Bupa wins Gold at the UK Employee Experience Awards

BUPA Care Services has won two Gold awards at the prestigious UK Employee Experience Awards 2023. The care provider operates more than 120 care homes and 10 Richmond Villages around the country and was presented with the top accolades in the Best Employee Engagement and Best Engagement Team categories.

The awards reflect the focus that Bupa Care Services has given to engaging its 10,000+ people throughout challenging times for the sector, to attract and retain talented people and deliver the highest quality care for residents.

These sector-leading initiatives include the introduction of more than 200 regional engagement champions, who play a hands-on role in boosting morale, teamwork and elevate the achievements of frontline colleagues.

Rebecca Pearson, general manager, care services, Bupa Global and UK, said: “This is such a proud moment for all our incredible teams up and down the country.

“We have been on a mission to create the most inclusive, supportive, engaging workplace for our people, so that they can give the highest quality care to our much-loved residents.

“We want our people to feel welcome and see Bupa Care Services as a place that they can progress their

Three new recruits arrived at Rome’s northern frontier as they swapped Roselea House, their Fife care home, for Callendar House, the 14th century country mansion in Falkirk. Dressed in cloaks and armour, the residents explored the Antonine Wall, a UNESCO Heritage site which once marked the edge of the Roman Empire. After their trip around the Roman exhibit, the residents enjoyed afternoon tea and a walk through the estate gardens. Ruth Goodman, manager of Roselea House, said: “It was a fantastic day out, and the residents loved exploring the history of Callendar House. We’ll come back again soon.” careers. I’m so pleased and proud to see everyone’s hard work recognised.

“We are committed to being the market leader for aged care in the UK, and we know that looking after our people is the key to delivering the highest quality care that all our residents deserve.

“We have ambitious plans and I believe we have the best team in place to keep going from strength to strength.”

In the last 18 months Bupa Care Services has also introduced its “Love Working Here” strategy, designed to create the most inclusive and supportive workplace.

The organisation has also listened to the views of colleagues in order to provide greater support.

Examples include pay initiatives to support its people through rising inflation, greater adoption of technology to increase time spent on hands-on care, the introduction of ‘MyHealthcare’, a new range of improved health benefits for frontline colleagues, learning programmes, apprenticeships and qualifications to support career development, and competitions to encourage team camaraderie and fun.

This broad combination of initiatives has driven an 11-point increase in recent employee engagement scores.

Lead nurses Heni Glover and Yuriy Bukovych will, in certain circumstances, assess and prescribe medication to unwell residents after Royal Star & Garter covered the costs of their Prescribing in Clinical Practice Level 7 courses.

While non-medical prescribing is becoming a more recognised approach to improving patient outcomes in the NHS, Royal Star & Garter – Solihull is amongst the first care homes in the country to offer the service.

Yuriy said: “Royal Star & Garter recognised the delays in primary care and has acted on it. Having NMPs in the Home increases the convenience and speed with which residents receive their medication.

“The course was tough, but you don’t get permission to grant prescriptions lightly. I’m proud to be an NMP, and I’m grateful that the charity paid for the course and supported this.”

The National Care Forum praised “the dedicated support from Royal Star & Garter”, saying the investment in NMPs would lead to improved care for its residents.

The ability to prescribe in-house means the Home is able to provide a rapid on-site response to residents’ health needs, obtaining their medication within hours.

Care home staff know their residents well and can quickly spot a decline in wellbeing. The intervention of NMPs allows an illness to be treated promptly, while reducing the number of GP call-outs or appointments.

The speedy treatment also means there is less chance of a resident’s condition deteriorating to such an extent that they require a hospital admission.

Heni and Yuriy started prescribing medication in May, just as NHS England unveiled plans to reduce busy GPs’ workloads by using highstreet pharmacies for some common prescription drugs and routine tests.

The pair will be able to issue medications from an approved formulary, or list of prescribable items.

Heni added: “We know our residents very well and can quickly spot if they are in poor health and visibly deteriorating. Now we will be able to assess them at an early stage to ensure that they are provided with timely treatment.

“Royal Star & Garter is very forwardthinking, and always looking at innovative ways to improve its care. This is definitely one of them.”

Royal Star & Garter intends to train new NMPs at its two other Homes, in Surbiton and High Wycombe.

Operator is named one of most inspiring workplaces

SALUTEM Care and Education, which operates 130 services nationwide, has been recognised internationally as one of the most inspiring workplaces at a glittering ceremony at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The company has been named in the Top 50 in the 2023 Inspiring Workplaces Awards in the EMEA region (UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa).

The Inspiring Workplaces Awards 2023 panel of independent judges based its decision on six key elements: n Culture and purpose. n Leadership n Wellbeing n Inclusion and diversity. n Communication n Employee experience. Salutem also received a special commendation for its engagement and communication.

Kirstie Jones, chief people officer at Salutem Care and Education said: “This recognition is something we are incredibly proud of. We believe in a company that everyone is proud to work for and where all our staff feel valued.

“By providing a warm and supportive environment for our teams, we are enabling them to offer the best possible care and education.”