November 2009
incorporating The Number One magazine for the care sector
no.162 • £4.75 In association with
Referral drop forces owner to make cuts By Dominic Musgrave THE manager of a Merseyside care home says a lack of referrals from her local council is forcing her to make a series of cutbacks. Ann Wilson, who has run Avalon in Southport for the past five years following the acquisition by her partner and his business colleague, says she is worried about the home’s future. She told Caring UK that the 20-bed home has not had a referral from the local council for months, and that if this continues she may have difficulties in future. Ann added: “We currently have three empty beds, and if we lose another one or two residents then I can see us having real problems. “Our last referral was an emergency one from the hospital, and we had to return the gentleman the next day because we had a few problems. “The worry is that we are not getting any enquiries coming through at all. I arranged an open event for a week day back in July in the hope that social workers would turn up. I informed the local media but it was a total waste of time and nobody turned up.”
Ann says she is having to work extra shifts because she has had to cut back on staffing levels, and has also had to reduce the amount of activities they have at the home. She added: “I am having to fill in hours unpaid and we have had to cut back on a lot of the entertainment that we used to have at the home, but one thing we will not cut back on is the quality of the food. “We used to have singers, a cinema and a lady who did exercises with the residents coming into the home regularly, but we have had to stop them.” But a spokesman for Sefton Council has hit back at the claims, saying they do not make referrals to individual homes. He added: “As a council we don’t own any homes ourselves, and all we do is assess the individuals. “It is then up to them and their families to choose which care home they wish to move into, depending on which one meets their criteria and probably finances as well.” ■ Have you noticed a lack of referrals at your care home? Let Dominic Musgrave know by ringing 01226 734407 or email dm@whpl.net
Evenings celebrate care sector
The head of a Scottish care group featured in the Channel Four series ‘The Secret Millionaire’. Tony Banks, chairman and managing director of The Balhousie Group, which has 20 homes across the country, handed out more than £125,000 to needy causes when he went undercover on the streets in the Anfield area of Liverpool for the series.
THE cream of the care sector has been celebrated at two regional awards ceremonies, for which Caring UK is one of the main sponsors. The West Midlands and East Midlands regional events took place at the National Motorcycle Museum and East Midlands Conference Centre respectively, and featured special guests Cheryl Baker and Des Coleman. They form part of the Great British Care Awards, which aim to promote best practice within both homecare and care home sectors, and pay tribute to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field of work. Director of the awards Lisa Carr said: “The awards offer a unique opportunity to celebrate the successes of individuals, teams and businesses - people who really do make a positive impact on people’s lives.” For a list of winners and photographs from the evenings turn to pages 40 and 41.