Caring uk weekly June 19

Dame Arlene set to partner with homecare group

DAME Arlene Phillips DBE is partnering with national provider Bluebird Care in support of its mission to become the leading dementia specialist in home care.

The new role was announced at a launch event for Bluebird Care’s fundraising partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, for whom Dame Arlene is already an ambassador.

After experiencing the realities of dementia care following her father’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s, Dame Arlene became an Alzheimer’s Society ambassador and vocal advocate for increased awareness of dementia and improvement to care.

Dame Arlene Phillips DBE said: “I am proud to be representing Bluebird Care as their new celebrity champion. I know first-hand how important providers like Bluebird Care are in delivering excellent quality care to the people who need it. Their commitment to prioritising exceptional dementia care is not something they have had to do, but rather something they have chosen to spearhead, and I commend their dedication to stepping up to the challenge.

“I believe it is the responsibility of those of us with a platform to use our voice for good and it is a privilege to be able to champion an organisation whose work is having such meaningful, positive impact on those living with dementia.”

As the launch event’s guest of honour, Dame Arlene welcomed Bluebird Care’s pledge to donate £50,000 to Alzheimer’s Society. The

donation will be raised through fundraising activities across Bluebird Care’s franchises in the coming months, and Dame Arlene will join Bluebird Care at the annual conference in September to present the £50,000 to Alzheimer’s Society.

At the launch event, Dame Arlene took part in several conversations with Bluebird Care’s care experts. The discussions focused on the importance of specialised dementia care, the value of carers in the delivery of excellent care, and the role that celebrities and public figures like Dame Arlene can play in raising awareness of dementia and advocating for improvements for those living with the condition.

Bluebird Care chief executive officer Jonathan Gardener said: “We are honoured to have Dame Arlene join us as Bluebird Care’s new celebrity champion.

“She has been a passionate advocate for excellent dementia care for many years and we appreciate her invaluable support for our commitment to becoming leaders in specialist dementia care.

“We put the delivery of exceptional support for the people we care for and their families first. Our collaboration with Dame Arlene and fundraising partnership with Alzheimer’s Society are fantastic steps towards our ongoing goal of bettering the lives of those affected by dementia, and we are proud to be reaffirming the high-quality dementia care we continuously deliver across our services.”

Liz Whyte, HC-One’s quality projects lead, has been awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her outstanding commitment to social care. A Registered Nurse with more than 30 years’ experience in the care sector, Liz has dedicated her career to the care and wellbeing of older people. Over the years she has touched the lives of so many residents, their families and colleagues, providing support and leadership. During her career with HC-One, Liz has held a number of roles including managing director and acting director of standards and compliance. Her MBE is a recognition of the impact that she has made throughout her career, including her significant efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic when she played a pivotal role in HC-One’s response – delaying her retirement plans to do so.

Magic table brings fun and laughter

A ‘MAGIC table’ which features a range of stimulating and fun interactive electronic games is helping to improve the wellbeing of veterans with dementia at a north west care home.

A grant of £10,000 from the Morrisons Foundation has funded a Tovertafel at Broughton House Veteran Care Village in Salford.

Karen Miller, chief executive of Broughton House, said: “This wonderful piece of equipment is proven to build cognitive ability, physical movement, social interactions and sensory stimulation for people with dementia.

“By projecting images on to a table that our veterans can interact with, it provides entertainment and builds relationships, as well as helping with their condition.

“The kind donation from the Morrisons Foundation is bringing many hours of smiles and laughter to our care village, hugely benefiting our veterans with dementia or cognitive decline.”

The Tovertafel was developed in the Netherlands – its name means ‘magic table’ in Dutch – and is designed for older people with dementia or cognitive decline to improve their wellbeing, increase positive emotions and social interactions.

It projects interactive electronic games on to a table in the form of images and sounds, which respond to hand movements.

Provider welcomes new franchisees

THREE women have launched a new home care service in Hampton, Twickenham and Virginia Water and surrounding areas.

The Walfinch home care business will provide elderly care, companion care and a range of other care services to support people living in their own homes.

“Covid did many terrible things, but one of the few good outcomes was that it made people care about their communities,” said Lyn Leagas, who is co-managing director with long-time friends Judith Spencer and Angela Pinto.

“We’re determined to improve the quality of life for local people, and our new franchise will mean we can turn our commitment into action.”

The franchise will offer hourly care, live-in care and companion care, plus care tailored to suit clients with a range of conditions including dementia – all carefully personalised to suit the needs of clients.

Lyn has always worked in service industries, including jobs in both livein and domiciliary care.

“Most of my career was in logistics, but my care experience was always in the back of my mind,” she added.

“10 months into a logistics job in air freight services, I was scrabbling around to find 5p off the cost of sending a package overseas, and I thought, ‘no-one really cares about this. I want work that makes a real difference to people’s lives.’”

Lyn, Judith (who also has home care experience), and Angela, who has run her own business, decided to use their skills to start a home care service.

They rejected going it alone, and instead talked to several home care franchises.

Lyn added: “We chose Walfinch because of The Mum Test. Walfinch insists that everyone they recruit should be a person they would like to see looking after their own mums.

“That, and the fact that fun is one of the Walfinch business values, swung it for us.”

Operator’s triple triumph at Berkshire Care Awards

THREE Care UK colleagues are celebrating after winning awards at the 2024 Berkshire Care Awards.

The Berkshire Care Awards are a celebration of excellence in adult social care across the county, highlighting the commitment, dedication and achievements of colleagues.

Newbury Grove is celebrating a double success, with head chef Adriano Goncalves De Carvalho winning the Care Home Chef Award, and activities lead Sandra Vilaca winning the Activity Co-ordinator Award.

Something that won the judges over was Adriano’s dedication to supporting residents’ nutritional wellbeing through a system he created which tracks the progress, preferences and dislikes of each individual.

This includes tracing residents’ dietary requirements and whether or not they require puréed foods. This system is used both in the kitchen and to assist with clinical needs.

The kitchen team make every effort to creatively pipe the pureed foods, making them look and taste as close to the unmodified dish as possible.

Sandra has been with the home since it opened eight years ago, and by working closely with activities colleagues and members of other teams, she has instilled a positive environment where residents have the freedom to pursue interests and activities that fulfil their lives.

The result is a plethora of clubs

ranging from reading to gardening, and activities such as bingo and pub quizzes.

Shirley Summerbell, home manager at Care UK’s Winchcombe Place, won the Leadership Award.

Shirley is committed to encouraging the development of home champions in specific areas, such as dementia, medication, dysphagia, and end-oflife care.

The winners were announced at Cantley House Hotel in Wokingham.

Home wins award for embracing technology to enhance its service

MUSCLIFF Care Home in Bournemouth won the ‘Digital Innovator’ accolade at the Dorset Care Association’s Awards.

The Award, which recognises individuals or organisations who are using digital technologies to drive positive change and innovation within the care sector, was presented to the nurse-led care home team at a special ceremony at the George Albert Hotel in Dorchester.

The Dorset Care Awards celebrate the achievements within the care sector and ones which deliver outcomes.

With Muscliff Care Home’s operating systems now completely digitalised, the Bournemouth care home was revealed as the winner.

Home manager Dedrey Charles said: “We have been going through an ambitious digital transformation over the last few years, and have implemented new ways of doing things that is overhauling our delivery of care.

“We’re delighted to be embracing new technology. Our new digital ways

of working save us all a lot of time and bring huge benefits to our staff and residents.”

Digitalisation at the AgeCare operated home started with Nourish, a care management software; and now includes Camascope, a medicines administration system; RADAR, a healthcare quality and compliance software; Fusion, a resident invoicing database and staff HR system; QCS, an online policy database, and a learning management system.

In addition to the home’s embedded use of digital software packages, nurses also have immediate instant access 24/7 to a health clinician via video link through a telecare system.

Head of nursing Sara Gallagher added: “We are a nurse-led care home, so our approach focuses on meeting the healthcare needs of our residents.

“Digitalisation of the systems within the home has ultimately enhanced the quality of care and overall efficiency that we can provide, and I’m delighted that this has been recognised with this Digital Innovator award.”

Board game get together bridges generational gap

EIGHT decades separated the players of an intergenerational board game get together at a Teesside care home.

Youngsters from the Corner House Youth Project, in Stockton-on-Tees, visited residents at Ingleby Care Home, Ingleby Barwick, for the games night.

A group of six 11-year-olds played dominoes, Connect Four and Frustration with elderly residents ranging from 79 to 91 years of age.

Home manager Matthew Carter, who also joined in with the games, said: “Bringing different generations together really helps with communication and social skills while boosting confidence, self-esteem and understanding.

“The residents loved spending time with the young people from the Cornerhouse Project.

“It was wonderful to see how easily

they all bonded over the games they played.

“Everyone is looking forward to the next visit, especially as the youngsters have plans to play prize bingo with the residents. It’s going to be great fun.”

Prior to the games night, members of the youth group wrote to the care home’s residents about their visit.

Amrit Dhaliwal, CEO of Walflinch, with Judith Spencer, Angela Pinto and Lyn Leagas.

Carers recognised

TWO Macclesfield carers and their devotion to the town’s older people have been recognised by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at a garden party hosted at Buckingham Palace.

Frontline social care workers Laura Barsted and Caylie Jones of Belong Macclesfield received invitations in a mark of appreciation for their exceptional performances supporting residents at the Upton Priory dementia specialist, helping them to live as independently as possible. Thousands of guests from throughout the country make their way to the palace for high tea with the Royal Family – almost a year to the day of Their Majesties’ Coronation.

Joining the occasion were Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, with Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh; and the King’s first cousin once removed, the Duke of Gloucester, with the Duchess of Gloucester.

Laura said: “We saw both the King and the Queen up close and had the chance to enjoy the gardens. What a fantastic day.”

Caylie added: “It was a great pleasure to be acknowledged for our hard work – a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

The pair of care team leaders were selected to attend along with invitees from other not-for-profit organisations, charities and societies, as well as people put forward by the government, armed services, the Church and other faiths.

Cheryl Davies, general manager at Belong Macclesfield, added: “We are very pleased to congratulate Laura and Caylie on this very special recognition.

“They are shining representatives of our village and indeed, the social care sector, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that they’ve had the opportunity to celebrate their success by rubbing shoulders with royalty.”

Entries wanted

THE National Association of Care Catering has launched the NACC Awards 2024.

The prestigious awards welcome nominations from across the care catering sector to recognise and celebrate teams and individuals that go above and beyond in their field – from care homes to community services, such as Meals on Wheels and lunch clubs.

Neel Radia, national chair of the NACC, said: “This is one of the highlights of my year, when we can call upon our members to recognise excellence, innovation and dedication within care catering.

“We have so many unsung heroes and this is our chance to turn the spotlight on some of them and give them the recognition they deserve.

“For a long time, the social care sector – be that in care homes or in the community – has been undervalued and the NACC is here to change that perception.

“With today’s inflationary landscape care caterers go to extraordinary lengths to ensure those they care for receive the right nutrition and hydration in an appropriate and enjoyable way that generates a positive impact on both physical and mental wellbeing.

“We very much look forward to coming together with members, colleagues and friends later in the year to celebrate the exceptional achievements within our sector and the teams and individuals that encapsulate the very best of the best.

“We know these continue to be challenging times for our members, but we urge them to enter the NACC Awards 2024 and ensure the hard work and brilliance of their team members do not go unrecognised.”

The NACC Awards 2024 are officially open for entries with a deadline of Monday, June 24.

The judges will be looking for examples of innovation, excellence and dedication that create tangible benefits for residents, clients and colleagues in the following categories:

n Care Establishment of the Year Award, sponsored by allmanhall.

n Meals on Wheels Award, sponsored by apetito.

n Catering Team of the Year, sponsored by Hobart UK.

n Catering Manager of the Year Award, sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions.

n Our Care Catering Hero Award, sponsored by Bidfood.

n The Bev Puxley Award, sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Cooks.

The shortlist will be announced in August, with the winners being honoured at a gala awards dinner on October 3 at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham where the recipients of the Pam Rhodes Outstanding Achievement Award, sponsored by Winterhalter and the National Chairman’s Award will also be revealed, as well as the hotlycontested NACC Region of the Year Award, sponsored by Meiko.

Entry to the NACC Awards is open to members of the NACC.

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Operator opens its first Suffolk home

DANFORTH Care Home’s Harbour Manor was officially opened by Town Mayor of Felixstowe, councillor Seamus Bennett with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

The care home, which has created 60 jobs for the area, has been purpose built by LNT and contains 66 ensuite rooms.

These are all available for one inclusive fee with 24-hour care and a personalised activity programme, as well as restaurant quality food cooked by the on-site chef team every day. The site also contains a cinema, salon, café and library.

Each of the private rooms has an ensuite wet room, as well as a flat screen TV, a mini fridge and underfloor heating for residents to enjoy.

The home is mainly residential, but respite care is also available. The care provided is 24-hour residential care and dementia care.

Home manager Magda Kurdziel said: “It’s a pleasure to be opening Harbour Manor care home officially to the public. The whole team is so excited

to get started building a wonderful community here in Felixstowe, and providing a beautiful and safe place for vulnerable adults to live.”

As well as being great for residents, Harbour Manor is designed to be great for the environment too.

The building has been made to be as eco-friendly as possible.

With 80 per cent of the available roof space lined with solar panels, the home will be making its own electricity, and selling what it doesn’t need back to the grid.

The building also operates without gas and is A rated for energy, with an underground system running miles below the care home to heat the hot water, provide underfloor heating and air cooling for the residents as an added bonus.

Each role within Harbour Manor and all other Danforth Care roles across the country come with a fully funded DBS check and full support in completing an NCQ qualification if desired. All jobs have permanent contracts and come with uniforms.

Resident celebrates milestone birthday on horseback

THE Chase, an all-inclusive luxury care home in the Connaught Care Collection, arranged a memorable day of horse riding for resident Diana Whelan at Northbrook Equestrian Centre in St Neots – where she used to volunteer.

Diana, who recently celebrated her 78th birthday at the home, has a lifelong passion for horses which began when she received her first pony as a child.

Over the years she became an integral part of the Western Riding community; competing in British style riding, dressage events, and offering ‘horse therapy’ for people with disabilities.

Diana’s daughter Elizabeth joined in the fun at Northbrook.

Nicola Orwin, general manager at The Chase, said: “We recognise that true care is never one-size-fits-all.

“We strive to create meaningful memories for every resident, based on their personal histories and passions.

“I am therefore delighted the team could arrange such a perfect birthday for Di, and we look forward to creating many more new memories for our residents.”

NCF named one of the best places to work

THE National Care Forum has been named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work, making the prestigious list in the small organisation category.

The list recognises and celebrates the UK’s best employers, based on survey feedback from staff, and assesses six key areas including workplace culture, leadership, employee engagement and wellbeing.

NCF CEO Vic Rayner said: “We’re thrilled to have made the Sunday Times Best Places to Work list for 2024.

“As a small but mighty team it’s fantastic to be recognised in this list amongst other employers who are clearly also punching well above their weight.

“I’d like to thank our dedicated team for their continued hard work and the pride they take in our mission to support and grow the not-for-profit care sector for everyone working in it and everyone receiving care from it.

“It’s supremely satisfying to see NCF’s passion for supporting our members truly reflected in the attitudes of our 16 strong team and that our common mission brings staff the same level of personal satisfaction and pride as it does myself, our leadership team and board.

“This year more than ever, with so much at stake for the care sector, it’s even more crucial we pull together

and support each other as well as our members. My hope is that the achievement of a social care organisation being named as one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work will send the clear and much needed message that our sector must be better valued.

“Meanwhile I’m certain that taking our place in this list means an incredible amount to our awesome team as they continue to work tirelessly to improve the experience of people accessing care and support and strive towards a better future where fairness and rights for all are respected.”

For many years Diana volunteered at the Riding for the Disabled Association to offer one-to-one lessons for people living with disabilities.

In recent years Diana has been unable to ride, and looking after her own horses has become difficult.

Two students have been flourishing in their work experience placements at a residential care home in Enfield. 18-year-olds Kyonne Ogarro and Lorena Cipullo are currently working at AgeCare UK’s Bullsmoor Lodge one-day a week while they study Health and Social Care at Hertford Regional College. Registered manager Lisa Coombs said: “It’s a real pleasure to have Kyonne and Lorena working with us. They’ve fitted in brilliantly and having them here provides a positive experience for our residents. It’s great to be able to support the next generation of care workers in the region.” Kyonne has been supporting the activities team, providing daily stimulation for the home’s 25 residents, while Lorena has been working alongside the care team as they provide day-to-day personal care.

Home’s five-star certificate

A NEW chef has helped Potton View Care Home to achieve a five-star food safety certificate.

Mark Cruse-Jungling, who only started work at the Black Swan Care Group operated 30-bed facility in Gamlingay in March, was thrown in at the deep end when food safety inspectors visited.

Mark and his kitchen team passed the inspection with flying colours and were awarded the highest rating.

He said: “it was a bit of a whirlwind start to be honest, but it’s something that we are always aware of and an essential part of my role.

“The inspection is thorough – they look at kitchen cleanliness, how we store our food, food preparation areas and lots more.

“We provide our residents with fresh,

healthy and nutritious food, catering for all sorts of different dietary needs, and our meals are an important element of living in a care home.”

Vic Rayner

Mark Cruse-Jungling

Group celebrates

a plan to achieve £100m

SCOTTISH care home entrepreneur

Robert Kilgour has set out ambitious expansion plans as he looks to double the size of his Renaissance Care Group, stating that the sector is “in need of a new type of consolidation”.

As the operator celebrates its 20-year anniversary this year, its executive chairman has announced a five-year plan that will take the company from its current annual turnover of £46m to more than £100m and increase the number of care homes it operates across Scotland from 17 to more than 30 by 2029.

Building on its 20-year success of operating care homes for elderly residents, the group has also announced the imminent acquisition of its 18th care home, together with plans to open two specialist care units for patients with serious head injuries and Huntington’s Disease.

The expansion plans will use Renaissance Care’s ‘best in class’ operations to support care homes across Scotland, providing more personalised care for elderly care home residents while making full use of new technologies.

Robert, who also founded Four Seasons Health Care 36 years ago, said: “For two decades we have built up an impressive track record of improving the quality standards of the homes we bring into our portfolio. “The skills and experience of our amazing and hard-working staff have

underpinned this successful strategy and we are hugely excited about this next, major expansion phase.

“When we started out, the UK’s 10 largest care home operators ran 27 per cent of all care home beds but that figure has now reduced to around 18 per cent as several large, UK-wide operators such as Southern Cross (854 care homes) have gone into administration and been broken up. I firmly believe that the positive future for elderly care in the UK lies in strong but smaller regional care home operators.

“Care homes continue to struggle in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing cost-ofliving and energy crisis. However, acquisition strategies like ours can provide an attractive and meaningful

lifeline for many smaller operators as strong regional groups of between 30 to 60 care homes can achieve better economies of scale while still maintaining a personal care approach for both residents and staff which larger operators simply can’t deliver.

“I firmly believe the sector is ready for a new type of regional consolidation and our expansion plans will therefore focus on acquiring homes to join the Renaissance Care family, providing more quality, individual care to hundreds more residents across Scotland.”

Starting with two care homes with 90 employees and a turnover of £2million in 2004, Renaissance Care now employs 1,300 people caring for 800 residents across its 17 care homes.

Robert said the group is reaping the benefits of the introduction of a flexible working model in 2022, with staff retention rates above industry norms, a low staff vacancy rate and limited use of agency staff.

He added: “When I suggested introducing a flexible working model, people within the industry told me it would never work. However, as we celebrate 20 years of Renaissance Care, it is clear that treating our staff with the same personalised care that we provide for our residents has resulted in a sector-leading staff retention rates that allow our teams to develop far better relationships with our residents.

“Flexibility around the needs of our staff has allowed for an improved working environment that properly supports our staff and we remain incredibility passionate about accommodating the individual needs of our employees.”

As executive chairman of Renaissance Care, Robert has long been focused on building up both a strong senior management team and an experienced board of executive and non-executive directors who are capable of driving and delivering his planned growth of the business.

He added: “My father always told me that to achieve business success you should never be afraid to surround yourself with people who are cleverer than you, and that is exactly what I have done and will continue to do as we build on the existing platform of Renaissance Care.

“It is also very true that you cannot successfully scale a business if you are not prepared to delegate important decision-making to those around you.”

“Despite the many care sector challenges that we are facing, I remain very positive about the future – a glass half full, not half empty. The next five years looks to be an incredibly exciting period for Renaissance Care as we use the platform that we have developed over the last 20 years to achieve great things both within and for the care industry in Scotland.”

Robert Kilgour

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