Home Instead York newsletter
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May 2021
York Team take part in Wear A Hat Day On Friday 26th March, the Home Instead team took part in Wear A Hat Day, to fundraise for the Brain Tumour Awareness charity. Wear A Hat Day takes place every March as the culmination of Brain Tumour Awareness Month. It is one of the most celebrated and important brain tumour research awareness and fundraising days in the UK.
Brain Tumour Research are a leading voice calling for support and action for research into what is called the last battleground against cancer. We encouraged our team and clients to get involved by having a rummage around in their wardrobes to find a fun hat they could wear for the day, and then sending us a picture. For every photo we received
from our team, we donated £2 to Brain Tumour Research. It was great to see so many of the team having fun and getting involved, we even had a few smiling photos of clients as well which was wonderful to see. In total, we raised over £230 for Brain Tumour Research. Many thanks to those who took part and donated. If you’d like to donate, please visit: http://ow.ly/S3cS50DVgh4 For more information on Brain Tumour Research, please visit: http://ow.ly/E5aq50DVgh3
Home Instead partners with Parkinson’s UK We are delighted to announce a new partnership with the national charity, Parkinson’s UK. Through the partnership we have created a bespoke training programme about the condition. This will allow us to train our CAREGivers so that they have the knowledge and skills to provide care that is tailored to the needs of someone living with Parkinson’s. We are also pleased to be able to share our knowledge of the social care and home care sector with Parkinson’s UK, offering them a valuable 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. Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world and it is estimated 1 in 37 people alive today will be diagnosed with Parkinson’s in their lifetime. However, there is still no cure, it gets worse over time, and with over 40 symptoms it is incredibly complex
and unique to each individual. Around 145,000 people in the UK have Parkinson’s. With Parkinson’s the brain cells that make dopamine start to die. Some symptoms are treatable, but the drugs can have serious side effects. The condition gets worse over time and there’s no cure at the present time. Speaking about working with Parkinson’s UK, Home Instead CEO, Martin Jones said: “We want people to be able to live their life well at home, where they feel most comfortable. This is absolutely possible for someone who is living with Parkinson’s. “By sharing our sector expertise with Parkinson’s UK we hope that families will realise that they do have a choice when it comes to care and that quality home care can really make a difference to people’s lives. “This type of partnership between third and private sectors presents a really exciting dynamic as we look to shape the future of care and support.”
Ghalib Ullah, Head of Commercial Partnerships at Parkinson’s UK added: “We are delighted to partner with Home Instead and are really excited about working collaboratively with them to make sure people with Parkinson’s get the right care and support. By upskilling and providing their caregivers with the relevant resources, practical skills and information about Parkinson’s, it will ensure they can deliver the very best quality care when dealing with clients with Parkinson’s, especially those with more complex symptoms. “We know that domiciliary care is preferable to many people with Parkinson’s and their loved ones and we hope that by supporting and enabling care staff to feel confident when it comes to understanding Parkinson’s we are also delaying the moment when individuals may need to move into a care home.” You can find more information on the condition as well as advice and support on the Parkinson’s UK website: www.parkinsons.org.uk.
App of the Month As Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 17th-23rd May, we thought we would make our ORCHA recommended ‘App Of The Month’ for May:
Wysa: Mental Health Support Developer description: Wysa is used by more than a million people from all walks of life. Research-backed, widely used techniques of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and meditation are employed to support you with depression, stress, anxiety, sleep
and a whole range of other mental health and wellness needs. Talking to Wysa is empathetic, helpful, and will never judge. Your identity will remain anonymous and your conversations are privacy protected. Wysa is an emotionally intelligent chatbot that uses AI to
react to the emotions you express. Unlock techniques that help you cope with challenges. For extra support, take guidance from a qualified professional therapist. Leveraging behavioral techniques, therapists help you identify, design and work towards goals that are aligned with your true values.
Keep your pet Who would look after your pet whilst you were in hospital? For many older people in York, their pets are a part of their family and they worry about what would happen if they were in hospital. Age UK York and the RSPCA York Branch have identified a need for a service to help older and vulnerable owners with short term help and support to care for their pets and have joined forces to set up Keep Your Pet. What they offer: • Dog Walking • Visiting a home to feed an animal • Taking an animal to the vet • Short term fostering for any domestic animal These services are provided by volunteers who have undergone rigorous vetting and training. Their fosterers have had a home assessment by the RSPCA York and District Branch. Sally Hutchinson, Chief Officer Age UK York said: ‘We often find that care of their animals is a particular worry for older people when they are unwell. But we also know how vitally important the animals are in speeding recovery & promoting wellbeing in the long term. We see this service as a natural extension of our work and are delighted to be collaborating with the RSPCA.’ For the owners, the contact & friendship with the volunteer is almost as important as the benefits to their animal, but experience elsewhere has shown that the service is equally valuable to the volunteers. There are many people who are unable to have an animal of their own, or those whose own animals have recently died may not feel ready for another animal of their own but wish to have contact with animals. KYP really does offer a win-win situation. For more information telephone 01904 866070 or email keepyourpet@ageukyork.org.uk
Big welcome to our new Assistant Care Managers
Kerry Fraser (left) and Angela Steer We are delighted to welcome two new staff to the Home Instead York office team. Kerry Fraser and Angela Steer have joined us as our Assistant Care Managers and will support both Kerry Galloway and Lorna Hoegh in their Registered Care Manager roles. Kerry & Angela both have lots of experience of working in home care and have been busy in their first few weeks completing all the required training, to understand the different parts of our business. In their new roles, Kerry & Angela will be supporting both clients and CAREGivers in the community, building relationships, and ensuring that Home Instead, continue to deliver the highest quality care for our clients. Once the restrictions on COVID ease Kerry & Angela will spend much of their time out and about and we know they are both excited to start meeting some of our wonderful clients.
Welcome!
Dementia Action Week – 17th – 23rd May Dementia Action Week is a national event led by the Alzheimer’s Society that sees the public coming together to take action to improve the lives of people affected by dementia. One in three of us born in the UK today will go on to develop dementia in our lifetime, and there will be one million people living with dementia by
2025 making dementia care one of the greatest challenges facing our society. We all have a role to play in making the UK a dementia-friendly place to live and that’s what Dementia Action Week is all about. At Home Instead York, we want to help you play your part, that’s why we are giving you the opportunity to become a ‘Dementia Friend’, through
one of our online Dementia Friends sessions we’re running throughout May & June. (Please see overleaf for further details, and how you can sign up). To find out more about Dementia Action Week, or to find out other ways you can get involved, visit: https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get -involved/dementia-action-week
Farewell wishes to Daphne I’m sad to share the news that our General Manager, Daphne, will be retiring on 30th April. I am sure you will join me in wishing Daphne well for her retirement. Daphne joined Home Instead in 2015 and she has made a valuable contribution to our organisation in the 6 years she has been leading the team. As the owner of Home Instead in York and Scarborough, I will be getting more involved in the day to day operation of the business and work more closely with the team. Although we have been providing our service for 12 years now, there is still plenty of opportunity to grow and improve. I am as passionate as ever about building an outstanding service and a successful business,
so Daphne’s retirement seemed like an opportunity to get more closely involved with the business I started in 2008. I am some way off retirement myself and there is lots more I want to achieve for Home Instead. Over the last 2 years my wife and I have both experienced the process of finding care for family members in other parts of the country and it has made us more committed than ever to providing a service in York, Scarborough and Ryedale that gives families reassurance and allows people to confidently make the choice to stay in their own homes. With kind regards
Luke Norbury
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Home Instead the 6 years have just flown by. I just want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you, to all the CAREGivers and the office team that continue to make a huge difference to the lives of our clients and their families during an incredibly difficult time. I am looking forward to having more time in the garden this summer and maybe a long holiday when we are allowed! …
I will miss you all.
Managing Director
Your Chance to become a Dementia Friend Home Instead York delighted to be able to offer you the chance to become a Dementia Friend through one of three virtual Dementia Awareness Sessions we are running hosted by our Dementia Friends Champion, Karen Leaf. What is a Dementia Friend? A Dementia Friend is somebody that learns about dementia so they can help their community. Too many people affected by dementia feel that society fails to understand the condition they live with. Dementia Friends help by raising awareness and
understanding, so that people living with dementia can continue to live in the way they want. What does a Dementia Friend do? Dementia Friends help people living with dementia by taking actions - both big and small. These actions don’t have to be time-consuming. From visiting someone you know with dementia to being more patient in a shop queue, every action counts! Dementia Friends can also get involved with things like volunteering, campaigning, or wearing a badge to raise awareness.
Home Instead 10 Clifton Moor Business Village James Nicolson Link, Clifton Moor York YO30 4XG Telephone: 01904 690884 Email: info@hiscyork.co.uk Web: www.homeinstead.co.uk/york
Please join us for one of our FREE sessions we are running via zoom on:
Monday 17th May – 10.30–11.45am Thursday 20th May – 15.00–16.15pm Tuesday 1st June – 12.00–13.15pm To book your place on one of the above sessions, email karen.leaf@hiscyork.co.uk or call 01904 690884. To find out more about Dementia Friends, visit: https://www.dementiafriends.org.uk/
Live well, your way with care at home
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