use, soft, flexible and easy to lubricate is essential. That’s where our IQ-Cath shines, plus, new for 2022 are male/paediatric and female single-use hydrophilic catheters which are immersed in saline and ready for immediate use.

Nephsys For people who have had a Nephrostomy, and tubes are already in place, our NephSys system can drastically improve their lives. As well as providing a secure and sterile solution, which consists of an adjustable, elasticated belt; drainage bags and suspenders to secure the bag to the belt in the chosen position, the system is also comfortable and discreet.

For help, support and advice, call 01604 595696, email helpline@manfred-sauer.co.uk or visit www.manfred-sauer.co.uk for more information about each product, or to order a free sample.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 31

HYGIENE & INFECTION CONTROL

Exclusive Antimicrobial Scrub Technology Launched

by Grahame Gardner and Micro-Fresh ®

Grahame Gardner has unveiled a brand new Micro-Fresh® scrub top and trouser range which uses leading antimicrobial technology to stay fresher longer.

The range, exclusive to Grahame Gardner, incorporates cutting-edge technology Micro-Fresh® to help keep healthcare workers safe whilst maintaining unrivalled comfort.

The garment fabric, which is 65 per cent polyester and 35 per cent cotton, is incorporated with innovative Micro-fresh® technology at point of manufacture. The antimicrobial technology not only kills 99.9 per cent of bacteria beyond 50 washes but is also proven to reduce the spread of human coronavirus by 99.2 per cent.

With wash resistant antibacterial protection, Micro-Fresh® also boasts odour prevention, providing longer lasting freshness for the wearer. The scrubs are hypoallergenic, gentle on skin and vegan friendly.

The exclusive scrubs will stocked available in two fits – unisex and female – and the scrub top will be available in six colourways: Oasis, Navy, Eau de Nil, Bottle, Smoke Grey and Blue 18 each with a classic contrasting white trim The trousers will be available in Navy, Bottle and Black.

Grahame Gardner will also offer all six scrub colours in their Made to Order range with a bespoke choice of trim colour.

The scrub top design features multiple pockets, including two waterproof chest pockets and a wearers right hand hip pocket, which also has a pen divide and an elastic loop for a clip-on hand sanitiser. The trousers have a

drawstring waist, and also side and a back pockets.

A range of Micro-Fresh® tie back scrub caps will also be available in the same six colours to complement the scrubs, plus two additional colours – Black & Royal Blue Sarah Lowe, from Grahame Gardner, said: “We’re so pleased to reveal our exclusive Micro-Fresh® workwear range.

“These innovative garments harness leading technology to create scrubs that combine comfort with unique antimicrobial technology that’s proven to kill 99.9% bacteria – even after washing! We know there is the market for them and are confident our customers will appreciate the benefits this garment development bring. It’s been great to build a really positive working relationship with Micro-Fresh® and look forward to that continuing in the future.”

Chris Mellor-Dolman, head of marketing & business development at Micro-Fresh®, added: “The move to working with a brand such as Grahame Gardner, who uphold the highest standards of protection and hygiene with products for use in controlled environments, dovetails wholly with our ideology here at Micro-Fresh®.

“It’s reassuring to know that Micro-Fresh and Grahame Gardner scrubs are making a significant difference, protecting the health & wellbeing of much-valued medical professionals.”

For more information, visit: www.grahamegardner.co.uk/micro-fresh

Eliminate Odours and Sanitise Rooms with MAG Ozone

15 minutes is all it takes to remove bacteria, viruses and unpleasant odours from indoor rooms and spaces. Don’t just mask bad smells, permanently eliminate them with the MAG Room Sanitiser. It’s safe, it’s sustainable, it requires no chemicals, plus it’s quicker and 3,000 times more effective than other cleaning methods.

Hygienic indoor air quality is seen as an essential part of every business and we all have a responsibility to look after our staff, visitors, guests and clients.

Monkeypox, Covid-19 and other airborne viruses will continue to come and go so regular air purification is important as nobody knows what the future holds.

As well as sanitising the air and surfaces in a room, MAG’s sanitising machine guarantees to remove odours however strong including smoke, cooking, alcohol, body odour and incontinence. It’s used by care homes, hotels, pubs, restaurants and thousands of businesses in the UK and across the world.

How does it work? Ozone is safely created and destructed within your preferred time frame. Simply wheel the ozone generator into the room that needs sanitising,

Introducing The World’s First Movable Bedpan Disposer ® Panaway M1 It has been great to get back out helping some customers face to face again but we are also aware of ongoing restrictions and the many pressures facing all.

Haigh's product development has continued regardless and with the launch of the Panaway M1 mobile bedpan disposal system, the team has also made a virtual 3D version for you to view from your smartphone via the link / QR code below.

Bedpans, commode pots, kidney dishes & urine bottles are simply and efficiently disposed using Haigh's proven technology now in an easy to deploy, mobile, plug and play format.

Panaway M1 gives unprecedented flexibility when it comes to bringing the infection prevention bene-

fits of disposable medical pulp to your site, as well as the sustainability and cost considerations associated with using very little electricity and no hot water. A perfect solution as an emergency stand-in when a bedpan machine or washer is unavailable or as a cost-effective solution whilst migrating a site to a disposable system.

If you or your colleagues have any questions or would like to know more, please feel free to email or call us.

For more information about renting, purchasing or a trial of Panaway® M1 contact Michelle Marriot on +44 (0)7500 626463 or email info@haighmed.com or visit www.panaway.com

Please Please mention mention THE THE CARER CARER when when responding responding to to advertising. advertising.

plug in the machine, start the cycle, leave the room and when you re-enter you will be pleasantly surprised by the extra fresh fragrance. It’s very simple, completely safe and free product demonstrations are available across the UK. Ask about our 5 star feedback and testimonials. Andrew Morgan, Managing Director of Morgan Care shares “Great sales experience with a pre-order demo and very efficient order & delivery service. Would have no hesitation in recommending MAG Ozone”.

For more information contact MAG Ozone Ltd on 01353 883025 or sales@magozone.com Did you know the MAG Group also provides commercial washing machines and tumble dryers? Find out more at www.maglaundryequipment.co.uk (Link: https://maglaundryequipment.co.uk/product/ozone-sanitation/ mag-ozone-generator )

PAGE 32 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

HYGIENE & INFECTION CONTROL

Why Infection Control Is Just One of the Benefits of Outsourcing Laundry the past. Residents have their own dedicated bags, into which garments are placed, so Elis knows exactly where each resident’s items are in its fully tracked service.

Care homes are facing many challenges, from infection control and Covid, to staff shortages and rising energy costs. Richard Page, UK Head of Care Homes at Elis (uk.elis.com), explains how making a simple change to how laundry is processed can have benefits that extend far beyond infection control.

How the laundry is managed can have a bigger impact on the care home than is sometimes realised. It may impact infection control standards and compliance but also staff availability, running costs and capital expenditure, how smoothly the care home can operate, the satisfaction of residents and families, space availability and even the quality of the bedlinen and towels.

While traditionally care homes often handled the laundry themselves, many are now recognising the advantages of outsourcing to a specialist, as is the norm in many other sectors, including the NHS and hotels.

Here are the top six ways that care homes can benefit from outsourcing to a specialist care home laundry provider, like Elis.

Using the Elis service can be a more cost effective approach to care home laundry. It can free up care home capital, as there is no equipment or linen to buy and can provide efficiencies and cost savings because Elis operates on an industrial scale and passes savings on to customers. With competitive fixed priced contracts and no risk of unexpected laundry costs, the service also helps with cost control. The usage of linens is tracked to provide complete cost transparency and there is flexibility to adjust quantities if demand changes.

Care homes can benefit from taking a look at their in-house laundry costs, including staff, water, electricity, gas, detergent, machine rental and breakdown costs and comparing with the cost of an Elis laundry service.

1 – INFECTION CONTROL AND COMPLIANCE

4 – FREEING UP TIME AND SPACE

It is essential to maintain high standards of infection prevention and control; an important part of care homes’ CQC inspection. However, when laundry is done on site it can be difficult to consistently follow the strict procedures that help prevent cross infection and ensure compliance with the Department of Health’s HTM 01-04 regulation. Requirements such as the full segregation of clean and soiled items, the validation of wash processes and the stringent handling and transportation procedures can sometimes be difficult to maintain, especially when space is limited.

Outsourcing to Elis ensures immediate compliance, both now and in the future. With experience of working for hospitals and care homes across the UK and the world, Elis ensures that infection control is built into every process. It is accredited to the highest European standard in infection control (BS EN14065) and expert at laundry compliance, so care homes don’t have to be.

With staff shortages and illness, outsourcing laundry can also have the benefit of freeing up staff to focus on other tasks. It also significantly reduces the time that management need to focus on laundry. It takes away the hassle and provides a simple, reliable solution.

The removal of in-house laundry equipment also frees up space for other activities or even for another bedroom.

2 – RELIABILITY, SIMPLICITY AND PEACE OF MIND When a care home runs its own laundry it can be hard to avoid machine breakdowns, or even fires, and unexpected staff absences. They all create extra pressure and make it hard to maintain standards.

With a network of laundries across the UK, each with multiple state-of-the-art machines, back-up facilities and stock and its own delivery fleet, Elis provides a guaranteed, reliable service, day after day. The local Elis laundry collects soiled items, hygienically launders and maintains them and returns them to an agreed schedule.

Elis uses the latest technology in all aspects of its service, with tiny 2d Barcodes on linens and on special residents’ clothing bags, enabling meticulous tracking of items and meaning lost items are a thing of

3 – COST REDUCTION AND CONTROL

5 – HOTEL QUALITY Items are provided on a cost effective rental basis, with no large up-front costs. High quality linen creates the perfect centrepiece for each resident’s room and fluffy white towels create a homely feel. Bed linen and towelling are professionally finished using specialist driers, ironers and folders, to give a hotel-like quality, while every item of residents clothing is carefully washed and fully CQC compliant.

6 – EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY Elis is able to use gas, electricity and water more efficiently than individual homes, and so partnering with Elis means that care homes are choosing a more sustainable approach to laundry. Elis is Carbon Trust accredited and the first laundry and textile services company in the UK to state its intent to attain Net Zero carbon emissions by 2045.

Elis partners with thousands of care homes around the world. From small independent homes and hospices to large care villages. Elis provides solutions for linen and residents’ clothing, workwear and uniforms, chefs’ wear, table linen and kitchen cloths. Elis also provides washroom, mats and floorcare services.

For a trial without commitment email uk-carehomes@elis.com or call 0808 1969160 or for more information https://uk.elis.com/en/sectors/health-social-care/care-homes

CATERING FOR CARE

An NHS Chef’s Guide to Budget-Friendly, Nutritious, and Delicious Meals

Matt Willis, Co-Head Chef at Clacton Hospital, NHS Property Services (NHSPS) (www.property.nhs.uk) shares insight around the challenges of hospital catering, and how best to manage budgets while cooking delicious and nutritious meals for staff and patients.

Catering for hospitals comes with its challenges. It is often a balancing act between having nutritious, healthy meals, while also making sure they are within budget and not wasted. And most importantly, the meals must be enjoyable for patients and staff.

HAVING A SEASONAL MENU A big part of saving money and having a tasty menu is making sure meals are seasonal, freshly made and locally sourced. The patient menu is set by dietitians, so it must be adhered to for patients to get the nutrition they need. One way of ensuring this is cooking food from scratch. This can make a huge improvement to the quality of food. In our hospital, for example, making food from scratch allows us to significantly reduce salt out of the diets and ensuring that there are no pre-made or pre-packaged foods in every meal.

Using local suppliers is important, as the produce is fresh, and it is a more sustainable way of picking up ingredients needed for the daily menu. It is also great for altering the menu on the day – whether that is down to weather changes, or we have had requests to change up the menu. Ultimately, it is most important to provide people with the food they want. By going local, this can be done in a budget-friendly and sustainable way.

CATERING FOR EVERY NEED It is important to know who you are cooking for. With so many patients and staff, catering for all comes

with challenges – for example, there are 14 official allergens we need to consider. However, it also encourages creativity and to think more about what people want to and can eat. For example, providing an alternative menu is helpful, such as kosher, allergen-free, or needing softer foods. Ultimately, it is important to keep patients happy.

REDUCING FOOD WASTE Another important part of catering and sticking within budget is reducing food waste. In a hospital, if there are two portions left over on a counter, it cannot be saved for later and unfortunately it goes to waste. To prevent waste, we must consider portion control. This can be challenging as patients need a nutrient rich diet and to feel full for a sustained period of time. Where possible, always aim to prepare smaller portions, and if people are still hungry, recommend a snack like fruit or something to keep them going. In our hospital, I encourage the team to manage portion control – it is a crucial part of our training.

Leftovers can encourage you to be fun, creative and make simple foods delicious. Reducing food waste will also have a positive knock-on effect on budget, meaning that money won’t be wasted and can be continued to be spent on getting the best produce.

My top tips to reduce food waste and budget are: • Make a fish pie with leftover fish, with a quick sauce and mash potato ready for next day lunch service.

• I often put lamb in the slow cooker – if there is any leftover it works well in a lamb salad wrap.

• Leftover spaghetti Bolognese works a treat as a topping for jacket potatoes, or chili con carne! I also put it over chips sprinkled with cheese on top under the grill.

See our Catering for Care feature on pages 34-37.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 33

CATERING FOR CARE Carte D’Or Launches The Perfect Base To Create Flavour-Filled Desserts For Your Residents To Enjoy The key to a delicious dessert is the right ingredients. As a chef, you need quality, adaptability, and versatility, to create efficiency in the kitchen and variety on your menu. Carte D’Or have got you covered with all this and more, with their range of powdered dessert bases offering endless possibilities for your dessert menu.

Carte D’Or have teamed up with Aaron Watson, Head Chef at Primrose Bank Care Home and winner of the NACC Care Chef Of The Year 2021, to demonstrate just how adaptable, controllable and reliable their range can be.

Alongside Executive Chef at Unilever Food Solutions, Alex Hall, Aaron has created a series of recipes that are easy to create and will really impress. These include a refreshing ‘Eaton less Mess’, soft doughnuts, a classic baked Alaska and fruity strawberry ice cream – all made using the Carte D’Or Strawberry Mousse and perfect for a movie night or warm summers day.

Alex and Aaron have used the Carte D’Or Panna Cotta mix to make a rhubarb & custard, black forest, and raspberry panna cotta. All these recipes are quick, simple, and packed full of different flavours – which is ideal when catering to various individuals’ preferences! Aaron commented: “You have to think of each resident as an individual, rather than thinking a dish will be suitable for everybody. You have to personalise it to each person”.

Finally, Carte D’Or Crème Brulée is used to make an apple tart, coconut crème caramel and the classic Queen of puddings. The latter utilising leftover ingredients such as breadcrumbs, which are usually seen to go to waste. It’s made in 4 simple steps; just whisk, mould, chill and serve your delicious pudding. The coconut crème caramel is a play on Aaron’s winning dish from the 2021 NACC Care Chef of the Year competition and he highlights the importance of having these exciting dishes for residents: “Obviously, the food we put on the plate is a really important part of the residents’ day to day lives, mealtimes are one of the main times of the day, where all the residents can come together and interact”.

To learn more and watch the full recipes visit www.ufs.com/cartedorincare

Food Procurement Experts, allmanhall are Helping Care Caterers Manage Rising Food Costs Here the causes behind significant food inflation and provide advice on practical ways care home catering teams can manage rising costs are explored.

“There are wide-ranging reasons why we’re currently experiencing such significant food inflation. Our global food supply chain comes with input cost factors that originate far beyond these shores” explains Oliver Hall, managing director of food procurement experts, allmanhall.

The Bank of England has revised its projections upwards, predicting that inflation will now peak at 10% towards the end of 2022. Upward pressure is expected this autumn as energy prices rise again and the full impact of harvest yields globally, and more specifically in Ukraine and Russia, become known. allmanhall’s apply such insight and understanding to managing suppliers, thus supporting care home catering teams with their food purchasing in these challenging times. As well as expert negotiations to mitigate the price increases and risk associated with food inflation, allmanhall’s hands-on, experienced consultants are able to offer care homes practical advice.

Coping strategies are key, addressing the things you can control:

- Select the purchasing approach that brings your care home maximum benefit - Undertake range management - Reduce your care home’s cost to serve - Increase your delivery values (add non-food items to your order) - Multi- and upskill your catering team - Reduce waste wherever possible - Review the efficiency of your equipment - Consider your care home’s menus and recipes - Review product specifications.

These steps will enable your catering budgets and food purchases to go as far as possible.

To learn more, go to https://allmanhall.co.uk/webinars Rachael Venditti from allmanhall will be talking on the topic of Food Inflation at the Care Home and Hospital Catering Forum in Haberdashers Hall, London on 13 June.

PAGE 34 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

CATERING FOR CARE

Anglia Crown – Looking To Make Your Lives Easier As the better weather approaches it is perhaps a time that we can start to look forward again. Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit us all, those in the care sector have been at the forefront of the fight and Anglia Crown salute each and everyone of you who have been providing the best service you could throughout the crisis. Anglia Crown has been there beside you and will remain there to help you keep your residents happy and well fed.

Whilst the company maintained a rapid response team to react quickly to their customers’ needs during the crisis, they also allowed time to step back and see how best they could improve their offer for the care sector and beyond.

The company was also keen to recognise their 30th anniversary of championing choice with the release of their 2022 range of products. The range includes Crown Choice and Crown Advantage meals available frozen, with Crown Crown Choice also available as chilled products.

Company Dietitian, Ruth Smith, comments: “Whenever we update our product range, we always look to reflect current trends. There is a definite move towards plant-based foods which we have considered in these menus, which we believe will prove to be very popular.”

The company now offers over 70 vegan and vegetarian dishes, many have been accredited with the Vegan Society. This approach led to the company being named a Veggie

Wholesaler of the Year.

Another one of the initiatives was to create a menu cycle that can be readily adopted by any care setting, with the knowledge that the menu is nutritionally balanced and has been approved by a professional dietitian.

The two-week cycle offers something for everyone. Where a bulk service is required for resident dining, they have it covered, a similar menu using Crown Advantage dishes can be similarly employed. The specially designed menu is cost effective, as it has already considered the financial balancing that is always required in our sector and just as importantly, it also helps with any staffing issues that you might encounter, allowing properly trained Care Assistants to help with the complete delivery of the meals to your residents.

Mary Wedge, Business Development Manager at Anglia Crown concludes; “We needed to take fast action during the crisis, which led to a huge shift in thinking that has ensured that we could fully support our industry during this difficult period and beyond, whilst continuing to deliver on our vision – in driving excellence in residential and care home catering.”

The new range is now available. Visit www.angliacrown.co.uk for further details.

TME’s Colour Coded CA2005 Temporary Catering Facilities For Events & Kitchen Refurbishments Thermometer Range Ensuring that you have hygienic equipment in the kitchen and catering area can be easily achieved with TME’s colour coded CA2005 thermometer range.

We all understand the importance of equipment which is easy to clean and hygienic especially where food is cooked and prepared. It is also important to ensure that the equipment you have is accurate to avoid any risk of food being undercooked.

Our solution is the CA2005 thermometer and probe range, featuring our high accuracy CA2005 thermometer and a choice of up to 6 colour coded dishwasher-proof temperature probes to help you avoid cross contamination. Our CA2005-P kit, which

includes both thermometer and probe, can be picked up for a little as £65 and our CA2005-PK kit with thermometer and all 6 probes is only £125.

You can be sure you’re making the right purchase as all TME products are British built and our thermometers come with our Thermometer for Life pledge which means that you will never have to pay more than £35.00 to have the thermometer repaired or replaced.

See our products at www.tmethermometers.com or contact us on (01903) 700651 sales@tmethermometers.com for further details.

TME – When temperature matters

Mobile Kitchens Ltd specialises in the hire or sale of temporary catering facilities and foodservice equipment.

Ideal for events or to provide temporary catering facilities during your kitchen refurbishment, our versatile units and equipment offer an efficient and economic solution to the caterers’ needs.

Production Kitchens, Preparation Kitchens, Warewashing Units, Dry Store Units, Cold Rooms and Restaurant Units are available as individual units in their own right or they can be linked together on site to form a complete complex.

Alternatively, we can offer modular, open-plan facilities, usually for larger, longer-term hires.

We offer a free design service, and project management from concept through to delivery and installation on site, plus full technical support throughout the hire period.

The standard specification of our smallest

Production Kitchen unit includes a six burner oven range, salamander grill, twin basket fryer, upright fridge, hot cupboard, single bowl sink unit with integral hand wash basin, plus ample power points to plug in Microwaves, Food Processors, Toasters etc. Internal equipment can be interchanged and clients can effectively specify their preferred layout.

We have many tried and tested design layouts and would be pleased to put forward our recommendations for your project.

So if you’re planning a refurbishment or need to cater for an event then why not give us a call and we’ll be happy to provide advice and put forward a competitive proposal.

For further information or to arrange a site visit, email: sales@mk-hire.co.uk or call us on 0345 812 0800, or visit our website: www.mk-hire.co.uk

PAGE 36 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

NURSE CALL AND FALLS MONITORING Silent Running Fall Savers - Affordable Fall Monitoring Solutions Tranquility in Care Homes Fall Savers®, are an experienced market leading healthcare provider of resident safety solutions for over 15 years.

FALL SAVERS ® WIRELESS MONITOR

Eliminate all cables with our new generation falls management solutions!

Upgrade your falls programme with the latest technology from Fall Savers®. The NEW Fall Savers® Wireless eliminates the cord between the monitor and sensor pad. This results in less work for nursing staff, improved safety for patients and reduced wear and tear on sensor pads. Wireless advantages include the ability to use one monitor with two sensor pads simultaneously and support for many new wireless devices.

Benefits include:

Safer for patients; less work for staff Bed and chair pads available One monitor works with two sensor pads Integrates with most nurse call systems A variety of options, including: Call button Pager Floor sensor mat Wireless door/window exit alerts

TREADNOUGHT

®FLOOR SENSOR PAD The TreadNought® Floor Sensor Pad is built to last with a durable construction that far out lasts the competition. Our anti-bacterial floor sensor pad is compatible with most nurse call systems or can be used with a portable pager to sound an alert when a person steps on to the sensor pad.

Caregivers typically place the sensor pad at the bedside, in a doorway or other locations to monitor persons at risk for falls or wandering. An optional anti-slip mesh reduces the potential for slippage on hard surface floors.

Features include:

Connects directly to most nurse call systems High Quality anti-bacterial Floor Sensor Pad Large Size Pad: Measures (L) 91cm x (H) 61cm Options (sold separately): Anti-slip mesh for hard surface floors See the advert on this page for further details or visit www.fallsavers.co.uk.

TO ADVERTISE IN THE CARER CONTACT OUR SALES TEAM TODAY ON 01202 552333 OR EMAIL SALES@THECARERUK.COM

Quiet and calm care homes ensure that residents are able to live in a more relaxing and pleasant home environment. Similarly, carers and staff find that they too benefit from reduced stress when working in a home where noise levels are kept to a minimum. There are many environmental factors that can affect those sensitive to their surroundings, particularly those suffering from dementia, these can be fluctuations in ambient temperature, light, and of course noise. Repetitive and high levels of noise can originate from a number of internal and external sources, for example, telephones ringing, loud conversations in corridors, and call bells sounding, often one of the largest contributors to increasing the levels of stress and discomfort in residents.

A published study by the University of Stirling stated that unanswered Nurse Call (Call Bell) alarms can be one of the most common causes of stress in dementia sufferers. The University recommends “fitting call alarms which alert nurses but do not resonate throughout the whole building. Alarms can be particularly disconcerting as they may encourage the person with dementia to respond or investigate what the matter is. At the very least the loss of sleep will compromise a person’s ability to

concentrate. It can affect their attention levels and capacity to cope, as well as being detrimental to their overall state of wellbeing. Personal paging systems are preferable to bells and buzzers.”

Modern Nurse Call systems can incorporate a number of methods to reduce their impact in a care home. These include zoning whereby there are separate alarm types used depending upon the location of the call. In these circumstances, dementia sufferers and those vulnerable to noise can be located in one “zone” whist less vulnerable residents live in an alternative “zone”. Each “zone” can operate different call tones, warning lights or other methods to alert when help is required Reducing noise levels is essential to create a tranquil environment for residents. Pagers have been around for many years, are a relatively simple and cost-effective measure in reducing the levels of noise, and can be added to most Nurse Call systems. Smart Mobile Devices are now becoming more commonplace for care home staff and hold a variety of apps for care planning, e-medication, etc.

Many Courtney Thorne clients are now utilising the “Go” app with their Nurse Call system. With the “Go” app, nurse call alarms are delivered immediately and silently straight to the handsets, alerting the individual carers to all Nurse call alarms without creating any general alarm sound and rarely disturbing the rest of the residents in the home.

Calmer residents ultimately means that staff are less stressed also, this creates a happier workplace where morale is greatly improved, staff are retained and CQC ratings improve. Clearly, the positive ramifications of a quiet Care Home run deep. Get in touch today to find out how we can help your home become a quieter, calmer, and more tranquil environment.

For more information email us at: info@c-t.co.uk

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 37

NURSE CALL AND FALLS MONITORING

Medpage Falls Management Products Medpage T/A Easylink UK have manufactured and distributed fall prevention and detection products for over 25 years. We specialise in products for one-to-one care, or small groups in a Care Home or Hospital. Our systems are robust, easy to set up and use, and have a proven track record in helping to reduce falls, in domestic and professional care establishments.

How can they help reduce falls?

Many falls occur when a person at risk from falls leaves their bed or chair, particularly during the night. By detecting an exit from the bed or chair early a carer or guardian gains time to attend and help the person, usually preventing the fall.

WHAT OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE

Medpage supply a diverse range of equipment for detecting bed and chair exit.

There are for example, simple bed alarms, chair alarms, or multiple use products for combining bed and chair monitoring, to allow the person to move from their bed to their chair. There are systems that use a cabled pressure mat sensor connected to an alarm controller, or pressure mat sensors with a self-contained alarm transmitter to signal a radio pager. Carer alarm notifications can be by a single or multiple user pager or alarm receiver, or an external alarm device.

You can find out more on the advert on page 11 or at www.easylinkuk.co.uk/product/ product-fall-detection

Nurse Alert Mats Designed to combat the problem of residents who are inclined to walk undetected, the Nurse Alert Mat can help protect residents especially at night that are at risk of falls and accidents.

When connected to a Nurse Call system or the mobile Floor Sentry Monitor it will then alert staff, sounding the alarm with a small amount of pressure thus enabling staff to investigate.

• Nurse Call Systems • Fire Alarm Systems • Door Access • Staff Attack • CCTV • Infection Control • Dementia Care • Electrical Contracting

Lotus Care Technology The NurseAlert pressure mat has been one of the most successful floor pressure mats due to it being non slip and carpeted which makes it feel very natural under a residents foot.

Lotus Care Technology Ltd have many other fall saving devices that can give you peace of mind whilst caring for this at risk of falls.

Having many years of experience in fitting and

maintaining Nurse Call Systems helps the guys at Lotus Care Technology understand that every home is different and has different needs. They can specify not only the best system for the environmental factors in the home but also take into consideration the best products that will make your carers and nurses jobs that little bit easier.

Visit www.lctuk.com for details.

In addition The Floor Pressure Mat has a heavy non slip backing, It comes professionally sealed so can easily be cleaned for liquid spills and is fully serviceable.

INCLUDES A 12 MONTH GUARANTEE

sales@lctuk.com 0800 8499 121 www.LCTUK.com

www.nursecallsystems.co.uk

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 39

TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE Log my Care’s New Research Reveals The Sentiment In The Social Care Sector and Technology’s Place In Its Future

Log my Care has revealed the results of new research – The future of care: an analysis of job satisfaction and technology in social care.

Prompted by the reports of a sector in crisis, Log my Care disseminated a survey to better understand the sentiment of the social care workforce, if an exodus of care workers leaving the sector on the horizon and how technology can support them to stay.

The survey identified a workforce that was predominantly happy in their role. Reflecting these high levels of happiness in their jobs, only a small minority of respondents said they wanted to leave the care sector: • Respondents had an average happiness ranking of 7.9 in which 1 was

‘very unhappy’ and 10 ‘very happy’.

• Those in senior management roles appeared to be more satisfied (8.9) compared to those in frontline roles (8.2) or management positions (7.7).

• Only 4% of respondents said they wanted to leave the care sector.

Findings from the survey also revealed a workforce that is drawn to the sector for altruistic reasons: • 81% of respondents said that ‘purpose’ was ‘very important’ to them in their role, the most popular response from a predefined list.

• ‘Knowing that the job was done well’ was the most popular type of reward for respondents (56% selected this as their first choice) compared to a quarter (24%) selecting ‘money’.

• 83% of respondents reported that ‘passion for caring for others’ attracted them to the care sector, while more than three-quarters (77%) selected ‘making a difference’ as a reason.

• Factors connected to their own benefits were less important. With ‘personal development' (61%) and ‘career development’ (45%) bringing up the rear.

However, the stressors of the pandemic have exacerbated some of the unpleasant factors associated with working in social care: • Just under half (45%) of respondents reported that the ‘workload’ was the factor they disliked most about their role.

• 37% disliked their ‘work-life balance’ and 14% were unhappy with their ‘level of responsibility’.

When asked how digital they felt their workplace was already: • The majority (59%) said their workplace was a beginner when it came to digital with a long way to go.

• One-third of all respondents felt they were 'digital experts' (33%), using

digital solutions in most aspects of their work, and only 9% identified as complete novices.

There’s a positive sentiment towards the digitalisation of social care: • Two-thirds of respondents (67%) said they were 'super excited' about the increasing digitisation of the sector.

• Three-quarters of respondents (76%) felt that the care industry needs to become more digital.

Sam Hussain, Founder and CEO of Log my Care, comments, “The reports of the care sector in crisis are at odds with the incredible dedication and optimism voiced by many of our customers in our daily conversations. We wanted to dig a little deeper with this research — to understand the sentiment in the sector, why so many people were leaving it and what place technology has in supporting them to stay.

Although we were surveying an industry clearly in crisis, the passion and commitment of the people working in it is a light in the dark. We know it’s time for a change – with low pay, long hours and a lack of employee development coming up time and time again as the reasons our care staff are leaving. Technology can play a vital role in this change and by encouraging even the smallest care provider to go digital, we can begin to combat some of the problems highlighted by this survey.”

Scan this QR code to read Log my Care’s full report:

‘Work Smarter’ To Tackle Care Recruitment Crisis, Advises Bizimply The recruitment crisis continues to hit care homes hard. According to the latest ONS figures, to 31 March this year, vacancies in the health & social work sector, which includes care, stood at 216,000 – a 6.5% increase on the previous quarter and massive 65% up on the previous year. Care home owners and managers are learning how to run their business with a staff vacancy rate that is here to stay for a while.

Conor Shaw, CEO at workforce management specialists Bizimply, says: “Tackling the staffing crisis means ensuring your teams are working not harder, but smarter.

“Technology such as ours can be really helpful, allowing managers to create staff rotas and payroll easily and quickly, so they can spend more time with their teams, which raises morale and motivation. It can also reduce the

What Do COVID Vaccination Records Mean for Data Privacy?

By Llinos Bradley, Senior Data Protection Consultant at Gemserv (https://gemserv.com) In November last year, the UK Government announced that the COVID-19 vaccination would become a condition of employment for all health and social care workers. Yet just three months later, they went back on their decision, for fear of losing over 80,000 unvaccinated NHS healthcare staff as a result. Losing thousands of health workers would have had a catastrophic impact on an already overstretched workforce and would seriously compromise the quality of patient care.

From the 31st January 2022, it was announced by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care that Covid-19 vaccinations would no longer by compulsory for NHS healthcare staff. After a period of consultation, the regulations were removed from all health & social care on the 15th March. However, this decision has sparked fresh debate and worries regarding data privacy, especially if vaccination status comes to be used in the future as a condition of deployment.

WHERE DOES DATA PRIVACY FIT IN IN ISSUING COMPULSORY VACCINATIONS AS A CONDITION OF DEPLOYMENT?

Data protection and employment legalisation is put in place to protect employees from potential discrimination on the basis of their health status. In this case, stating the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of deployment for health care workers was a major deviation from data privacy regulations.

NHS employers are still at liberty to ask for an employee’s vaccination status, however, particularly if there is COVID-19 outbreak, as hospitals still have responsibilities to control infections as this is still in line with current health related legislation. In some cases sensitive employee data may have already been collected, analysed and included in staff records, which would have been used to assess whether a staff mem-

ber was aligned with the regulations. In instances such as these, revoking the regulation raises questions about information that has already been collected and used.

WHAT POTENTIAL DATA PRIVACY RISKS DOES VACCINATION DATA PRESENT TO THE HEALTH SECTOR?

At present, NHS employers can still legally hold health data, including vaccination status, which falls under ‘special category’ data under UK GDPR stipulation. The catch is that processing this ‘special category’ data is viewed as an invasion of privacy, meaning that employees may ask for this information to be destroyed. In these circumstances, information collected could have already had an impact on staff, so would now form part of a formal record and therefore need to be retained. Organisations need to have a legal basis to store personal information as a result of the revocation.

Employers need to ensure that all data privacy protection requirements have been factored in from the start of the data collection process. If staff groups are not correctly defined from the offset, for example, employers could risk accusations of discrimination.

Groups that aren’t included within existing HR records, such as suppliers or student/trainee workers that aren’t on the organisations payroll, for instance, could be in contact with patients, and may need to review information on infection, prevention and control measures in order to protect both the workforce and patients to reduce the risk of transmission.

There are some circumstances, however, where healthcare employers have legitimate reasons for retaining employee data. If evidence required for the Government’s intended update to the Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections, for example, which applies to Care Quality Commission registered health and social care providers in England, is realised, this will look at strengthening its requirements in relation to COVID-19 and could include data that has already been collected. If, in the future, full vaccination status was made compulsory for all healthcare staff, there would still need to be a choice for individuals, but also a clear legal obligation to collect, use and retain vaccination data either way.

(CONTINUED ON PAGE 41...)

reliance on agency staff to fill the gaps.

“The other benefit is that managers can give staff members their shift patterns further in advance, putting an end to last-minute requests to work. Improving your employees’ work-life balance can go a long way to making them feel more valued in their job and less likely to leave.”

Shaw adds: “Nobody chooses a career in care to spend hours on administration. By automating routine tasks, care home managers and staff can concentrate on doing what they love - caring for residents.”

A growing number of care homes across the UK and Ireland are now using Bizimply’s software to create staff rotas, payroll and more. To find out more: https://www.bizimply.com/health-care/

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 41

TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE What Do COVID Vaccination Records Mean for Data Privacy?

(CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39) WHAT RIGHTS DO NHS STAFF WHO RESIGNED BEFORE THE INITIAL 3RD FEBRUARY DEADLINE HAVE? When the government first announced that all healthcare staff would need to have had their second vaccine by the 1st April to maintain their employment status, this would mean that staff would have needed to have had their first dose no later than the 3rd February. NHS Guidance states that employers should offer workers who may have handed in their resignation before this date the option to withdraw or pause their notice period until the consultation and Parliamentary process is confirmed.

Additionally, for staff who may have left their role as a direct result of the initial regulation, NHS employers can extend an offer to re-appoint indi-

viduals to their role.

The NHS England and NHS Improvement viewpoint is that staff have a professional duty to be vaccinated, and that NHS employers should continue to encourage their staff to ‘drive vaccine confidence’ and to ‘protect themselves and everyone else’. Ultimately, vaccination as a condition of deployment is a challenging, complex call – we have to take into consideration the wellbeing of the general public, the rights of individuals and the ongoing health risk of COVID-19. Employers need to make sure that they are transparent and fair when relaying to staff how their sensitive information will be used, to ensure they are not penalised further down the line.

WHAT ORGANISATIONS SHOULD DO NOW

The Control of Patient Information Regulations 2002 (COPI) notice that allowed the processing of such data expired on 30th June 2022 and as the Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment legislation was also revoked on 15th March 2022, organisations wishing to continue to collect workforce flu and Covid-19 vaccination status data must: • Carry out or review their own Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), • Ensure that they have satisfied their own transparency requirements, and • Ensure that they have the necessary consent.

Depending on Government policy from 1st July 2022, organisations (as data controllers) will need to review the basis on which they are holding the data.

Cloud Finance Software That is Helping Care Homes Thrive Healthcare organisations face unique challenges from cost containment and multi-entity reporting to new billing models and product offerings and a cloudbased accounting system allows you to better understand your organisation and succeed in the future.

At Sage Intacct, we’re passionate about building accounting software that helps you better understand your business, maintain compliance, and succeed in the ever-evolving healthcare industry.

BUILT FOR HEALTHCARE

As healthcare grows in complexity, so does your organisation. You’re managing multiple locations and practices, navigating changing reimbursement methods, and initiating cost reduction initiatives, while manual processes are draining your productivity.

You need insight into your growing breadth of financial and operational data, and we’ve built our healthcare accounting software with you in mind. We provide compliant financials with continuous consolidation across multiple offices, practices and locations. Sage Intacct healthcare customers have increased profitability by 30% with better insight for informed decisions, realised 25% improvement in efficiency gains, and taken departmental reporting

from 10 days to 10 minutes.

REAL-TIME VISIBILITY AND INSIGHTS Sage Intacct’s real-time reporting allows you to understand and measure performance for both financial metrics and operational outcomes. Because every transaction in the system can be tagged with dimensions, finance professionals can sort, view, filter, and report on the specific information they need. With greater insight, our healthcare customers have reduced board budget reporting from three weeks to one hour and have improved revenues by 25% without adding additional headcount.

TRUE CLOUD TECHNOLOGY WITH OPEN API True cloud technology with open API As an innovator in the cloud space, Sage Intacct’s multi-tenant, true cloud foundation brings robust technology infrastructure to your organisation, without the high costs of managing servers. Our open API lets you connect to existing systems or those you are considering in the future. This means you can leverage key data from electronic medical records, payroll, budget, CRMs (including Salesforce), and other systems to track key performance indicators.

For more information on how Sage can help your business please visit: www.sage.com/en-gb/cp/intacct-carehomes/

Keep VIPs Safe at Home and Safe away from Home Button and box have been the traditional method of keeping Vulnerable Independent People (VIPs) safe at home, however, by continuing to install them in homes, you are inadvertently telling VIPs that they are only safe at home.

Oysta have developed telecare devices for VIPs to stay safe as they maintain an active lifestyle and passive sensors in the home to enable preventative care. VIPs should be encouraged to pursue an active lifestyle as movement is medicine. VIPs that remain physically active for longer are less likely to decline as quickly as they would if they are housebound.

Our Oysta devices and sensors link into our care platform, IntelliCare™. IntelliCare positions the care circle to provide preventative care as they receive insights and notifications when their VIPs activity falls outside of normal parameters. Likewise, in the case of an emergency, the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) has a full picture of the VIPs activity and location.

We are looking forward to showcasing our services to visitors at the Care and Occupational

Therapy Show in Exeter on 21 June. We are speaking at the show on ‘Movement is Medicine.’

Natasha Salway will show how mobile technology can play a big part in enabling VIPs to remain physically active for longer and providing them a safety net if their condition deteriorates.

Natasha will demonstrate how technology can remove isolation boundaries and cover how to ensure VIPs can be safe at home, or in a care home when pursuing an active lifestyle.

Natasha has hands-on experience of assistive technology, how it can benefit vulnerable adults, their families, and carers. She worked in Adult Social Care for 18 years, 14 years, specifically within the TEC, Assistive Technology and Telecare field.

Visit us at Stand 188 at the Care and Occupational Therapy Show, Westpoint Arena, Exeter 21st June 2022 for a free demonstration or if you’d like to speak sooner, get in touch today on 01295 530 101.

See the advert on the facing page for further details.

PAGE 42 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

TECHNOLOGY & SOFTWARE The Access Group Launches Support For New Care Providers With Care Foundations Access Health, Support & Care, a division of The Access Group, has launched Care Foundations, new software packages to support start-up home care providers in implementing the digital solutions they need to register, establish and grow their business.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid previously announced £150 million of funding to support digitisation in social care, with the aim for 80 per cent of social care providers to be using digital care records by March 2024.

Used by many of the UK’s leading care providers, Care Foundations is part of the Access care management software suite that helps new and growing care providers register and develop their business.

The solution is designed to help home care businesses seamlessly integrate specialist health and social care technology into their day-to-day processes. Ranging from essential to premium, the three bespoke packages include information on various aspects, including policies and procedures, recruitment, and care plans.

Steve Sawyer, managing director, Access Health and Social Care, explained that this platform would be a perfect introduction to digitisation. He said: “Access Care Foundations will make the road to implementing digital processes much easier for new and growing care providers. This tool supports the vision of the recent announcement from Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid and will make that transition to digitising care records much easier.

“Providing the best possible quality of care is clearly the main priority for providers. The aim of this tool is to simplify

Intelligent Care Software (ICS) If you are looking for a care management system which answers all of your quality, monitoring and compliance needs, then looks no further than Care is. Care is provides the intelligent software solution for care home and domiciliary care managers and owners looking to roll all of their care and management functions into one electronic platform. We know this to be true because unlike some other CMS’s Care is was conceived, designed, built and is managed by nurses, registered managers and care home owners.

establishing a business as well as provide a space to continue elevating current processes with support and guidance.

Each package has different options that can cater to different levels of care, this means there is always an option for each provider depending on their business needs.

“If we have learned anything from the past few years, it’s that technology has massive potential to continue to innovate the health and social care sector. Moving forward it’s clear to say that this will become the norm for home care providers. It’s important we continue to create safer and seamless healthcare processes and we believe that can be done with technology.”

Access is currently offering exclusive discounts of up to 25% on Access Care Foundations for new start-ups and unregistered providers only pay for what they need to get registered. Each package is on an integrated system and contains tools which can monitor and improve care quality.

For care providers who might be unfamiliar with specific protocols and regulations, this tool provides peace of mind knowing experts are on hand to help.

For more information visit www.theaccessgroup.com/carefoundations

The ‘CARE is’ suite includes care and support, care planning platform, our policy app with over 200 high quality policies which are updated regularly and which also includes our supervision, appraisals and training record apps and our audit app which templates all the essential audits and includes a record of inspection visits.

At Care is we can get you started on your journey from paper or another care management system with minimum fuss, plenty of support and all for what we believe to be good value for money.

With eMAR, mandatory training and a complementary care certificate coming in 2022, there has never been a better time to get on board. https://careis.net

PAGE 44 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

FINANCE, TRAINING & RECRUITMENT

How the Care Sector Can Recruit and Retain Staff

Professor Martin Green OBE is an Expert Advisory Council member for P&G Professional and the Chief Executive of Care England.

Social care is facing many challenges, but one of the biggest is how to recruit and retain our workforce. The social care workforce is very large, consisting of over 1.4 million people (more than work in the NHS), but we also have a 34% turnover rate – and there are over 105,000 vacant posts.

Our workforce is the biggest asset in social care, and throughout the pandemic, they really showed both their commitment and professionalism. I heard of many occasions when social care staff went above and beyond the call of duty to support the people in their care.

The pandemic has left many social care staff exhausted and it is really important that as we start to develop a new future for our sector, we begin by giving staff the recognition they deserve. The legacy of Covid has to be a new deal for the social care workforce.

Not only have we lost staff because of the pandemic, but the Government introduced a policy of mandatory vaccinations in care homes,

though not in other parts of social care or the NHS, which led to about 30,000 staff resigning. While it is very important that all social care staff are vaccinated, implementing the policy was very challenging for social care.

The UK's withdrawal from the EU also took another group of people away from our sector. There now needs to be a reappraisal of every aspect of the social care workforce, including planning and career prospects, to put staffing issues on a sustainable footing.

It is my view that we need new skills and competency frameworks, with very clear career pathways and portable qualifications that must be the building block for careers in social care. We also need to look at the quality of the social care offering and create good quality jobs where staff are well supported in order to ease the challenges ahead.

In order to make social care an attractive place to work, there are several things that employers need to do to ensure that social care is a destination of choice, both for younger people starting out on their careers or, indeed, for people who are changing from other sectors.

Social care is a very diverse sector, and there are so many different roles and professions in which you can develop your career. We not only need frontline care staff, but there are also good roles in logistics, catering, and of course, hygiene and infection control.

The latter was always an important part of social care delivery. Still, the

pandemic has put into sharp focus the importance of having proper hygiene and infection control regimes, and the staff that deliver these crucially important services are a vital part of the social care workforce.

Working in social care is not easy, but it is very rewarding – and the rewards for staff come from the interaction between themselves and those they support. With this in mind, any repetitive tasks requiring staff to be taken away from frontline interactions with the people they support must be as easy and effective as possible. That certainly goes for the issues around cleanliness and hygiene; these are vitally important, but it is up to social care employers to make sure that they are as easy as possible for staff to complete.

Both staff and residents want the assurance that anything they are delivering is good quality, and that's why they use products that are tried and tested, providing both peace of mind and ease of use. P&G Professional products such as Flash Professional and Fairy Professional are simple to use yet highly effective. Staff and residents alike can feel assured that they will deliver the best possible cleaning solutions.

Choosing household name brands provides a sense of the familiar, given their consumer counterparts are seen in millions of homes and trusted by countless loyal customers. Professional brands adapted for the care sector provide comfort through a sense of reassurance thanks to their efficacy and reliability.

Workforce Challenge - The Eden Alternative – A Modern, Proven Model of Care for Staff and Resident Wellbeing WHY DO THIS? The Eden model, is built on what people say they want, in a Home or a workplace, which therefore attracts residents and team members alike.

As an Eden Home builds its reputation upon the quality of life it offers to the people that reside there, it follows that occupancy improves.

As a programme that empowers staff and focuses on their wellbeing, It follows that staff retention improves.

With a positive culture, a motivated and dedicated workforce, It follows that positive innovation becomes more possible, sustainable and continuous.

When demand for services increase, it follows that viability improves.

As a cohesive cultural progression programme, it follows that innovation, modernisation and positivity increase.

The model is efficient, cost effective and the training is delivered by experienced practitioners in Care Homes.

Homes are very busy places, and the programme is therefore run on line for 1 hour per week for 6 weeks, and people can do this at work or at home.

The 6 weekly sessions are run online, with a workbook, with links for further optional reading or viewing and should not be a burden to busy Homes, teams and managers.

It is however effective. You can try without obligation.

It is designed to make business sense to providers.

It is designed to enhance viability.

It is designed to support recruitment and retention.

It is designed to motivate Care teams and is open to any individual to add their CV.

WHAT IS IT. It is a training programme which leads to accreditation and focuses in detail on 7 domains of wellbeing, 10 principles, and is particularly designed to address instances of loneliness, helplessness and boredom.

Geoffrey Cox The Eden Alternative Call today on 01626 868192 or visit www.eden-alternative.co.uk

An inspiring approach to care As experienced Care Home practitioners we provide training to care home teams in sustainable innovation and positive leadership that empowers people to embed companionship, partnership working and vibrancy to build enriched quality of life into care homes.

Develop a culture of care with wellbeing and positive relationships at its heart, with our 6 week online training programme. Discover how to replace loneliness, helplessness and boredom with wellbeing, companionship, and meaningful activities, in just one hour of training a week.

Validated Eden Alternative associates can benefit from continuing support from our expert team.

Sign up today and join the care evolution

Call today on 01626 868192 or visit www.eden-alternative.co.uk

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 45

FINANCE, TRAINING & RECRUITMENT ELGee Specialists In The Training of Elderly Care and Those with Learning Disabilities ELGee Training can provide various training courses for people who work in the Health & Social Care sector.

ELGee Training is a local company with over 20 years of experience managing of and training in residential homes, care homes and domiciliary care organisations for the elderly and for those with a learning disability.

ELGee Training provides up to date and current information for your workforce based on the requirements of the regulating authorities, and all courses are delivered by qualified trainers. ELGee Training will write and deliver tailor made courses for your requirements, and could be courses that run ½ days or all day.

WITH THE ELDERLY IN MIND Courses aimed at our elderly carers, with courses ranging from Dementia Awareness to Moving and Handling.

Assisted Living Training caregivers to provide assistance with medication management, activities of daily living, engaging and coordination.

SPECIALIST TRAINING TEAM Specialists in the training of elderly care and those with learning disabilities.

For more information on our courses or to arrange a consultation with one of our training facilitators then please do not hesitate to contact us on 023 9237 3857 | 079 4994 0860 or visit www.elgeetraining.co.uk

Skills, Knowledge, and Confidence Delivered Online Covid19 reminded us all just how important the NHS and care home staff are to our society. We are grateful for their hard work and bravery, and feel honoured to support them through our Laser Care Certificate course and CPD short courses. Working in the care sector is certainly demanding, so our objective is to make it convenient and straightforward for workers to upskill and acquire confidence in the process.

The Laser Care Certificate course provides knowledge to cover every standard included in the official Skills for Care specification. Every lesson includes bespoke video tutorials specifically for the Care Certificate course, as well as reading materials and good practice examples. Furthermore, a mandatory quiz at the end of each lesson (which requires a 100% pass mark) ensures both competence and confidence. Managers are able to create their own accounts to enrol staff on the course and track their

progress. All of the content is accessible remotely via computer, smartphone or tablet, enabling care professionals to make progress towards the certificate in a way that suits their circumstances.

Additionally, Laser delivers CPD short courses to equip staff with highly-relevant skills and knowledge so they can tackle new challenges or progress in their career. Two courses in particular – ‘Causes and spread of infection’ and ‘Infection control and prevention’ – were very popular during the pandemic.

Unlimited use subscriptions are available at affordable rates, for organisations wishing to take advantage of a large number of short courses.

Whether you are an owner, manager, or independent learner, please don't hesitate to get in touch for a free demo of the Care Certificate course platform, and/or the CPD short course offering. The Laser Learning team can be contacted on info@lasersys.co.uk or +44 (0)1753 584 112.

Specialists in the training of elderly care and those with learning disabilities Our quality health and social care training services include.

• Moving & Handling • Dementia & Epilepsy Awareness • Risk Assessments ELGee Training provides up to date and current information for your

• Health & Safety Awareness

workforce based on the requirements of the regulating authorities.

We will write and deliver tailor made courses for your requirements, and these could be courses that run ½ days or the full day.

• Medication Overview & Infection Overview • Personal Centred Plans & Much More…

Our courses are second to none...

023 9237 3857 | 079 4994 0860 www.elgeetraining.co.uk

PAGE 46 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102

FINANCE, TRAINING & RECRUITMENT

In Dire Need Of Experienced Health Care Assistant, Senior Carer Or A Nurse?

JJ Recruitment has the large database of well qualified applicants with experience in the healthcare industry, such as health care assistants, senior carers, and nurses from overseas. We also have an expert team of solicitors for the necessary legal proceedings and advices.

WHY JJ?

• We have very minimal processing fees.

• We assist you to get a sponsorship license.

• Qualified and experienced candidates from overseas.

Tel: 01704 809756 www.jjcarerecruitment.co.uk admin@jjrecruitment.co.uk

Care Home Finance from Global Business Finance Global assists clients throughout the U.K. who specialise in the healthcare sector to achieve their objectives of purchase, development and refinance.

We have organised over £1.8bn for clients in the past 30 years, providing clients with competitively priced funding to refinance existing debt, ease cashflow and develop businesses further.

From helping clients make their first purchase through to allowing groups to grow significantly in

Please Please mention mention THE THE CARER CARER when when responding responding to to advertising. advertising.

size we assist at every stage of your business expansion.

Every proposal is individual and deserves to be treated that way, so we hope you will allow us to be of assistance to you and call us to chat through your plans and requirements, I am sure we will be able to tailor a facility to your requirements.

Call us on 01242 227172 or e-mail us at enquiries@globalbusinessfinance.net

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 102 | PAGE 47

INSURANCE FOR CARE

Is Your Care Home At Risk From Underinsurance?

They also noted that one in four firms had not made a material change to at least one Sum Insured in the last four years. The Sum Insured is the maximum amount of money that your insurance company could pay out in the event of a covered loss. With costs increasing in the construction industry, in raw materials as well as labour, checking your building sum insured is a great place to start.

CONSIDER BUSINESS INTERRUPTION COVER

A recent article, written by Aviva, one of our insurer partners has highlighted some startling figures on commercial insurance among businesses in the UK. Whilst your insurance may not be held by Aviva, the risks identified are likely to be reflected across many organisations and could be relevant to you and your care home.

You might not be aware, but underinsurance is often seen amongst small to medium sized businesses, and the pandemic has only intensified the threat. The reason for this is that to ensure long term survival, many businesses made changes to their operating models, which have not been reflected in their insurance cover.

According to Aviva’s data¹, only 20% of small and medium businesses had their policies changed in line with their new business models. This could mean that in the event of a claim, they may not receive the appropriate level of cover they now require, putting their business at unnecessary risk.

ARE YOUR SUMS INSURED AT THE RIGHT LEVEL?

Further, they identified that 40% of clients with Business Interruption insurance did not have an adequately set indemnity period. This is the maximum length of time your insurance company is obligated to make payments to cover the losses insured under the policy. When the maximum indemnity period has been reached, then claim payments will cease.

Business Interruption insurance covers your operational costs in the event of a crisis. If your business suffered a total loss claim, you need to consider how long you would need the cover to last whilst you rebuild or relocate. As a care home owner or operator, following a total loss event, the cover period required is likely to be long, as you’ll need to rebuild or refurbish your property. You will also need to relocate your residents whilst this is happening, which may also result in a temporary change in staffing and supplier requirements.

When cover is not reviewed regularly and doesn’t reflect new operating models, your business may be at an increased risk from gaps in cover and underinsurance.

what’s right for your business, bringing you peace of mind. We’re here to help you and your business succeed.

Barnes Commercial Insurance Broker 01480 272727 enquiries@barnesinsurancebroker.co.uk www.barnesinsurancebroker.co.uk

IS IT TIME TO REVIEW YOUR INSURANCE? There is no time like the present to take some time to review your insurance cover levels. With so much economic uncertainty driven by the pandemic and Brexit, we would advise making sure your risk management plans are firmly in place, which includes adequate insurance.

You should talk to an experienced broker who can help you to take a look at the bigger picture and ensure that you have the right insurance in place for your specific needs. As an independent commercial broker, with access to a wide panel of A rated insurers, we can advise on

¹ Data is based on Aviva held small to medium sized business, excluding fleet November 2021 – modelling 80% of the account and extrapolating the total.

Specialist care home insurance We arrange tailored insurance programmes for care and nursing homes, hospices and domiciliary care providers, for both staff and business owners.

Our extensive knowledge of the care market will help to ensure you have the right protection in place for now and, for the future.

Secure robust cover that’s right for your business.

CALL NOW FOR A QUOTE

01480 272727

Impartial advice from experienced advisers

Exceptional service from a dedicated account executive

Let us help you to protect your business with a no obligation risk review today!

Market-leading products from A rated insurers

Send us an email: Visit our website: Follow us:

Support with claims

Guidance on risk management solutions including H&S and HR

enquiries@barnesinsurancebroker.co.uk www.barnesinsurancebroker.co.uk/care /barnes-commercial

Barnes Commercial Insurance Broker is a trading style of Barnes Commercial Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN: 844370. Registered address: 3 Fenice Court, Phoenix Park, Eaton Socon, St Neots, Cambs, PE19 8EW. Registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 11909011.