October 2008
incorporating The Number One magazine for the care sector
no.149 • £4.75 In association with
Website bid to beat staff shortages By Dominic Musgrave AN INDEPENDENT care home owner has set up a website which aims to overcome the problems of staff shortages at late notice. Peter Fry, of Friary House, wants care home managers and owners to sign up to Available 4 and share their staff with other homes in the local area. He believes it will save care homes money in having to employ temporary staff from agencies and can raise standards of care and residents’ quality of life. "We are in the care business ourselves and know just how it feels when you have set the roster for your staff and then someone can't come in,” he said. “We used to ring round and try to get someone to cover and inevitably call in agency cover if we could not contact any of our own off duty staff. “Unlike other industries it is a legal requirement for care homes to have a minimum number of staff and residents need somebody 24 hours a day. “By signing up to the website, care homes can share their staff with those in their local area and search
for cover should they need to.” It has taken 18 months to put together and has received support from the Commission for Social Care Inspection. “Every town has four or five agencies so someone is using them,” added Peter. “So far the response from care home managers and owners has been slow but we want them to see that there is another way. We wouldn’t be wasting our time or money putting the website together if we didn’t think it could be a success.” The website works by managers signing up and registering a minimum of 12.5 per cent of full time, part time and regular bank staff on the service. Registered staff then advise the automated database of their availability for particular shifts while not rostered, either online or by preset text message from their mobile phone. Searching for available off duty staff can then be done either online or by text message from a mobile phone. Each search, which costs £6.50, will contact up to three available staff. If the search fails to find any available staff there is no charge.
Flood-hit staff praised
Television personality Rolf Harris CBE and comedian Helen Lederer entertained the residents at South London care home Nightingale. Rolf used his array of musical instruments including his famous wobble board and didgerido, and had the audience and staff singing and dancing along to some of his classic hits including ‘Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport’ and ‘Jake the Peg’. Helen, best known for her roles in the television sitcoms French and Saunders and Absolutely Fabulous, spoke of her many amusing career highlights. She also admitted to being a master chef in the kitchen and promised to return to Nightingale to host a cheesecake cooking challenge.
STAFF have been praised for their dedication and professionalism after a Northumberland care home was hit by floods. They and the residents were forced to sleep on the first floor of Southern Cross’ Riverside House in Morpeth with no electricity or running water after the police deemed it too dangerous for the home to be evacuated. Despite some suffering personal problems with flooding, the staff worked extra hours to deliver care to the residents and facilitate a stress-free evacuation. The following day all 41 were moved to three sister homes in the nearby area. “I do want the carers mentioned because they kept everything in order,” said resident Alma Scott. “I would have been worried stiff if they hadn’t been there. There was no bother anywhere.”