The Carer Digital - Issue #93

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

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The Carer Digital

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THECARERUK

Issue 93

Widespread Care Home Closures Warning as Government 'Seriously Underestimates' Costs

England’s largest councils and care providers have warned that care homes could face widespread closures and a shortage of beds when adult social care reforms are introduced next year, with the government ‘seriously underestimating’ the costs of its proposals by at least £854m a year.

The warning comes as the County Councils Network (CCN) releases a new independent report by healthcare market specialists LaingBuisson, which analy-

ses two key aspects of the government’s adult social care reforms: proposals to allow private payers (self-funders) to ask councils to arrange care on their behalf at lower local authority rates and the intention to introduce a new ‘Fair Cost of Care’, which aims to increase care fees paid by councils to make the care market sustainable.

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PAGE 2 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

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

“There are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers, and those who will need a caregiver.”

ROSALYN CARTER

Editor

Peter Adams

A bit of a short column from me this week as I am at at a tradeshow “manning our stand”!

Unfortunately we are, as you know, distributed between 2pm and 3 pm each Wednesday so we won’t be able to comment in full on the Chancellors spring statement, but do visit our website www.thecareruk.com for full industry comment later today and tomorrow (23rd & 24th).

Not wise to speculate, but our front page story tells its own story. The government has “seriously underestimated” the costs of its own proposals by hundred of millions of pounds, which could lease to widespread closures and/or a shortage of beds in the sector.

In very simple terms the adult social care sector does not have enough money to pay for the changes the government wants to introduce!

It is difficult to see exactly where and how the Chancellor is going to raise sufficient monies to offset

all of the country’s current “woes”.

We here at RBC Publishing Ltd publish a title for the hospitality sector, which is experiencing its own difficulties and is calling for relief on VAT and business rate taxes.

Inflation is beginning to run rampant, and is now at a 30 year high, sparking claims for increases in wages, energy bills going through the roof, interest rates climbing all point to country wide and sector wide difficulties.

I suspect that precious few sectors are going to get what they need. The government spent billions in Covid support measures, and will seek to recover those costs.

I think all observers recognise and accept the government’s policy objectives, but it is the lack of government money to support these changes which is the issue, and one I sincerely hope the Chancellor will put right later today.

Another story which requires addressing by the government is the one on page 7.

What happens to staff dismissed due to choosing not to take a Covid vaccine now those mandatory requirements are lifted?

The issue was raised this week in the House of Lords, and they, like the sector and wider public, are astounded that the government has made no comment as to whether or not those who left should get their jobs back, other than citing it was a matter for each individual employer.

The government should provide clarity on this issue. From the reports I have seen staff are unlikely to return, with Care England’s Professor Martin Green stating that the government’s decision to remove the mandate came “too late.”

PUBLISHED BY RBC Publishing Ltd Roddis House, Old Christchurch Rd, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH1 1LG

TELEPHONE:

01202 552333 (6 lines)

Fax: 01202 552666 Email: sales@thecareruk.com

WEBSITE: www.thecareruk.com EDITOR Peter Adams SALES EXECUTIVES Sylvia Mawson David Bartlett An inducement of some sort, as way of an apology for the disastrous way the issue was handled, and to attract staff back to a badly depleted sector is one the government should seriously consider.

I remember chair of the Independent Care Group Mike Padgham righty making the point as an estimated 40,000 staff left the sector: “We warned many good kind and caring professional staff would be lost to the policy and that proved to be the case. Most of those we will never get back”.

The policy has no doubt had a huge detrimental psychological, financial and physical impact on staff, their own family members, patients, patient relatives, employers, vaccinated colleagues who remained, and probably the wider communities who involve themselves with the care sector.

The case for recompense despite the current economic hardships is in my mind a very strong one.

As regular readers know we aim to deliver sector news, views, industry observer comments and thought led articles direct to the sector but we are also focused on delivering positive stories and initiatives about the sector, providers and care environments, and of course staff. Once again it has been a bit of a bumper week this week for awards, anniversaries, birthdays and special events so thank you once again for sending them in, it is a pleasure to reproduce them, and please do keep them coming to editor@thecareruk.com And do watch out for our new Unsung Hero award coming in the next few days!

Guy Stephenson TYPESETTING & DESIGN Matthew Noades PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Charlene Fox Published by

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 3

Widespread Care Home Closures Warning as Government 'Seriously Underestimates' Costs (CONTINUED FROM FRONT COVER) Presently, the government has allocated £378m per year for councils to pay this new Fair Cost of Care for care home placements and to protect providers from revenue losses when private fee payers are eligible to ask their local authority to arrange their care – and access lower council rates – from October 2023.

However, the study concludes that that the government’s allocation ‘seriously underestimates’ the amount of new funding required and could cause a ‘severe sustainability risk’ to care homes across the country. Widespread care home closures could leave councils struggling to find beds for those who require care and trigger a deterioration in the quality of care between local authority and private placements.

The report calculates that an extra £854m a year is needed, at the bare minimum, to make the proposals workable by avoiding large-scale closures and to ensure ongoing investment into the social care sector.

CCN says it supports the premise of making private and council fees fairer but warns that local authorities will be ‘left between a rock and hard place’ unless government commits more funding to the reforms.

CUTTING SERVICES AND INCREASING COUNCIL TAX Already facing severe financial pressures, councils would be unable to make up for the shortfall in fees without cutting services or proposing significant council tax rises – and would therefore face care home closures in their areas. Responding to the findings, Care England says that the funding allocated so far could lead to ‘catastrophic financial failure’ for its providers.

For the first time since the proposals were announced in September, the analysis highlights the impact of the policy, as currently funded, for local areas and care providers: As a result of private fee payers accessing council care contracts and current Fair Cost of Care rates being too low based on government funding, care providers across England could face lost revenue amounting to £560m a year. This represents a loss of 3.8% on their overall revenue per annum.

The report concludes losses on this scale could cause a severe sustainability risk to care markets, with widespread provider failure, across the country. This comes off the back of two years of the pandemic, with many councils and providers already facing financial difficulty.

Care homes witness revenue losses in all but one region in England. The largest losses would be for providers in the South East, East, and the South West, as these are the areas with the largest amount of private fee payers eligible to ask councils to arrange their care.

The 36 county areas that CCN’s councils represent are the most vulnerable areas in the country, with providers in these areas witnessing a potential 5.6% reduction in their annual revenues. Providers in those county areas account for 86% of all financial losses to the social care sector.

Currently, people who pay for their own care tend to pay up to 40% more on average than those eligible for state support, for whom their local authority arranges care.

CALL TO BRING FORWARD FUNDING FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT The government says it wants to end this ‘persistent unfairness’ by allowing private payers to ask their local authority to arrange their care. Providers will lose fee revenue from customers who approach their local authority instead, which will be made possible by the government activating part 18(3) of the Care Act 2014. At the same time, a ‘Fair Cost of Care’ is to be introduced to make local authority fee rates more sustainable and reduce the revenue losses experienced by providers from greater fee equalisation.

CCN is calling on the government to bring forward funding for local government in the Health and Social Care Levy, to pay for the additional £854m a year required. Currently, councils will have to wait until 2025 to

access full funding from the levy. This uplift must be confirmed this year, to give councils and providers the confidence their care markets will be sustainable.

This level of funding is based on what LaingBuisson believes is necessary to operate a mid-market care home and ensure that a steady level of investment made into these properties. However, this still will not be enough to offset losses in the South East and the South West.

If no extra funding is forthcoming, CCN argues the Fair Cost for Care and Section 18(3) policies should be delayed until at least 2025.

Cllr Martin Tett, Adult Social Care Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said: “There is a clear consensus from those that work in adult social care that the government’s Fair Cost for Care proposals are laudable – we all support the principle of making the system fairer. But the government has seriously underestimated the costs of its proposals.

“At the present funding level, these proposals could have a serious impact on the care sector across the country, leading to widespread care home closures and a rationing of care for the hundreds of thousands of people who need it each year. Councils will be left between a rock and a hard place – either by raising council tax to excessive levels and cutting local services, or by seeing widespread care home closures in their areas.

“Councils are committed to working with government to develop a roadmap which both implements reform alongside maintaining market stability. However, the government needs to seriously consider the findings from this report and provide a substantial uplift in funding to make the proposals workable.

CARE HOMES A “KEY PART OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England and Chair of the Care Provider Alliance, said: “This is a hugely important report that puts, for the first time, a realistic evidenced based estimate on the cost of implementing much-needed reform through the introduction of a fair rate for care. It shows that the annual cost to councils is at least three times current government funding allocations and if not immediately revised this could lead to catastrophic financial failure to be experienced by providers, leading to home closures, and an inability to invest in services for some of the most vulnerable members of society now and into the future.

“We commend the CCN for publishing such an informed report and urge the Department for Health and Social Care and the Treasury to take note of the additional funding critical to successfully deliver on the government’s ambitions to make adult social care a fairer system for all who need it.

“Care homes are a key part of the whole health and social care system. They meet the care and health needs of hundreds of thousands of people and are essential to the NHS in assuring swift hospital discharge and preventing unnecessary hospital admissions. Levelling out self-funder and council funded fee levels is welcome but must be on the basis that care costs are met in full and allow the sector to invest for significant growth of our aging population, and to improve the pay and career development of its staff. Implementing fee reform will be pointless if services are lost because of underfunding driven by incorrect cost calculations by government, for a sector that has delivered so much, and stood up fantastically during this pandemic.

“We want to see care home provider representatives now closely involved in detailed talks to ensure the risks, highlighted by CCN, to these vital services are mitigated, and the additional funding delivered, to provide the assurance care home residents and families need, that high quality care continues to be delivered in local communities.”

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Dealing with Stress in the Workplace

By QCS staff (www.qcs.co.uk) Stress at work is one of the greatest causes of anxiety.

And within social care, it is a particular challenge. So in National Stress Month, Quality Compliance Systems (QCS), the leading provider of content, guidance and standards for the social care sector, spoke to Chris King. An Employment Law Specialist from Napthens, a QCS partner, he outlines what employers can to do to help.

When we think of stress, it is something that impacts us all. But some of us are wired to handle it better than others.

No matter how good we think we are at coping with it, we all need to find ways to improve our physical and mental wellbeing.

Coping with stress in the social care sector has proved to be particularly tough. Managers have a never-ending list of tasks to complete before they can go home to their families. From supporting service users, their loved ones, staff, to running the home - it is one of the most challenging jobs around.

At times during the pandemic, some frontline care staff were unable to see their own families, and in the most extreme cases, they had to watch service users die alone without their loved ones. As a result, many suffered from anxiety, acute stress syndrome and even post-traumatic stress syndrome.

In the government’s response last month to the 2021 report on workforce burnout and resilience in the NHS and social care, it says that “evidence and expert advice suggest that it may take between five and seven years to fully recover from the impact of the trauma that some staff have experienced”.

The worst of the pandemic may now be over, but a chronic shortage of staff due to a combination of post-Brexit immigration restrictions, COVID-19 and vaccination as a condition of deployment (VCOD), has meant that some care staff are sometimes working multiple shifts to cover for the short fall.

So, what can care managers do to reduce stress and improve wellbeing? According to Chris King, the first step is for all employers to recognise that they have a duty of care to their employees in terms of health and safety. “It is a legal obligation to take reasonable care to provide a safe place to work – from a mental health as well as a physical perspective.”

He says that “some levels of stress in the workplace” are quite normal, and “can boost motivation”. But, when stress turns into distress – and it’s having “a negative impact on mental wellbeing” – then, he says, “it becomes an issue”.

“Very often people don’t see stress as being as serious as other health conditions”, he says. “But some staff may be off work for long periods of time with stress-related illness. And employers mostly want to know what they can do to help an individual to return to work.”

COMMUNICATION What can employers do to help? “The most important thing is to speak to your employee - either over the phone or face-to-face,” says Chris. “Employers need to maintain an open dialogue, so the staff member doesn’t feel isolated and ignored. If a person is left to cope with their stress alone, the risk is that their symptoms are compounded.”

He recommends arranging a welfare meeting, essentially an informal chat with the employee, to help understand their diagnosis (and their treatment, whether medication or counselling). He says, “Care managers can then find out when their staff member will be fit to come back to work and discuss any adjustments they would like to see.”

IDENTIFYING THE CAUSES OF STRESS By being proactive, the employer can put measures in place, such as a package of support while the employee is in work. “This should help them cope with the issues that they find most troubling,” he says. “No one wants an employee to be off on long term sick leave.”

It’s also helpful when line managers are empowered to monitor staff for signs of stress. The things to look out for include an individual staff member’s emotional and physical response. Is the employee short tempered? Are they behaving in a way that’s out of character?

A good line manager will instill a culture of openness in the service. It is in these environments that care workers are more likely to unburden themselves of anxiety. It’s important, however, that they feel in control of the process. A simple, “what can we do to support you?” is often enough to give frontline workers that reassurance.

RISK ASSESSMENT TO IDENTIFY POSSIBLE STRESSORS Risk assessments too add great value. QCS has created a dedicated Risk Assessment suite, which provides a template for employers to ask the right questions when it comes to health and safety issues.

An employee might have an issue that can be addressed within the care setting such as being overworked or having a problem with a colleague or service user. But sometimes, the issue might be outside of work.

“Financial stress is something that doesn’t get a lot of focus,” Chris says. But in the current cost-of-living crisis, and with many carers earning the minimum wage, it’s an increasingly prevalent issue. Employers can put strategies in place to deal with these more personal stresses.

“Of course, employers can’t be involved in every part of their employee’s life,” he says, “but they can make resources and advice service available to assist.” These might include organising sessions on financial wellbeing or creating benefits packages.

SHOWING APPRECIATION FOR A JOB WELL DONE Chris believes that there’s a lack of gratitude for what care workers have done for society and the people they support over the last two years, and there’s an opportunity for care providers to show their appreciation. And for individuals it’s important to self-reflect to understand the emotional impact the past two years have had on them. “The worst thing to do is nothing, to pretend it didn’t happen and carry on with life,” he says.

When it comes to the emotional scars, there are resources available to those who need them. These include the many Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), that feature a wide range of support services from counselling sessions to a dedicated phone number to call so employees can speak to someone when they are distressed.

As the Government says, there is no doubt that the mental health consequences of the pandemic will stay with us for many years. So now is the time for everyone in the sector to work together to provide the mental health support care workers need, and to help reduce burnout and stress.

To find out more about QCS and start a free trial, visit www.qcs.co.uk/thecarer-free-trial

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 5

Free Covid Tests Must Continue for NHS Staff, Warn Health Leaders Concerns are growing among NHS leaders that in a matter of days their frontline staff could be made to pay for their own Covid-19 tests so that they can continue working and caring for their patients.

This comes as cases of coronavirus in England are rising again and as the country faces a massive increase in the cost of living.

If NHS staff are still expected to be tested twice a week, they could end up having to pay around £50 a month for tests. This will be on top of rising energy bills, petrol prices and other costs. NHS leaders fear the impact this will have on lower paid staff, in particular.

While updated guidance issued earlier this month for the NHS no longer asks members of the public to confirm they have a negative test before they visit patients in hospitals and other inpatient settings, NHS workers are still required to report their test results twice a week. They can get their lateral flow tests for free online and from community pharmacies.

However, this is expected to change from 1 April as the Government’s ‘Living with Covid-19’ plan will bring an end to free universal symptomatic and asymptomatic testing for the general public in England.

A month ago, the NHS was promised “specific detail on the various testing protocols for patients and staff” but with 10 days to go until the end of March, leaders still do not have this.

Lateral flow tests could cost staff as much as £6 each from some retailers. If the twice-weekly testing requirement continues, this could see staff having to pay around £50 a month.

The NHS Confederation is calling for clarity from the Government on the testing requirements for NHS

staff to be made available without delay and for access to free testing to continue, particularly for staff in patient-facing roles.

In a recent survey, 94% of health leaders in England said that access to free Covid-19 tests for NHS staff and other key workers should not end.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Health leaders are adamant that continuing to offer free testing to NHS staff is vital given that rates of coronavirus and hospital admissions are still very high and rising. We know that more NHS workers are again having to take time off due to Covid-19 with it accounting for 30% of all absences and so, the Government cannot put its fingers in ears and pretend that the threat has gone away.

“In the face of a cost-of-living crisis, many staff will simply not be able to afford to regularly buy their tests. Given the huge expectations placed on the NHS to recover its services while contending with significant vacancies, staff need to be supported to understand their Covid status, stay well and keep transmission within healthcare settings to a minimum."

The call follows news that Covid-related hospital admissions are back to the levels last seen in midJanuary, rising by 24% in the last week and by 80% in the last 25 days.

Also, the ONS estimates that around 1 in 20 people in England are believed to have the virus, with an easily spread subvariant of omicron (BA.2) causing most cases.

Care Home Residents Celebrate World Poetry Day Rhyming couplets were the order of the day at Cubbington Mill care home in Leamington Spa where residents were keen to get involved in World Poetry Day celebrated on 21st March, 2022.

UNESCO says: Poetry reaffirms our common humanity by revealing to us that individuals, everywhere in the world, share the same questions and feelings. Poetry is the mainstay of oral tradition and, over centuries, can communicate the innermost values of diverse cultures.

Residents at Cubbington Mill care home enjoyed an Oomph poetry workshop ran by Activities Coordinator, Hannah. First looking at the history of local poet, William Shakespeare they each read lines from his famous Sonnet 18. They learnt how a sonnet must have three quatrains, written in iambic pentameter and finish with a couplet. The workshop led residents to think of a theme for their own sonnet, after brainstorming they decided on the idea of a river. Working together on lines which rhyme, and following the rules to create a sonnet, they produced a beautiful poem which follows the journey of

a river and plays on themes of love and age. [Original piece as created by Audrey, Betty and Bill attached] Laura Russell, General Manager at the home, said: “Our residents have had a great day reading and writing their own poetry. It has been such a treat to immerse ourselves in the rich, evocative language of poetry – we have all found it so rewarding.”

Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

We’re making our homes as safe as possible and will ensure that all new residents and staff are vaccinated before moving in or working in our homes. Please do give us a call on 01926 932 353 if you are looking for care or need any further help.

Cubbington Mill care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering high-quality care across its care homes and hospitals. Cubbington Mill provides nursing care, residential care, respite care.

PAGE 6 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

Government U-Turn on Mandatory Vaccinations Requirement – What Next For Care Homes?

Rachel Wright, trainee solicitor at BLM law firm, explores the implications of the government’s latest reversal of the mandatory vaccination placed on care home staff and employers need to look out for going forward The government’s handling of the pandemic and its treatment towards care home staff has been chaotic to say the least. Not only have care home staff had to deal with the pressure of mandatory vaccination in order to keep their jobs, managers have also had to navigate through new and everchanging complex and contentious litigation. With the emotional toll of keeping residents safe from the virus, and having to restrict loved ones from visiting each other, the mandatory vaccination requirement was another burden to deal with.

In January, health and social care secretary Sajid Javid announced that it was “no longer proportionate” to require all social and care staff to be vaccinated as a requirement of employment. Whilst this takes some off the pressure off care homes, the reality is that mandatory vaccination requirement has already in place since November.

The chopping and changing of the government’s policy to protect vulnerable patients and residents will undoubtedly have a significant impact on care homes in terms of morale. Many individuals will feel hard done by if they were dismissed when the law required them to be vaccinated. Care home managers will also be equally frustrated. With care homes already suffering from an industry-wide staff shortage, managers will have dismissed valuable team members at a time when there is already a shortage, due to the whims and lack of foresight from government officials.

WHAT NEXT FOR CARE HOMES? Despite the emotional frustrations of the reversal, it is important to outline what this all means from a legal perspective. The new regulations will revoke the requirement that CQC registered persons only permit those who are vaccinated against COVID-19, unless otherwise exempt, to be deployed for the provision of a CQC-regulated activity in health or social care, and to enter CQC registered care home premises.

The overturning of the law will not apply retrospectively.

Currently there is no requirement for an employer to do anything in

relation to those who are no longer employed at care homes. If individuals wish to issue a claim in the employment tribunal for unfair or constructive dismissal, they will have to do it within the usual time frame from the termination of employment. Individuals may wish to pursue claims if they were dismissed by the vaccination requirement. However, on the basis that employers dismissed staff due to the current law, these cases have an arguable defence.

The recent case of Allette v Scarsdale Grange Nursing Home Ltd is a good place to start. The case involved the dismissal of a care assistant working in a nursing home who refused to be vaccinated before the mandatory vaccination law came in place. The Employment Tribunal (ET) found the dismissal to be fair - this is only a first instance case and is not legally binding and can only be used for as indication going forward.

WHO IS EXPOSED TO DISMISSAL CLAIMS? Although the government’s own vaccination requirement was the reason for care homes to dismiss employees, individuals who wish to bring a claim are only able to bring it against their employer, not the government. In order to bring a claim against the government there would need to be a challenge to the lawfulness of a government decision – this is more likely to be brought by someone challenging the decision to overturn as opposed to those that have been dismissed.

Life after the revocation of mandatory vaccination The position going forward after the revocation will be far less clear as employers will no longer be able to rely on breach of statutory restriction. As advised by the government, care homes will need to have their own vaccination policies in place to protect vulnerable residents. Care homes may argue that unvaccinated staff endanger other employees and residents, which would contravene their own vaccination policy.

The regulations may provide a fair reason to dismiss an employee over 18 who is not vaccinated or medically exempt. A potentially fair reason could be that the employee cannot continue to work in their position without the employer contravening a duty or restriction imposed by or under an enactment.

EXHAUSTING EVERY OPTION BEFORE DISMISSAL Before dismissing any employee, care homes should explore all options and alternatives when dealing with staff who are unvaccinated and cannot provide a valid exemption. This can include redeployment into alternative roles where exemption is not required, or a role without

direct contact with residents outside of the care home.

It is crucial for care homes to exhaust all options of redeployment. If a care home continues to need the same number of employees to carry out the work in question, and cannot redeploy everyone who is neither vaccinated nor exempt, this will not amount to a redundancy situation. This is because the reason for termination of employment will be dismissal, not redundancy, and dismissed employees will not be entitled to a redundancy payment.

LAST RESORT Having exhausted alternative options, care homes may have to consider dismissing employees or terminating contracts of workers. This should only apply to those over 18 who are not vaccinated and have not obtained a medical exemption. If it leads to this, care homes must comply, at all times, with employment and equalities law, and adhere to good employment practice.

From 1 April 2022, employers are not explicitly required to consider COVID-19 as part of risk assessment. There is still an overriding duty to identify all risks in the work places, and The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 obliges employers to take reasonable steps to reduce these risks.

This duty gives employers justification for encouraging their staff to be vaccinated and accept offers of boosters to protect themselves and everyone else at the workplace. Therefore, risks arising from coronavirus should still be included in employer risk management assessments.

The fact that COVID-19 is a reportable disease under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) strengthens employers’ encouragement that employees should agree to vaccination.

Overall, the reversal in the regulations will increase the administration costs for care homes, especially as they will have to construct their own policy on vaccination. The care home industry has experienced some of the worst moments of the pandemic, and the confusion and hindsight of the government has not made life easier for those involved.

Care homes will need to be diligent and make sure every potential dismissal is taken under the correct steps, and that every option is exhausted. Although it is a relief that care homes won’t have to legally require new members to be vaccinated, it should also take the right measures to protect existing staff and residents.

Bournemouth Care Home Resident Recalls Her Own Wartime Resilience in Celebration of Women’s History Nina Ansell, a resident at RMBI Care Co. Home Zetland Court, in Bournemouth, was born on 22 September 1921.

She had just turned 18 when the Second World War was declared in 1939. She worked in a wholesale gown department in London with her mother during those days. However, when the Blitz broke out in 1940, Nina was evacuated out of the city and joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (known as the Wrens) in Portsmouth.

Portsmouth was heavily bombed in those days, so Nina moved again to Leydene House, in Hampshire, where the Naval Signals School was established. She worked there and handled the documents of the

Operation Chastise, the code name for the raid that destroyed two dams in the Ruhr valley, Germany.

Before retiring in the 1980s, Nina had several other jobs.

When she married her husband, they both became selfemployed in the catering business and ran a tearoom, where they made cakes for weddings, which were rationed after the war.

Being now 100, she is often asked about how to have a long life. Her answer is simple: “Hard work and a good wine is the secret to reach 100!”

Karen Casey, one of the Home’s Activities Coordinators, said: “Nina is an amazing woman. She’s kind and gentle, and has a naughty sense of humour!”

Just Imagine Being Whisked Away by Rail on an Iconic Steam Journey… Any Time – Any Place!

Escape FIRST CLASS by rail through the misty mountains and glittering lochs of the Scottish Highlands OR wind through the Settle to Carlisle railway on one of the most scenic and impressive railways in the UK, all in pure comfort with familiar faces and a cup of tea to hand...

“The Jolly Journey” creates a familiar and stimulating environment for residents to be whisked away with friends and family in an exciting steam carriage anywhere in the UK. Get your posh frock on, grab your handbag and enjoy the indulgence of the journey of a life time reminiscing about old times of travelling, holidays and sparking conversations about times gone by. Lunch can be served in the First Class carriage followed by afternoon tea and then a Jolly good SING SONG! The ‘Jolly Journey’ is a complete pod that is supplied and installed by our Little Islands team in just one day. It requires just 5 sqm metres of floor space; we can also theme the area around to create a traditional Victorian railway waiting room. Featuring real wood panelled wall with brass lug-

gage racks, ornate wall lights, gold cushions, antimacassars and period memorabilia. A table with brass lamp, opposite-facing seats which are designed to look and feel just like an old-fashioned travel carriage. A 55inch 4K TV large clear window shows footage filmed in full HD with sound aboard live railway journeys from around the UK. The result is the residents can all enjoy a nostalgic day out day after day. Visitors will come more often and stay longer when joining in a live experience like ‘The Jolly Journey’. Children would love visiting and look forward to an exciting experience as opposed to being bored just sat in the lounge of the care home! The main thing is that the resident’s wellbeing and mood has been lifted supporting their mental health.

Give us a call to find out more information – The Little Islands Team on 0800 093 8499 or visit www.littleislands.org You can view a demonstration at www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEruZVNUV1k

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 7

What Happens to NHS and Care Home Staff Dismissed Due to Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Regulations Which Have Now Been Revoked?

This is one of the concerns raised by the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee in its 33rd report of Session 2021-22 as it considered the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) (No. 3) Regulations 2022. These Regulations revoke the two sets of Regulations that made full vaccination against COVID-19 a condition of employment in an NHS or care home setting.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) stated in the Explanatory Memorandum (EM) accompanying the Regulations that, as the risks of the Omicron variant are now known and not as serious as anticipated, the mandatory vaccination requirement is no longer proportionate.

In its report, the Committee commends the substantial factual information and scientific evidence DHSC had provided to support the decision – but expresses surprise and disappointment that the EM fails to address: the estimated number of care home staff who were dismissed when the first set of Regulations • took effect in November 2021 or of staff in an NHS setting who were dismissed or left in anticipation of the second set, which were due to come into effect on 1 April 2022; and any mention of whether such staff should be reinstated. DHSC told the Committee that the matter • of rehiring staff was an issue to be addressed by each individual employer.

In addition, the Committee questions DHSC’s future policy on the vaccination of health and care sector staff. The EM mentions that DHSC is engaging with the NHS to review its recruitment policy so that it considers vaccination status when hiring new staff. The report recalls that the DHSC consultation on mandatory

COVID-19 vaccination for NHS staff included mandatory influenza vaccination as well and undertook to review the matter in 2022.

Given the several concerns raised the Committee concludes that the House may wish to press the Minister for more information on all the issues highlighted in the report.

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, Member of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee said: “While we commend the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on this occasion for providing more detailed justification for the revocation of these Regulations than was presented when they were originally imposed, there are issues that still give cause for concern. The hints in the Explanatory Memorandum that certain vaccinations may become a requirement for the recruitment of NHS staff in the future needs proper evaluation in light of the pandemic experience.

“It is disappointing to note that despite considerable staffing difficulties caused to care homes and distress to dedicated care home staff who were dismissed as a result of the compulsory vaccination requirements, the Department is silent on whether they can or should be reinstated. This change still leaves a lot of loose ends that must be addressed.”

Councillors Join the Fun at Local Care Home for 15th Anniversary Local councillors, family and friends have joined residents and staff at a Southbourne care home to celebrate the home’s 15th anniversary.

Glebe House on Stein Road first opened in 2007 and provides rooms for up to 40 elderly people with care needs.

The residents and staff were joined by the chair of Southbourne Parish Council, councillor Lyn Hicks, councillors Tracey Bangert and Jonathan Brown, as well as Russell Brown and Mike Smith, CEO and COO of Shaw healthcare respectively.

Attendees were treated to a buffet lunch and other snacks, with the 63-strong team reflecting on the ongoing maintaining and improvement of the home’s facilities, which led to a ‘good’ Care Quality Commission rating in 2019.

Irene Pudduck, manager of the Shaw healthcare-operated home, in partnership with West Sussex County Council, said: “I am proud to manage a team who support me in running a service that aims to deliver the type of care that we would want for our own loved ones.

“From the team leaders to the domestics, and the cooks to the maintenance operatives, we ensure that we make Glebe House as much of a home as possible.

“It was great to welcome the councillors to our home who joined us in celebrating the last 15 years, and join us in looking forward to our future.”

PAGE 8 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

Managing Distrust Social Care – How Can We Shift The Dial?

By Laura Salvage, Senior Account Manager at The PHA Group (https://thephagroup.com/)

Last month, Orpea, Europe’s second-largest nursing home, received widespread accusations of misconduct and mistreatment of elderly relatives. Following three years of investigations, French journalist Victor Castanet accused Orpea of alleged market rigging and the embezzlement of public funds.

Almost immediately, a staggering $3.4bn was wiped off the company’s market value, and it has now been announced that all of France’s 75000 nursing homes are to be inspected.

Such stories of malpractice are not uncommon within social care. Narratives regarding understaffed and ill-equipped workers have prevailed for decades, and according to figures obtained by the BBC, more than 20,000 allegations of abuse of elderly residents by care home workers have been made in the last three years. It is no surprise then, that the government has announced a range of social reforms, some of which are due to come into place in April 2023. This will see a total of around one billion spent on promoting social care housing, technologies and training, and should hopefully support a wave of renewed trust in the industry.

The sector’s overall reputation, however, remains a challenge, and the pandemic has done little to redress these issues. According to an analysis by Collateral Global, COVID-19 has disproportionately affected those living in care homes. The authors of the report claim that poor testing and inadequate infection controls have exacerbated long-running problems, with the result being that care home residents accounted for an estimated 30 percent of all excess deaths during the pandemic.

It must not be forgotten, however, that social care is a vital cog in the UK’s complex system of services and support. It provides critical services to patients and families in some of the most challenging circumstances and plays a significant role in local economies. And despite stories of a few poorly managed care homes, there are many more that are simply outstanding - offering fantastic care and excelling when inspected by the Care Quality Commission. This story needs to be told in the media.

As it stands, however, even softer media narratives tend to focus on a lack of integration between health and social care services, as well as inequality in access to care and burgeoning demands from an ageing population. These issues, it is widely reported, have led to a range of complex challenges, ones that are worsened by hesitancy on digital provisions and a lack of communication between local jurisdictions.

With Covid-19 and ongoing uncertainty continuing to cause issues in markets all over the world, competition is rife, and all firms within the social care space; like companies in many other sectors, are facing more demand and greater attention on their business practices than ever before. Social care businesses will therefore need to work harder to manage their reputations, build rapport with patients and redefine what the industry stands for, and shift the dial on public perception.

More than ever, organizations are also now being judged on their fundamental beliefs and reasons for being by stakeholders. Accountability on employee wellbeing and environmental and social governance is now a priority issue, and proactivity on these sorts of issues is now an imperative for success. The scope is there - from charity partnerships to, positive corporate news, and profiling, there is a wealth of tactics available to develop more positive relationships with stakeholders and the media through an impactful healthcare marketing and communications campaign.

From providing traction for investors to enhancing reputations, driving sales, and engaging with patients, a clear communications strategy will allow social care firms to navigate these complex waters, better communicate their purpose, and stand out from competitors.

Award-Winning Family Business Medoris Has New Family At Its Helm For over 20 years, Brenda, our founder, paid particular attention to designing specialized care products for those with differing care needs and to providing good, old-fashioned customer service.

Today, we’re proud to say that the Bird family continues to follow in her footsteps. As a family run business, we too put people’s care needs and customer satisfaction at the heart of everything we do.

In the late 90s, Brenda, in conjunction with the Occupational Therapists in Oxfordshire, identified several areas in need of improvement when it came to addressing comfort and dignity issues for the vulnerable.

Combining her vast experience in textile design and her close working relationship with the care profes-

sion, she developed a range of easy-to-use, adaptive clothing for the elderly together with other helpful products addressing the issues of dementia, pressure care, positioning and continence care.

Today, with the help of modern technologies and medical advancements, we have been able to expand these ranges and introduce new innovative products for a broader range of care needs, including those for children.

Alongside Medoris Care, the Bird family also owns a domiciliary care company and a daycare company for children up to 5 years old. We believe that our first hand experience in these allied areas of care, gives us the knowledge we need to continually develop exciting products giving the comfort, care and dignity for those in need.

For more information, please visit our website at www.medoriscare.com or call us on 01202 925 914 for further information.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 9

Act to Help Care in Mini Budget’ – Plea CARE providers have called on the Chancellor for help in this week’s mini budget.

Provider organisation The Independent Care Group (ICG) says social care cannot be forgotten again as the crisis in the sector grows.

The ICG fears the Covid-19 pandemic, compounded by lower occupancy and the growing cost of living crisis have all left the sector in danger.

ICG Chair Mike Padgham said: “Amongst all the calls the Chancellor will be facing around the statement this week, he must not forget the care of our most vulnerable and must do something to help.”

The Government’s own care reforms also pose a danger to the survival of care and nursing homes, unless greater funding is provided, the Group warns. A report by LaingBuisson for the County Councils Network (CCN said an extra £854m a year was needed.

“There isn’t enough funding in the sector to pay for the changes the Government wants and unless that is addressed, providers will be lost,” Mr Padgham added.

“We understand their desire to close the gap between the fees paid by private and state-funded care recipients. But unless there is the funding in the system to pay for it there will, as the LaingBuisson reports suggests, be a loss of providers and a rationing of care.”

Mr Padgham believes social care should be given a greater share of the £12bn promised for health and social care over the coming three years and that the funding should come via income tax rather than increased National Insurance contributions.

“We desperately need extra funding and it would be much fairer, particularly during the current cost of living crisis, if such calls on funding were more fairly apportioned,” Mr Padgham added.

Stockport Based Care Home Celebrates St Patrick's Day With Themed Menu And Irish Quiz Night A Stockport based care home got into the party spirit with a themed menu and quiz night for St Patrick's Day. Staff at MHA Connel Court organised a special St Patrick's Day menu which included Irish coddle pork in cider with colcannon and Dublin Bay prawn risotto.

The food was washed down with either Guinness or Baileys, and was enjoyed by residents and staff.

The home provides residential care for up to 37 residents in purpose-built, en suite accommodation.

Jennifer McCulloch, admin manager said: “We try to make sure we cover all the themes in the home to make sure our residents don't miss out on

anything.

“Aside from the general days we even make our own up and it goes down really well with the residents.

“We always try to decorate the dining room as much as we can as it's nice for our residents to see, and nice for our residents who don’t normally get involved.

“St Patrick’s Day was celebrated with great joy, our dining room was specifically decorated for the theme with Irish flags on display and on tables with the Irish green theme running throughout.

“Our residents loved celebrating St Patrick's Day and we do feel it is important to showcase these events within the home.

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THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 11

“My Country Says Thank You”Signature at Parklands Manor Leads Community Effort to Support Ukraine Refugee Crisis

The residents of Signature at Parklands Manor, a luxury care home in Chertsey, have come together to offer support and gifts to refugees affected by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The care home’s efforts have also inspired the local community, with neighbours, friends and local businesses, including Rochills Estate Agency, joining Parklands Manor in donating food, essential supplies, sleeping bags, backpacks, clothes and other items of use.

The valuable supplies have been delivered to a drop off point at Ukrainian House, Holland Park, last week, before being transferred to those most in need.

Parkland Manor’s Food and Beverage Manager, Yuliia Gluch, is a Ukrainian national with family still in the country. She hopes the kindness, integrity and care displayed by her fellow colleagues, residents and neighbours in the community will be received by her own family, and countless others still in Ukraine.

Signature at Parklands Manor is a care home offering person-centred assisted living, nursing, dementia and respite care, and belong to the Signature Senior Lifestyle collection of 36 care homes across London and the home counties.

Yuliia Gluch, Food and Beverage Manager at Parklands Manor, said:

“I am so very grateful to the residents of Parklands Manor and my fellow colleagues, friends, strangers and the wider community who have collectively come together to help families like mine, still in Ukraine.

“In times of crisis, no gesture can be too small.

The supplies that Signature at Parklands Manor were able to donate will go a long way to making someone’s day that little bit better and brighter. My country says thank you.”

Neil Copping, General Manager at Signature at Parklands Manor, said: “All of us at Parklands Manor are deeply troubled about the conflict in Ukraine, especially as one of our colleague’s family has been directly affected.

Staff wanted to help in any way they could, so we started a collection to support the people of Ukraine. The response has been amazing and since starting this just over a week ago, we have already made two trips to the local collection depots. On the last trip we had to use one of our minibuses due to the sheer volume of the donations. It is lovely to see everyone contributing for this extremely worthy cause.”

For more information, please visit www.signature-care-homes.co.uk

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"I have enrolled my staff onto the distance learning training via MSDIndependent for many years now and have found the service, support and convenience of Mark and his employees excellent. These courses have been a great source of knowledge to my staff and they have found that when working out in the field they have had a better knowledge and understanding of the job role. I would recommend MSDIndependent to any companies that wish to improve their skills " Helen Blunden Bloomfield Care "I have had the opportunity to work with MSD Independent for a few years now, sourcing distance learning courses to assist my staff team improve their knowledge, and maintain their CPD hours. Prior to Covid restrictions, Mark would make the journey to hold face to face meetings with learners, which helped if they were a little anxious, as his kind nature put them at ease. During the last year Mark has supported us virtually, assisting the team to develop their knowledge throughout this difficult time. I have always found Mark very supportive and maintains regular contact with me on progress/concerns or just to keep me up to date with any new developments for training/funding. Highly recommend MSD Independent to assist with your training needs."

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PAGE 12 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

Nugent Care’s CEO Discusses the Government’s Spring Statement

By Normandie Wragg, CEO, Nugent (https://wearenugent.org/)

As an organisation that cares about social justice, it is imperative that we pay above the real living wage (with £10 an hour our minimum rate)

to help alleviate child poverty, increase food security and give people dignity and pride in the incredible work that they do.

However, the rising cost of living is increasing exponentially and the rise in National Insurance is again another bitter pill to swallow for many, as even with the support that we provide for our employees, millions of people are now paying more than ever before for their bills, gas, food and travel.

The government didn’t set up an entirely new Health and Social Care levy before the previous tax rise came in and although this may be added to NI, this is still very much up in the air and I urge the government to add more clarity on this.

We take great pride in the services that we provide, as we care for, educate and protect vulnerable children, young people and adults through our schools, care homes and community and social work services on a daily basis, with the Spring Statement and decisions from the government very important.

Last month we welcomed Josh MacAlister, chair of The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, and Will Quince, the Government’s children and families minister, to our secure children’s home Marydale,

with the venue receiving an outstanding OFSTED report, with the premises labeled as a place where ‘children benefit from a range of stimulating and purposeful activities that enable them to spend their time constructively.’

While on his visit, Mr MacAlister was able to meet staff and residents at Marydale, seeing first-hand the highly effective services provided at the premises, with all of these consistently exceeding the ‘standards of good’ in the eyes of OFSTED. Highlighted for its fantastic work with children’s health, the progress of its children and young people and the effectiveness of its leaders and managers, Marydale continues to lead the way as a home that is regarded as best practice throughout the sector.

Our business model is focused on caring for people and providing support and education across the board, as we have highlighted at Marydale. To do this we must be aware of our staff members’ physical and mental well-being, and with the pandemic adding extra emotional toil, combined with the great resignation, our stance on paying staff members the right amount is stronger than ever before - which is why it is increasingly important that the government supports our sector.

Nationwide Survey Reveals Healthcare ‘Postcode Lottery’ for Older People in Scotland The standard and availability of healthcare for older adults in Scotland differs significantly depending on where they live, according to research led by the University of Aberdeen.

The Scottish Care of Older People (SCoOP) national audit project, was carried out in 2019 to assess whether and to what extent the provision of geriatric care, known as Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) varied across the country.

The audit included 26 out of the 28 hospitals that provide acute care for older people in Scotland including remote and rural locations in the Highlands and Islands. The findings have been published in the journal, Healthcare.

One of the primary findings of the report was that the largest Health Boards have proportionately higher provision and availability of care, which did not always correlate to the size of the population, meaning there is a disparity between Health Board regions.

The results also showed variations between the Health Boards across all key aspects studied: individual aspects of staffing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychiatry, pharmacy and social work as well as multidisciplinary team input.

This is the first time this kind of care provision for hospitalised older frail patients has been investigated in this way.

Catriona Young from the University of Aberdeen who coled the study explains: “The 2019 SCoOP CGA audit highlights variations in the ways acute comprehensive specialist care is accessed, structured and staffed at the front door

across the country and areas of CGA services that could be improved.

Dr Christine McAlpine, Co-Chair of the SCoOP Steering group added: “This is an important finding.

“CGA is effective in producing better outcomes in older people and in the context of an increasing ageing population with multimorbidity and frailty, it is important that hospitals evaluate their CGA provision to ensure the highest standard of care for older people admitted to hospitals and optimal outcome”.

Professor Phyo Myint, Professor of Medicine of Old Age at the University of Aberdeen and Co-Chair of the SCoOP Steering group added: “Our findings provide essential information for clinicians, service providers, policy makers and the public to improve their local services.

“Our results should offer a basis for opening discussion between services to learn from each other’s expertise as we aim to work collaboratively to improve acute care for frail older adults in Scotland and shape Scottish Geriatric Medicine into a world-leading service. " range of reasons exist for the variation in performance.

Individual Boards have been informed of their data so that they can compare with other boards to drive improvement. We hope future published reports will include the Board names.”

Dr Rowan Wallace, Chair of British Geriatrics Society Scotland added: “BGS Scotland fully supports the SCoOP report findings and how they powerfully highlight the variations in how CGA can be accessed, structured and staffed in acute care across Scotland by our older population.”

Ventilation Issues Resolved At Luxury Retirement Development Friary Meadow is a newly-opened luxury retirement development near Fareham in Hampshire. Located by a lake & surrounded with landscaped gardens, it comprises of 86 properties & includes facilities such as its own on-site cinema.

It also has a full-service restaurant served by a new fully-equipped commercial kitchen. The restaurant is looked after by its own on-site

chef daily cooking a range of new & exciting dishes.

However, the ventilation & kitchen extract system was causing both overheating issues in the kitchen & was noisy, spoiling what was otherwise a great kitchen.

So managing agent, Oak Retirement Ltd, contacted Building Ventilation Solutions of Salisbury to help them try & resolve the issues.

Following an in-depth survey, BVS quickly identified a badly designed make-up air system, which was both causing the noise & starving the kitchen canopy of air. This also caused draughts from the restaurant & poor extraction from the canopy.

A detailed report was provided & approved & BVS then quickly carried out the works, resulting in immediate improvements. Including a considerable reduction of heat in the kitchen, better extraction from the canopy & much lower noise levels. Much to the delight of the chef who commented; “Until BVS resolved our issues, the kitchen was a very hot & stuffy place to work & very noisy. Now it’s like a different world & a very pleasant environment” Oak Retirement director, Stephen Ladyman commented; "We were very impressed that Building Ventilation solutions quickly identified problems that others couldn't resolve. They then retrofitted solutions that cured all the issues, greatly improving the kitchen conditions. We are very pleased & wouldn't hesitate to recommend Building Ventilation Solutions"

In addition, each of the accommodations include a whole-house ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR units), manufactured by Vent-Axia & quite a number of these were also problematic. So Building Ventilation Solutions found & rectified all the problems with these & re-commissioned & serviced each system. BVS also resolved other issues being experienced on site with split air-conditioning units in the common areas as part of their comprehensive range of services Building Ventilation Solutions can be contacted at www.bvs-ltd.co.uk

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 13

Government Launches Consultation on Liberty Protection Safeguards People who have their freedoms restricted to help them receive the best care and treatment will be put at the centre of a new system designed to better protect their human rights.

The Department of Health and Social Care and Ministry of Justice have launched a consultation to update the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice to better support those with dementia, acquired brain injuries, learning disabilities and autism who may need assistance with their everyday decision-making but lack mental capacity thereby requiring others to make decisions in their best interests.

These decisions could include where a person should live, whether assistive technology like sensors or keypad entry should be installed, setting times for refreshments or activities, whether they can leave the accommodation or restraint in certain circumstances among others.

The Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice sets out how carers and practitioners can make these decisions for others on a day-to-day basis while ensuring the individual is both protected and empowered.

This is part of the government’s promise to ensure everyone receives the right care in the right place at the right time, as part of its reforms of the health and social care system. The new Liberty Protection Safeguards being consulted on will: • Introduce an explicit duty to consult with the person and those interested in their welfare to find out the individual’s wishes and feelings about proposed arrangements • Allow people to have representation including independent mental capacity advocates to ensure their rights are protected and assess what safeguards are necessary when decisions are being made

• Extend safeguards to 16 and 17-year-olds and people in any care setting • Improve the protection of rights for people at the heart of the most complex cases through new mental capacity professional roles • Better integrate decisions on Liberty Protection Safeguards as part of health and social care assessments • Involve clinical commissioning groups and NHS trusts in the process to reduce backlogs • Reduce the number of assessments required to make decisions to help ensure more timely assessments Minister for Care and Mental Health Gillian Keegan said: “Some of the most vulnerable people in society are lawfully deprived of their liberty to ensure they receive the best possible care, as safely as possible, while they are in hospital or living in a care home. Liberty Protection Safeguards put people at the heart of care, just as we promised in our reform programme and will give them more of a say in their care.”

“The proposed changes will speed up processes and increase fairness, ensuring the balance between a person’s human rights and freedoms and their need to receive the right care in the right place at the right time.”

“This is the first revision of the code since its publication in 2007 and reflects changes in legislation, case law, organisations and good practice which have developed over time.”

Justice Minister Tom Pursglove MP said: “The Mental Capacity Act protects vulnerable people unable to make decisions in their own interests and updating the Code Of Practice will mean those caring for them provide more consistent and better quality support.”

Your Chance To Shout About Good Care

Register for Care Home Open Week 2022 and you’ll have the chance to share the lives behind the care home front door in what is anticipated to be the most successful Care Home Open Week yet.

After what was a challenging 2021, Care Home Open Week returns in 2022 for its hybrid debut ready to re-connect care homes across the country with their community!

Save the date and register (https://championingsocialcare.org.uk/care-home-open-day/) and take advantage of the opportunities available to shout about why your care home is a fantastic place to be.

Share your outstanding facilities, introduce people to the incredible people that live and work within them and stop people wondering what happens inside.

Invite everyone to find out about the care home on their street and learn more about the social care sector! You can find out more about Care Home Open Week now, and register your home to take part from the 27th June – 3rd July. https://championingsocialcare.org.uk/care-home-open-day/ ‘We are incredibly excited to host Care Home Open Week again this year, we know that community connections are vital for care homes to operate and we hope this will enable them to build long-lasting relationships that support their teams and residents to flourish.’ – Mitesh Dhanak, Precious Homes CEO. Care teams and their residents are desperate to get communities back into care services. Which is why

Care Home Open Week is back with hybrid opportunities to host an event either in person or virtually! Of course it is recommend that all homes participate within government guidelines at the time.

Care Home Open Week provides homes with the opportunity to show what they have to offer, their fantastic facilities, activities and services reminding their neighbours that they are there if they need support. It also provides the perfect opportunity to show fantastic career opportunities that are available in the sector, which encourages the community to support and build connections with their local service, considering how they can support those living and working in care communities throughout the year.

PAGE 14 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

Train For Futureproofing: How Health And Safety Training Can Aid Retention In The Residential Care Sector

The residential care sector’s difficulties recruiting and retaining staff could be eased with an investment in training, suggests Kate Thompson, Director Wales, at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.

Over the past two years everyone has paid greater attention to maintaining good hygiene and we have held health and safety in higher regard than ever before as we’ve fought against the emergence of a new virus.

The residential care sector arguably understands the importance of upholding these areas to high standards better than any other.

However, it has also suffered recruitment and retention issues. A Government survey of 9,000 adult care settings carried out in December 2021, found that 82% were struggling to recruit new staff and 70% said they were finding retention more challenging than they

had done in the previous six months.

When there are staff shortages and / or a high turnover of staff it puts the remaining employees under pressure, which in turn means there’s a greater chance that standards in all areas, including health and safety, might slip.

So how do you ensure risks are managed and health and safety standards continue to be upheld while also working towards a longer-term goal of improving recruitment and retention?

As residential care home owners know, every business has a legal obligation to protect their employees and residents from harm. The minimum you must do is: • identify what could cause injury or illness in your business (hazards) • decide how likely it is that someone could be harmed and how seriously (the risk) • take action to eliminate the hazard, or if this isn't possible, control the risk The Health and Safety Executive provides useful information about risk assessment on its website https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-healthsafety/risk/ Risk assessments should be regularly reviewed, sending a clear message to your employees that you value their wellbeing and that of your residents.

A risk assessment alone will not keep everyone safe, however. Staff need to be aware of the risks and how to avoid them, so as protect themselves, their colleagues and residents from harm.

Training at induction and then providing suitable refresher training throughout their career is the most effective way to do this. By putting care staff through a course such as the Introductory Occupational Health & Safety (Level 1), or Level 1 Food Safety, for example will not

only support the delivery of safe operations, it will create an environment where employees feel comfortable to work without risk of injury to themselves or those they care for.

In providing a safe working environment, inspiring confidence across the workforce, not only will work be carried out more efficiently and productively with less disruption, but employees will feel more confident in performing their role.

As well as providing compliance, safety and assurance, an investment in training is a clear indicator to employees that their employer values them. They have made a commitment to invest in that person and their development.

And it is well-known that when employees feel valued and invested in they stay longer with a business. For the 70% of care home owners who are finding retention challenging, it could be a prudent move to identify the training needs of every worker, then meeting those needs accordingly.

With training courses varying in levels, from introductory to advanced courses, it is important to consider training frequencies not just for new employees, but for those that can continue developing.

Health and safety issues can lead to major disruptions within the workforce, whether through injuries, operational challenges, or even government-enforced sanctions. It is therefore advised that clear training and development plans are established to ensure that employees maintain and continue to develop their understanding of best practice in order to continue demonstrating the highest of standards and ultimately keep valuable staff in situ.

A trained workforce is also of benefit to the wider sector. The government’s £162m investment into recruitment across the care sector

High Tech Solution to Improve Recruitment Success in Care Homes Shortlisted for a National Award

Care UK will go head-to-head with household names like Adobe and CocaCola in May, in a bid to win a prestigious national award set up to find those companies which go out of their way to give their employees the best possible experience.

An innovative new project marrying technology and taking good care of the organisation’s latest recruits has caught the eye of the judges responsible for the 2022 UK Employee Experience Awards.

The project makes use of a software platform, which delivers messages to a person’s mobile phone, to bring a personalised experience to people who are offered a role with Care UK. However, the award entry is about a great deal more than buying a piece of software off the shelf.

Care UK started with a pilot project which was then used to design the full roll out. Using this knowledge, management teams at each of Care UK’s homes have been coached in how to use the software to improve the experience of new recruits – particularly during the more drawn-out periods of the recruitment process which requires everyone to have various checks such as the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), necessary to keep residents safe.

After being offered a role, the system is used to send each new starter interesting content about Care UK and their new workplace to keep them engaged while they wait until their first day. This might be welcome videos from colleagues, photos of residents enjoying activities or useful information about their new

role and team. The system also asks for a candidate to share their favourite things, which can then be used to personalise their experience when they join the team.

In addition, the software shows the home manager whether those waiting to start their new role are interacting with the content, enabling them to act swiftly and proactively if they think someone has stopped engaging with their messages.

Human Resources Director at Care UK, Leah Queripel said: “We work hard to attract people to apply for a variety of roles with us but our analysis had shown that many dropped out between being offered the role and their first day – often because the background checks, which are mostly out of our control, can take several days or even weeks. This project has reduced the number dropping out by over a third and, crucially, we are seeing new colleagues start with a better idea of their role and their working environment.”

As well as creating a personalised and positive experience for each new colleague the system is also used to instantly communicate news and messages to the wider workforce in a channel they are familiar with. This has been particularly useful to support the health and wellbeing of colleagues during the pandemic and to communicate urgent messages as the situation changed.

Care UK is shortlisted in the Best Use of Digital Technologies category. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on 19th May.

CleanEx 2022/Hospitality Expo: Not Long to Go! There’s just six weeks to go until Hospitality Expo/CleanEx 2022 opens its doors to the main grandstand at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire.

It’s been four years since the last CleanEx event with ‘you know what’ constantly changing our plans. As they say though, absence does make the heart grow fonder, so expect to find all the exhibitors excited, keen and ready to talk you through and show you all their latest innovations.

The brand new Hospitality Expo – will take place at the same time as CleanEx 2022. Same time. Same venue.

Hospitality Expo is aimed at procurement managers, care home owners, general managers and housekeepers from care homes and hotels across the country.

Hospitality Expo will take place on its own floor at Ascot Racecourse. So those visiting Hospitality Expo will benefit from meeting with specialist industry exhibitors, and also be able to walk the aisles at CleanEx 2022 and see what the leading industry suppliers there are showcasing about their latest innovations, products and services.

Many of the stands will have fully operational equipment and technology and run demonstrations throughout the two-day event so you can see results first-hand. This event is a great opportunity to com-

pare different products or machinery under one roof and talk to leading suppliers directly.

Exhibitors will all have their experts on hand on their stands to answer any questions you have. This will help you to plan your visit in advance to make sure you use the time well and gather the research and information you need to make the right decisions for your business. Exhibitors often run event-only promotions too, so there’s potential savings to be made by talking to the specialists direct.

Visitors to Hospitality Expo and CleanEx include: If you’re in one of the following businesses or job roles then Hospitality Expo is ideal for you!

Care Home owners • Hotels - owners and managers • General managers • Head housekeepers/ managers • Hospitals • procurement managers • Private schools Registrations are open!

FREE ENTRY – FREE PARKING – FREE ENTRY – FREE PARKING It’s simple to register your place to attend Hospitality Expo/CleanEx. Simply visit the Hospitality Expo page at www.megevents.co.uk and click on ‘attend the event’ and enter

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 15

The Care Innovation Challenge is Back!

The Care Innovation Challenge, a hackathon-style creative weekend of idea generation and prototype trialling, will return in July 2022.

With cash prizes for the top spots, expert mentoring and guaranteed media coverage this is an opportunity not to be missed.

Applications for a place at the weekend opened on 14th March, and creative thinkers, anyone who has a passion for making ideas a reality and people who want to make a positive difference to people’s lives are invited to apply at www.careinnovationhub.org.uk The Challenge, hosted by the Care Innovation Hub (CIH), was established in 2018 to create a platform for exploration and innovation in the social care sector. The CIH is now run by the National Care Forum (NCF) and is supported by Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) through their National Co-production Advisory Group (NCAG) to ensure people with lived experience help to create solutions to key challenges faced by the care sector. NCF is dedicated to developing innovation in the social care and support sector and this is a natural home to drive the CIH into the future.

NCF Chief Executive Vic Rayner OBE, said “This year, the Challenge Weekend is open to everyone working, studying or living in the Midlands. We are looking for people from diverse backgrounds and from a

range of disciplines to think broadly on ways to create positive change. You don’t need to be an expert in social care, or have any experience of social care yourself, to apply. You just need to have an intention to improve the quality of life of those receiving care in the UK.” Successful applicants will each be invited to a creative weekend of idea generation and prototype trialling in July 2022. There will be expert advice and guidance available from CIH sponsors and founding supporters which include Royds Withy King, QCS, Person Centred Software, Home Instead, Hilton Nursing Partners, Hallmark Care Homes, Greensleeves Care, Care Management Matters, BRAN Investment, Borough Care and apetito to help participants in developing their ideas.

The winning team will receive £1,000 in prize money, media coverage and further mentoring to develop their idea.

2019 Challenge Runner-up and CEO/Founder of www.carematched.co.uk Maaha Suleiman, said “I would wholeheartedly encourage anyone to apply if you’re interested in care, innovation, in helping people in general, making a difference to the way care is delivered, or just networking with individuals who are doing great work. It can change your life for the better. It did mine.”

Apply at www.careinnovationhub.org.uk if you have a passion for making ideas a reality and want to make a positive difference to people’s lives.

Red Nose Day Fun Brings Smiles All Round at Care Homes in the South Care home residents and staff let their hair down, dressed up in Red Noses and glasses, donned crazy hats, wigs, feathers and pom poms, and enjoyed lots of games and activities to raise money for Comic Relief.

The day of fun at Colten Care’s 21 homes in the south included cupcake sales, singalongs of vintage comedy songs, hair dyeing sessions, fancy dress parties and exercise bike challenges.

Amberwood House in Ferndown said hello to a familiar face when Brotherhood of Man singer and former Companionship Team member Nicky Stevens returned to entertain residents and do her bit for the appeal.

Nicky was happy to join in with the dressing-up activities at the Outstanding-rated home and, microphone in hand, even serenaded resident Ray Cox with a rendition of the song Where Did you Get That Hat?. In reply, Ray quipped: 'I don't know but it cost too much!'.

At another Outstanding-rated home, Woodpeckers in Brockenhurst, there was a competition to guess the number of balloons making up a giant Red Nose given pride of place in the lounge.

The contest raised more than £70 on its own, prompting resident Frank Coumbe to say: “It was a great way of raising money for Red Nose Day.” The winner was declared to be Head of Domestics Hanahi Idi who guessed the correct number of 103 balloons and scooped a basket of goodies as his prize.

Across Colten Care, the day delighted new residents as well as those who have participated in charity

activities at homes before.

Iris Barnes, who only recently moved to Outstanding-rated Kingfishers in New Milton, Hampshire, said: “It was my first time experiencing Red Nose Day events here at the home. I really liked having fun with the dressing up. I thank everyone for letting me take part in all this for such a wonderful charity campaign.”

At St Catherines View in Winchester, residents were invited to apply bright red hair dye on willing volunteer Laura Sheldrake, the home’s Companionship Team leader.

Resident Jo Gough said: “Doing Laura’s hair reminded me of my mum doing my hair when I was a child. It was great fun.”

Colten Care Operations Director Elaine Farrer said: “Our residents and team members don’t tend to need much excuse to dress up and have fun. We are always delighted when Red Nose Day comes round and we can all get involved and show our support. It’s all about giving vulnerable and disadvantaged people the chance of a better future.”

The fundraising marathon, launched in 1988 and held every two years, supports people in the UK and around the world.

In the past two years, Comic Relief organisers say funding has helped 11.7 million people at risk from a wide range of challenging circumstances including poverty, disease, domestic abuse, hunger, violence, discrimination, fear and mental health issues.

This year, a key focus is encouraging donations to support civilians fleeing the war in Ukraine.

PAGE 16 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

Relaxing Immigration Rules: Enough To Save Social Care?

By Tijen Ahmet, business immigration specialist, and Jordan Glackin, partner and healthcare expert at law firm, Shakespeare Martineau (www.shma.co.uk) Social care has been struggling to recruit and retain staff for years, but the pandemic, vaccine mandates, and Brexit have left the sector with around 40,000 gaps to fill. To do so, care workers that were not previously able to be sponsored under post-Brexit immigration rules will now be accommodated. However, will this be enough to bolster the ranks?

In 2020, the Government launched the Health and Care Worker visa, which enables non-UK medical professionals in adult social care to live and work in the UK for up to five years. In February 2022, this was expanded to encompass a wider range of roles, such as home care workers and care assistants, which were not originally eligible for the visa.

Following a recommendation from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), these roles have been added to the shortage occupation list for an initial 12 months, subject to review. The list gives eligible workers the required points needed under the immigration points-based system to qualify for a visa. As such, workers don’t have to meet the usual salary thresholds, which are often higher than those typically awarded for social care roles, instead only having to meet a minimum salary threshold of £20,480 per annum.

The Health and Care Worker visa can also be fast-tracked and has lower Government fees than other skilled worker visas, with dedicated resources at the Home Office available to support applications, saving time and money for social care organisations. Those using this visa route can bring family dependents with them to the UK and apply for settlement after five years, should that be something the applicant wishes to do. Workers that have chosen the three-year visa can extend it to five-years to become eligible for settlement.

For employers looking to hire non-UK citizens from abroad or the UK, a sponsor licence is mandatory.

These are valid for four years, so are not in line with the full length of the Health and Care Worker visa, but still enable organisations to sponsor an employee for up to five years. Employers that want to continue to hire from abroad after these four years will need to extend their sponsor licence.

Social care organisations must be aware of the compliance duties associated with hiring from abroad. If they get them wrong, not only could this lead to reputational damage, but it could also result in civil penalty

notices and revocation of their licence. As a result, the additional administrative burden that comes with hiring foreign workers shouldn’t be taken lightly. Professional legal support is available for obtaining a sponsor licence and keeping up to date with auditing and monitoring, as well as other employment issues such as Right to Work checks.

Aside from the administrative aspects of hiring foreign workers, care homes will also be faced with competition for recruitment, helping families to settle in, and handling the potential impact that a minimum salary will have on their existing pay structure.

As such, continued support from the Government will be essential to keeping the sector afloat. For example, at present, it can take up to two months to obtain a sponsor licence. For those that need staff now, this is a considerable amount of time to wait on top of the visa processing time. A specific resource for social care, which fast tracks licence applications, would be incredibly helpful while the sector regains its numbers.

While the 12-month visa relaxation period is appreciated, it remains to be seen how many Health and Care Worker visas will be processed during this time. It is already a fairly laboured process, and with Ukraine family scheme visas being prioritised, there will likely be delays for other applications. Realistically, this relaxation is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. Further thought needs to be put into how the sector can be supported in the long run, taking a proactive rather than reactive approach.

Helping people to get settled is a core part of this. The Government needs to give confidence to those coming to the UK that they will have everything they need when they arrive, from suitable accommodation to education opportunities for families.

With the social care sector facing a shortage of 40,000 staff, the relaxation of immigration rules is a key step to easing the pressures that have been created since Brexit and the start of the pandemic. The removal of compulsory vaccinations should also encourage some workers to return to the sector, but this will be a drop in the ocean compared to the number of workers needed to fill the gaps. Further Government support and resources will be vital to the future success of social care.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 17

Study Reveals Sharp Decline in Covid-19 Immunity in Care Home Residents Vaccination-acquired immunity against Covid-19 significantly wanes after three months among elderly care home residents, indicating that regular booster jabs may be required for this “vulnerable” group, according to preliminary findings from the Vivaldi study led by UCL researchers.

Over than 15,000 care home residents were surveyed in 331 care homes across England between December 2020 and December 2021, with the results revealing that protection against hospitalisation and death fell by one-third three to seven months after vaccination.

The researchers found that two vaccine doses were effective at preventing 85% of hospitalisations and 94% of deaths among care home residents between two and 12 weeks after the second dose, but this protection fell to 54% of hospitalisations and 63% of deaths in the following four months.

Of 19,000 care home staff, with an average age of 45, who were also tracked in the study, protection against infection fell marginally from 50% to 42% reduced risk after three months and there appeared to be no substantial waning in immunity against severe disease, with very few hospitalisations occurring after vaccination.

Professor Laura Shallcross, public health expert at University College London and author of the paper, said: “Our data suggests that repeated booster jabs may be needed to protect elderly care home residents in future, as immunity wanes relatively quickly in this group following vaccination.

“We observe an increased risk of infection, hospital admission and death in residents as early as 12 weeks following vaccination. This underscores the critical need for continued surveillance in care homes to provide

an early warning of surges in infection linked to new variants or waning immunity.

“Our data stops before Omicron became dominant, but it is likely this pattern of diminishing immunity after vaccination will continue with this milder variant.”

Professor Shallcross added that “annual boosters may not be enough”. A second booster (fourth dose), is being offered from April to adults aged 75 and over and residents in care homes, with the potential for further boosters to be rolled out in the autumn, depending on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

“A booster every six months, based on our data, is not unreasonable,” she said, adding that it may make sense to give people an autumn booster ahead of a winter surge, as with flu. However, epidemiologists predict that Covid-19 will not settle into a regular seasonal pattern in the next year or two, with a likelihood of erratic spring and summer waves of infection.

Shallcross also raised concerns that elderly people in the community might underestimate their continued risk from Covid-19, particularly since government messaging has stressed the need to get back to normal.

“People might think they’re protected and not get the next dose, but they might not be as protected as they think,” she said.

From April, a second booster (fourth dose), is being offered to adults aged 75 and over and residents in care homes. Further boosters could be rolled out in the autumn, depending on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the health secretary, Sajid Javid said earlier this week.

Luxury West Midlands Care Group Set To Open New Specialist Dementia Home Next Month A luxury West Midlands care group is set to open a new 80-bed care home near Solihull next month — offering specialist dementia and residential care within a person-centred environment.

Blythe Rose, a state-of-the-art dementia home in Blythe Valley Park, will be the latest addition to the Macc Care group, and is soon to offer residents an inclusive care culture, designed to illuminate their independence within a purpose-built and friendly environment.

The home will be separated into six individual lodges, each with 12 to 15 bedrooms and multiple communal lounge areas — providing the perfect environment to forge a strong sense of community and encourage interaction between residents.

Utilising innovative technologies, the new home will also offer cuttingedge care tailored to the needs of each individual, with a particular focus on dementia care. Beyond this, it will also offer an extensive range of facilities such as a communal cinema, luxury salon and a shop where residents can purchase groceries to cook in their own lodge.

Residents will be consistently provided with meaningful occupation, with staff encouraging the uptake of basic domestic tasks such as cooking and laundry to help stimulate daily routine, which is a key step towards managing the onset of dementia.

In addition to the extensive range of facilities, engaging activities will be a consistent feature of life at

Blythe Rose — optimising the accessible garden space and cultivating friendships through fun and diverse pursuits.

Sharen Guise, Director of Operations at Studley Rose, said: “We are delighted with the progress at Blythe Rose and can’t wait to officially welcome residents through its doors. We are confident this new home will offer an outstanding environment for both staff and residents and a place where we can provide safe and compassionate care. Specialist dementia care will be a key feature of this new project, with an overall ambition of becoming a recognised centre for excellence for dementia care — This is certainly achievable with our amazing team at Macc Care.”

The intimate design of Blythe Rose will be further encouraged by staff removing traditional barriers such as clinical uniforms, in an attempt to remove the separation between caregivers and recipients. There will also be a higher ratio of staff to residents, creating a household approach and removing the traditional task oriented method of care — a testament to the ambitions of this project.

Sharen continued: “We believe we are creating an environment that aims to provide local people with the benchmark for how care should be delivered. Above all, we want to create a warm, compassionate, safe and friendly environment for everyone living with us and for those that are important to the residents.

Once the finishing touches are made, we are very excited to welcome people into this exciting new community.”

PAGE 18 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

HC-One Care Homes Celebrate Nutrition and Hydration Week HC-One care homes across the UK celebrated the annual Nutrition and Hydration week from the 14th to 20th March which aims to highlight and promote the provision of nutrition and hydration as key components in staying healthy.

Care Homes participated with a week of events. A variety of new and exciting fruits and drinks were on offer for Residents to graze on throughout the week, including using the delicious juicy fruits to create appetising smoothies with which went down a treat with the Residents.

Residents thoroughly enjoyed tasting all of the different fruit smoothies and discussed the health benefits of staying hydrated and having a balanced nutritional diet.

At Kings Park Care Home, in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside which offers residential and nursing dementia care, to mark Nutrition and Hydration Week, the team at the home created an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed tea party.

Colleagues dressed up as characters from the wonderland classic and the home was especially decorated for the occasion with Residents getting involved in creating some of the handmade decorations.

Playing cards, roses, balloons and other Alice in Wonderland themed accessories were placed around the home to celebrate the occasion.

Colleagues and Residents followed the white rabbit into the home’s very own ‘Wonderland’ where they all enjoyed a Mad Hatters Tea Party with a menu fit for Kings and Queens.

The Residents enjoyed taking part in the range of activities on offer, including making toadstools, teacups, aprons and decorating the home.

Some Residents enjoyed having their photograph taken in the wonderland themed frame showcasing their best Cheshire Cat grins. Residents enjoyed the variety of food and drinks on offer and discussing the nutritional benefits including an Alice in Wonderland mock turtle soup, delicious caterpillar styled sandwiches and meringues, Queen of Hearts biscuits, a Cheshire cheese cat flan and ‘drink me’ smoothies.

Lisa Joy, Home Manager at Kings Park Care Home commented: “Fabulous day had by all. Our home looked just like wonderland!”

At Averill House Care Home in Newton Heath, Manchester, which offers dementia care, Residents and Colleagues took part in Nutrition and Hydration Week.

Residents and Jodie Yates, the Wellbeing Coordinator at Averill House Care Home, decided to create an enchanted forest take on the famous Alice in Wonderland story to mark the week.

Together they made all the decorations for the home’s tea trolley with papier-mâ ché and then did some drip art and decoupage. The team also used photography and floristry as different mediums to make the artwork eye catching and stand out.

Residents thoroughly enjoyed making the artwork, and experimenting with the different techniques used.

Donna Spencer, Head Chef, and the kitchen team also put their heads together to create a Mad Hatter themed taste sensation, meeting all 7 levels of the IDDSI framework, from mud pie and lime cupcakes with a dash of parsley to a small and bite-sized fruit medley with lemon zest.

Also on offer was a mint chocolate chip and banana smoothie with a pureed mint mud, mushroom fondant and shortbread fancies. There was also a plant pot textured cake dished up in true Mad Hatter style in garden plant pots, as well as a mocktail spritz of appletini.

Jodie Yates, Wellbeing Coordinator at Averill House Care Home commented: “This was a true Mad Hatter original creation! From decorations to food and outfits and we did it all from scratch with a lot of added madness and a dash of crazy!”

A hydration station was also set up by Averill House’s very own life-size banana.

Wellbeing Coordinator at Averill House, Jodie Yates, wanted to go all out to promote good nutrition and hydration and organised a ‘Fruitation Hydration Station’ which was a mobile trolley used to visit all Residents and promoting healthy eating, good nutrition and lots of fluids to keep hydrated.

On the station, they had homemade sparkling water with orange and lemon, fruit medley platters with strawberries and melon, natural yogurt and homemade fruit smoothies.

Mina Shaw, a Resident at Averill House Care Home said: “This is great and the drinks are fab!”

At Winsford in Cheshire, Overdene House Care Home, which offers residential and nursing care, the home decided to go back in time and have a 1940s themed day and trolley as part of their Nutrition and Hydration Week.

Decorations were put up over both floors at the home and they started the day off with singer, Sharon Holdstock who went down a treat with Residents and staff alike.

On the day, the home’s afternoon tea trolley consisted of drinks and cakes suitable for all textured diets and was wheeled around the home

by Wellbeing Coordinators, Rebecca and Nic and Home Manager, Cath who were dressed up in Land Army costumes.

Residents particularly enjoyed singing along to Sharon’s songs from the 40s and 50s.

The wellbeing team at Overdene House Care Home commented: “It was a lovely day which bought back some fond memories for our Residents, especially when we sang songs from the 40s.”

Norwood Care Home Enjoys a Slice of British Pie Week Residents and staff at MHA Norwood care home in Ipswich embraced British Pie Week by taking part in a variety of pie-themed activities.

There were several activities organised by the home, residents were given a selection of sweet & savoury pies to taste and were then put into teams and had to guess which ones they were.

Residents enjoyed watching a short documentary about some of the most famous pies from other countries around the world.

A small group of residents gathered around tables and made The Ultimate Apple Pie to have for dessert after their lunch.

Relatives were invited via Zoom to bake at home or just to watch and have general chit chat.

Anne-Marie Banks, administration manager at MHA Norwood, said: “I love celebrating Pie Week at MHA Norwood, the humble pie brings people together in so many different ways, enabling our residents to share their recipes and all the memories attached to

them! We learn so much about each other” Jean Woods, 93, a resident of the home said: “My favourite recipe is Apple and blackberry Pie. “I used go out with her mother and pick the blackberries for the pie and remember my mother placing a crockery funnel in the middle of the pie before putting it into the oven.

“My favourite activity of the week was the Virtual Pie Making and it was nice having my son and daughter watching me make the ultimate apple pie.

Marc Cox, chef at the care home, added: “During Pie Week this year, the residents loved making pies from scratch. Sergio, our Activities Coordinator, arranged for a zoom session so loved ones could join in with the residents.”

MHA care homes from across the UK have been joining in with the national celebrations, which are held during the first week of March each year. The charity care provider’s mottos for the week are ‘Live Life, Eat Pie’ and ‘Happiness is Home-made.’ quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

The Residential & Home Care Show, 18-19 May 2022, ExCeL London Join us at The Residential & Home Care Show, the UK’s leadership event for delivering outstanding care, returning to the ExCeL London on 18-19 May 2022.

Free for all care professionals to attend, the CPD certified conference programme will focus on the big issues facing the social care sector including recruitment and retention challenges, new employment law, personalisation, integrated care, safeguarding, raising quality, dementia, CQC ratings, which technologies work and business development.

After an extremely challenging few years for the care profession, this will be the opportunity to come back together and refocus your mind.

Promising to arm you with strategies, products and services, The Residential & Home Care Show will help you be in the best position to address challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead.

Reasons to attend: • Free for care and healthcare professionals • Take away practical ideas and solutions you can adopt in your own organisation • Join thousands of Owners, Directors, and Senior Managers • Meet and network with 200 exhibitors showcasing their latest products and solutions • Build relationships between residential care providers, nursing homes, domiciliary care providers, NHS, local government, the voluntary sector and suppliers • Learn from 50 expert speakers who will share key case studies and deliver important panel discussions with more industry leaders and successful care

business operators Visit the event website: https://www.residentialandhomecareshow.co.uk/TheCarerUK Click here to register for FREE: https://rfg.circdata.com/publish/hpc22/?source=thecareruk

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

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 19

NHS Leaders Call for Action to Offset Spiralling Fuel Prices and Keep Health Care Staff on the Road Key NHS staff across the country, including district nurses, physiotherapists and midwives who are needed to drive hundreds of miles to see and treat home-bound vulnerable patients and new-borns, are facing a real and present cost of living crisis exacerbated by rising petrol rises.

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement health leaders are now urging the Treasury to rapidly do more to shield community-based healthcare staff from soaring prices at the pumps or risk healthcare professionals, who rely heavily on their cars, quitting in their droves.

The NHS Confederation and NHS Providers are warning that due to rising fuel costs, which now stand at an average of £1.67 per litre of petrol, the Government must do more to alleviate financial pressures on community staff and ensure they are better reimbursed for the petrol they buy through both mileage rate reimbursements and business tax relief.

The current mileage reimbursement rate for health staff on standard NHS employment contracts is set by the Treasury in agreement with trade unions bodies and NHS employers and reviewed twice a year, with the next review due next month.

As it stands if NHS staff travel in their cars for work, most can claim

taxable expenses of 56p per mile up to 3,500 miles per year and 20p for any miles driven over that, a rate that has remained static since 2014.

This means that many NHS staff, particularly those in rural areas, some of whom have to travel thousands of miles to care for patients, are seeing the cost of fueling their cars increase dramatically, costing them up to £100 a month in some cases.

With the health service already carrying 110,000 vacancies, NHS leaders say they are becoming increasingly concerned about the impact of soaring fuel costs on colleagues, alongside other cost of living pressures. They say there is a real risk of more staff leaving the profession.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “We know that the mounting cost-of-living is already having a real impact on our staff and that over the course of the next year that pressure will be compounded.

“NHS leaders are now very concerned about these costs, particularly those working in community settings, and are calling on the Government to take drastic measures to avoid a mass exodus.

“Put simply if staff in the community can’t afford to fill their tanks,

then they cannot to make important house calls and check in on some of the most vulnerable and poorly patients in our communities. This in turn will have a knock-on effect on other services with increasing numbers of patients needing to make emergency calls and going to hospital for the treatment they should have at home.”

Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “Spiraling costs will have a huge impact on staff who have given so much in supporting patients through the pandemic, particularly those who have no choice but to use private cars to provide care.

"We understand this is a challenging issue, but there is a clear opportunity here to support hard pressed community health care staff, and in particular, staff on lower bands, as these dramatic fuel cost increases come alongside a wider squeeze on living costs.

“We already face high vacancy rates in key community roles including health visiting and district nursing – these services are likely to be the most under pressure. Community services have a vitally important role in delivering high quality care at or close to home in the future.

They deserve better, and we must do all we can to ensure they feel valued and supported.”

Two Friends Reunited at Care Home More than 60 Years After First Meeting Dora Weaver (L) and Beryl Wornham (R) have been reunited at MHA Morel Court, more than 60 years after first meeting Two friends who met each other whilst working more than 60 years ago have been reunited thanks to a Penarth based care home.

Beryl Wornham and Dora Weaver both worked at the Salvation Army in Cardiff and “instantly” became friends.

They both stayed in touch with one another until Dora moved away and now, more than 60 years after meeting for the first time, they are both living at MHA Morel Court care home.

The home is situated in landscaped grounds a short distance from the seafront and one mile south west of Penarth town centre and offers 36 places for residential care.

Dora moved into the home last week and was recognised by Beryl, and once the home started to find out it was a huge but pleasant surprise Beryl, 90, has lived at the home for five years and said: “I recognised Dora as soon as I saw her and it's so nice to see her after a very long time.

“We instantly became friends when at the Salvation Army and shared the same humour which really

helped.

“We have been friends for a long time and it's been nice to catch up and listen to one another about what we have been up to since we last met.

“It's been great seeing Dora again and I am very happy we have been reunited again.”

Dora, 93, said: “I have known Beryl for more than 60 years so it's nice to see a familiar face in the home.

“We have been spending a lot of time together and I am glad to have met with her again.”

June Mansell, community coordinator said: “You can't separate the two ever since they have met again.

“We have had instances in the past where couples have been reunited but I don't think we have had anything like this before.

“Beryl was elated when she recognised Dora, and you will always see the two of them together when we are doing activities or when they are just spending time in the lounge.

“It's great for the two of them and it just shows that you never know when you will bump into old friends again.”

PAGE 20 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

Answering The Care Funding Question

By Will Hale, CEO at Key Later Life Finance (www.keyadvice.co.uk) While care in older age is not something most people want to think about, it is a challenge modern society needs to meet as increasing numbers of people are living to older ages – often with physical, medical and cognitive support needs.

This is certainly on the agenda for the government who under their “Build Back Better” initiative intends to bring in sweeping changes from October 2023 – including a £86,000 cap on the amount that people need to pay for care. While there are already suggestions that the cap isn’t really a cap, given the fact that not all costs are included, there is some hope that the changes will create a fairer system.

That said, the vast majority of those needing care in older age will need to make some contribution to meeting these costs and how this will be delivered has been the driving force behind Key’s series of reports on the issue since 2019 and the third Care Report: Tackling the Care Question has just been published.

For the study, we asked over-55s across the UK about their views on care and also submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to local authorities.

It is hard not to have some sympathy for councils as they juggle supporting residents with a wide range of other pressing needs with reduced budgets and ever increasing scrutiny of their performance. Key’s FOI request looked to better understand not only who they were supporting but how this had changed during the pandemic and how they understood potential future demand.

Just 6% of councils questioned had made no changes to adult care provision during the pandemic. In contrast, 71% increased funding for care homes and 71% increased the number of regular check-ins for shielding adults While this was a great step forward, the FOI did reveal that of the 201 councils who provided information only 16 recorded enquiries from those needing adult social care.

While management information can seem extremely dry, it does help organisations to understand future

demand and ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to support these needs which is why these findings are so worrying. Authorities in Yorkshire (29% recorded enquiries) were the best performers but no councils in the East Midlands, East of England and the South East claimed to record this information.

For those who need care but don’t quality for council support – either due to their finances or needs – ‘self funding’ is their only option which can be expensive depending on the type of support they require.

Nearly one in three (32%) over-55s told us they were worried about how they will fund care in later life with 11% feeling they will not be able to and 17% saying if they need care their local council will have to pay.

Most over-55s believe they will be able to rely on their investments and pension income to fund any need for long-term care. However growing numbers are looking to property wealth.

While the mantra has been that ‘no one should have to sell their home to pay for care’, the reality is that for most people their home is their largest asset with over-65s owning unmortgaged property wealth worth as much as £1.256 trillion – making it a viable funding source. Indeed, one in four (26%) over-55s say they will use equity tied up in their home to help them which is higher than in 2019 when just 19% said they would use property wealth as part of care funding.

There are no easy answers as anyone working in the sector will know. But there is certainly an argument for older homeowners to use the wealth tied up in bricks and mortar to find the right care option for their individual circumstances.

Using housing equity to fund property maintenance, to adapt the home to make it more suitable for later life living or to pay for domiciliary care seems to make sense. Keeping older people in their own homes for longer is desirable from both a societal and a public finances perspective. If we are happy to support older homeowners use their equity to provide children/grandchildren with deposits, repay debts and boost income then perhaps we need to more actively engage the same customers, and their families, on the topic of the care and how to fund it.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY Will Hale has been CEO of the UK’s largest equity release adviser Key Later Life Finance https://www.keyadvice.co.uk/ since 2017 and joined the company in 2014 as Corporate Business Development Director. Previously he worked at specialist annuity provider Partnership and his career includes a range of senior roles in the later life market.

Care UK Picks Up Double Shortlisting In National Catering Awards Chefs and catering teams working for Colchester-based Care UK have been shortlisted in two categories of the Public Sector Catering Awards.

The providers’ six strong Food and Hotel Services Team has been shortlisted in the Care Catering category and Andrew Bedwell of Millers Grange care home in Oxfordshire has been shortlisted in the Chef of the Year category.

The team shortlisting is in recognition of the way Care UK supports the chefs and kitchen teams in its 153 homes to deliver delicious, high-quality meals that allow every resident to dine with dignity regardless of any dietary requirements. From training every chef in catering for modified diets to promoting entertaining food-related events such as global food festivals, the team supports every chef to be the best they can.

Care UK was the first care home provider to fully adopt the new International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative for residents who have difficulties with swallowing.

James Clear, Hotel Services Hospitality Manager, trained chefs months ahead of the national roll-out of the launch and helped to create e-learning for all home colleagues so they understood how to support residents with dysphagia. As a result, those residents who cannot eat food prepared for the main menu are able to safely enjoy carefully prepared, home-cooked meals with the same delicious tastes and appearances as everyone else’s meal.

Andrew Bedwell is a good example of the calibre of chefs Care UK is able to attract, with an impressive CV that includes overseeing catering for up to 10,000 people a day at Blenheim Palace, a senior role in a

well-known restaurant group and setting up numerous new gastro pubs. Inspired by Care UK’s innovative approach to residents’ food and dining experience, Andy joined Millers Grange as Head Chef in 2019, just before it opened.

Millers Grange home manager Alison Parry said: “Andy meets every new resident to learn about their personality and tastes. Millers Grange residents are well-travelled, and several are from overseas. He works with his small team to create themed meals and events to help residents settle in and to celebrate them as individuals. One lady who had lived in India was keen to have an authentic curry, so she and Andy produced it together – with her grinding the spices in a pestle and mortar. That demonstrates his incredible talent for not only being a top notch chef but someone who really gets what it is that care home residents want from their kitchen team.”

Speaking about the award shortlisting for his central support team, Care UK’s Director, Food and Hotel Services Operations Jon Bicknell said: “We truly believe that dining is one of the most important aspects of life in any care home and we invest heavily in selecting and nurturing the very best chefs and kitchen teams. My team works very hard supporting those chefs from Aberdeen to Dorset – often travelling long distances and staying away from their own families to deliver that support. I am so proud of them and winning this prestigious award would be great recognition for their talent and dedication.”

Care UK colleagues only have to wait until 7th April to find out if they will be bringing home the winners trophies from a ceremony being held in London. Anyone who wants to know more about joining an awardwinning band of chefs can see opportunities at https://www.careuk.com/careers

Lakeland Dairies’ Reimagine Colcannon Chef Competition, Offers Winner £1000 Amazon Gift Card Prize Steeped in Irish heritage, Lakeland Dairies is a 100% farmer-owned and managed Irish Dairy Co-Operative. With St Patrick’s Day on the 17 of March, March has become the month of Lakeland Dairies’ annual Celebrate Green campaign.

The campaign embraces the Irish Co-Operative’s excellence in dairy farming, the lush green grass and high-quality milk from its family farms, alongside a heritage in creating professional dairy products, all carefully designed to deliver extraordinary taste and fantastic functional performance.

To celebrate, they are inspiring the whole industry, from hotel to hospital chefs, to celebrate their Irish Dairy, by entering their Colcannon Competition. Judged by Lakeland Dairies and the Craft Guild of Chefs, the competition encourages chefs to create a modern twist on Colcannon. One lucky chef will win an amazing £1000 amazon gift card.

The competition runs through the month of March when chefs can submit their entry including a photograph and description of the dish via Lakeland Dairies’ website for a chance to win. Entries will be judged for their creativity and visual appearance.

75% of chefs* said they usually make a special dinner to celebrate St Patrick’s day, and in the same survey, voted Colcannon as chef’s

favourite Irish dish*. Colcannon is traditionally an Irish potato-based side dish, made with fluffy mashed potato, deliciously creamy Irish butter and cream, with fresh cabbage.

To support the competition, Lakeland Dairies have created an inspiring ‘Reimagining Colcannon’ Guide which presents many exciting and innovative ideas alongside lots of fresh approaches to the dish.

To make a modern twist on the dish, chefs are being encouraged to

explore Lakeland Dairies range of high-quality professional products; Lakeland Dairies Real Dairy Whipping Cream, Pure Irish Butter or Millac Gold Double for a deliciously creamy finish.

Jean Cattanach, marketing Controller at Lakeland Dairies says: “March is such an exciting time for Lakeland Dairies, it’s the month of Celebrate Green when we shine a spotlight on our farming excellence and Irish provenance.”

“We can’t wait to see the amazing Colcannon dishes the fantastically skilled chefs across the country will create.”

With a proud heritage of excellence in dairy farming, Lakeland Dairies is a 100% farmer-owned and managed Irish dairy co-operative, whose products are made from high-quality milk from the lush green pastures of its 3,200 family farms.

Claim your free Reimaging Colcannon Guide and enter here: https://bit.ly/3uBbShR Website: www.lakelanddairies.com/foodservice Facebook: @lakelanddairiesfoodservice Twitter: @lakelandFS *Survey of 1200 chefs, 2021

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PAGE 22 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

Autonomy And Consent – The Digital Care Management Platform Involving Service Users in Their Own Care. Log my Care’s Newest Feature Puts Consent Back into the Heart Of Care Log my Care (www.logmycare.co.uk), “the most userfriendly digital care management platform on the market,” has launched its newest feature, consent management. Designed alongside carers, the feature enables care providers to manage their service users’ consent records directly in Log my Care’s platform – making quality assurance a breeze.

Building on the electronic signature feature for care and support plans introduced last November, service users, or their Legal Power of Attorney, will now be able to sign digital consent and lack of capacity forms.

Care providers have the option to choose from a list of pre-populated templates to present to their clients for consent, with the option to amend these, as required. All signed consent forms are easily accessible and make evidencing consent for care incredibly simple.

Consent has long been an issue in the care sector. The ever-increasing demand for social care has led to reports of neglect and service users feeling unheard and unseen. Log my Care now makes it easier for care providers to document and manage their consent policies and procedures, helping them to deliver personcentred care and give their clients the autonomy they deserve.

Consent management is easy-to-use and allows care providers to take a more standardised approach to recording consent or lack of capacity. Having evidence of consent easily accessible can help care providers achieve good and outstanding ratings in their inspections, as it’s a legal requirement that regulatory bodies check diligently.

Everything you need consent for in one place, the consent management feature has been added to Log my Care’s Care Plans and Risk Assessments Module. (https://logmycare.co.uk/pricing/care-plans) Sam Hussain, Founder and CEO of Log my Care, says, “We're working hard to put people into the heart of social care by supporting them to have choice, control and independence. Our mission is to make peoplecentred technology accessible to everyone in social care - that's why our core product is easy-to-use and free for everyone who needs it.”

Getting Your Fire Safety Right Passive Fire Protection maximises the time available to evacuate a property, and or prevent a fire from taking hold in the first place but it is vital it is completed by a reputable, competent and third-party accredited company.

With so much attention in the media, it is not surprising that it is attracting non-specialised contractors who, even with the best of intentions, may not be completing the works correctly.

Our aim is to provide a ‘Certified Solution,’ this means the processes and materials used in the repair have been tested in front of a furnace to ensure they can provide at least the specified protection time, dependant on the requirement. Where this is not possible, we consult our suppliers to establish an ‘Engineered Solution.’

The reality of employing a non-specialising contractor is that it is quite likely the work will be identified as inadequate during a fire risk assessment or fire authority inspection. The most common indicator of non-

compliant work is the use of pink Polyurethane (PU) foam fillers. Whist the cannister instructions will give you the assurance of up to 5 hours protection, this can only be achieved with strict requirements for installation. For most common repairs these requirements cannot be met and

the product cannot be installed. It is recommended by ASFP and BMTRADA that any installations of pink foam are removed and replaced with a true fire rated alternative.

We are often asked “Can I do the work myself?” As stated by the HSE, competence can be described as the combination of training, skills, experience and knowledge that a person has and their ability to apply them to perform a task safely. Unless suitable training has been undertaken, it is unlikely that you or your maintenance staff would be able to demonstrate competence in fire stopping works. Fire stopping is a very specialised part of the building works.

We hold third party accreditation with International Fire Consultants (IFC) and are regularly audited to ensure we employ appropriate trained & competent staff, processes & procedures and only use suitable materials. We are also proud to be members of Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP).

We are working hard to engage with the care industry to ensure you get the best advice and workmanship to ensure your buildings are safe for residence and staff as well as being compliant with current regulations.

See the advert below for further details.

PAGE 24 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

How Technology is Helping Care Homes to Improve Supply Chain Efficiency

By Mark McCarthy, CFO at Zupa www.zupa.com For the care industry, the by-product of previous lockdowns, combined with Brexit, has led to significant operational knock-on effects. From shortages of delivery drivers to supply chain bottlenecks and of course, ever-evolving problems around staff recruitment and retention.

Essentially, care homes and staff are having to do much more with far less resource. Add to this increased pressures around staff pay, continued budget cuts and the burden of keeping on top of new regulations around nutrition and allergens, there is little let up for the sector so far this year.

Outdated processes and mounting supply chain issues haven’t helped matters either. Too many care homes are still placing considerable strain on managers and staff with clunky paperbased admin. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. Many care homes are making use of fit for purpose technology in the quest to eliminate the paper chase, achieve greater operational visibility and build more robust supply chains. eProcurement platforms in particular, are beginning to support wider supplier relationship management needs, as well as facilitating the automation of stock control, and the importance of accurate inventory management.

ROBUST RELATIONSHIPS MATTER For many care providers, using the right kind of technology to save time on already stretched resources, can be helpful. eProcurement systems tend to store operational data in one central place, which removes the need for numerous admin processes. What care homes really need is to have complete visibility of the volume of products they are buying at any given point, and they also need to know exactly how much they are spending. Without accurate information available in real time, how can they be expected to react quickly and more efficiently?

When it comes to kitchen management, care homes often come under fire around quality and provision of catering - not to mention resource. So, staying on budget while sourcing high quality, local ingredients can be a challenge for care homes, especially in light of the current supply chain issues. Most care providers like to use local suppliers to support their community. In some cases, this is for reasons of convenience, and also because it is perhaps easier to build a more robust supplier relationship with local businesses. While this may be good for the local economy, it can sometimes lead to care homes paying higher prices for goods and also result in inconsistencies in the quality of those products or services.

Many new technologies seek to solve that supply chain conundrum today, by expanding the purchasing range for care homes and providing them with a full product purchasing lists in one place – and often with live pricing, which means the provider always knows the rate they are paying is up to date and can compare easily between suppliers. Having access to this information also helps care homes to consolidate the products they buy. Equally it means that care home managers have more clout to negotiate better prices with their local suppliers without compromising on quality. The same applies to non-food items such as medical equipment, maintenance, and cleaning services.

CLEAR VISIBILITY WILL HELP TO EASE PRESSURE Overspend is also a growing problem for the care sector. Care homes have faced many hurdles over recent years and food shortages and inflation have not helped. Most of the time, care providers are managing tough budget cuts while still trying to retain their quality of service. There are several aspects that can help care homes to reduce spend, even when supply chain problems strike. Managing a meticulous stock and inventory system is the perfect place to start. Clear visibility of what you have in the building means you only order what you need, when you need it. Over ordering and paying over the odds for good is a quick way to haemorrhage money. eProcurement technology can often simplify that process for care homes, reducing admin time and importantly wastage, which is a definite cash burner.

Care homes are under scrutiny to operate as efficiently as possible. Tired, overworked staff usually leads to human error, so using the right technology to reduce admin pressure on staff, frees up their time to improve the care of residents. The focus for technology has to be on equipping care homes with the tools to make their day-to-day operations run more smoothly and efficiently.

Over 14 Million Steps Recorded in Challenge to Enable Care Home Sensory Gardens Housing and care residents, their family members, and staff at housing association Central and Cecil (C&C) have recorded a combined step count of over 14 million during January and February, supporting a special fundraising project which will see sensory gardens installed at four London care homes.

The “Move for Care” challenge saw participants walking with the initial aim of beating a 9.5 million step target, designated in recognition of C&C’s 95th anniversary in late 2021. Having exceeded that total, C&C has also succeeded in securing £25,000 funding from multiple sources, which enables work on the sensory gar-

have include a tour of the Royal Albert Hall, cruises on the River Thames, and Amazon Fire & Echo Dots.

Sharon Bye, Director of Care at C&C, said: “’Move for Care’ has truly inspired our residents to get moving at a time of year when it’s so much easier to do little or no exercise. We’ve been thrilled with the response and to achieve a grand total of 14,049,304 steps is truly impressive.

“Of course, our care staff in particular go the extra mile every day to support our wonderful residents at our four homes in Richmond and Camden. The money raised will make such a difference to residents’ lives, with the sensory gardens

dens to start this Spring.

Individual winners from across C&C who walked the most steps have been rewarded for their efforts with fabulous prizes donated to the organisation. These

featuring musical equipment, scented flower beds, and wildlife-friendly areas for them all to enjoy.”

Accelerated Deaths of People with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Highlights Urgent Need for Funding Alzheimer’s Research UK said more funding is needed for dementia research after figures reveal COVID19 pandemic may have indirectly accelerated other causes of death, including Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

David Thomas, Head of Policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We’ve known for some time that people with dementia have been hit disproportionately hard during the pandemic. But it is heartbreaking to see confirmation of how COVID-19 has accelerated the deaths of so many people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

“Even taking into account the higher number of deaths earlier in the pandemic, dementia returned as the

leading cause of death in England in Wales in January this year. These figures serve as a stark reminder of the growing challenge we face in tackling dementia, and the urgent need to address it.

“The need for more investment in dementia research has never been greater. With sustained, increased funding, we can use the lessons learned during the pandemic as an opportunity to enhance research into the diseases that cause dementia.

“We’re calling for the government to set up a Dementia Medicines Taskforce to apply the same approach that delivered life-saving COVID-19 vaccines to bringing about the first life-changing treatments for people who desperately need them.”

The Alzheimer’s Show 2022, The Business Design Centre, Islington London The UK’s leading event for dementia runs on on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th March 2022 at The Business Design Centre, London. The two-day conference and exhibition showcases the latest information, advice, products and services for healthcare professionals and the public helping those with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

New for 2022, the Virtual Dementia Tour will be delivering their complete training session involving an 8 minute simulation followed by a 75 minute debrief giving visitors the opportunity to fully understand the behaviour and needs of people living with dementia.

Spaces are limited and should be booked in advance.

A full conference programme features leading experts and professionals in three separate theatres, as well as daily question time sessions, panel debates, Q&A’s, practical activities, professional advice clinics,

interactive dementia experiences and a wide range of dementia and care exhibitors.

The Alzheimer’s Show is an unmissable event for those wanting to learn from leading experts, share ideas and information, develop a better understanding of dementia and further professional skills.

For further information and to book tickets visit www.alzheimersshow.co.uk.

Tickets cost £19.50 online, £27 on the door.

The full Virtual Dementia Tour costs £45 and includes entry to the show.

0203 011 4070 | enquiries@thepolicycompany.co.uk

www.thepolicylibrary.co.uk

PAGE 26 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

The National Association of Care Catering Launches its Care Chef of the Year 2022 Competition The National Association of Care Catering’s (NACC) Care Chef of the Year competition has opened for entries, officially starting the association’s search for the best chef working in the care sector.

The prestigious competition has been shining a spotlight on culinary talent across the care sector for 22 years. Open to all chefs and cooks working in care settings1, it recognises, showcases and celebrates their sector-specific knowledge, skills and flair.

The entry brochure can be downloaded here and the deadline for entries is 25th April 2022.

The NACC Care Chef of the Year 2022 competition is supported by main sponsor Unilever Food Solutions and event sponsor The Worshipful Company of Cooks.

Focusing on the importance of food, nutrition and positive mealtime experiences as part of quality care, entrants are challenged to create an appealing and delicious two-course menu (main and dessert) appropriate for people in a care setting. The combined food cost for both courses should be no more than £3.00 per head based on three portions and it must be nutritionally balanced. The menu must also feature at least one product from Unilever Food Solutions’ sector-relevant catering range2.

All paper entries will be judged by a central judging panel and the successful chefs that make it through to the next stage will compete at the regional heats in June/July 2022. Here they will have 90 minutes to produce their dishes and demonstrate their skill set and knowledge under the watchful eyes of the competition judges. The judges will be looking for clear nutritional understanding of the foods they are using and how they benefit the needs of their clientele, plus culinary flair through flavours, menu balance, execution, presentation, and hygiene best practice.

The two highest-scoring competitors from each regional heat will compete for the title NACC Care Chef

of the Year 2022 at the national finals on 5th October.

Sue Cawthray, National Chair of the NACC, said: “The launch of the NACC Care Chef of the Year is always an exciting event. This fantastic competition is a highlight of the NACC calendar and a brilliant platform to showcase the skills, knowledge and excellence of chefs working in our sector, as well as the career opportunities it offers.

“Delicious, nutritious food and positive dining experiences are fundamental to quality care, so you could say that the kitchen is at the heart of a care home. It’s therefore only right that we celebrate and champion the incredible talents of care chefs who, day-in-day-out, ensure the individual and varied needs of those in their care are understood and met with skill, flair and dignity.

“I encourage everyone to enter their amazing chefs and showcase the culinary excellence our wonderful sector delivers. I can’t wait to see how this year’s competition unfolds. Good luck everyone!”

Alex Hall, Executive Chef at Unilever Food Solutions, said: “We are very excited and proud to continue sponsoring the NACC Care Chef of the Year competition in 2022. This competition provides a great opportunity for care chefs around the country to showcase their skills and raise the profile of care catering.

“Our team at Unilever Food Solutions is delighted to be working alongside chefs within the care sector to ensure that every mealtime is the highlight of the residents’ day, be that supporting with activities to nutritionally analysed recipes, training, inspiration and competitions like this. We look forward to seeing how this year’s competitors rise to the challenge and wish them the very best of luck."

Virginia Bond, Master of the Worshipful Company of Cooks, said: “Once again, the Worshipful Company of Cooks is proud to sponsor the NACC competition. For more than 500 years we have been involved in the world of cookery; initially being responsible for standards of catering and hygiene in the City of London and more recently closely engaged, through our support for competitions such as this one, in encouraging chefs to achieve high standards that they can then take back into their workplace.

“To all competitors we send our best wishes and we look forward to being able to host the winner at our annual Prize Winners’ Lunch when you will be able to sit back and enjoy the results of someone else’s hard work. Good luck!”

For more information on the NACC Care Chef of the Year 2022 competition and to download the entry form visit bit.ly/CareChef2022

Resident Gwen Celebrates Her 100th Birthday at The Heights Care Home To celebrate the landmark 100th Birthday of Gwen Mason, the care team at The Heights, nursing care home of The Fremantle Trust, gave her a party to remember as she received her traditional congratulatory letter from Her Majesty, The Queen, marking her milestone occasion.

Born in India, Gwen made the journey to her new life in England in the 70s, where she enjoyed living in London before her move to High Wycombe. Throughout her working life, she was praised for her diligence and expertise in a various Personal Assistant jobs across many sectors. She had great enjoyment of sport, jazz music and would love to play the piano for the local community.

In honour of Gwen, The Heights pulled out all the stops with a musical soundtrack from Sheralyn Edwards of ‘Musical Sunshine’, great food and an impressive celebratory cake. Gwen was also joined by members of her immediate family as well as her friends at the home.

Gwen's daughter June commented: "Mum has always had a keen sense of humour and a very happy outlook on life. We're so happy to be able to celebrate this incredible birthday with her at The Heights."

When asked about her secret to living to such an incredible age, Gwen commented: "By keeping a positive outlook on life, an interest in people and combining it all with a firm hold on my Christian faith."

Ontex Launches NEW Men’s Pants Range Incontinence experts Ontex have launched their new iD for Men Level 4 pants.

Providing extreme comfort and a perfect fit, the all-round stretch, elastified material has a thin and flexible core to ensure that the pants fit like real underwear, perfect for carrying on with day to day activities. The pant has been designed to stay in place, not lose its shape or become bulky even when saturated.

Thanks to the cotton-like material used on both the inside and out, it feels soft, all day long, so you won’t know you’re wearing an incontinence pant. This fully breathable material means a healthy skin and no sweating.

Ontex exclusively specialises in products for continence management, including products for light, moderate and heavy incontinence in a range of unisex, female, male and junior styles. The products offer odour control and fast absorption, keeping liquid locked in the pad as well as anti-leakage protection. iD Men Level 4 come in a size Medium and Large and are available from iddirect.com, ASDA pharmacy and local pharmacies priced at £8.99 Ontex iD can be purchased from www.id-direct.com

Barchester’s Charitable Foundation Appoints Two New Trustees Barchester’s Charitable Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of two new trustees to its board; Julia Scott and Andy Tilden, who both bring a wealth of experience from their exceptional careers working in the field of social care.

Established in 2000, the aim of Barchester’s Charitable Foundation is to help older people and adults living with a disability or mental health problems in local communities across the country. The charity provides grants to improve mobility and quality of life, and each year the Foundation distributes over £150,000 to individuals, small community groups and charities across England, Scotland and Wales.

From starting out as an occupational therapist in the NHS, Julia’s career has developed across a variety of different roles. Prior to joining the Royal College, Julia was Head of Disability services at Kensington and Chelsea Social Services in London. She was Chief Executive of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists from 2006 to 2021.

Julia was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from Brunel University in 2006 in recognition of her contribution to undergraduate Occupational Therapy education and previously taught a Quality Assurance module at the University. In March 2011, Julia was awarded a prestigious Social Care Fellowship from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE). Julia is one of only six recipients of this Fellowship. In March 2016, Julia was awarded an inaugural Fellowship from Skills For Care, in recognition of her leadership and support of the social care workforce.

Julia is now a Trustee of Age UK, a Strategic Advisor for Healthcomms Consulting and a mentor for other Allied Health Professionals and is greatly looking forward to applying her experience to the work of Barchester’s Charitable Foundation Board.

Andy Tilden retired as Director of Operations at Skills for Care in March 2021 having spent the previous year as Interim CEO. His role covered leadership and management, standards, learning qualifications and apprenticeships, recruitment and retention, workforce innovation and regulated professionals. Andy has been working in and around social care since the late 1970s. He initially qualified as a teacher and has worked as a residential care worker, a trainer and manager in the NHS and as a lecturer. He qualified as a social worker in 1984 and worked in juvenile justice, child protection and learning disability services and a lecturer. He served three years as a NICE Fellow.

Andy is now Vice Chair and trustee of the RCN Covid Foundation, a trustee of Community Catalysts and a Non-Executive of Training Now which is part of the Agincare group. Andy is a Fellow of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists and in 2021 he was awarded an OBE for services to social care.

Dr Pete Calveley, Chairman of Barchester’s Charitable Foundation Comments: “We are delighted to welcome Julia and Andy onto the Barchester Foundation board. We are excited to work with them and we are certain that their many years of experience and combined expertise in social care will be hugely beneficial in helping us shape the Foundation’s future.”

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 27

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

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 regularity, 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.

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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.

See the advert on page 11.

Wall & Door Protection 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 protection 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 & FDIS accreditation.

More information on Yeoman Shield’s range of product and services can be found at www.yeomanshield.com

C&S Seating Ltd is 30 Years Old! Since 1991, C&S Seating have provided postural control equipment to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and medical equipment services nationwide and supply regularly to the NHS. With 9 different sizes of TRolls and Log Rolls, in a removable and machine washable, Waterproof Titex or Soft Knit material.

These rolls are used to control posture and position of the body in either supine or side lying. Our Knee & Leg support wedges are available in 2 sizes.

C&S Seating is the sole manufacturer of the Alternative Positioning Support – Available in two sizes and ideal when more control of the abducted

lower limb is required, which has removable side cushions and middle pommel.

Our popular and vibrant range of Soft Knit covers in a choice of 5 colours provide a softer alternative that fit easily over our standard Waterproof rolls. Ideal for the colder seasons and can also fit snug over our waterproof rolls for maximum protection and comfort.

Contact us on 01424 853331 or visit www.cands-seating.co.uk to request or download a brochure, pricelist or order form, request an individualised quotation, speak to an advisor or to place an order.

Immersive Music Experiences for Care Homes Music can be an incredible tool for enhancing the quality of life and for evoking memories in people living with dementia and sensory impairments. At Silent Memories we provide wireless headset packages for care homes, providing a completely unique sensory audio experience for residents.

WHY USE HEADSETS?

Create a fully immersive experience through the power of headsets, helping develop a deeper sense of coherence, communication, and stimulation. The headsets contain 3 channels meaning 3 different types of music can be set up at the same time to cater for a range of musical tastes. Think meandering along to Mozart on channel 1, swinging to Vera Lynn on channel 2 or rocking out to Elvis Presley on channel 3!

By playing familiar tracks through headsets, memories and feelings can be stimulated. Music can be carefully chosen by loved ones and care workers to really enhance the experience for residents.

KEEP ON MOVING!

Care homes using Silent Memories have noted a distinct increase in engagement, animation, and stimulation amongst residents. Using headsets allows them to opt in or out of the sessions. The sessions can be taking place in a communal area and anyone not taking part won’t be distracted by the activity.

With a long transmission range, it also allows patients with limited mobility to take part in their own rooms.

WHAT THE CARE HOMES SAY...

"I have been astounded by the positive affects holding a ‘Silent Disco’ has had on my clients. Silent Memories have played within our care home setting and we have been surprised at the way in which the impact of intimate, personal music, especially tailored to clients, has engaged the most static, distant clients and really ‘brought them back to life’, and brought obvious pleasure and joy to many others.

Briony Sloan - Homecroft, Bradford

Please contact the team at Silent Noize to find out how we can help improve the quality of living for your residents. info@silentnoizeevents.com, call 0203 727 5382 or visit www.silentnoizeevents.com/silentmemories See the advert on page 15.

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.

Cash’s Labels- “The Name Behind the Name” 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 29.

PAGE 28 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

CATERING FOR CARE

Lakeland Dairies Foodservice Launch ‘Fortification Focus’ Resources for N&H Week As sponsors of this year’s N&H Week, Lakeland Dairies Foodservice have applied their dairy expertise to publish a series of exciting fortification resources for caterers.

The dedicated fortification toolkit includes an animation, case study, milk powder guide and fortified protein recipe book and video resources which are available to download free from Lakeland Dairies Foodservice website. The resources are aimed at supporting caterers to understand the nutritional difference between milk powders and the effect this has on resident or patient wellbeing when fortifying.

Jean Cattanach, marketing controller Lakeland Dairies Foodservice comments: “We are delighted to be at the forefront of driving better understanding, and better nutrition in fortified diets during N&H Week and beyond. Our fortified resources offer an easy to use, practical solution for caterers who are delivering fortified menus in this challenging area of hydration and nutrition.”

Fortifying is a complex area of nutrition. Lakeland Dairies have combined their expertise with insight from experts in fortified diets to deliver the innovative resources for healthcare and care caterers.

Their ground-breaking, Lakeland Dairies’ Guide to Choosing Milk Powders highlights the importance of understanding the variations in milk powders nutritional values, and the significant difference these variations can make to the wellbeing of residents and patients.

Other resources in the series include a case study, which is supported by an engaging animation. Based upon work by Dave Richards, group catering manager at Hill Care and consultant dietitian Rachael Masters, the case study demonstrates how easy it can be for caterers to deliver fortified hot drinks in a tasty and nutritionally effective manner.

The case study provides a simple three-step guide to fortify hot drinks with a food first approach, assisting care caterers to discover

how fortifying liquid milk is a simple and efficient method to support those with, or at risk of undernutrition.

By adding just five heaped tablespoons of Lakeland Dairies 100% Dairy Skimmed Milk Powder to a pint of milk, care caterers can provide an extra 275 calories and 27.5g of protein in 5tbsp. That is more protein than 100g of steak, or three eggs would provide.

Dave Richards comments: “Using Lakeland Dairies 100% Skimmed Milk Powder on our hot drinks trolley in the fortified milk and fortified milkshakes has made a fantastic difference.

It enables us to easily and simply achieve our goal to add both calories and protein into the diets of our residents. Especially in residents whose appetite and portion sizes are small; the provision of fortified milk and fortified dishes are essential for improving their overall wellbeing, especially tissue viability and skin integrity” All the fortification resources highlight how fortifying diets is about more than just adding calories, underscoring how important it is to fortify with protein as well as calories to support good muscle health. They expertly explain how protein is essential for muscle maintenance, essential for general wellbeing, and for the body to grow and repair.

Consultant dietitian Rachael Masters who worked with Lakeland Dairies on the resources comments: “Fortifying can make a significant and positive impact for those identified as at risk of undernutrition.

As a dietitian I recommend Lakeland Dairies 100% Dairy Skimmed Milk Powder for fortification because it is an amazing source of both calories AND protein, providing an amazing 5.5g protein and 55kcal per 15g tablespoon” To download the Lakeland Dairies fortified resources for N&H Week please visit: https://bit.ly/3HOrXDU

It's Made For You - Texture Modified Meals raw vegetables crackers/rice cakes hard boiled sweets whole grapes nuts and seeds chewing gum cheese chunks Sufficient stamina is needed to prepare the solids bolus for swallowing, with bite-sized pieces of meat and bread requiring more than 20 chewing strokes per bolus.

This highlights how important it is that the many people with dysphagia need safe texture modified food, however it is prepared.

It’s Made for You provide a range of 80 delicious frozen meals and desserts for people with chewing and swallowing difficulties. Their meals comply with IDDSI Framework guidelines ensuring each meal can be prepared and enjoyed safely and with peace of mind. Prepared quickly in a microwave or oven, It’s Made For You can really help make mealtimes delicious, nutritious and easy.

To find out more www.itsmadeforyou.co.uk.

As a speech and language therapist, Sandra recommends the It’s Made for You Range as this provides people on IDDSI diets with an increased choice of delicious meals, which significantly reduce the risks of choking. This means that mealtimes are far more pleasant and enjoyable.

As a registered dietitian, Caroline recognises that up to 50% of people with dysphagia are at risk of malnutrition. She recommends the It’s Made for You Range to ensure the provision of an adequate nutritional intake whilst consuming a safe and appetising textured modified diet.

• • • • • • •

Written by Consultant Allied Health Professionals for It’s Made for You: Caroline Hill, Registered Dietitian Sandra Robinson, Independent Speech and Language Therapist & Consultant Dysphagia Practitioner

Texture modified foods are often recommended by speech and language therapists for people with dysphagia. Whilst there may be some people for whom this reduces the risk of aspiration pneumonia, for many the reason for this compensatory measure is to reduce the risk of choking.

Evidence demonstrates that the risk of choking on solids increases with age. This is for people with and without dysphagia. The number of care home residents living with dysphagia is between 50 to 75%, those with dementia up to 57% and those following a stroke up to 78%.

There is often some confusion between what constitutes a coughing fit and choking. Choking is defined as occurring when you cannot breathe, cough or make any noise.

People over 65 have seven times higher risk for choking on food than children aged 1–4 years.

After falls, choking on food presents as the second highest cause of preventable death in aged care. A diagnosis of pneumonitis is positively correlated with increased risks associated with choking on food.

Foods that are fibrous, hard, firm, stringy, chewy, sticky, dry, crumbly, crunchy or shaped in such a way that they can occlude the airway (round or long) pose a choking risk.

Foods that are consistently associated with choking and reported on autopsy findings include; • meat especially on the bone • bread • sandwiches • toast

References: Carrión S, Roca M, Costa A, Arreola V, Ortega O, Palomera E, Serra-Prat M, Cabré M, Clavé P. Nutritional status of older patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia in a chronic versus an acute clinical situation. Clin Nutr. 2017 Aug;36(4):1110-1116. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2016.07.009. Epub 2016 Jul 26. PMID: 27499393.

CE Safety. 2019. Report: The Un-Usual Suspects – Main Causes of Choking Deaths in the UK 2019. Online at: https://cesafety.co.uk/choking-deaths-report2019/ [Accessed May 2021] Cichero, J., 2018. Age-Related Changes to Eating and Swallowing Impact Frailty: Aspiration, Choking Risk, Modified Food Texture and Autonomy of Choice.

Geriatrics 3, 69. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics3040069 Kramarow, E., Warner, M., Chen, L.-H., 2014. Food-related choking deaths among the elderly. Inj Prev 20, 200. https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2013040795 RCSLT. 2020. Giving voice to people with swallowing difficulties. [Online].

Available from: https://www.rcslt.org/-/media/Project/RCSLT/rcslt-dysphagiafactsheet. pdf?la=en&hash=18AEDA640CDABD6D2CAB1A9293E8F44ED4E9572A [Accessed: September 2020].

PAGE 32 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

HYGIENE & INFECTION CONTROL

Robust Testing for Airborne Illnesses Urged Across the Care Industry to Protect Residents and Staff Airborne illnesses beyond COVID-19 and influenza must be part of prevention strategies in care homes to reduce hospitalisation of residents this winter, according to healthcare company Abbott.

While the nation is increasingly familiar with COVID-19 symptoms, as well as influenza, there are airborne diseases that are also putting people at risk. Respiratory Syncytial Virus – known as RSV – is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. While COVID-19 and influenza testing are becoming common practice, visitors entering care homes with RSV may go undetected.

The vital role testing plays in protecting both care home residents and staff is supported by Care England, the leading representative body for care providers in England.

"It is helpful to raise awareness of other airborne diseases that care home staff, residents and visitors might be unfamiliar with. Before the pandemic, not many people had heard the term ‘coronavirus’, but increased awareness has helped most understand why safety precautions and testing are of paramount importance in the care sector," commented Professor Martin Green, Chief Executive at Care England.

"We are fully aware of the immense pressure care homes are under as we head into the winter season, but the first line of defence against lesser-known airborne diseases – like RSV – is ensuring care staff are aware of it, increasing education on the symptoms, and ensuring testing is in place wherever possible," added Green.

RSV symptoms may include a runny nose, cough, temperature, sore throat, and wheezing[i]. For those aged over 65, RSV accounts for 175,000 appointments with general practitioners, 14,000 hospitalisations and 8,000 deaths per year in the UK[ii]. There are currently no specific treatments for RSV infection and management is purely sup-

portive through oxygen supplementation; therefore, prevention of contracting the disease is essential.

To detect RSV, care home providers should look to utilise kits that scan for airborne diseases – like Abbott’s ID NOW – a portable instrument used for front-line testing in health settings. It quickly provides results for COVID-19, influenza A & B, strep A and RSV, with positive results shown in a little as five minutes, and negative results in 13 minutes.

Gabriela Zackova, director of Dementia and Wellbeing at Loveday & Co Care Homes has recently added an ID NOW testing device. Gabriela said: "We’re excited to be using this point of care test for our staff, residents and their visitors. Last year, winter was one of the hardest times for our sector, not only due to the increased pressure to keep people safe, but also for our residents, who were separated from the people they love which had a significant impact on their wellbeing and mental health."

"ID NOW is a small, lightweight machine, about the size of a toaster, that will allow us to make even better decisions about risk levels for numerous viruses, enabling us to provide a more robust screening process for everyone at the facility."

Abbott has been a global leader in COVID-19 testing throughout the pandemic.

"While many staff and visitors will self-test for COVID-19 at home before entering the premises, it is vital precautions are taken for other airborne illnesses. By utilising a diagnostic testing device on-site, we can slow the spread of illness, better protect vulnerable residents, and minimise the risk of catching potentially life-threatening illnesses this winter," added Sam Lloyd, general manager, Infectious Diseases at Abbott’s rapid diagnostics business in the UK and Ireland.

For more information on Abbott’s ID NOW testing instrument, visit: www.Globalpointofcare.abbott/idnow or see the advert on pages 18-19.

Fragrance Solutions for Care Home Environments At Oxy-Gen Powered®, we understand the sensitivities and challenges associated with the caring business, especially when it comes to providing a clean, safe and odourless environment for your valuable members.

The Oxy-gen Powered range is designed to counter the unpleasant, tough odours that can present themselves despite a thorough cleaning regime. They are effective for odour elimination, yet safe for health.

The Oxygen-Pro uses patented technology that ensures a precise dose of fragrance oil is released consistently and continuously, guaranteeing the same level of freshness throughout the cartridge life, silently and discreetly. Oxygen-Pro is a true non-aerosol, continuous Fragrancing and Odour Elimination System.

Our air-care systems contain the proprietary odour neutralising agent, NeutraLox, which eliminates malodours rather than masking them. We can offer nonfragrant cartridges that simply eliminate nasty odours or a fantastic fragrance

range that will not only eliminate those bad odours but will emanate continuous, clean, fresh-smelling fragrances into the air.

The system is easy to use and is Carbon Footprint approved. In an independent study, the product has been assessed and verified for emissions and energy consumption and was found to have a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to aerosol products on the market. Changing cartridges is hassle-free and, more importantly, they are recyclable at the end of the cartridge life.

The Oxygen-Pro system is an ideal replacement for environmentally harmful aerosols, gels, liquids and other fragrance systems. There are no allergens, no added VOCs, no propellants, no solvents, no alcohols, just continuous, clean fresh fragrance all day, every day!

Email: fdtuk@oxygenpowered.com or tel: 01270 766676.

Introducing The World’s First Movable Bedpan Disposer Panaway® M1 A game-changing evolutionary step towards transforming waste management in elderly care, hospices and hospitals.

Haigh, a respected leader in waste disposal technology, is launching Panaway® M1 – the first-of-its-kind mov-

able bedpan disposer helping hospitals and care homes safeguard their patients, offering a mobile, cost effective, energy efficient and environmentally friendly solution to medical waste disposal.

Originally developed to deal with issues relating to sluice room flexibility, site access and maintenance response caused byCOVID-19 restrictions, the innovative design has been a game changer helping healthcare organisations rethink their infection prevention strategies.

An estimated 95%* of the UK NHS sites now use disposable medical pulp products for managing patient waste, with disposable (single-use) systems rapidly becoming established worldwide as best practice to prevent infections and crosscontamination within the healthcare environment. Panaway® M1 gives care organisations all the convenience, accessibility and benefits of a modern sluice room where and when it’s most needed - without compromising on safety. Easy to set up and relocate, Panaway® M1 is supplied with all fixtures and fittings required to use in a wide range of locations.

Leading the way in performance, versatility and ease of use, the Panaway® M1 is economical and energy efficient, using less energy and water than other washing systems. With no hot water required, it is good for the environment - and the paper pulp is eco-friendly, hygienic and highly cost effective.

Quiet, quick and easy to use, the Panaway® M1 disposes of pulp product and contents in less than a minute. It aims to make the life of the user as straightforward as possible, freeing up time for patient care.

Panaway® M1 is an invaluable addition as an emergency stand-in when a bedpan machine or washer is unavailable or as a cost-effective temporary solution whilst migrating a site to a disposable system.

Jacob Shepherd, Managing Director at Haigh, said “We have been bowled over by the overwhelmingly positive feedback from Panaway® M1 trials. This is the tool site operators wished they always had when it comes to patient waste and the associated infection prevention procedures. Even sites that do not currently use disposable pulp can see benefits without having to switch from washing systems all in one go.

We’ve already seen some neat ways Panaway® M1 has been used that were completely new to us and we are genuinely excited to see how this further develops over time.”

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

PAGE 34 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

HYGIENE & INFECTION CONTROL

Infection Control and Prevention Professor Martin Green OBE is an Expert Advisory Council member for P&G Professional and the Chief Executive of Care England.

2022 has started with the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 variant Omicron. This variant is much more transmissible than previous variants of the virus, and this reinforces the need for every care service to focus on infection control.

The winter months are always difficult for care providers because in

normal years we face issues such as seasonal flu and Norovirus, and there is limited scope for people to be outdoors, or for care homes to open windows and increase ventilation.

If infections do break out in care settings, because of the nature of residents – the majority of whom have comorbidities and are older and frail – the consequences of infections can be very serious.

When infections break out this also leads to the suspension of admissions and it may also trigger a visit from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). If the care provider cannot assure the CQC inspectors that they have done all they can to minimise the risk of infection, this may also result in a change to the rating of the service.

It is because of all the reasons that I’ve outlined that care providers place infection control as a very high priority and do all they can to protect their services from virus outbreaks.

What is good to know is that there are many products that care homes can use to make absolutely sure that the risk of viruses getting into care homes is kept to an absolute minimum.

Good infection control not only protects residents and staff, but is also an important part of ensuring that relatives and friends have confidence that the people they love are being kept safe.

Infection control is an essential part of delivering good quality care, but it also can be very labour-intensive and care providers look for products that people know are effective, and which are very easy to use. It is also very important to create a homely, rather than a sterile atmosphere, and using products that residents and their families are familiar with also helps to give confidence that the service is safe and free from infection.

Products that are familiar also help when you are trying to create a homely atmosphere for residents who may be living with dementia.

Product packaging and smells are very important in delivering a sense of well-being and security to residents in care services and this is even more pertinent considering visiting hours are still precarious.

Procter and Gamble are a real market leader in this area, and they have a range of products that will not only give the assurance that infection control is covered and are also easy to administer but are also known to residents, staff, and families.

Brands such as Fairy Professional and Flash Professional are trusted to provide a highly effective clean time and again, from first use. Likewise, laundry services are very important and trust brands such as Ariel Professional don’t just provide spotless clothes but feature scents familiar to residents and families.

In fact, Flash Professional Multi-Surface cleaner offers disinfection and fast contact time to kill 99.99% of bacteria and viruses in as little as 15 seconds, and can be used on a variety of surfaces, such as tables, counters, chairs, door knobs, drawer or cupboard handles, and windows.

Infection control is a very important part of delivering good quality care and maintaining the safety of residents. Despite the many viruses that try to attack care homes, there is a range of products to help care homes protect their residents and staff and ensure that services are delivered in safe environments .

However, with spring on the way and the worst of cold and flu season behind us, residents and families can look forward to quality time together, safe in the knowledge that their care establishments are taking steps to implement efficient and effective training in which their staff are well trained.

Keep Your Home Infection Free with JLA As restrictions on visits to care homes start to ease, care home owners and managers are faced with the continuing challenge of ensuring their premises remains infection free.

Research carried out at the start of the pandemic by critical equipment specialist, JLA, highlighted that 40% of people are less likely to trust care homes with their loved ones as a result of COVID-19 and 57.3% view standards in care homes to be poor.

As a result of the pandemic, the public has much higher standards when it comes to cleanliness. Keeping customers, residents and staff safe and infection free is a priority for every business.

JLA understands the pressures care home owners and managers are under to provide effective infection control. A key priority is protecting your residents from infection.

The pandemic has reminded us just

how crucial continued infection control excellence is for care homes who want to keep their residents safe and reassure their anxious relatives. The easing of restrictions is welcome but care homes need to remain focussed on maintaining infection control excellence. Not only will it provide your clients and loved one peace of mind, but it’ll keep your reputation safe too.

JLA’s state-of-the-art infection control solutions, created by expert chemists keeps residents and staff safe and reassure their families.

We understand that care home needs to stay infection-free.

That’s why our experts are on hand 24/7 365 to help you find efficient infection control solutions that work for you and keep you CQC compliant. From our OTEX laundry systems that reduce your carbon footprint whilst keeping sheets virus-free, to room sanitisers that work in as little as 45 minutes, our critical equipment takes care of it so your staff can focus on what matters most – your residents.

Whatever critical equipment you need to reassure your residents and keep them safe this winter, we’ll take care of it.

For more information on JLA’s infection control services, visit https://bit.ly/3qOUEeF

Angloplas Dispensers Help Reduce the Risk of Cross Infection Angloplas are a UK manufacturer who specialise in producing dispensers for the health and hygiene industry.

Although these are designed to keep the workplace tidy and uncluttered they are, more importantly, built knowing the control of healthcareassociated infections (HCAIs) are a priority for healthcare providers, and who are employing a combination of infection prevention and control strategies, including hand hygiene, cleaning, training and the adoption of new technologies, to tackle the problem.

As a result, a wide range of infection control products

and technologies are emerging on the market, including antimicrobial technology. Angloplas’ range of dispensers are produced in the world’s first proven Antimicrobial PVC with silver ion technology and which is exclusive to Angloplas. This helps reduce the risk of cross infection by stopping the growth of bacteria and mould and works continuously for the lifetime of the product, reducing levels of bacteria such as MRSA, E Coli, Legionella, Salmonella and mould by up to 99.99%.

For non-clinical environments Angloplas has recently launched its new Budget Range of products which are made to the same exacting standards as the antimicrobial protected ones but with lower price tags.

You can order Angloplas products directly from its website by going to www.angloplas.co.uk and clicking Hospital, Health and Hygiene or by using the Quick Response code.

Rensair Provides Extra Care at Rayners Care Home Air purification specialist Rensair has equipped Rayners residential care home with air purifiers to combat Covid-19 and other seasonal viruses.

Located in Amersham, South Buckinghamshire, Rayners is family owned and managed.

It offers residential care, assisted living and respite care for the elderly and prides itself on the ‘extra care’ it provides in the event of a resident becoming more dependent.

“In the face of Covid-19, our approach has always been to exercise maximum caution”, said Chris Matthews, Managing Director at Rayners. “We locked down before we were instructed to do so and, even now that the vaccination programme has been rolled out, we can never be complacent. Our duty is to care for our residents and we don’t cut corners.”

Rayners’ management conducted research into risk mitigation measures involving air purification and were impressed by Rensair’s patented combination of

technologies. Following a site visit from a Rensair expert, they ordered several units to cover all shared spaces, including lounge, dining and reading areas.

“We had come across HEPA and UVC separately and Rensair’s ‘double whammy’ combining both technologies in one compact unit appealed to us”, said Jim Matthews, CEO. “The entrapment of particles prior to destruction with UVC is important, otherwise stray virus particles may still get through the system. The other key attribute was powerful air circulation”.

Built in 1990, the Rayners establishment was the first purpose built care home in South Buckinghamshire and relies on natural ventilation.

“With winter in sight, we knew that elderly people and cold air don’t mix, so air cleaning is the smart solution” continued Jim. “The Rensair units offer the perfect balance of efficiency and quietness. Some of the pure UVC units we acquired earlier are clackety by comparison, without delivering additional air circulation.”

“The Rensair units are a resounding success”, said Chris . ”They filter and destroy all the other seasonal viruses and bacteria in addition to Covid-19 and give us clean air, truly a win-win situation.”

For further information visit https://rensair.com/industries/care-homes/ or see the advert on this page.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 37

LAUNDRY SOLUTIONS

Why Infection Control Is Just One of the Benefits of Outsourcing Laundry Richard Page, UK Head of Care Homes at Elis (https://uk.elis.com), explains how making a simple change to how laundry is processed can have benefits that extend far beyond infection control.

He outlines the top five ways that care homes can benefit by outsourcing to a specialist care home laundry provider, like Elis.

1 – INFECTION CONTROL AND COMPLIANCE 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.

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 and is accredited to the highest European standard in infection control (BS EN14065)

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 the past.

3 – COST REDUCTION AND CONTROL Using the Elis service can free up care home capital, as there is no linen or equipment to buy. It can also provide efficiencies and cost savings because Elis operates on an industrial scale and passes on savings to customers. With competitive fixed price 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.

4 – FREEING UP TIME AND SPACE 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.

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

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.

Forbes Delivers a Streamlined Solution for National Care Groups A national care group needs to know that they are delivering a consistently high standard of care and in order to do this they need to ensure that they are working with service partners that they can trust. When it comes to laundry provision, centralised procurement and management teams want to know that they will have access to a streamlined process for all account and service management.

Established in 1926, Forbes Professional offers a nationwide delivery of a local-based service, with the security and reliability that comes from being a multi-award winning, CHAS approved business. We have an expansive network of depots and field engineers including our own in-house Gas Safe engineers. This enables a highly responsive service and maintenance response, which is mobilised via a dedicated hotline at our head office. We work

closely with clients to devise the solution best suited to their requirements; conducting comprehensive site-surveys, offering detailed CAD designs and always specifying the most appropriate, industry compliant machines. We choose our manufacturers extremely carefully to ensure that we are offering the highest quality of both product and service.

For the care sector, hygiene is always of paramount importance and our commercial laundry equipment fully adheres to the relevant WRAS and CQC guidelines for infection control. We are proud to be Miele National Partner which enables us to offer market leading, energy efficient machines including a wide range of heat-pump dryers.

All of our laundry equipment is available for rent, lease or purchase with maintenance. Our Complete Care rental solution gives access to premium equipment without upfront capital outlay and with no repair or replacement bills for the life of the contract. Clients are assigned a dedicated account manager who remains their point of contact, centralising all account management for a highly efficient process that keeps things simple for both procurement teams and care management staff. www.forbespro.co.uk info@forbes-professional.co.uk 0345 070 2335

Cash’s Labels- “The Name Behind the Name” 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.

See the advert this page for details.

For 10% discou nt on all woven an d iron-on nametapes, ad d CARE2022 at the checkout !

Valid to 30/04 /2022

PAGE 38 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

NURSE CALL AND FALLS MONITORING Silent Running Tranquility in Care Homes 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

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

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

www.nursecallsystems.co.uk

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 39

NURSE CALL AND FALLS MONITORING

Can One Solution Be A Panacea For Health and Social Care?

By Stuart Barclay, UK Sales Director, Vayyar Care (https://info.vayyar.com/caretc1)

Bringing a telecare solution to market in a new territory can be a daunting proposition. As with many things in life, it’s as much as about who you know as what you know. The partners you choose are critical to success.

So when I was building a strategy for introducing Vayyar Care to UK nursing homes and social care providers, I knew I needed people I could rely on, not only in terms of procurement and distribution, but also installation, back-end support and more. Above all, they’d have to share our vision of providing a more comprehensive approach to care delivery.

Panacea Healthcare Group was the first name on my list. The word reflects exactly what we’re about: a solution for all difficulties.

That’s because Vayyar Care isn’t only a unique touchless fall detec-

tion sensor. It also gathers essential behavioural data such as time at rest and bathroom visits, helping caregivers spot signs of reduced mobility or medical issues like UTIs. And that’s not all.

Vayyar Care also eases the massive burden on carers, who’ve borne the brunt of everything that’s happened over the past couple of years, with the staffing crisis having only got worse since November.

Our ‘virtual caregiver’ gives them another set of eyes in each room, offering reassurance that residents or home-based clients are safe.

Constant visibility allows staff to save valuable time on every shift and provides the insights they need to improve risk assessment and create tailored care plans.

Panacea Healthcare Group is led by Billy Hosie, a gentleman I’ve worked with closely for the past four years. He understands just how transformative Vayyar Care is and what’s required to put it at the heart of revolutionising long-term care in the UK. His first comments to me were that Vayyar Care does exactly what it says on the tin – and plenty more. He instantly saw the value of putting all that activity data right at caregivers’ fingertips – as well as the fact that it’s a cost-neutral offering.

This is a smarter, more holistic and economical approach than deploying multiple single-purpose sensors such as floor mats, pressure

pads or PIRs. As for analog fall alert buttons and cords, many people just aren’t able to use them when required. Wearables only work if people are willing to put them on – and remember to do so. And while cameras can capture everything that’s happening, there are just too many privacy issues, especially in high-risk areas like bathrooms. Person-centred care has to put the concepts of dignity, privacy and independence at the core of everything.

Billy also feels as strongly as I do about the fact that after care homes deploy new solutions, they’re often left to figure things out for themselves. Entering the digital age isn’t easy for any organisation.

Care providers need a user-friendly, turnkey, end-to-end solution that’s interoperable and integrable with their existing resident response systems and a supplier who’s with them every step of the way, whether that’s on a capital or rental basis.

As Vayyar Care’s main UK distributor, Panacea Healthcare Group is crucial to our collaborations with leading NCS providers, as we move rapidly towards the rollout of new features like imminent bed exit alerts that will enable real-time fall intervention and true fall prevention.

If you’d like to learn more, please get in touch. stuart.barclay@vayyar.com

Assistive Technology Solutions from Medpage Medpage t/a Easylink UK is a company who have designed, manufactured, and distributed Assistive Technology solutions to aid independent and assisted living for over 35 years. We introduced the first wireless bed and chair leaving detection alarms into the UK market more than 25 years ago.

During the Pandemic, against all odds, we launched a new brand of fall prevention and detection products. TumbleCare. TumbleCare products are simplistic, but effective, people sensors. The sensors detect a person in or out of their bed or chair, or physically falling. A warning notification is transmitted by radio signal to radio pagers, nurse call station, or over the internet to alert designated carers. Our philosophy over

the years has not changed. To deliver quality, reliability, and performance at realistic prices.

We are key suppliers to the majority of Local Authorities throughout the UK and the NHS of fall prevention products. Our systems operate as stand-alone solutions or can integrate with most commercial nurse call systems. We offer attractive sales discounts for trade and volume buyers and provide free advice and help in developing a falls prevention strategy.

Visit our website www.easylinkuk.co.uk and view our guide on wandering and falls or telephone our sales office on 01536 264869.

PAGE 40 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

NURSE CALL AND FALLS MONITORING

Specialist Pharmacist Leads Unique Pilot To Prevent Falls In Elderly Care Homes

By Liz Butterfield, Immedicare (www.immedicare.co.uk) Specialist Pharmacist The COVID-19 pandemic continues to shine a spotlight on how we care for our elderly. The negative impact of the pandemic on care home residents has been immense, but there have also been glimmers of hope and opportunities to make positive transformations that improve integrated care now, and into the future.

Nearly one year ago, NHS England asked primary care providers to increase their support for care homes.1 An important element of this was integrating a pharmacist into the care pathway and providing pharmacy and medication support such as structured medication reviews via telephone or video, supporting reviews of new residents or those recently discharged from hospital, and supporting care homes with medicines queries.

Recent data suggests that some medications and combinations of treatments can contribute to an elderly person’s risk of falling.2-4 It is also well known that falls are the leading cause of emergency hospital admissions for older people5,6 and the most frequent reason for calling the telehealth clinical assessors for support and advice.7 During the pandemic, there was a clear and urgent need to protect care home residents from hospitalisation and the risk of hospital-related complications and infections, including COVID-19.

To address the combination of these factors, Immedicare*, a clinical and technology partnership between Involve Visual Collaboration Ltd and Airedale NHS Foundation Trust (ANHSFT), took action. The idea was to undertake a pilot in the Bradford District and Craven area to reduce the risk of falls recurring in elderly care home residents through proactive medication reviews, and by doing so, reduce the negative impact falls have on the resident and local health services, such as hospitalisation.

This was an area where I thought the expertise of a pharmacist, combined with the innovative technology of a telehealth service, could have a real impact. As a passionate advocate for the critical role pharmacists play in integrated care systems across the NHS, and with my experience in medicines optimisation for older people, I was keen to be involved in the pilot.

When a resident falls in one of the 690 UK care homes where the telehealth service is in place, they receive an immediate virtual clinical assessment from a highly skilled, multidisciplinary team of specialist nurses based at ANHSFT. They determine whether the resident stays in their place of care or needs to be

admitted to hospital.

Before the pilot was introduced, there was a significant unmet need in Bradford District and Craven. From 125 care homes in the area where the service was in place, there were 1,420 calls between March 2020 and February 2021 relating to falls. Following a virtual assessment, 89.3% stayed in their place of care without onward referral.7 While it is hugely beneficial for residents to receive expert clinical care in their home, there is a risk their medications are left unassessed, and a future fall may occur again and result in greater harm.2-4 This is where my unique role in the pilot comes in as it is my job to assess residents that remain in their place of care following a fall and identify those that are at a high risk of falling again. I then work directly with local GPs and care home pharmacists to optimise their medication and reduce their risk of a second, potentially more damaging, fall.

The potential value of this approach is huge. Reviewing medications that are known to increase the risk of falls, and therefore reducing a person’s risk of falling, has significant benefits for the resident and local healthcare system. For the resident, it means protecting them from a stressful, disorienting hospital visit and reducing the risk of hospital-related complications and infections, such as COVID-19. For the local health system, it means reducing ambulance conveyances and emergency admissions. The approach is also fantastic for local care home and pharmacy communities, as it seeks to change the way care homes respond to their residents’ falls and ensure that a pharmacist’s input is a key component of the clinical assessment and rehabilitation plan.

While the pilot is still in its infancy, early feedback from care homes, GPs and pharmacists in the Bradford region has been extremely positive and impact data is currently being collected on medication reviews and treatment adjustments following a fall. *Immedicare is a secure, video-enabled, clinical healthcare service linking care homes to the NHS with 24hour access to a highly skilled, multidisciplinary clinical team based at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust. The service has been adopted by 690 UK care homes to date.

References 1. https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/the-framework-for-enhanced-health-in-care-homes-v2-0.pdf (Last accessed May 2021] 2. https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/file/933/download [Last accessed May 2021] 3. https://www.bgs.org.uk/resources/12-cga-in-primary-care-settings-patients-at-risk-of-falls-and-fractures [Last accessed May 2021] 4. Freeland KN, Thompson AN et al. Medication Use and Associated Risk of Falling in a Geriatric Outpatient Population. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2012; 46 (9):1188-1192 5. https://www.nhs.uk/Scorecard/Pages/IndicatorFacts.aspx?MetricId=8135 [Last accessed May 2021] 6. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/falls-applying-all-our-health/falls-applying-all-our-health [Last accessed May 2021] 7. Data on Immedicare file.

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 41

NURSE CALL AND FALLS MONITORING Fall Savers - Affordable Fall Monitoring Solutions 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:

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

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.

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

PAGE 42 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE 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.

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

Bizimply Helps Care Homes to Spend More Time Caring for Residents

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As care homes across the country struggle with soaring vacancy levels, it’s never been more important to have the right people, working in the right place, at the right time, to deliver quality care to residents.

Conor Shaw, CEO of workforce management specialists Bizimply, says: “Most care homes are currently running with 10% fewer employees than they’d like, so the challenge is to achieve 100% capacity from the staff team you have. It’s not about working harder, but smarter, with the support of helpful technology.”

Bizimply’s software allows managers to create staff rotas and payroll quickly, freeing them up to spend more time interacting with their teams and residents. The result is more motivated staff who provide higher quality care and are less likely to leave.

In addition, by creating rotas with Bizimply’s software, managers can give staff members their shift patterns further in advance, putting an end to the last-minute requests that cause stress for so many.

Shaw adds: “Nobody chooses a career in care to spend hours on administration. By automating routine tasks, care home managers and staff can concentrate 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: www.bizimply.com/health-care/

PAGE 44 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

TECHNOLOGY AND SOFTWARE Cloud Finance Software That is Helping Care Homes Thrive Healthcare organisations face unique challenges from cost containment and multientity 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/

Mainteno Facilities Maintenance and Management Software Whether it’s managing planned maintenance or dealing with fault repairs, Mainteno simplifies the day-to-day maintenance of almost any organisation.

Mainteno also seamlessly incorporates asset management and tracking.

Mainteno streamlines every aspect of the maintenance management process, saving your organisation time and money.

USABILITY MADE AFFORDABLE

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Mainteno was designed with practicality in mind.

The interface is so intuitive that basic operation can be learned in minutes, and you can be a power user in one afternoon.

Elegant usability usually means a hefty price tag.

However, our pricing structure means that for small organisations, Mainteno can cost as little as two cups

of coffee a month. No set-up fees, no lengthy contracts and a free trial, all mean that the system starts paying for itself straight away.

Dr Asif Raja, Bsc MBBS Summercare Managing Director says “Facing significant challenges of ever increasing quality and compliance demands upon time and resources as well considerable economic pressures, Summercare, an award winning provider of residential care and housing related support, sought to upgrade their systems for managing the property and environmental aspects of its service delivery. After an extensive period of investigation and research Mainteno was selected as the platform of choice for the entire organization based on its ease of use, very short-term contract, quick set up and ongoing support.”

Visit www.mainteno.com, Tel: 020 8798 3713 or email sales@redro.co.uk

THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93 | PAGE 45

INSURANCE FOR CARE

A Guide to Care Home Insurance The building itself is just as important. If, for instance, the premises suffer a flood, how would the building hold? Would water cause damage to furniture? Would residents need to be temporarily rehomed? In extreme cases such as a fire or explosion, a total rebuild may be necessary, which would not only cost a considerable amount, but it could leave the business unable to operate and your residents in need of rehoming.

BUSINESS INTERRUPTION Business interruption insurance may also prove invaluable. This insurance is aimed at covering any increased costs of working or loss in gross revenue, as the result of an unexpected event. So, if you do suffer a flood or fire, sourcing an alternative property to operate from or employing temporary staff can be covered. Business interruption insurance can help you to pay your bills, retain your staff, and maintain your supplier and client relationships.

Care home insurance falls into the specialist sector because there is no ‘one size fits all’. Not only does your insurance need to protect the care you give, but you also need to consider the regulatory bodies you adhere to, protection for your staff, as well as covering the premises and its contents.

What’s more, care homes offer different types of care, from basic care and accommodation to respite, end-of-life and specialist care for dementia patients.

Whatever type of care facility you operate, there are some basic covers that should form part of your care home insurance solution.

LIABILITY Liability insurance should be considered essential for your policy. Liability encompasses various types of cover: Employers’ liability is a legal requirement for anyone employing staff either paid or unpaid. If, for instance, one of your carers suffers an injury or loss due to your negligence or the negligence of the company, the carer may sue you. This covers you for any compensation costs and legal fees.

Public liability although not a legal requirement, is similar to employers’ liability, relates to injuries or losses to members of the public. For instance, a resident’s family member may slip on an upturned carpet, or their car may be damaged by something you should have considered.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE Unlike clinical treatment, care in a nursing home or care home is often to do with judgement as opposed to factual and evidential action. Your carers will be skilled in what they do and usually have several qualifications, but their decisions are often determined by best practice to ensure the resident or patient is as comfortable as they can be.

Unfortunately, this means mistakes can creep in. A single mistake can have a disastrous effect, and the patient or their family may claim for medical malpractice. This cover aims to protect your team’s professional acumen, offering in-depth support and dealing with the legal costs.

KEY MAN COVER Key Man Cover (or Key Person Cover) provides financial cover, should something happen to key personnel within your business. Most likely this is you as the business owner, or members of an executive leadership team who you class as crucial to the financial success of your business.

If you or a key member of your team is absent due to the onset of a long-term illness or a permanent disability, or unexpectedly passes away, this form of life insurance could be vital to ensure the longevity of your business. Having key man cover in place reassures your team and those living within your care facility.

By preparing for a worst-case scenario, you will be protecting your care home from potential risk and safeguarding its future – Key Man Cover is an invaluable and affordable investment for every care home owner to consider.

Every care home is different, requiring different types and levels of cover based on individual needs. You need to partner with a reputable broker that will make sure that you have the right cover for your unique situation.

For an industry which works on prestige, reputation and word of mouth, the right insurance is essential. It maintains your biggest assets—your staff and the residents you care for—whilst supporting you should something go wrong.

At Barnes Commercial we offer specialist independent broking and risk management services for care home owners and care workers.

You can learn more about how we support our clients with expert broking advice on our website: www.barnesinsurancebroker.co.uk Telephone 01480 272727 Email: enquiries@barnesinsurancebroker.co.uk

BUILDINGS AND CONTENTS Of course, your business is home for your residents or patients. Ensuring ample furniture is provided should be a necessity, from wardrobes and cupboards to tables and kitchen apparatus. If these are accidentally damaged, you are likely to need to replace them.

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.

PAGE 46 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 93

PROFESSIONALS AND 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 health-care 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

Aston Brooke Solicitors

Aston Brooke is a specialist in delivering legal advice to the UK health and social care sector and represents a wide range of care home groups, proprietors, and managers as well as industry bodies, staff, and residents.

Care Home Legal Advice Our team of specialist solicitors has an in-depth understanding of the healthcare industry and combines the experience of the healthcare market and its regulated fields to provide focused advice and solutions to a wide range of legal needs for the healthcare industry.

By combining the expertise of solicitors across our commercial and regulatory departments Aston Brooke offers a valuable pool of knowledge and resources in one place to the benefit of our clients.

Our legal services include: • Advice on Care Quality Commission (CQC) processes • Assisting Care Providers to make License Applications and Registration with CQC • Providing support for improving general overall

Standards of Service • Challenging Cancellation Notices • Providing CQC lawyers for help regarding CQC Inspections • Providing information about abilities and restrictions of the CQC, as well as guidance on how best to engage with them • Challenging CQC Compliance Failure • Commercial Contracting • Dispute Resolution & Litigation • Partnership Agreements • Commercial Property, Leases & Developments • Commercial Sales & Acquisitions • Refinancing • Employment Law issues and Tribunal work • Immigration Law issues • Negligence claims • Inquests & Hearings For further information or a free consultation, please contact us on 0203 475 4321 or see the advert on the facing page.

Care Home Finance from Global Business Finance

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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 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