Issue 103 13.04.22
The weekly online newsletter for the care sector
Romanian pair offer support to Ukrainians TWO Romanian care workers based at Azalea House in Bedford are sharing their stories by way of support to Ukrainian refugees who are seeking employment once they arrive in the UK. Andrei Baltag-Demetriade and Tiberius Michituc arrived in the UK in 2017, speaking relatively little English, but have demonstrated that this need not stand in the way of a successful career in care. Through their work at Azalea House they have become fluent speakers and can confidently help the people they support and their families. Andrei said: “Before I came to the UK I had experience in care with my family. My dad died young and I was called on to care for my uncle who had schizophrenia. This was excellent training for working with people with special mental health needs. “I know a lot of people coming from Ukraine will also have transferable skills, such as nursing, and they might be frightened to apply if their English isn’t very good. “I say, if you think you’ll be a good carer, go for it. You will be helped and supported and the language will come.” Andrei has now achieved his level 3 apprenticeship as a lead adult care worker and Tiberius is
Tiberius Michituc and Andrei BaltagDemetriade. working towards level 2 in health and social care. Tiberius added: “It can be really difficult to start a new life far away from home, especially under the circumstances that the Ukrainian refugees are coming here. “Working at Azalea House has been like joining a family – really supportive and encouraging.” The pair hope that their story will inspire Ukrainian refugees making their home in the UK to consider a career in care to bring normality back to their lives. Donna-Maria Masters, manager at Azalea House, said: “Salutem Care and Education, which operates Azalea House, has offered financial support to help them both with their studies, but it is Andrei and Tiberius’ hard work that has really made them successful.”
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CUK Awards nominations now open
Residents at Care UK’s Mill View home in East Grinstead had a visit from a skunk, a bearded dragon and a rabbit. They were given a chance to feed and handle the animals, with the bearded dragon enjoying resting on residents’ hands, while the friendly skunk enjoyed cuddles. Everyone also enjoyed learning more about the different creatures, which were brought in by Our Amazing Animal World, including their personalities, favourite foods and how to look after them. Home manager Rachel Woodward said: “The residents and team had a great time engaging with the animals. We’re continuously searching for new and exciting ways to provide residents with a new experiences. It was amazing to see residents’ faces light up as they interacted with the various animals.” Resident Gladys Froud is pictured with the skunk.
OPERATORS wanting to put themselves forward for recognition have been urged to enter the Caring UK Awards. Nominations for this year’s event are now open at www. caringukawards.co.uk The awards, organised by Script Events in partnership with Caring UK, recognise excellence and achievement in all corners of the care industry. And with more than 20 categories up for grabs, there’s something to suit every type of care business. These include everything from Quality in Housekeeping and Catering Team of the Year to Best Outdoor Environment and End of Life Team of the Year. Event organiser Dominic Musgrave said: “Nominations are coming in and our events team is already busy ensuring that this year’s event is bigger and better than ever. “Our main aim is to recognise and honour the best in our wonderful sector and showcase the innovation and dedication that goes on every day so please share your successes and tell us about your hard work and initiatives by sending in your nominations … it’s a real privilege to read them.” A shortlist in each category will then be drawn up, with winners chosen by an expert panel. Trophies will be handed out at a glittering ceremony to celebrate the best of the best, which this year will be held at the Athena in Leicester on Thursday, December 1 and presented by Emmerdale actor Dean Andrews.
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20 22
CARING UK AWARDS
Call 01226 734605 or email tb@scriptmedia.co.uk for details For general enqurieis call: 01226 734630
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CARINGWEEKLY
Operator named a finalist in multiple award categories SIGNATURE Senior Lifestyle has been named among the UK’s best organisations who are celebrated for putting their talented colleagues first. The organisation was nominated as a finalist in multiple categories at the Employee Experience Awards 2022 taking place at London’s Park Plaza Hotel on May 19. Operating 36 care homes across London and the home counties, Signature was named as a finalist in the following categories: n Learning and development (for companies with over 500 employees) for its nursing associates programme, providing a more accessible route into the vocation and includes 25 hours a week placement experience. In addition to comprehensive training and support, each nursing associate has benefited from a competitive wage of £15 per hour. n Rewards and recognition for wake up to better benefits. As part of this organisation-wide initiative, frontline colleagues have been able to benefit from extra paid leave. At Signature, those employed on hourly rates contracts are entitled to a minimum of 25 days of paid leave per year, this is up from the current 20 days which serve as standard in the care home sector. n Kay Cox was named in the people leader of the year category for her leadership shown during the Covid19 pandemic, successfully integrating residents and team members at 18 Sunrise Senior Living UK and two Gracewell Healthcare care homes into the Signature family following its acquisition of a select number of the operators’ care homes, along with driving Signature’s plans to open
Residents enjoy at-home movie magic with new cinema room
Kay Cox three new care homes a year for the next five years. Kay said: “We are immensely proud and humbled to be named alongside such a strong group of nominees at this year’s Employee Experience Awards. “Signature takes pride in providing a supportive team ethos and tailored training and development opportunities for team members to develop a long-lasting and fulfilling career in the organisation. “To receive recognition for our approach is gratifying and is testament to the hard work and vision of our colleagues within the organisation.”
A NEW cinema room has opened at Windle Court care home in Chelmsford. It has been named ‘Withywindle Studios’ in recognition of the street that the home resides on. The room has received a complete refurbishment, including decoration with featured wallpaper, walnut wood effect venetian blinds, a 65” smart TV, new armchairs, coffee tables and sideboard and artwork. Residents and the care team at Windle Court watched the room being developed with much anticipation. The cinema has already been put to good use, with residents enjoying a movie night with popcorn. Home manager Lorraine Taylor
said: “I am so pleased that Windle Court now has its own cinema. “The response from residents has been great and its so lovely seeing them able to enjoy it. “We look forward to hosting regular movie nights in the cinema room and thinking of other wonderful ways we can put it to good use.” Windle Court also features a bright and airy café and beautiful salon. The café is decorated and furnished to a fantastic standard and designed to provide residents, families and friends a space to meet in a modern and social environment. The home’s salon enables residents to enjoy a relaxing pamper and a haircut in a beautiful and calming space.
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Activities coordinator raises funds for Parkinson’s charity KAREN Casey, activities coordinator at RMBI Care Co. Home Zetland Court, in Bournemouth, recently took part in the London Landmarks Half Marathon to raise funds for Parkinson’s UK. Karen joined more than 16,000 people and ran more than 13 miles through both the City of London and City of Westminster. She said: “I was motivated to run for this charity because one of my good friends has this disease. “Up to now I have raised more than £600. “What an amazing experience.” As Zetland Court’s activities coordinator, Karen supports the care home’s residents by organising varied programmes of social, cultural and recreational activities. Home manager Iain Slack added: “Karen tailors all activities to meet the residents’ needs and to make their lives as fulfilling as possible. “She is an esteemed colleague, highly regarded by both residents and staff members at Zetland Court.”
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Unlock the power of effective marketing for your care home Severe staffing shortages and falling incomes caused by the pandemic are pushing many providers to the brink of survival. Whether you are from a small independent home or a large organisation with a variety of brands, all homes and agencies have the same objective and are facing the same challenges. The best possible marketing campaign to make your business the most attractive to potential new staff and residents has never been more important, and this is where we can help. At Script we know care, backed up by more than 20 years of serving the industry through Caring UK magazine, as well as the highly successful Caring UK Awards that are now in their fifth year. Benefits of marketing to increase occupancy: • • • • •
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So what are you waiting for? It is vital that your care business stands out from the crowd to attract new residents and staff. Who better to help you do this than the team behind the country’s most successful B2B magazine for the industry. We’ll take away the hassle and provide professional marketing which will deliver results for your business. Based in Yorkshire, we have an award-winning team that prides itself on producing a range of top-quality work at competitive prices. To find out how we may be able to help your business, contact Dominic Musgrave today by calling 01226 734407 or email dm@scriptmedia.co.uk
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CARINGWEEKLY
Care levy won’t save battling providers, campaigners warn VITAL cash from a £36bn fund to aid health and social care won’t come soon enough to save some struggling providers, campaigners have warned. The Health and Social Care Levy will raise funds from an increase in National Insurance to raise the £36bn which will be spent on health and care in the coming three years. But care provider organisation The Independent Care Group has warned that social care’s share of that funding won’t get through quickly enough to save some providers. Chair Mike Padgham said: “Reports suggest social care won’t see much of this new fund for some years when many providers need it right now. “A lack of investment, the crippling cost of living rises, the pandemic and the slow recovery of care take-up and occupancy levels are combining to create a perfect storm and some care and nursing homes and homecare providers will not survive it. “Then the vital role social care and its staff perform, alongside NHS care, will be under severe threat. “We cannot have a strong and viable NHS system without a strong and viable social care sector, and at the moment that isn’t being supported.” Reports suggest that £5.4bn of the
Mike Padgham
Martin Green OBE
fund will go to social care over the next three years, with much of that taken up by implementing a fair cost of care initiative and paying for the £86,000 cap on care costs. Mike added: “Covid-19 hasn’t gone away and it is still creating heartache and hardship for care providers, both in care and nursing homes and for homecare providers, who are struggling to deliver contracts. “The Levy is very welcome, but it must be divided fairly and social care must get what it needs, urgently.
“The Prime Minister is right to say that we can’t fix hospital waiting lists without fixing social care – but he is wrong if he thinks he is fixing social care through the measures announced so far. He is a long, long way from it. “And the Chancellor saying the Government will not shy away from difficult decisions to fix social care – I would say that the Government is doing exactly that, tinkering at the edges and failing to give the sector the root and branch reform and
better funding it needs to provide a proper service and to recognise, respect and reward its staff properly.” Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England, agreed, saying the Government’s Health and Social Care Levy will not deliver the appropriate amount of additional funding to stabilise the adult social care sector. He added: “This new Levy was billed as providing extra resources for social care, but in truth, it will not even touch the sides of the need in our sector, and the majority of the money will go to the NHS. “The social care sector has been subjected to years of underfunding destabilising the financial sustainability of the sector. This has only been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic. “The pretence that this money generated by the Levy is going to solve the social care funding crisis is nothing more than a confidence trick played on the public. “Care England is calling for at least half the money generated through the Levy to go into social care in order to stabilise the system and give our dedicated staff significant increases in their pay and conditions.”
Homecare operator reaches Parkinson’s training milestone A YEAR on from announcing their ground breaking partnership with national charity Parkinson’s UK, Home Instead has reached a key milestone with 100 offices having received specialist Parkinson’s training. The milestone was announced on World Parkinson’s Day (Monday, April 11). Through the partnership Home Instead and Parkinson’s UK created a bespoke training programme focused on delivering care to someone living with the condition. This training arms care professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide tailored care. To date a total of 500 people have benefited from training with 150 of the company’s key players and 350 care professionals completing the course. Home Instead UK CEO Martin Jones said: “We are always looking for ways to improve the care we deliver and make it as tailored as we can to meet the needs of our clients and their families. “The partnership with Parkinson’s UK has enabled us to develop a new specialism and empower our care professionals whilst also giving them a transferable skill. “In the years to come we will receive more and more care in our homes
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and many thousands of people will be diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Arming care professionals with the skills now to deal with what can be a complex condition is, therefore, vitally important.” Home Instead is disseminating the training via its network of in-house trainers who go on to deliver it at a local level. This has allowed the specialist knowledge to be shared efficiently and at pace across the network. Ghalib Ullah, head of commercial partnerships at Parkinson’s UK, added: “It’s fantastic that so many care professionals have been upskilled and provided with the right tools and information through the training, to help them deliver better care to people living with Parkinson’s. “Tailored support for individuals and their families is so important as the condition affects people differently and there can often be complex symptoms to manage and live with.” Through the partnership Home Instead is also sharing its knowledge of the social care and home care sectors with Parkinson’s UK, offering them an insight into the difference home care can make and how people’s homes can provide a safe place for people living with a Parkinson’s diagnosis.
Nikki Foggin from Ashton Court and Paul Fenwick of Discovery Zoo with residents John Cosgrove and Christine Parry.
Creatures and creepy crawlies visit care home’s residents ASHTON Court Care Home had some unusual guests when Discovery Zoo brought some of its creepy crawlies and creatures to visit residents. The Newcastle home played host to snakes, tarantulas, rats and even a large millipede as part of the home’s ever evolving activities programme. Residents learned all about the creatures from Discovery Zoo’s Paul Fenwick before having a chance to hold the mixed menagerie. Activities coordinator Nikki Foggin said: “Our residents have really enjoyed their unusual visitors, especially the snake, tarantula and millipede.
“They’re not something you usually see up in Newcastle and for some of our residents it was the first time seeing them in real life. “Discovery Zoo did a great job introducing the creatures to residents and explaining how to hold them. The millipede was something not many of us had seen before. The sensation of all those legs on your skin is really weird, but its great sensory stimulation for our residents, especially those who have dementia. This is the first time Discovery Zoo has visited the home since the start of the Covid pandemic, having previously been regular guests.
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CARINGWEEKLY
Provider has Jubilee celebrations with a difference planned MORRIS Care has announced exciting and uplifting plans to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee across its nursing homes this spring and summer. Kicking things off is news that the family run group has been selected to feature in the official commemorative album being published in June to mark Her Majesty the Queen’s 70th anniversary, providing a unique window into Her Majesty’s decades of service. Bearing the official event emblem and authored by royal experts, the fully illustrated book Her Majesty The Queen: The Official Platinum Jubilee Pageant commemorative album is being published by St James’s House to celebrate the life of Her Majesty the Queen with more than 250 photographs of her throughout her life so far and to highlight the best of Britain. To do so in an engaging way, the editorial board of St James’s House invited selected editorial partners to be showcased in the book, and Lucy Holl, CEO of Morris Care was delighted when the phone rang to invite her and Morris Care to participate. “It felt like a real honour to be invited to take part in something so special,” she said. “As part of an established family business which champions women, we caught the eye of the researchers and it was great fun being interviewed by Royal correspondent Robert Jobson for the book. “We had already begun planning a raft of events in our homes to ensure our residents celebrate our longest serving monarch in style. “From open house brunches and The Big Jubilee Lunch festivities to creating a signature cocktail for our cocktails and canapes evenings, there’s lots to look forward to. “We will be throwing open the doors to families, friends and our local
Clare Jefferies (third from left) with some of the team.
Homecare firm’s runners raise £20,000 for charity Morris Care CEO Lucy Holl plants a tree for the Platinum Jubilee with gardener James Glennon at Isle Court Nursing Home in Shrewsbury. communities.” Each of the six nursing homes will have a Platinum Jubilee inspired garden feature planted, complete with its own crown and replica of the Jubilee emblem. A commemorative tree is also being planted in each home with its own plaque to mark this landmark celebration. Lucy added: “Our residents really wanted to take part in the Queen’s ‘Green Canopy’ initiative and our gardeners have enjoyed finding just the right place for the special tree to be set for enjoyment this summer and in the years to come.” The commemorative publication will be officially launched on The Mall in central London during the Pageant weekend and members of Morris Care have been invited to attend a special event in Mayfair where the book is being officially launched as part of the celebrations.
THE charity arm of Home Instead is celebrating a £20,000 boost to its coffers following a sterling effort by a team of 19 who took part in the recent London Landmarks Half Marathon. The runners included Home Instead franchise owners and key players, members of the national office team as well as supporters who really believe in the charity’s purpose. The £20,000 raised makes this event the single biggest fundraising activity undertaken yet for the charity which supports local groups and charities by awarding grants to fund activities for ageing adults. Home Instead Charities’ executive director Penny Hamer said: “I am absolutely bowled over by the money raised and so grateful to our 19 runners who were amazing. “The cost of living crisis and soaring energy bills will mean that many seniors will be more reliant on local
groups and charities than ever before. “The money will be used to fund activities that keep ageing adults happy, healthy and connected to their local communities with a particular focus on maintaining wellbeing and addressing loneliness and isolation.” One of the charity’s trustees Clare Jefferies, who owns Home Instead’s Wimbledon and Kingston office and whose idea it was to take part in the event, added: “We all trained so hard for this race and are delighted to have received so much support from our friends, families, and work colleagues. “Only a few of us had ever taken part in a race of this nature but we were well prepared. We clocked some good times so I’m really proud of the team. “I’m just grateful that so many colleagues and friends of Home Instead stepped up to take part for such a wonderful cause.”
Residents ‘Come Together’ for Beatles themed event
Members of staff from Keate House in Lymm completed the Alzheimer’s Society Glow Walk at Media City in Manchester and raised more than £550. The residential home’s staff wanted to include the residents in the walk so throughout the day they dressed up in their glow outfits and walked around the garden.
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A BLANDFORD care home rang out to the sounds of the Fab Four as residents sang and danced to their favourite Beatles songs. Residents at Colten Care’s Whitecliffe House love singing and even have their own vocal group, The Whitecliffe Warblers. Companionship team member Debbie Easter said: “We decided to hold a Beatles morning, so everyone dressed up in flower power outfits and we had a great singalong of all the residents’ favourite Fab Four
songs. “The Whitecliffe Warblers started the event with some of their favourites including When I’m Sixty-Four and Hey Jude and then we were treated to some wonderful renditions of With a Little Help and She Loves You from staff. “Residents remember the Beatles very well and picked the songs. They thought the staff’s costumes and fake moustaches were extremely funny and had lots of laughs at our expense.”
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