Issue 71 25.08.21
The weekly online newsletter for the care sector
Residents and tech firm hold virtual dance RESIDENTS of a Surrey care home group and workers of a Californian tech-based company had the opportunity to connect for an innovative virtual dance session recently – all thanks to a viral Adopt a Grandparent campaign. Launched during the coronavirus pandemic, CHD Living’s Adopt a Grandparent campaign garnered widespread attention with support flooding in from neighbouring European countries, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Pairing care home residents with virtual volunteers for regular video calls, the Adopt a Grandparent campaign coveted to help combat loneliness on a global scale by bringing companionship to those who needed it most at a time of widespread isolation. News of the heartfelt initiative quickly travelled across the transatlantic ocean with workers of NetApp, a Californian-based company in the computer technologies industry, expressing an interest to get involved. Shaleeza Hasham, head of hospitality and communications at CHD Living, said: “Prioritising the mental and physical wellbeing of our residents is key all year round. “However, it’s been even more necessary since the onset of Covid-19. This was the main
reason we launched Adopt a Grandparent – and we were delighted to hear that NetApp wanted to get involved with the campaign.” With hundreds of the company’s employees keen to get involved and not enough residents available to meet the demand, CHD Living and NetApp decided to organise a virtual dance session, which recently came to fruition. Participation reached high figures, with 30 staff members from NetApp and hundreds of residents from across CHD Living’s 13 care homes dialling in via Zoom to dance together. Led by NetApp, hands were jiving, and toes were tapping as the participants grooved along to catchy beats including Shakira’s ‘Waka Waka’. Shaleeza added:“Our residents love meeting new people, after all, and who doesn’t love a good dance session? “The result was fantastic! The seated dances were fun, engaging, and – importantly – easy to follow. “The response we witnessed from our residents was heartwarming to see – they were smiling for the rest of the day. “We thoroughly enjoyed the innovative and energetic collaboration with NetApp, and we hope to repeat the event very soon.”
Bailey has his day at care home
Bluebird Care North Hampshire and West Berkshire has announced the winners of its summer sunflower competition. The contest, which was launched back in June, was available to all customers of the homecare provider. Each person was challenged to grow the tallest sunflower they could over the summer months. The winner’s prizes included an afternoon tea for two donated by local food supply service YumYums. Nan Campbell, was declared the winner of the North Hampshire region. The victory was even sweeter as she happened to also be celebrating her 92nd birthday on the day of her afternoon tea for two. Pat Broomfield was victorious in the competition for West Berkshire. Nan Campbell is pictured with her winning sunflower.
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FROM ALL OF US TO ALL OF YOU FOR ALL YOU ARE DOING TO KEEP OUR MOST VULNERABLE SAFE AND HAPPY …
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EASTWOOD Court care home has officially welcomed its newest staff member – Bailey the Cockapoo. Six-month year-old Bailey has been appointed as the Glasgow care home’s new canine ambassador. The crossbreed is already a hit with residents who got to meet him for the first time recently, having followed updates from his owner since he was born. Bailey is set to visit the home on a fortnightly basis to get lots of strokes and treats from residents. His visits are the latest idea of activities coordinator Catherine McAllister. She said: “It’s amazing how much of an impact animal visits have on residents’ mood. “Bailey was a very good boy and absolutely loved meeting everyone as well. “There’s been lots of studies showing that bringing animals into care homes can help improve residents’ sense of wellbeing and increases social interaction. “We’ve been really restricted on the activities we can do over the pandemic, and having the little furry ball of energy visit really lifted everyone’s spirits.” Catherine recently organised a cheesecake tasting session to celebrate National Cheesecake Day and held lots of competitions for the recent Tokyo Olympics. Other regular activities include yoga, bingo, quizzes and, in pre-lockdown times, visits from entertainers and trips to local tourist attractions.
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CARINGWEEKLY
Further improvements needed at Cornwall care agency following significant shortfalls THE Care Quality Commission has told The Regard Group – Domiciliary Care Cornwall that further urgent improvements are needed following an inspection which found people using the service were at risk of harm. An inspection of the care agency, which provides care and support to people in their own homes, and is part of a supported living scheme, was carried out in May to check if improvements had been made since CQC’s previous inspection where it was rated inadequate and placed in special measures. In November 2020, an inspection was carried out due to multiple concerns about the wellbeing of people using the service. Concerns were found regarding the leadership and safety of the service which led to CQC imposing conditions on its registration requiring them to submit monthly improvement reports. During the latest inspection, further concerns were highlighted that showed unacceptable care. CQC told the provider to submit an action plan to ensure urgent improvements were made. Following this, the provider decided to close this location and is working with the local authority to find alternative care services for people by the closure date of August 31. Debbie Ivanova, CQC deputy chief inspector for people with a learning disability and autistic people, said:
Debbie Ivanova “When we inspected The Regard Group – Domiciliary Care Cornwall, we found widespread and significant shortfalls in leadership and care which compromised the safety and wellbeing of staff and people using the service. This is not acceptable. “We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, and independence that most people take for granted. “There continued to be a high number of safeguarding concerns from staff, people’s relatives and external healthcare professionals. Most relatives we spoke with said they did not feel their loved ones were safe at the service. “There weren’t enough staff to keep
people using the service safe, and this also impacted on the safety of staff. For example, we saw people who required two staff members to care for them only being cared for by one, which placed both people at risk. “People’s support plans were out of date, inaccurate and did not guide staff on what to do when a person was in distress. “This was particularly concerning because the service had a high dependency on agency staff who were referring to inaccurate information, meaning people were being placed at further risk of harm and weren’t being treated as individuals. “The service had aspects of a closed culture which resulted in staff contacting the CQC or commissioners to raise concerns because they did feel they would be listened to or any changes would be made as a result by their own leadership team. “The provider made the right decision to close this service so that people can receive the care and support they deserve.” Low staffing levels meant people were not being supported to live as independent a life as possible with opportunities for social inclusion and taking part in meaningful activities. Health and social care professionals raised concerns that as a result of this, people’s basic health care needs were not being met. For example, five health appointments had been arranged to
review a person’s health and they had not been supported to attend any of these due to capacity reasons. There were also several other areas of concern found on inspection, including: n There was negative feedback from health and social care professionals and people’s relatives about the safety and quality of the service. n Some people had been assessed as needing support from staff on a continuous basis. At one supported living setting there were occasions when staff were not always present. This placed people at risk of harm, and at times people were harmed as a result of being left with no staff support. n Behavioural support plans for people remained inaccurate which meant there was no consistent understanding or approach on how to support people. n Staff did not advise visitors to the service how to approach people when they met them to ensure this was done safely both for the person and the visitor. n Records were inconsistently completed meaning people’s care needs were not monitored or reviewed to learn how to improve their quality of life. n There were not enough staff trained in the administration of medicines on each shift. This placed additional pressure on the whole team when they were already short staffed.
‘Game, set and match’ to care home resident Bella
Belong Newcastle-under-Lyme general manager Peter Norman with resident Paul Goodstadt and village heritage coordinator Dan Turner.
Village commemorates Covid-19 with capsules RESIDENTS at the Belong care village in Newcastle-under-Lyme have reflected on the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic and created a record of their experiences for future generations by burying time capsules to mark the episode in history. Placed inside the capsules were testing kits, PPE, magazine and newspaper clippings and photographs from throughout the period, as well as Belong literature communicating advice and guidance. Also included were letters written by residents, relatives and
management and support teams sharing their personal struggles and advice for people who may face similar adversity in the future. These were sealed and buried in the residents’ garden of the care village, with instructions for them to be opened in 100 years’ time. The inspiration for the time capsules came from the National Day of Reflection day in March, when people at Belong joined with others all over the country in reflecting on those who have lost their lives to Covid-19, as well as the individual hardships faced by many others as a result of the pandemic.
FORGET Wimbledon, the place to be for enthralling racket and ball action this summer is a Bournemouth care home. Eight tennis-loving residents at Colten Care’s Avon Cliff competed in their own in-house version of the iconic tournament, including mixed doubles matches and a grand final involving the best two players. The home’s lounge was converted into a playing court complete with net while competitors sought to win over their opponents using badminton rackets and balloons. Everyone playing received a miniature trophy to thank them for taking part. The final, between residents Bella Kier and Sylvia Williams, was a closely fought affair which went to three match points before Bella eventually broke serve and won. The delighted champion was then presented with a winner’s trophy, flowers, chocolates and champagne. She said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the game. I was surprised I had the stamina to win and I’m over the moon, very happy.” And gracious runner-up Sylvia said: “A big congratulations to Bella. It was a pleasure to compete against such a confident player.” Companionship team leader Sharon Surgeon said: “We’ve all had a lot of fun with our tennis tournament. “Everyone was clearly inspired by
the Wimbledon finals, insisting on full games and proper scoring. “Well done to all competitors and hearty congratulations to Bella for triumphing in the end.” Such is the degree of interest in tennis among Avon Cliff residents, Colten Care agreed an innovative tieup with Bournemouth’s West Hants Club three years ago. Under the partnership, residents at Avon Cliff and sister home Amberwood House were given opportunities to watch live matches in return for the operator supporting the club’s youth academy. The West Hants was the club where the first ‘open era’ tennis tournament was staged in April 1968, widely seen as an early step on the way to today’s global professional sport.
CARINGWEEKLY
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Chief Nurse Adult Social Care Award for Emily REGISTERED nursing associate Emily Burton was presented with a silver award from chief nurse for adult social care Deborah Sturdy in the inaugural Chief Nurse Adult Social Care Awards. The Awards celebrated the incredible efforts of social care nurses and care workers in England throughout the pandemic and beyond, and are being awarded on a rolling basis through the year to workers in the sector. Wendy Leighton, who is currently project manager for the regulated professional workforce at Skills for Care, previously worked as programme lead at the University of Lincoln and supported Emily through her training. She said: “I am thrilled to see Emily receive a Chief Nurse Adult Social Care Award. Emily has been dedicated to her role ever since starting her training in 2017 and is continually striving to progress her skills and development. “She is an inspiration to her team and to the entire social care sector.” Emily was the second recipient to be presented with an award so far this year, and is the first registered nursing associate to receive a Chief Nursing Officer award. She was nominated by her employers at Stewton House in Louth who supported her through the registered nursing associate training
Deborah Sturdy
as one of the first graduates in the role in 2019. Emily received the award as recognition of her hard work and her place as a positive role model, mentor and inspiration to her team. She has progressed from the role of care assistant, which she started in 2010 with no relevant experience, through to a registered nursing associate, and now deputy manager of a 48-bed nursing home. As a nursing associate she works with the care team, leading by example and encouraging them to increase their skills and learn new processes. Her positive example has led to one other care assistant from the home qualifying as a registered nursing associate last year and two others enrolling this year. Emily has also volunteered her time to support the Lincolnshire Care Association and the workforce development team in Lincolnshire to promote the nursing associate course.
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Extra care residents get out and about RESIDENTS of Watling Court Extra Care Housing Scheme in Gravesend made the most of being able to get out and about again and enjoyed a day trip to some nearby places of interest. The first stop on the residents’ outing was Sevenoaks, where they spent the morning browsing the independent boutiques, before stopping for coffee and hopping back on the minibus. Next stop was Teapot Island, a favourite of the residents’, where they
tucked into a tasty cream tea and enjoyed the sunny garden. Housing officer Helen Goulding said: “Our residents are really enjoying being able to go out on day trips as a group again, before the pandemic we had lots of outings so it is excellent to be able to get those up and running again. “We were lucky as the weather was great and it was just lovely to do something normal together, we are all looking forward to the next day out and making up for lost time.”
Thursday 2nd December 2021,
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