13 minute read
Business News
Local Firms Support ‘Dementia Friendly’ To Help Reconnect The Elderly
We have all been affected by the pandemic, feeling a sense of isolation and loneliness at being cut off from family and friends, but this is especially so for the elderly and vulnerable in care homes, especially those living with dementia.
Last autumn, Jenny Cottrell, solicitor with Porter Dodson in Sturminster Newton, nominated Newstone House in Sturminster (where her mother is a resident) to receive one of Dementia Friendly Gillingham’s giveaway robotic cats. She wasn’t successful on that occasion, but wanted to donate a cat herself.
Then the organiser Anne Kings contacted Jenny and introduced her to Sue Reader of Marnhull, who wanted to donate a cat in memory of her late mother Rosemary Joyce and the two were paired up. It seemed worth asking Porter Dodson and Symonds & Sampson, Estate Agents, Chartered Surveyors and Auctioneers if they would like to join in and they both readily agreed to get involved and donate a dog each to accompany the two cats. The result is that both Newstone House and Nazareth Lodge will each receive a feline and canine friend for their residents.
The benefits for the residents are well-established, especially when (pre-restrictions) both homes were regularly visited by pets and all kinds of other creatures
“I met two donkeys leaving the lift once in Newstone” comments Jenny.
Research has long linked animal-assisted therapy to improvements in mood and the quality of life for the elderly, including those with dementia. The jury’s still out on whether robotic pets are as effective as their real-life counterparts, but a recent review of studies on robopets for dementia patients linked time spent with the robots to lower levels of depression and agitation.
And since they don’t need walks, food or vet visits, cuddly robot pets are a low-maintenance option for people no longer able to care for a pet themselves.
Mark Lewis of Symonds & Sampson said “We are delighted to be involved in this initiative with Porter Dodson.
Their pet is called Porter and ours, of course, is Sampson!”
Chloe Hooper, who works as a residential negotiator at Symonds & Sampson says
“Robotic Companion Pets are hugely beneficial for people living with dementia, people with Parkinson’s, children with special needs, the elderly, and anybody suffering from mental health issues. Patients in NHS dementia wards who had previously been anxious, frightened, and who tended to wander, suddenly calm down, and start to interact with their new companion. The pressure taken off staff was immediate and made them feel good too.”
Richard Baker, Head of the Family Team and CSR Partner at Porter Dodson, said: “During what has been a particularly challenging time for families, especially for those with loved ones in care homes, we are delighted to be supporting this initiative and hope that both Porter and Sampson bring much joy to those they come into contact with. “
The Winners of the Sherborne Business Awards Have Been Announced!
The awards ceremony took place yesterday (June 3rd) at Oborne Grange Hotel, close to Sherborne.
The awards ceremony was originally planned for February, but naturally lockdown occurred instead. A rescheduled event was drawn up for Easter - but still restrictions meant a physical event still couldmn’t go ahead.
After the level of community support shown for the new awards, organiser Nigel Reeve of Marketing West SW Ltd refused to simply livestream the event
“we wanted to give as many as possible the chance to attend”.
Holding his nerve paid off, and yesterday the lunch event was well-attended by both sponsors and finalists.
These were the inaugural Sherborne Business Awards, and Nigel said ““After three attempts I’m delighted that the Sherborne Business Awards have now happened. The local support has been fantastic from the very start. I’d personally like to thank all the entrants and the sponsors who made the awards possible. We wanted to help get business moving again and hopefully, the awards contribute in some small way. Planning has already started for next year.”
Judging was said to be remarkably close in all twelve categories. The entries were spread across a wide range of business sectors and highlighted just how many fantastic independent traders, unique shops, and services there are in the town.
The 2021 Award Winners are:
• Health Beauty & Fitness
Business (sponsored by Leweston School Events): Winner – Communifit
• Café, Pub, Hospitality
(sponsored by Hunt’s
Foodservice): Winner - The Cross Keys
• Arts, Crafts and Artisans
(sponsored by Trophy
Solutions): Winner - Tom Rowell Designs
• Best Use of Digital
(sponsored by Hunts
Accountants): Winner - Robin James
• Independent Business
of the Year (sponsored by Battens Solicitors): Winner - Vineyards of
Sherborne
The Cross Keys collecting their ‘Overall Business of the Year Award from Nigel West
• Green Business of the Year
(sponsored by NatWest): Winner – Dikita Crafts
• New Business of the Year
(sponsored by Sherborne Town Council):
Winner – Forces Fit Bootcamp • Rising Star (sponsored by Valmiera Glass UK): Winner – Elliot Cuff
• Best Service Provider
(sponsored by Church House Investments): • Winner – Hunts Accountants
• Best Customer Service
(sponsored by Charterhouse
Auctioneers): • Winner – Porter Dodson LLP
• Mental Health Awareness
(sponsored by Training for Results): Winner – Rosa Rocks Clothing
• Best Community Support
Business (sponsored by NFU Mutual):
Winner – Sherborne Community Kitchen • Best Community Support -
Individual Award (sponsored by NFU Mutual): Winner – Jules Bradburn
• Sherborne Business Leader
of the Year (sponsored by Mogers Drewett): Winner – Mo Gherras
• Overall Business of
The Year (sponsored by Marketing West SW Ltd): Winner – The Cross Keys
Nigel Reeve Marketing West SW Ltd Sherborne.
“Wow!! What a humbling experience. Thank you.
Business Leader of the Year, Business of the Year and Pub of the Year. And it’s our 2nd Birthday on Monday!”
Mo Gherras The Cross Keys Sherborne.
Openreach set to upgrade 14 exchanges and bring Full Fibre to a further 45,000 in Dorset
Openreach has outlined plans to bring ultrafast, ultra-reliable Full Fibre broadband to a further 45,000 homes and businesses in Dorset, including the exchanges at Blandford, Sherborne and Sturminster Newton.
With download speeds of 1 Gbps, it’s up to 10 times faster than the average home broadband connection which means faster game downloads, better quality video calls and higher resolution movie streaming. Other benefits include being able to use multiple devices at once without experiencing slowdown – so more people in a household can get online at once.
Even if the rest of a family are making video calls, streaming box sets or gaming online, all at the same time, Openreach say that there won’t be stuttering, buffering or dropouts.
Full Fibre is also less affected by peak time congestion.
Recent research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) highlighted the clear economic benefits of connecting everyone in the South West to Full Fibre with an estimated £4.3bn boost to the local economy. Connie Dixon, Openreach’s Regional Director for the South West said: “Building a new ultrafast broadband network across the South West is a massive challenge and some parts of the region will inevitably require public funding. “But our expanded build plan means taxpayer subsidies can be limited to only the hardest to connect homes and businesses and with investments from other network builders, we’d hope to see that shrink further.
“This is a hugely complex, nationwide engineering project – second only to HS2 in terms of investment.
“It will help level-up the UK - the impact of Full Fibre broadband stretches from increased economic prosperity and international competitiveness, to higher employment and environmental benefits.
“We’re also delighted to continue bucking the national trend by creating more jobs in the region, with apprentices joining in their droves to start their careers as engineers.
“We’ll publish further location details and timescales on our website as the detailed surveys and planning are completed and the build progresses.”
More details about Openreach’s Fibre First programme, latest availability and local plans can be seen here.
New campaign shines a light on mental health to tackle stigma and change the way men talk
A life-changing campaign – Light On – has launched across Dorset to tackle the stigma of talking about mental distress and emotional struggle, particularly among men.
A network of organisations, local businesses, the NHS, Public Health Dorset and Bournemouth University have joined forces to put an end to Dorset men dealing with mental health difficulties alone and in the dark. It urges men to go beyond the banter and talk openly about how they are feeling and whether they are coping. The campaign aims to train champions and ambassadors to spread the message across the whole of Dorset reaching men where they work, exercise, socialise and live. Andrew Coleman, Founder of Light On, said: “It is time to put an end to the silent struggle among men because of the taboo and stigma about talking when you’re not coping very well. “This silence is leading to pain, suffering and suicide – and it has to stop. “This campaign will save people’s lives because it will make it OK for people to have a conversation and ask for help. “It will transform the way Dorset people, men in particular, deal with mental health and mental health difficulty. “We want as many people as possible to share our message and to get involved.
“We must create such a loud voice between us that everyone knows how to have a conversation about seeking and receiving help.
“We want thousands of people to ‘turn their Light On’ with us.”
Andrew Coleman, Founder, Light On: “This campaign will save people’s lives because it will make it OK for people to have a conversation and ask for help.” Andrew is one of a group of men who met through the charity Dorset Mind and wanted to do more to help other men who may be struggling.
All have personal experience of the difficulties and damage caused by mental health problems, with many of them losing friends or colleagues to suicide.
Ty Temel, Owner of Halo Bournemouth said: “A year ago we started talking about how we could stop this wave of distress amongst men in Dorset that is leading some to take their own lives. Also leading the campaign is Craig Mathie, Managing Director of Bournemouth 7s Festival, and – as is Ty – an Ambassador for Dorset Mind.
Dee Swinton, Dorset Mind’s Marketing Manager, said: “A survey by Mind charity found that one in eight men in the UK admit to suffering from mental health problems, while suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 45.”
Local businesses, clubs, charities and individuals will be offered training and workshops through the Light On project to train people in the basics of mental wellbeing in later phases of the campaign. Importantly, they will be encouraged to have courageous conversations that go beyond everyday banter.
Are You Looking After Your Employee’s Mental Health?
As part of their ongoing partnership with Dorset Mind, Blanchards Bailey joined others around the world in celebration of World Mental Health week.
The firm’s Head of HR & Operation, Jane EldridgeCordner, provides expert advice to business clients on how they can best look after their employees’ mental health and offers examples on how the firm puts that advice into practice:
“Looking after your employees’ well-being should now, more than ever, be a
key priority. Modern day life pressures, coupled with challenges presented by the pandemic, have left many feeling anxious and depressed. Signs of this in the workplace include decreased productivity, morale problems, lack of cooperation, absenteeism, presenteeism, complaints of tiredness, complaints of aches and pains and alcohol/drug misuse.” The good news is that there are a number of tools and strategies that employers can adopt to proactively manage health and well-being in the workplace. These include:
• ensuring you have a wellbeing policy. • developing a supportive culture by training mental health first aiders, educating line managers in recognising the symptoms of anxiety and stress, and running selfawareness workshops for staff. • providing easily accessible resources for staff which include self-help information as well as useful telephone numbers and links to websites. • providing access to an employee assistance programme which includes advice for maintaining and improving health as well as a counselling service that can be accessed free of charge. • signing up to the Wellbeing
Charter or other recognised mental health champions to access current research and training. • carrying out regular staff surveys/stress audits to retain awareness of the overall mental wellbeing of your workforce.
“Blanchards Bailey takes the mental health and wellbeing of its staff very seriously and, as such, has worked hard to build a supportive culture over the last few years.
“Actions taken during this time include signing up to the Wellbeing Charter and sourcing an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that not only supports ongoing good physical health but provides an online resource base for mental health. This includes the option of attending up to eight free counselling sessions, creating mental health champions with formal mental health awareness training, a set of mental health resources and signposting for staff to access, delivering mental well-being sessions to all staff, and ensuring opportunities for informal networking and teamworking are provided.
“Management awareness training is planned for this coming year, as well as improvements to the provision of flexible and remote working which the pandemic has made more possible and is strongly supported by the Firm.”
For all HR and employment enquiries do contact Jane Eldridge-Cordner on 01258 488220.
Local Care Company Hopes Referral App Will Boost Recruitment
A local care provider is the latest organisation to introduce a recruitment app – and give an extra bonus to their existing employees at the same time.
Candlelight Care in Wimborne and Sherborne has installed the ‘Care Friends’ app, which was developed in conjunction with Skills for Care.
The app displays job vacancies listed by Candlelight Care on employees’ mobile phones, which they can then share easily with their friends or on social media.
Care organisations already using ‘Care Friends’ have reported much higher interview attendance and staff retention rates, and the referring staff member also earns reward points at each stage of the recruitment process.
The introduction of the app is the latest in Candlelight Care’s efforts to reward its staff for their commitment to their roles.
Candlelight Care’s staff have, like so many others on the frontline, worked tirelessly throughout the past year, and at the end of 2020 the Company announced that each staff member would receive an additional day’s holiday to thank them.
Cherry Catley-Day, Proprietor of Candlelight Care, said, “It has long been recognised that the best staff are often those who are introduced to us by existing employees, and the Care Friends app enables us to develop our existing referral scheme. We hope that it proves successful, and is another way in which we can recognise our staff for the work they do for us and our clients every day. ”
Candlelight Care is a family-run company offering homecare and live-in care services in Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and East Sussex. With a Head Office in Glastonbury, Somerset, it has been caring for people of all ages in their own homes for over 30 years and its services are rated ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission.
Candlelight Care currently have vacancies in Sherborne, Yeovil, Frome, Glastonbury, Gillingham and Wimborne. Click here for more details.
