Issue 102 06.04.22
The weekly online newsletter for the care sector
Care providers come together for Ukraine CARE employers have been working together to understand how they can provide a meaningful employment opportunity for those displaced from Ukraine and other parts of the world and finding a home within the UK. The National Care Forum in association with the Care Provider Alliance has brought together a wide range of partners committed to offering support. This includes expertise from across national and local government, housing, recruitment specialists, legal and immigration experts and regulators. Vic Rayner OBE, CEO of the NCF said: “Like many people affected by the plight of the people of Ukraine, care employers are pulling together to take action to help. “The ideas are progressing at pace, and there is a strong desire to do something meaningful to help the people of Ukraine, and others from around the globe who arrive into the UK. “We are pulling together opportunities for care and support employers to share details of available job vacancies, which we hope will be tied into the broader communications for displaced people.” Employers and partners are working closely with recruitment experts to enable displaced people from Ukraine and other parts of the globe, to
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identify roles within the care sector, signpost individuals to localised support and ensure that employers work together to provide the best opportunity for those who wish to work. Whilst this work progresses, the broader support for people displaced from Ukraine through the Homes for Ukrainians scheme is being clarified. Alongside this, local government has an important role in how local support will work, with specific roles and responsibilities still emerging. It is imperative that the desire to work is aligned with the need for displaced people to be connected into wider community and pastoral support. Vic added: “There are many other ways for people to offer support, including support to Ukrainians needing care and support, assistance with vetting and matching, and those who have a housing solution. “However, there remains significant unanswered questions around regulatory requirements, right to work entitlement, safeguarding, etc. “We need the government to work at pace alongside adult social care employers to resolve this. Furthermore, we are working with other partners, to understand how most effectively the sector can be engaged to provide a solution at this moment of crisis.”
Residents at Renaissance Care enjoyed April Fools’ Day as they pranked the nation with their Scotland’s strongest pensioner championships. They had a blast taking photos during fake training exercises inspired by the World’s Strongest Man competition, as they were pictured working towards personal goals and bests in the famous vehicle pull, the Hercules hold and a variety of deadlifting challenges. The residents have been taking part in Summer and Winter Olympics initiatives across the group, which improved their health and wellbeing and saw them get competitive across the sports. For April Fools’ Day they felt the perfect joke would be to take that one step further to find Scotland’s strongest pensioner.
Operators urged to join campaign SKILLS for Care is #CelebratingSocialCare throughout April and is encouraging everyone working across social care to get involved. This dedicated month is a time to encourage people to shout out the importance of social care and the dedication and skills of the people who work within it. The campaign follows the recent Social Care Day of Remembrance and Reflection and the lifting of public Covid-19 restrictions, two years since the pandemic began. The organisation will be posting blogs and articles across its website and other communications channels, sharing good news stories from the sector as well as
stories of innovation and learning and development through the pandemic. On social media, Skills for Care is asking individuals, providers and other organisations across social care to get involved by sharing their #CelebratingSocialCare messages. Suggestions include: n Posting thank you messages on social media to your colleagues, tagging them and using the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare n Sharing your good news stories and stories of success throughout Covid-19 using the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare n Recording a short video paying tribute to the hard work of your teams using the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare
Win a three in one Triflex vacuum cleaner by taking part in the Miele survey on our Caring UK website https://www.caring-uk.co.uk/
06/04/2022 08:44
I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H
IT’S TIME TO GET INVOLVED IN THE CARING UK AWARDS 2022 NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES AVAILABLE
THE ATHENA,LEICESTER Thursday 1st December 2022 Hosted by Emmerdale star Dean Andrews Congratulations on a fantastic event – we had a super time and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to share so many success stories across our industry. Well done to the Script team. We are absolutely thrilled to have won the Regional Care Home of the Year Midlands and Wales and are all still on a high. Thank you so much. Sarah Hammond, Rotherwood Group Firstly, I wanted to say a massive thank you to you guys on such a wonderful event! It was such an incredible way to finish off the year for us all and to be able to get together with everyone and celebrate was such a great feeling. You always pull off such an amazing night and this year was no exception so congratulations to you all. Alex Ball, Stow Healthcare Group Virgin Money was delighted once again to be headline sponsors of the Caring UK Awards. After such a difficult 18 months it was great to be able to get together and recognise the outstanding achievements from individuals and teams across the social care sector. Graham Harper, Virgin Money It was clear from the outset that the attendees were excited to be nominated and were using the ceremony as an opportunity for a night off and to have a glamourous end of year party. As a sponsor it was good to see our branding and our video on the big screen throughout the night and it was good to speak with existing customers and other industry professionals. It was a fun evening and I would highly recommend it for suppliers and nominees. Iain Corrigan, Cool Care
As a first time sponsor of the Caring UK Awards, being part of the event was very rewarding. As a specialist provider of outsourced neutral vendor recruitment solutions to the health and care sector, we firmly believe in celebrating the incredible work of organisations across the country, who deliver excellence every single day in challenging conditions. The event was well organised and thoroughly enjoyable – and the opportunity to present the award for the Best Initiative in Care made the occasion even more special. Congratulations once again to all the finalists and winners. Gill Hope, Geometric Results Inc
people after what has been a very challenging year for businesses in our sector. All the nominees were worthy of an award on the night, and it was truly inspiring to see so many people who, on a daily basis, provide care for the most vulnerable people in our society. It was a great experience to present the award to Roden Hall, winners of the Midlands & Wales Care Home of the year.. a really enjoyable event. Martin Jones, Fusion eCare Solutions
As long standing sponsors of the Caring UK Awards, we are immensely proud to support this major event that promotes social care provided throughout the UK. Sir Anthony Ullmann, Shackletons Ltd
We have been proud to support the Caring UK Awards 2021 in their efforts to honour and recognise excellence in the healthcare sector. We would again like to congratulate all nominees and winners and particularly the winner of the award we sponsored which was Scotland Care Home of the Year which was won by Abbey Court Care Home in Glasgow Gary Walton, Walton HPC
This was the first time Learning Curve Group have been involved with the awards, and we were very pleased to be able to sponsor the Commitment to Training and Development Award. The whole evening was an excellent celebration of the fantastic work that happens every day within the adult social care sector. The pandemic has placed an additional and unprecedented demand on care providers, so it was great to see care staff being recognised for their dedication and the levels of care they provide. Chris Grieveson, Learning Curve Group
As sponsors of the Caring UK Awards, N&C Phlexicare were delighted to attend the glittering awards ceremony. We offer our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners for their commitment to excellence, particularly in face of the arduous challenges of recent times. ‘ It was an amazing night, and we are honoured to have been a part of it. These awards are a wonderful celebration of the outstanding service offered by care professionals who go the extra mile to serve the vulnerable in our communities. David Forbes, Nicholls and Clarke Group
I wanted to support our industry through sponsorship at the recent Caring UK Awards. The event was a lovely evening, an opportunity to meet
www.caringukawards.co.uk or email tb@scriptmediagroup.co.uk
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CARINGWEEKLY
Home hosts charity bike competition SIGNATURE at Parklands Manor in Chertsey has come together to embark on a competition among residents and staff to raise money for the Dementia Carers Support Group. Team members, residents, family and friends have all been encouraged to participate in a cycling competition against each other, to see how far they can cycle individually and collectively. To date, Signature at Parklands Manor has travelled over 260 miles, raising £100 in the process. Dementia Carers Support Group offer essential, expert support locally to the countless family members and friends who are supporting or caring for an individual living with dementia. They became an official charity in 2010 and have been supporting those living with dementia and their families ever since. Neil Copping, general manager at Parklands Manor and current leader in the cycling challenge, said: “We all know how important it is to live a healthy lifestyle and to keep fit so here at Parklands Manor we decided to purchase an exercise bike. “We put the bike in our busy reception area to encourage more staff and residents to jump on and get some additional exercises throughout the day. “We also decided to utilise this to raise money for our local dementia
At the ‘Oscars’ ceremony held at Belmore Lodge in Lymington are, standing from left, resident Maxine Pope, Colten Care chief executive Mark Aitchison, resident Shirley Kane and home manager Julie House. Seated are Pamela Rabbitts and Jane Cockeram.
charity which is a very worthy cause indeed. “The bike has been very popular and has inspired people to do more exercise. “It has also instigated some healthy competitiveness amongst the staff team and a leader board has been created to track our leading cyclists.” Parklands Manor specialise in providing dementia care to residents, in addition to, respite, nursing and residential offerings. The care home features 24 suites, designed especially to offer unique support for individuals requiring specialist care.
Will and Sara Flint.
Operator sends medical supplies to Ukraine
THE Bluebird Care Exeter, North, East and West Devon team is set to raise £14,993 to send urgent medical supplies to the southern city of Odesa, with directors Will Flint and Sara Flint working hard to purchase essential medical supplies to be shipped to those on the frontline in Ukraine’s war effort. The team has been building a relationship with contacts in Romania for several weeks, putting them in touch with a pharmaceutical supplier close to the Ukrainian border. Sara said: “Both Will and I watched the news and wanted to try to do what we can to help.
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“Through local contacts I was able to connect with, and some support groups in Ukraine, we identified that medicines such as antibiotics are needed as the bombing continues and stocks become depleted. “We decided we would make getting medicines to Odesa our focus.” These medical supplies will equip soldiers on the ground with essential equipment such as antibiotics, thyroid medication and essentials such as Sudocrem, which are all in short supply. The Bluebird Care team’s first consignment of €17,000 has already been successfully shipped.
Homes stage their own ‘Oscars season’ with awards and music FORGET Hollywood, there was Oscars-style razzamatazz over here too as care home residents honoured the staff who look after them every day. Team members at Colten Care’s Belmore Lodge in Lymington were rewarded for their hard work and friendliness with card trophies that residents designed and created in a fun ceremony amid smiles all round. Nominees and winners included representatives from all home departments including clinical care, catering, administration, gardening and housekeeping. Colten Care chief executive Mark Aitchison, who attended the event as a special guest, said: “It was such a joy to see the joint fun between residents and staff. “This was a fantastic idea by our residents keen to demonstrate their appreciation for everything that our team members do. After all the care sector has been through over the past couple of years, this showed a very different reality to what is sometime portrayed.” Trophies were awarded for categories such as Best Sense of Humour, Best Smile, Loudest Laugh and Most Likely To Be Seen Running Round the Corridor. The award for Best Twilight Performance went, perhaps unsurprisingly, to the whole nightshift team of nurses and
healthcare assistants. And there was much laughter when healthcare assistant Iulian Rusu was announced as winner of the award for Most Likely To Be Late, only to arrive five minutes late. Home manager Julie House read out the names of all nominees and announced the winners who then collected their trophies personally from the residents. Companionship team leader Sharon Semple added: “It was a lovely idea from our residents. They loved the afternoon and colleagues enjoyed their moment on the red carpet and the experience of winning an award.” ‘Oscars season’ at Colten Care also featured a concert of hits from film musicals at Avon Reach in Mudeford. Companionship team leader and trained opera singer Chloe Akam delighted residents by performing songs from popular musicals. She was accompanied on the piano by professional musician Kevin Pritchard, while Colten Care’s music and arts partner Fiona Pritchard gave rousing renditions of the Superman theme and other movie favourites on the French horn. Residents received formal invitations for the concert and, on arrival, glasses of bubbly and party boxes of chocolates, diamante fabrics and party poppers. The lounge was specially decorated for the occasion with floating roses from florist Jules.
A coffee morning hosted by staff at Westmorland Homecare at Kendal raised more than £1,000 to help Ukrainians who have fled their country following the Russian invasion. The event was held in the downstairs area at Ye Olde Fleece Inn at Highgate in the town. The team from Westmorland Homecare baked cakes in advance and served tea and coffee on the day. Passersby also donated money. The money will be sent to the British Red Cross. n Care manager Bernadine Davies, is pictured with the array of cakes at the coffee morning,
06/04/2022 09:20
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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CARINGWEEKLY
Providers in call for cash support
Work begins on £7.95m care facility in Bolton WORK has begun on a state-of theart new care facility on the site of the former Egerton Hotel in Egerton, Bolton. Development-led care home operator New Care will transform the derelict site into a 64-bed ‘new generation’ facility which will create approximately 100 local jobs and will welcome its first residents in September 2023. Commissioning director Dawn Collett said: “We are delighted to start work on this new site in Bolton. “Once complete, this beautiful new home will deliver the highest standards of care in a stylish, comfortable, safe and stimulating environment. “With the care crisis continuing to escalate, we remain committed to bringing our award-winning facilities to areas where there is an established need and are looking forward to delivering our latest facility in Bolton.” The privately-funded care centre will be arranged over three floors and feature fully furnished bedrooms with en suite wet rooms, communal lounges and dining rooms, spaassisted bathrooms plus a hair salon and nail bar. A number of advanced care services such as acoustic monitoring and silent call bells will be incorporated into the build and the care facility will benefit from landscaped gardens and an outdoor terrace to the first floor. Liz Thomson, who has made headlines as one of the country’s oldest care home workers, has been nominated for a second national award. Liz, activities coordinator at Balhousie Huntly, has reached the finals of the s1jobs Recruitment Awards. Liz, 80, who is older than many of her residents, is shortlisted for a Shine Award. The category is for those who “go above beyond their call of duty and offer excellent service”. She recently featured on STV for keeping residents at the Huntly care home active and engaged with exercises, days out, knitting groups and gardening. The finals of the s1jobs Recruitment Awards will take place in Glasgow on April 14.
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It will provide a clinical offering including residential, nursing, respite and dementia care, with all residents receiving individual personcentred care that is enhanced by a programme of daily activities and excursions from a professional team. New Care’s development will protect and enhance the local landmark, preserving it for the future. The existing house will form the focal point for the scheme, with its front façade maintained proud compared to the front elevation of the new build that will sit behind, and eventually forming the care home’s main entrance, reception and offices to the ground floor and a communal day space area to the first floor. The bay windows on either side of the entrance door and the stone façade, now in poor condition, will be brought back to their original style and appearance. Egerton is one of six new care facilities currently under construction by New Care; the operator is also on site with new schemes in Wilmslow, Lymm, Grappenhall, Guiseley and Adel (Leeds) that will welcome their first residents in the next 12-18 months and bring the company’s total number of homes in the UK to 15. The build programme for all new homes, including Egerton, is being managed by New Care’s sister company, principal contractor McGoff Construction.
CAMPAIGNERS are calling on the Government to help social care as it faces a fight to survive as Covid-19 restrictions ease. The Independent Care Group is worried that financial support for care providers during Covid-19 is ending even though they are still facing hardship. Chair Mike Padgham said: “The Covid-19 pandemic, sluggish occupancy and the growing cost of living crisis have left the sector on its knees. “Now the fund set up to help us to staff the pandemic is ending and nothing is being put in its place. “Homecare providers are struggling as they experience their worst staffing crisis in years. “It is good that restrictions are being relaxed and care and nursing homes can open up again – it has been very hard on residents and their relatives to be separated these past two years. “But Covid-19 hasn’t gone away and if a home has two or more cases it cannot accept new admissions for 10 days, which is bound to compound current financial difficulties. “It also means backlog issues for the NHS because hospitals cannot discharge patients into care settings.
“If we are to reopen and relax restrictions, with all the risks that that will bring, we must have some support, or more and more providers are going to go to the wall.” The ICG has warned that the increase in National Insurance contributions will hit those working in social care. Mike added: “The National Insurance levy will ultimately help social care but initially it is all being funnelled to the NHS with very little coming our way. “And to add insult to injury, the National Insurance increase to pay for it will take money away from those working in the sector during a cost-of-living crisis.” The ICG argues that more funding is urgently needed for social care to pay its staff properly, to reward them for the work they do and to address the staffing crisis hurting the sector. “We need that extra funding straight away and cannot wait for the NHS to absorb all available money first,” said Mike. “And we should be funding it through income tax, so that those who can afford most pay most and it doesn’t fall disproportionately on the lower paid.”
Nigel does a Nigella and discovers a new passion NIGEL Howe has discovered a previously unsuspected love of cooking thanks to the installation of a new cooker and hobs specifically for use by residents in a specialist dementia care home in Wellington, Somerset. Activities co-ordinator Richard Dempslake said: “We’re so glad we’ve opened up a new activity for Nigel. “Many of our residents enjoy watching TV chefs such as Nigella Lawson and we bought the cooker so they could have a go at cooking themselves. “Researchers have found the steps involved in preparing something to eat can help fight cognitive decline, and the socialising aspect is also very important. “Studies have shown cookery can help reduce passivity and agitation in adults with varying degrees of dementia and it’s also been shown to increase appetite, encourage people to work together, and reduce stress. “Obviously ensuring a safe environment is essential because of the safety hazards around encouraging people with dementia to cook, so we do a thorough risk assessment each time and the ‘cook’ will always be assisted by a staff member. “There’s really something for most people when it comes to cooking because of the range of activities involved: not just using the hob or oven but the prep – like stirring ingredients in a bowl – or arranging
food attractively on a plate, wiping surfaces, doing the washing-up. “Nigel and I followed a recipe for lasagne provided by another resident. “He needed guidance and support from me, but he thoroughly enjoyed cooking it, as well as sharing the dish with other residents once it was ready to eat. “Nigel had two helpings of lasagne and wanted more. He said he likes cooking now, although he wasn’t into it much before.” The one-to-one cookery sessions are part of a varied activities programme offered to residents at Camelot House and Lodge, which is run by awardwinning dementia care provider Camelot Care. The group has other homes in Bridgwater and Plymouth.
05/04/2022 11:17
Caring UK Care Providers Conference Delivering excellence in care in challenging times
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CARINGWEEKLY
Outdoor loving nurses take a walk on the wild side A MARRIED couple with 95 years of nursing service between them are retiring to take a walk on the wild side. Hilary and John Mills will be missed by colleagues and residents at Pendine Park’s Highfield Care Home in Wrexham. Hilary has worked for the group for 19 years and John for 12. But the pair who met in their teens when they were student nurses have both now reached retirement age. When not working they have always loved being outdoors enjoying leisure time in the countryside and are keen walkers. So, they are looking forward to swapping their nursing scrubs for hiking boots and say one of their first ports of call post retirement will be the wild hills of Keswick for a refreshing break taking in the scenic landscape around the Lake District. After so many years of nursing they are sad to be saying farewell to their many work friends and the families of Highfield residents who they have come to know well during their years at Pendine Park. But the couple are confident that much loved patients will be in good hands. Hilary said: “One of the most rewarding parts of our time at Pendine Park has been to welcome promising new, young staff members into the team and see them grow in ability and develop their careers. There are some excellent highly skilled nurses here.” Hilary, who recently celebrated her
Hilary and John Mills 66th birthday, started at Highfield 19 years ago while John, also 66, was recruited a little later – 12 years ago – by Pendine Park proprietor Mario Kreft MBE. John said: “Technically I had already taken retirement from my job with the care homes quality commission which inspects and monitors nursing standards in care homes nationally but Mario commissioned me for a special project and after that finished he offered me a job staying on as a nurse. I’ve never regretted it. There’s a real family ethos at Pendine.” John and Hilary say even though they were approaching retirement they have never stopped learning
throughout their successful careers and that has been particularly the case in the last few years. Hilary said: “With all the difficulties care homes generally have faced resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns we have all had to adapt our thinking and our skills-sets to contend with the everchanging situation. “It’s been a challenging two years during which we’ve learned new skills, and different ways of approaching tasks. We’ve really had to be at the top of our game to protect our patients.” She and her husband say they have many happy memories of working
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at Highfield and meeting its diverse array of characters. Hilary said: “Working in a care home is different than a hospital as the patients are here long term so in many cases we get to know them over a number of years and develop a close bond with them. “We have had the honour of meeting some wonderful people all with different and interesting life stories to tell.” Hilary and John are both originally from South Wales but moved to North Wales in the 1980s and now live in Pandy, near Wrexham. Hilary grew up in Cwmbran and did her nursing training art Bridgend General Hospital, while John, from the Rhondda, trained at the Royal Gwent Hospital. Having met as students they married 45 years ago when John was 19 and Hilary was 18. Hilary said: “Nursing was a vocation for both of us. We were lucky that we knew from the start that this was the career we wanted to do. “Eventually we were married just two weeks after I was fully qualified.” They now have two grown up daughters, Sarah and Rebekah, who each have a young son. As well as walking and exploring the countryside Hilary and John are excited that they will now have more time to spend with their two grandsons, Zac aged 12 and Jonah, eight. Fellow staff at Highfield organised flowers and a cake to mark the couple’s retirement.
Care group to pay for tests
Immersive spaces enrich aspects of later life FUTUREVISUALS is a leading provider of interactive and immersive spaces and room. These unique immersive spaces bring multi-sensory environments into the modern care home, giving residents an engaging and expansive learning experience. We believe in harnessing the transformative potential of immersive learning, using it to enrich every aspect of later life and dementia. Fully interactive Allow your residents to step into a fully interactive immersive world that they can
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engage with through touch, sight, smell and sound. n Free visit and consultation. n Immersive rooms. n Sensory rooms for care services. n Free room design. n 15 years’ experience. n No room too big or small. n Fully controlled via a simple App with hundreds of scenarios. n Film your own content to bring into the room. For the elderly care sector demonstration video please click here. Enquiries: Contact 0151 3727766 or email info@futurevisuals.co.uk
AN AWARD-winning North Yorkshire care group is opening its doors to visitors but paying for their Covid-19 tests to ensure its residents stay safe. Saint Cecilia’s Care Group says it is happy to allow visitors into its nursing home and three care homes but wants to protect its residents and staff too. Managing director Mike Padgham said: “We believe, with infection rates for Covid-19 soaring, that the Government might have been a little premature in relaxing so many of the rules. “We are happy to have visitors, but we will still require them to take a test. To prevent that being a financial burden, for now we will provide a test when they arrive or supply them with tests to use before they come, at no expense. “Our residents and their relatives were apart for too long during the pandemic and so we are pleased that they are now able to enjoy more contact with each other. “But, like all care providers, we are mindful that we are caring for some of the most vulnerable people in the community and some of the most susceptible to Covid-19, so we have to keep protecting them as best we can.
Mike Padgham
The testing will include the care group’s nursing home in Scarborough, the Saint Cecilia’s and Normanby House care homes in Scarborough and the Alba Rose care home in Pickering. “We must never forget that more than 45,000 care and nursing home residents have been lost to Covid19,” Mike added. “If we have a Covid-19 breakout at one of our homes, it has serious repercussions for us and there is no longer any support from the Government. “We have to keep our residents safe and, to the best of our ability, protect our staff too, so that we can remain a viable operation and keep on providing care for around 110 people.”
05/04/2022 10:47
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