Issue 51 07.04.21
The weekly online newsletter for the care sector
Dedication of staff praised in research “DEDICATED and resourceful” care home staff across the East Midlands have been praised for overcoming barriers to assisting people during the first stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Eighteen managers of registered care homes across the region were interviewed by lead researcher Dr Fiona Marshall via video to find out about their experiences of the crisis. Central government was criticised and local support was identified as key in providing care to all residents during a frightening and unprecedented experience. The aim of the Covid-19 Care Home Sectors Study was to gather information to inform more effective responses to the ongoing pandemic, and to improve understanding of how to work with staff and organisations post-pandemic. Many of the managers paid tribute to local communities, including businesses, thirdsector organisations and individuals, who they say were key in helping care homes overcome the challenges they faced in delivering care to its residents. Dr Fiona Marshall, a Research Fellow from the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands and the University of Nottingham, said: “Care home staff had to deliver care in innovative ways, making high-
stake decisions and very often putting their residents first before themselves. “It was the resilience, dedication and resourcefulness of staff which helped overcome the barriers to care, of which this country should be very grateful.” The information gathered has contributed towards advising the UK government and will help form new guidelines which will be used in the future to assist care homes after the pandemic, and should another global emergency occur again. Professor Adam Gordon, who is the NIHR ARC East Midlands Theme lead for Building Community Resilience and Enabling Independence and Professor of Care of Older People at the University of Nottingham, added: “We discovered there was a remarkable approach among care homes, which showed them working together to provide mutual support, rather than competing against one another. “Sadly, this was not the case when it came to organisational responses by central government which resulted in resource constraints and additional work for care home staff. In some cases, the decisions made centrally actually impaired the staff and managers’ ability to make decisions.”
Emmerdale star opens home’s bar
Residents at an Edinburgh care home welcomed the Easter holidays with a splash of creativity with personalised bonnets. Featuring an Easter egg hunt, Easter service and a visit from the Easter bunny, the staff at Mansfield Care’s Belleville Lodge went above and beyond to ensure the residents had an exciting time. Leading up to the festivities, residents spent the week decorating bonnets by making paper flowers and bunnies to decorate their hats. Following the arts and crafts, residents were able to attend an Easter service along with festive hymns, followed by fresh hot cross buns in the lounge. Pictured is resident Anne Robson enjoying the Easter fun.
A BIG THANK YOU
FROM ALL OF US TO ALL OF YOU FOR ALL YOU ARE DOING TO KEEP OUR MOST VULNERABLE SAFE AND HAPPY …
WE’RE IN AWE OF YOUR SELFLESS HARD WORK AND DEDICATION.
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RESIDENTS at Ebor Court care home in Nether Poppleton held an official opening ceremony for its new Sky Bar virtually with the help of actress Katherine Dow Blyton, who plays vicar Harriet Finch in Emmerdale. The Sky Bar, as named by residents, is on the top floor of the home and features panoramic views over York. Home manager Shane Talbot said: “I have been extremely excited to finally cut the ribbon and open our beautiful Sky Bar. “It has been a labour of love over the past few weeks, and it was so much fun to announce what the room was going to become. “Having a spot where our residents can enjoy socialising with one another and their families in the future is such an asset to our home. “I know the bar will be well used and bring a smile to our residents’ faces.” Residents chose the décor, which is modern, complete with a beer pump, wine fridge and gin rack, and lavish touches throughout such as plush seating areas which will become the go-to place for special occasions and celebrations. Prior to the launch, residents insisted that they would like to be in charge of the bar. With so many willing volunteers, home manager Shane Talbot held informal ‘job’ interviews for the bar manager position and declared Anne Goodwin the official manageress. Plans in place for the bar include a wine tasting afternoon.
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CARINGWEEKLY
Outstanding rating for homecare firm
Ex-Strictly pro invites residents to dance A CARE provider’s residents have enjoyed their very own dance session with former Strictly Come Dancing pro Robin Windsor. They were among the first in the UK to practise moves and receive personal tips under the star’s new ‘A Step Back in Time’ dance initiative for older people delivered via Zoom. Colten homes in Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and West Sussex all logged on for the live and exclusive session, with residents using Zoom chat to interact with Robin and ask questions. He said: “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting all the lovely residents from Colten Care who took part. We had so much fun and they definitely showed off some great moves. “I’ve created ‘A Step Back In Time’ especially for care home residents. “I want it to be a chance for older people to express and enjoy themselves through song and dance. “It’s all about helping to improve your mood and supporting your physical and mental wellbeing.”
As well as a focus on jive, the fun included upper body movements for chair-based participants and the chance to sing along with Robin’s fellow presenter, West End performer Rebecca Lisewski. After opening the session with a talk about his time on Strictly, Robin went on to demonstrate and teach a variety of moves that got residents stepping and tapping along. Amid smiles and laughter all round, he singled out two residents for special mentions. He said Rita Clay, who lives at Newstone House in Sturminster Newton, was “good enough to be in next year’s Strictly” and he gave Ruth Horrocks, from Whitecliffe House in Blandford, the top score of ‘10’ for her dancing. Robin was a dancer on Strictly between 2010 and 2015. His celebrity partners included radio presenter Sara Cox, actors Lisa Riley, Anita Dobson and Patsy Kensit, and business personality Deborah Meaden from TV’s Dragons’ Den.
Residents at HC-One’s Market Lavington care home in Wiltshire had the opportunity of building up relationships with the local junior school through video calls. During the recent promotion of ‘Intergenerational Week’, wellbeing coordinator Riaz Ali contacted Lindsey Clough, headteacher at St Barnabus, with the idea of video calls to be set up between the children and the residents. A fun-packed hour was spent with three year six children and several residents. The children asked questions about favourite foods and places to go. At one point they held up a whiteboard and suggested games of hangman or noughts and crosses with the residents.
SweetTree Home Care Services has again been awarded an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission after volunteering for its new pilot inspection scheme which has been developed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. SweetTree’s co-founders Barry Sweetbaum and Nicki Bones launched the business in 2002, embarking on a joint mission to change the definition of what ‘high quality’ care at home looks like for people with age-related frailty, dementia, brain injuries, neurological conditions and learning disabilities. SweetTree, which provides homecare in London, supports people on a live-in or live out basis and includes a highly specialist endof-life care programme for those facing these challenges. The CQC report states: “People using SweetTree and their relatives gave us excellent feedback about the service. They all said they would recommend the service to others. People using the service, their relatives, staff and external health and social care professionals all said that SweetTree dealt admirably with challenges posed by the pandemic and were able to provide a high quality of care. “We received feedback from 20 external health and social care professionals who all gave a continuously positive view of the service. Some of their comments included “I have seen many examples of how staff go the extra mile to meet individuals’ needs. “One person described the dedicated care provided by her carer as “A soft pillow to my very broken soul” and “I believe that the staff are well trained and looked after.
Barry Sweetbaum and Nicki Bones. SweetTree ensures all their staff do not work with clients until they are absolutely ready to do their jobs correctly. SweetTree is the best care company that I have ever been associated with.” Barry added: “I was so proud to read the feedback given to CQC by SweetTree’s clients, family members and professionals. “We cannot thank our team enough for the incredible hard work and effort they have made to ensure our clients have been kept safe through this pandemic.” The report noted that SweetTree had built on its previous high standards and had launched a number of new initiatives since its previous inspection, many of which involved training and support around Covid-19. Nicki added: “I am so grateful to all our team at SweetTree, maintaining such high standards through all the difficult times shows their passion and dedication to our clients and each other, never forgetting why we are here. “The CQC report spoke so highly of the support workers who adapted to new guidelines, ways of working and training in an instant.”
Drumming on exercise balls a hit with home’s residents RESIDENTS at a Wellington dementia care home have enthusiastically embraced the latest musical innovation offered for their entertainment during lockdown – drumming on exercise balls. Co-ordinator Richard Dempslake, who leads the activities team at Camelot House and Lodge, launched an appeal to residents’ families through their Facebook group requesting donations of exercise balls to enable the residents to give the activity a try. He said: “I put together a playlist with big band music on and we all play along to that. Some residents go freelance and do whatever they like, whilst others play along with the music. “One of their favourite tunes is When The Saints Go Marching In. They can build up quite a rhythm to that one.” Involving people with dementia in group exercise activities is commonly known to be a challenge among care teams, but research has shown increased levels of participation during experimental condition observations where rhythmic music
Resident Alec Wilmot. accompanies the exercise activities. “Drumming on exercise balls offers a double win for our residents,” said Richard. “First because the balls – although very light – are big enough that drumming on them is actually a gentle work-out. “And second because the activity is music-led, and music therapy of all sorts continues to enable our residents to access deep-seated memories in a way that other activities can’t rival.”
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Donated aquarium delights residents A SUFFOLK care home has honoured a former resident by installing an aquarium in his memory. Using funds donated by the resident’s family, St George’s in Beccles purchased the aquarium in remembrance of John Bird, who lived at the home for some time before passing away in January aged 81. Hearing of the home’s plans to build an aquarium for residents, local aquatics shop International Tropics donated an array of colourful, artificial plants and tropical fish worth almost £100 for its use. John’s wife Cynthia said: “I’m so pleased that St George’s chose to use the donation to buy an aquarium for the home. “John would have been over the moon too as he used to keep tropical fish for about 15 years. He enjoyed watching them swim around and found it incredibly relaxing.” Staff hope the aquarium will provide residents with a pleasant and calming sensory experience, as well as a suitably tranquil way of remembering
Karen James (centre) is pictured with John Simcox, lead therapist at Bramhall Manor (left) and home manager Sarah Lydon. Resident Maureen Bellsham with the new aquarium. John who, although only a resident for a short period, had become a much-loved member of the care home’s family. Registered manager Joy Henshaw added: “Our residents have taken to the new aquarium well – some have even got involved with naming the fish. “As someone fond of fish himself, the aquarium is the perfect way of honouring John and we’re very grateful to his family for their donation, which enabled us to buy the tank.”
Silent disco is a hit with care provider’s residents COAST Care Homes teamed up with Silent Discos 4U to hire music equipment for their residents. They enjoyed a wide variety of music, including audio newspapers and poetry. The silent disco was particularly beneficial to those who are hard of hearing, allowing them a sense of escapism and entertainment in their own world. The care homes’ staff soon extended the use of the equipment to meal times and found the silent disco really relaxed and calmed those who usually struggle to eat due to their dementia. Activities co-ordinator Poppy Bellchambers said: “When I used a good quality speaker for carol singing last Christmas I noticed a different level of engagement in residents who had hearing impairments. “This got me thinking about using headphones for residents who have quite severe hearing impairment and remain largely in their bedrooms.
“Their enjoyment and animation when music was played through the headphones was wonderful to see. I wanted to be able to reach more residents simultaneously and the silent disco was the perfect equipment to facilitate that. “There was an immediate joyous response when the silent disco headset was fitted. “Residents were cheerful and animated, singing out loud and dancing either in their chair or up on their feet. Residents were relaxed and happy, ate better and anxiety levels were lowered. For all residents to be able to hear music/ spoken word/ radio at their preferred level really united them and created a happy and relaxed home.” The hire trial was so successful that the group has decided to invest in its own silent disco equipment for residents across all three homes to regularly enjoy.
Home receives Making a Difference accolade THE team at New Care’s Bramhall Manor care centre in Stockport has received a special Making a Difference award from the local NHS Foundation Trust. Personally delivered and presented by chief executive Karen James OBE as part of the Trust’s wider ‘Thank You February’ initiative, the certificate recognises the care home’s outstanding contribution and dedicated commitment during the Covid-19 pandemic. She also gave them a selection of fresh fruit and cakes. Karen said: “The New Care team has worked successfully in partnership with us to provide positive outcomes for hundreds of patients over the last 12 months. “It has been an incredible partnership and one that we hope to continue to support the needs of those patients discharged from hospital who still require some transitional support prior to returning to their home.” Bramhall Manor is one of only a handful of local healthcare organisations to receive the award. Upon opening in March last year, it was commissioned in its entirety by Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs
Stepping Hill Hospital, NHS Stockport CCG and Stockport Council as part of a joint Borough-wide plan to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. Over the last 12 months the New Care team at the home has worked to help ease the pressure on the NHS in the locality by offering a much needed and viable solution to the shortfall of hospital beds by caring for those who are well enough to leave hospital but not quite able to care for themselves fully at home. The partnership has been instrumental in helping the local NHS deal with the increase in hospital admissions, both as a result of the pandemic and also during the recent busy winter months. Registered manager at Bramhall Manor, Sarah Lydon, added: “It was wonderful to receive the surprise visit from Karen and we are delighted to have been presented with a Make a Difference certificate. “The situation with the pandemic has not always been easy, but we have worked hand-in-hand with Stockport NHS Foundation Trust to ensure the delivery of a seamless care service for many residents before they return to their own homes after a hospital stay and are pleased that the project has been successful.” Residents of Connors House in Canterbury were delighted when they received a surprise visit from their furry four-legged friend, Bracken. It was a dog’s life at the care home when general manager Christine Devlin brought her dog, Bracken, in to say hello to the residents. Prior to the pandemic, Bracken used to visit the home regularly, so the residents were delighted to welcome him back again and enjoy some muchappreciated pet therapy. Christine said: “Bracken used to come in and see the residents often, so they were overjoyed to see him again and he was very happy to see them too. As a pet friendly organisation we find the interaction with animals to be incredibly beneficial for our residents. We also find it promotes a calm and relaxed environment.”