Issue 168 29.11.23
The weekly online newsletter for the care sector
Providers’ plea over overseas staff changes CARE providers are urging the Government not to change to the rules on employing overseas workers because they are providing a lifeline. There are reports that the Government is considering banning or limiting overseas workers from bringing dependents with them to the UK. There are also reports that the Government is looking at increasing the salary threshold for workers’ visas, which might prevent some social care posts meeting the criteria. The Independent Care Group is urging the Government not to alter the system at “a very delicate time”. Chair Mike Padgham said: “This would be the worst possible time to make it harder for social care providers to recruit from overseas. “Restricting dependents would undoubtedly put many people off from coming to our country and given the current financial hardships in social care, raising the salary threshold would mean many posts in the sector would not be eligible. “Care providers fought long and hard to get access to visas so that overseas workers could come and help us ease the chronic shortage of care workers that has been devastating the delivery of care. “If there has been abuse of the system then that cannot be condoned and
should be addressed. But the vast majority of social care providers have adhered to the rules and found overseas recruitment a lifeline. “I know from my own experience and that of fellow providers that we could not fill our shifts without them at the moment. It would be an absolute disaster if overseas recruitment were to be hampered or reduced and the care of the most vulnerable would suffer.” “NHS care delivery is already being hampered by a lack of available social care. If this went ahead then the NHS would be impacted upon too.” The ICG says long standing underfunding of the sector, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, has left the sector in its worst ever staffing crisis. Providers fought to get the Government to allow care workers to get visas to come to the country to try to alleviate a staffing crisis which has led to 152,000 vacant posts. “Social care provision is on its knees,” Mike added. “The last thing we need is someone cutting the lifeline of overseas workers that we have been thrown. Long term, we have to find a way to get more people – from this country and from overseas – into the social care sector and that should be the Government’s real priority not hampering us from functioning today.”
Tunbridge Wells Care Centre resident Raymond King enjoyed a very special 104th birthday recently…. with the help of a fabulous Bentley Flying Spur. Raymond, who moved into the home in December 2021, is coincidentally the same age as the luxury car company. When asked how he would like to celebrate his birthday, car enthusiast Raymond lost no time in saying that he would like to sit in a Bentley. The home immediately set about making his dream come true with the help of sales manager Sarah Ledden and sales associate Harry Sermbezi from Bentley Tunbridge Wells. Raymond was able to not only sit in the car and talk about its finer points with driver Peter Constable, but he was also taken for a quick spin before joining other residents and staff for a birthday tea at the home.
Last chance to grab your tickets
THE deadline for tickets for the industry’s biggest end-of-year party is 10am on Friday. Organised by Script Media in partnership with Caring UK and headline sponsor Virgin Money, the annual Caring UK Awards culminate in a glittering ceremony – taking place at the Athena in Leicester on Thursday December 7 – where television personality Des Coleman will reveal the lucky winners who will take home an award. We received a record number of entries from all over the UK with so many stories of the wonderful work that is constantly being done in our care homes and by our homecare agencies, and we want to thank everyone who sent in nominations.
Shortlisted entries from far and wide have made the finals, now progressing to the next stage of the judging process. Event organiser Dominic Musgrave added: “We have been amazed by the incredible work that has taken and is continuing to take place in homes nationwide, and the entries we have read have only confirmed to us just how wonderful care staff truly are. “Once again we were overwhelmed with the standard of entries we received from homes and agencies nationwide. “We can’t wait to celebrate with everyone at the awards ceremony in Leicester on December 7.” Tickets are available at https://scriptevents.co.uk/cuk-awards-tickets/
Book a demonstration today by calling 01925 386800 or visit www.carebeans.co.uk
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CARINGWEEKLY
Group’s homes raise money for charity ALL THE care homes across the Sandstone Care Group teamed together to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support’s coffee morning. All eight homes in the group, as well as staff in head office in Chester, held a series of events – and raised a group total of over £1,500. The eight care homes include Burscough Manor in Burscough, Fleetwood Hall in Fleetwood, Longridge Hall and Ribble Court near Preston, St Helens Hall in Merseyside, Oak Springs in Liverpool, Telford Hall in Shropshire and The Oaks in Powys, Wales. Guests at the coffee morning at The Oaks Care Home included students from Brynllywarch Hall School’s Sixth Form and two local Police Community Support Officers. They chatted to residents and helped to hand out cakes and coffee. The home’s registered manager Jen Roberts said: “It was such a lovely morning and we raised £115.79 for Macmillan. “We were also delighted when one of the students enquired about volunteering at the home on a regular basis.” At Longridge Hall, the fundraising day started with games including ‘hook-a-duck’, 10-pin bowling and staff were put in the stocks. After fish and chips for lunch the residents enjoyed treats from a traditional ice cream van followed by an afternoon of singing and dancing with the entertainer Stephen Margerison.
Hazelgrove Court resident David Rigg with his paintings. Tracey Hartley, the home’s registered manager, added: “The day was a great success. We had coffee, tea and cakes for sale in the entrance and a complimentary glass of bucks fizz on entry. “We finished the day with a tombola with lots of amazing prizes donated by local businesses. “Overall, we raised £115 for Macmillan Cancer Support which is fantastic.” At Telford Hall, which raised more than £95, the home’s chef made cupcakes and 30 children from Lawley Bank Primary Academy visited. Friends and families of the residents were invited and some baked homemade cakes for the event and Lawley Bank Court donated cakes. There was a raffle for a foot spa which raised money to add to the total of the cake sales.
Operator celebrates carer Wendy’s 45 years’ service A SURPRISE party was awaiting Wendy Heeks to celebrate her 45 years of working as a carer at St Faith’s nursing home in Cheltenham. Staff gathered to mark this amazing anniversary, shared memories of working together and celebrated her special contribution to the charity. Director of care Suzanne Booker said: “I think it is an incredible achievement for Wendy to have worked her whole career here. “To think of the massive impact she has had on so many people’s lives, to give that loyalty and to see all the experience she has, as well as all the new starters she has mentored – she
is a great example to care and to our charity.” Wendy, who was inspired to go into care by her mum, started at St Faith’s in 1978 when she was 17 and has been working there as a carer ever since. “I’ve got married and had children and worked nights for many years to fit round the family, but now I’m happy to be back on days – they are flexible here,” she added. “Mum worked 45 years in home care – it used to be called the home help in those days and in the six weeks holidays she used to take me along with her.”
Artist’s wish comes true with debut exhibition A WISH came true for a North Yorkshire care home resident when his water colour paintings were exhibited in an art gallery for the first time. It was a “magical” moment for 74-year-old David Rigg when he first saw his masterpieces hanging from the walls at The Palace Hub in Redcar, which is run by Tees Valley Arts. The resident from Hazelgrove Court Care Home, in Saltburn by the Sea, has painted as a hobby for many years but only started taking it seriously when he retired. He said: “When I paint it transports me into another world and takes away all of my worries. It’s really magical seeing my paintings up in the gallery.” David was one of nine residents from the care home to display their artworks at the gallery, including Betty Wood, 99, Joyce Baxtrem, 93, Ellen Else, 92, Ricky Wilson, 77, Mollie Wilkinson, 82, and Ted Howell 87. They produced works in embroidery, photography, silk paintings and oils, among other formats, which were curated by the care home’s activities coordinator Sharon Lewis. Betty, who has Parkinson’s disease and can no longer paint, displayed works she completed in her younger years. She said: “It’s so nice to see my paintings on display. I didn’t pick up a brush to paint silk till I was 60 but was amazed at what I could do with the colours.” The exhibition took place as part of the NAPA Arts In Care Week, which aims to highlight the wellbeing benefits of arts, creativity and cultural engagement in care settings. An arts and crafts team from The
Palace Hub also visited the care home as part of the initiative, delivering a traditional rug making session. They brought a two-string loom specially made for the elderly residents to use, which mimicked designs dating back to the 18th century. They used the device to produce colourful garlands to decorate the care home, which is part of a project supported by Borderlands Creative People and Places, a creative engagement programme supporting communities in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland. Sharon, the care home’s activities coordinator, added: “David’s wish was to have his art in an exhibition. Art in Care Homes week and the Palace Hub gave us the opportunity to display not only David’s work but that of other Hazelgrove residents. “The exhibition has meant that local community members were able to see the incredible art works made by our residents. It also reminded the residents of how creative they were and still have the ability to be. “Working with Tees Valley Arts has been a wonderful experience for everyone. Residents love the twostring loom and, while they have been rag rugging and making garlands, they have chatted about doing this when they were younger and with their own families. “It’s been a great therapeutic experience; wonderful for their wellbeing and they really enjoyed learning new skills. Thank you so much to the team at Tees Valley Arts at Redcar Palace.” The exhibition has now moved back to Hazelgrove Court, where staff and visitors are able to continue enjoying residents’ artworks. A WWII veteran who also lived through the Blitz in London has celebrated her 100th birthday. Irene McMillen enjoyed a special party laid on for her by Royal Star & Garter in Surbiton where she lives. Among the guests there were granddaughter Lisa, son Paul and his wife Maritza, who had all travelled from Canada to celebrate the day with Irene. Irene is pictured with her son Paul and his wife Maritza.
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CARINGWEEKLY
New transport at home for individual outings
Colten Care team members celebrate trophy wins at the glittering black-tie awards ceremony at Bournemouth’s Highcliff Marriott.
Residents honour ‘superstar’ carers with accolades HUNDREDS of residents at more than 20 care homes have honoured the staff who enable them to live the best lives they can every day. Colten Care’s Champions awards prompted nominations across nine categories reflecting a range of clinical and non-clinical care. Individuals, teams, homes and departments were all recognised as the annual scheme culminated in a glittering black-tie evening at Bournemouth’s Highcliff Marriott Hotel. Around 140 guests dressed up in style for the awards ceremony and celebration, hosted by TV presenter Dr Hilary Jones. Nominees and audience members mingled at a welcome reception before stepping into a specially decorated ballroom for dinner, the ceremony itself and the opportunity to dance the night away. Colten Care residents were represented by special guest Jean Smith, who lives in Poole home Bourne View. She had previously met Dr Hilary at the home’s official opening in spring 2019 when her late husband, former Poole Mayor Ray Smith MBE, became the first resident to move in. She presented Rosa Santos, senior care lead at Newstone House in Sturminster Newton, with the inaugural award for Resident and Relative Choice. Residents at Yeovil’s newest care home, Chestnut Lodge, had a hoot hosting a visit from four feathered friends, who were taken to meet them by Sharandys Birds of Prey. Bracken the tawny owl, Cobweb the barn owl, Bella who is a spectacled owl from the Amazon rainforest, and Ginsberg the European eagle owl, were accompanied by handlers Sharon Cox and Matt Banks, who gently introduced them to each resident on an individual basis. Jacqui Cuff, activities co-ordinator for Chestnut Lodge, said: “The residents and staff were amazed to have a barn owl flying around our lounge. And they absolutely loved having the chance to get close to these stunning birds, to handle them and to stroke their fronts, especially Ginsberg, the large European eagle owl.” Resident Les White is pictured with Ginsberg the eagle owl.
This category, which attracted more than 500 nominations from residents and families, was designed to recognise an individual or team ‘who have truly made a difference to your life or your loved one’s life since coming to Colten Care’. The common theme for Rosa’s multiple nominations was her ‘kind and welcoming approach to both residents and relatives. Rosa has patience to understand residents’ needs so well which has such a positive outcome for their care’. Among the other category winners was Lucy O’Brien, senior administrator at Bourne View, who won the Warm Welcome award. Colten Care chief executive Mark Aitchison said: “Colten Champions celebrates the pride and passion our amazing team shows every single day, caring for our residents and their families. “It is an immense privilege to lead a team full of superstars, always prepared to go above and beyond. “We thank everyone who put in a Colten Champions nomination and congratulate all the winners, finalists and nominees.” As well as the Champions awards themselves, special congratulations were given on stage to Elena Barna, home manager at Abbey View in Sherborne, for the home’s recent Outstanding rating from the Care Quality Commission.
STAFF and residents Yeovil’s newest care home are thrilled to have taken delivery of a wheelchair-accessible Peugeot Horizon. The vehicle has been acquired with the specific purpose of making it easy to transport individuals around the town for one-on-one activities at favourite places. Manager Graham Oakes said: “It is so important to provide care for people with dementia that is really person-centred and enables them to live their best lives. “Sometimes this means they want to return to a place they associate with enjoying themselves, such as a special pub, garden, place of worship, sports ground or entertainment venue, and our new wheelchair accessible vehicle – WAV for short - will enable us to take them there. “Anyone who has a loved one living with dementia will be familiar with their reminiscences about places they have visited and activities they’ve enjoyed in years past, and it’s our intention – where feasible – to help recreate some of that. “Group outings and minibuses suit some settings very well, but the WAV at Chestnut Lodge is intended
Resident Les White with healthcare assistant Jess. to allow for supported individual outings that better fit with our particular ethos of personalised care.” Chestnut Lodge opened in April and has been operating a policy of gradual admissions to ensure each new resident is given all the time they need to feel at home in their new surroundings.
Leeds care facility to create 100 jobs THE first phase of a new multi-unit care facility, Alderbrook Care Home, is set to open its doors in Leeds, filling a gap for critical complex care provision creating more than 100 jobs. Occupying the former Donisthorpe Hall site, Alderbrook will provide specialist nursing care for adults living with dementia and complex mental and physical health conditions. Opening in phases, Silver Lodge unit will provide 40 en-suite bedrooms with a further 20 due to open before the end of the year. The home’s total occupancy of 160 en-suite bedrooms will be available in 2024. Home manager Clare McCourt said: “Alderbrook is a beautiful care home that we know will become an asset to the local community, but above that, it provides substance – the building blocks to better care that help residents feel loved and valued. “The home has been meticulously planned to ensure it provides
accessible and functional spaces, high-spec equipment and menus that nourish – whilst forming staff teams that are specially trained to truly understand the conditions and dependencies of our residents. All things that make for a harmonious home environment. “We are looking forward to welcoming our first residents into Silver Lodge and expanding the home this year and throughout 2024.” Alderbrook will feature lounge areas and dining rooms, an adult-appropriate sensory room, hairdressing salon, cinema and secure landscaped gardens. Founded upon a person-centred approach, Alderbrook’s activities programme is influenced by residents’ individual interests, ranging from chair yoga and bingo to jigsaw puzzles and karaoke, facilitated by a team trained in the latest care techniques to foster engagement and connection.
Care Providers Conferences 2024 A POSITIVE OUTLOOK FOR CARE
Delivering the latest news, information and products that will enable owners, managers and staff to be at the forefront of delivering care excellence.
Listen to national speakers and experts, network with like minded operators, and enjoy the chance to demonstrate in the exhibition hall with your latest products and technology that are designed to enhance quality in care homes.
St Mellion International Resort PL12 6SD Tuesday 5th March 2024
Ramside Hall Hotel, Durham DH1 1TD Thursday 9th May 2024
Webbington Hotel & Spa BS26 2HU Wednesday 6th March 2024
Holiday Inn Barnsley (M1, Junction 37) S75 3JT Wednesday 10th July 2024
Village Hotel, Blackpool FY3 8LL Wednesday 8th May 2024
Dunston Hall, Norwich NR14 8PQ Wednesday 30th October 2024
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A POSITIVE OUTLOOK FOR CARE Please indicate which package you would like to book: 5% discount booking four events, 10% discount booking six
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St Mellion International Resort PL12 6SD – Tuesday 5th March 2024
Ramside Hall Hotel, Durham DH1 1TD -Thursday 9th May 2024
Webbington Hotel & Spa BS26 2HU - Wednesday 6th March 2024
Holiday Inn Barnsley (M1, Junction 37) S75 3JT - Wednesday 10th July 2024
Village Hotel, Blackpool FY3 8LL -Wednesday 8th May 2024
Dunston Hall, Norwich, NR14 8PQ - Wednesday 30th October 2024
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Terms and Conditions – Payment terms, 14 days from invoice date. Payment must be received prior to a conference unless otherwise agreed. We understand and exercise our statutory rights to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the late payment legislation if we are not paid according to agreed credit terms. An interest rate of 8% pa above base rate will apply for late payment. Cancellation of an exhibition stand after invoicing or publication of a programme will incur an additional administration charge. No refunds will be given for cancellations 6 weeks prior to a conference and extra delegates, or staff will be charged at the prevailing conference rate. Stand sharing is not permitted without prior consent from Script, all exhibitors sharing without permission will be invoiced for the full cost of the stand. Exhibitors must seek permission from Script Events for distribution of any literature at the event, other than from their stand, any exhibitor distributing material other than from their stand will be charged.
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CARINGWEEKLY
Town’s volunteer-run allotment bears fruit for older community OLDER people in Macclesfield are benefitting from the hard work of the town’s green-fingered volunteers, thanks to a sustainable gardening project designed to help local people. Those residing at dementia specialist Belong have been delighting in the horticultural expertise and the gardening outputs of Grow Macclesfield, an open allotment for volunteers to cultivate fruit, vegetables and plants for the good of everyone. The project’s founder, Alex Eifflaender, paid Belong’s residents and apartment tenants a visit to share a fascinating insight of her personal experience living in Peru’s rainforest, before lending her knowledge and skills to support participants in making autumn wreaths out of plants and flowers from the allotment. She said: “Our philosophy is to encourage integration and we take pride in including everyone as equal and valued parts of a vibrant community, and this also extends to those who can’t join us directly at the allotment. “So, we are pleased to share with Belong Macclesfield customers the fruit of our labour which has enabled them to be part of the project, too.” Belong Macclesfield welcomed Alex as part of its ethos of promoting the wellbeing of its customers through meaningful occupation in line with their interests, choosing the organisation for sharing its values in community, integration and belonging. Anna Seaton, experience coordinator at Belong Macclesfield, added: “It’s been a pleasure welcoming Alex, and everyone has thoroughly enjoyed hearing about her experiences living with an Amazonian
First awards night goes down a storm Resident Meta enjoys a craft session with Alex Eifflaender of Grow Macclesfield. tribe and how it inspired Grow Macclesfield. “The wreath-making provided a hands-on learning opportunity for our customers to gain a new skill and a sense of achievement. “Alex’s work is underpinned by promoting neighbourly values, and it’s great that this includes everyone at the village.” The session is the latest activity in the village’s experiences programme. Other events have included both animal and music therapy, visiting entertainers, and shared intergenerational workshops with local schools. A new monthly dementia café has also launched for non-residents and their carers in the wider area. B’s Café is a complimentary community support service for those living with dementia, offering an activity and warm welcome for all attendees.
A GLITTERING awards evening during which a North Yorkshire care provider said a huge ‘thank you’ to its staff has been hailed as a great success. Saint Cecilia’s Care Group hosted an awards evening at the Crown Spa Hotel in Scarborough. Awards were presented to recognise the care delivered by staff across the group’s centres in Scarborough, Whitby and Pickering. Saint Cecilia’s managing director Mike Padgham said: “It was an amazing evening and a wonderful opportunity for us to say thank you and show our appreciation to our hard-working staff. “The feedback we have had from the evening has been excellent and inspires us to make this a regular event. “Social care staff rarely get the recognition they deserve, and we felt it was time to do something about that. We got a great response, receiving almost 200 nominations across our awards, which made for a tough decision for our judges and a very exciting evening. “After the challenges of the past three years, including the pandemic, this was a great opportunity to say the very biggest ‘thank you’ to all our
staff. “We presented awards and highly commended certificates to staff on Friday evening, but we were also saying how much we appreciate the work of all our 200 staff – they are all winners in our eyes. We are blessed to have each and every one of them.” MC for the evening was inspirational speaker and dementia campaigner Big Ian Donaghy. Unable to attend due to the impact of storm Babet, former politician turned television personality Ed Balls sent a video message of support for the evening. Ed has a special connection with Saint Cecilia’s. In 2021 he filmed sections of his two-part television documentary, Inside the Care Crisis with Ed Balls, at Saint Cecilia’s Nursing home. The award winners were: Saint Cecilia’s Values – Beth Fletcher; Emerging Talent – Sally Mason; Leadership – Tanya Wormald; Nurse of the Year – Daniela Botelho; Support Services: Highly Commended – Paul Shippin and Claire Gothard, Winner – Paulina Werner; Care Worker: Highly Commended – Louise Woolgrove and Jane Scurrah, Winner – Bryan Mattinson; Outstanding Contribution – Sarah Earp.
Competition sees group take on Premier League side A GOAL-scoring care home resident and staff from Care South competed in a special intergenerational walking football competition against teams from Premier League football club, AFC Bournemouth. Six teams in total competed as AFC Bournemouth’s Community Sports Trust hosted its annual walking football tournament at the Ringwood Community Hub. Care South, a not-for-profit provider of residential and care at home services across the south of England, are long-time partners of AFC Bournemouth and fielded two teams made up of staff and residents. Simon Bird, CEO of Care South, said: “We’re very proud of our long-standing partnership with AFC Bournemouth which enables residents in our care to re-engage with activity and enjoy unique events such as this. “The partnership is widely enjoyed by residents whether it’s walking football, football in the homes, visits
from the team, and other special events that the residents get to benefit from.” The Care South teams played against AFC Bournemouth under 18s and women’s team and a Community Sports Trust over 50s side, competing on a round robin basis with 11 games
played over the afternoon. John, a resident from Talbot View, a Care South home, took to the field for the first time in 45 years and scored a goal in one of the matches. Four residents from Fairlawn, another Care South home, came to cheer on the team, join in the
warm-up and enjoy a kick-about themselves between games. The Cherries second-year scholars emerged triumphant following a closely contested final against the Community Sports Trust over 50s, while all the games were played in good spirits.
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