Issue 126 09.11.22
The weekly online newsletter for the care sector
Home is part of award-winning project team A CARE home team has won an award in conjunction with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Colleagues from Fleetwood Hall were involved with a winning project called ‘Giving Back the Gift of Time – Improving the Last 1,000 Days of Life’. The HSJ Patient Safety Award for Best Use of Integrated Care and Partnership Working in Patient Safety Award was presented at an awards ceremony in Manchester recently. The ceremony had to be rescheduled until after the state funeral of HM The Queen had taken place. Lexie Smith, deputy manager of Fleetwood Hall Care Home, who attended the event, said: “We were proud to be part of the team working with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals on such an important project. Our work has already led to a reduction in the number of falls. “To be one of seven finalists nationally was great, but to win the award was amazing. As a home, we look forward to future collaborations between us and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals.” Anna Dallow, clinical improvement and effectiveness manager at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, invited Fleetwood Hall and two other care homes to take part in the project. She added: “It has been an absolute pleasure working with Fleetwood Hall Care Home over
the last year. The hard work of the whole team has positively impacted the lives of their residents. Thank you Lexie and the team for all your dedication.” Working together virtually and in-person, the project teams looked at ways of reducing the number of falls, avoiding fractured necks and femurs, within a care home setting. The project led to a reduction in falls and a reduction in hospital admissions from when data started being collected at Fleetwood Hall in October 2021 and the project ending in August 2022. Katharine Goldthorpe, associate director of quality Improvement at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are so proud that our hospital and care home teams worked together and were announced winners of this prestigious award. “Our work shows the power of collaboration with the use of QI methods to drive safer outcomes for residents of local care homes. Some of those people could be in the last 1,000 days of life, so this project has meant less unnecessary attendances to hospital so people are able to stay in the place they love, with the people they love, for longer. “This first group of care homes have been brilliant to work with and we can’t wait to get started with scaling this work up.”
An Oulton care home is cheering on one of their colleagues playing for England at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup. The team and residents at Anchor’s Oulton Manor are cheering on Leeds Rhinos and England Prop Dannielle Anderson, who works as a housekeeper. She is a beloved figure at the home and regularly chats with residents about rugby and playing for Leeds. The residents also love watching her play and the home shows matches whenever they can so residents can cheer her on. Dannielle’s colleagues are also big fans too, some of them went to Elland Road to watch her playing in this year’s Challenge Cup. Oulton Manor will be broadcasting all of England’s matches and everyone is looking forward to getting out their flags and scarves and watching some cracking rugby.
CUK Awards’ tickets in demand TICKETS are selling fast for the industry’s biggest end-of-year party, with plans in place to make this year’s Caring UK Awards the best one yet. Organised by Script Media in partnership with Caring UK and headline sponsor Virgin Money, this annual celebration of success will culminate in a glittering ceremony – taking place at the Athena in Leicester on Thursday December 1 – where host Dean Andrews from Emmerdale and Life on Mars 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 was done particularly during the pandemic 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 last two-and-a-half years has 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 up and down the country. We can’t wait to celebrate with everyone at the awards on December 1.” Tickets to the care industry’s party of the year are available at https://scriptevents.co.uk/cuk-awards-tickets/
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CARINGWEEKLY A Dorset care home resident was delighted by a surprise party to celebrate her 100th birthday. Dorothy ‘Dot’ Brown, a resident at Colten Care’s Amberwood House in Ferndown, was the star of the show at the celebration thrown by her family and friends. Dot was showered with gifts and cards, while all of her favourite tunes were playing and old family photos were circling the room. And a rich fruit birthday cake had been specially created for Dot, which was covered in iced daisies, her favourite flowers. Dot and her family later joined her fellow residents for a special singalong concert and an emotional Dot thanked everyone for being so kind and making her day so special.
A nurse who helped provide pioneering burns treatment for injured RAF aircrew and civilians during WWII has celebrated her 100th birthday. Janet Hunter was part of the team led by Sir Archibald McIndoe which provided ground-breaking reconstructive surgery for thousands of men, women and children who suffered burns and similar injuries. She celebrated her 100th birthday at Royal Star & Garter in Surbiton with her sons and fellow residents. Janet also became the charity’s first resident to receive a 100th birthday card from His Majesty King Charles. Janet enjoyed a small party with residents, with healthcare assistant Jodie Halls singing for the group. The great grandmother also tucked into food that she had especially requested from the home’s chef. Later, her sons Philip and Andrew visited, and at the weekend Janet went out to a family party with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
New partnership seeks to reduce infection impact CARE England, University College London and The Outstanding Society have established a partnership to tackle the problem of infections in care homes and learn lessons from the pandemic. The project builds on the national VIVALDI study when researchers and care providers worked together to produce evidence rapidly, which directly informed care home policy on Covid-19. Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England, said: “The Vivaldi project really shows the benefit of care homes being involved in research. “Vivaldi delivered changes in policy and practice that were driven by the experiences of care homes. For one of the first times in our recent history, we had a policy agenda that was dictated by what worked for the care homes during a global pandemic. Vivaldi has clearly shown the power of homes coming together with researchers to define the best practice for both residents and staff.” Key examples include showing how important it was to pay full sick pay to staff – supporting the set-up of the Infection Control Fund, and monitoring how well vaccines protect vulnerable residents – informing when to use booster vaccines.
Betty Gibbs became one of the first people in Dorset to receive a letter from King Charles III as she celebrated her 100th birthday. The resident at Signature at Westbourne described receiving the letter as part of her birthday celebrations as “lovely”. To mark the incredible milestone, Betty was whisked off to her son’s house in London, where she was joined by 26 members of her family for a big celebration. The group enjoyed an afternoon of fun, laughter and a three-course meal including a homemade birthday cake made by Betty’s granddaughters. There was added joy as the celebrations also marked the first time Betty had been able to see her great-grandchildren since the start of the pandemic. Betty also received a card, flowers, and a personalised mug from the team at Signature at Westbourne. A Hampshire dementia care home teamed up with the Saints to enable a lifelong football fan to attend a Premier League match as a birthday surprise. West Ham supporter Nigel Bendell joined the crowd at St Mary’s on a ‘wish come true’ trip organised by staff at Colten Care’s Linden House in Lymington. Nigel enjoyed a close-up view of the action, plus a beer and a burger at the stadium, as a 60th birthday gift from the home. He was accompanied on the ‘lads’ day out’ by healthcare assistant Levie Bara, domestic assistant Kevin Elliott and minibus driver Martin Williams.
Prayer book created for village A BESPOKE Siddur (prayer book) designed to meet the needs of older Jewish people residing at Belong Morris Feinmann has been unveiled at a special Sabbath service, marking the culmination of years of collaboration between the Didsbury care village’s chaplain and community volunteers. The new version distils hundreds of pages of a traditional prayer book into a focused, large print version, making it easier for Belong’s customers, including those living with dementia, to follow and take part in the monthly services. Countless hours of meticulous translation, transliteration and proof reading has brought the prayer book to fruition, thanks to the support of Belong Morris Feinmann chaplain Rabbi Perez and community volunteers Alex Crawford and Elaine Newman. The project was the brainchild of Helen Lister, Trustee of The Feinmann Trust, which works closely with the Belong village to provide a Jewish cultural and religious input. She said: “The goal was to produce a prayer book that was easier for Belong’s customers to handle and find their way around. We are delighted that we can finally share the finished version with everyone, and we are happy that it has been so well received.” The book is dedicated to the late Tom Einstein, funder of the prayer book and son of a co-founder of the original Morris Feinmann Home, set-up during World War II to support Jewish refugees settling in
Joint chair’s of trustees Viv Alexander and Alan Hyams, volunteers and co-producers of the prayer book Elaine Newman and Alex Crawford with Trustee and co-producer of the prayer book Helen Lister Manchester. families to enjoy. Today it is run by not-for-profit Angela Luckett, religious and dementia specialist, Belong, having cultural coordinator at Belong Morris opened the state-of-the-art care Feinmann, added: “A lot of effort village to continue caring primarily has gone into creating this book and for the Jewish community. our customers have been expressing Adding to the special nature of the how much more they are enjoying occasion was the 80th Bar Mitzvah the services, with our personalised anniversary of resident Harold Siddur making it easier for them to Franks, who read the Va’etchanan participate. haftorah portion of the service. A “We are very grateful to The Kiddush, provided by the Feinmann Feinmann Trust and all those social committee, followed in the involved for their generosity and their on-site bistro for customers and their thoughtfulness.”
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CARING
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CARINGWEEKLY
Cheshire care home bosses disqualified
Residents enjoy trip to Vitality Stadium to watch the Cherries LUCKY residents at Care South’s Elizabeth House and Castle Dene care homes were treated to a trip to the Vitality Stadium – thanks to tickets donated by AFC Bournemouth as a result of its on-going community partnership. The donated tickets were to help Care South and its residents mark ‘International Day of Older Persons’ in October. Residents were thrilled to join other supporters in the packed stands to watch AFC Bournemouth take on Brentford. Chris Golding, head of marketing and PR at Care South, said: “Many residents in our care are life-long Cherries fans, so it was fantastic to be able to take them to the match and let them soak up the atmosphere. It was a shame that the team couldn’t secure the win, but residents were happy enough to settle for a draw. “The smiles on their faces at the end of the day certainly said it all.
“We celebrate International Day of Older Persons every day at Care South, but it is great to see other businesses and communities celebrate it. “A longer life brings with it a wealth of experience and life skills that should be celebrated and shared. “Our purpose is to ensure residents continue to live rich and fulfilled lives and that means continuing to offer them opportunities to get involved, be part of the community and enjoy new and favourite pastimes.” AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust is a partner of Care South. Thanks to the partnership, staff and residents at Care South’s care homes and home care service clients can participate in activities where they can meet players, enjoy coffee mornings, become involved in walking football and enjoy stadium visits and tickets to matches such as this.
Resident’s joy after club legend visits PAUL Brown, a resident at Astune Rise, was speechless when former Middlesbrough and England star Stewart Downing turned up at the Eston care home for a surprise visit. Paul, 63, who has lived at Astune Rise for more than eight years, has never been to a Boro match despite being one of the club’s biggest fans. His room at the care home is a tribute to his favourite team, including curtains, flags and posters. Having no family that visit it was left to home manager Caroline Bowstead to work with the football club and commercial partner Vertu Motors to make Paul’s dream come true. Stewart, who is Paul’s all-time favourite player, invited him, Caroline and Angela his keyworker to be his guest at the match against Bristol City, enjoying full hospitality and the chance to meet other players. Caroline aid: “Paul was due to go to the match against Blackburn on Saturday and was hugely disappointed when I told him it was cancelled. Little did he know this was because Stewart was visiting and offering him the best seats in the house for a future game. “They chatted away for ages and
Paul decided Stewart should be the club’s next manager. I don’t think Stewart was so keen. “Keeping it all secret until Stewart arrived wasn’t easy but it was worth it to see the look on Paul’s face when he spotted him. He beamed throughout the whole visit. “I’d like to thank everyone, particularly Stewart, who made this happen. I don’t think they will ever realise what it meant to Paul and how happy he is. We’re looking forward to the match and win, lose or draw it will undoubtedly be one of the best days of his life. “Paul is a huge part of our family at Astune Rise and I am so pleased we’ve been able to do this for him.”
TWO Cheshire directors have been disqualified for a total of 25 years after abusing millions of pounds of investors’ funds in care home investment scheme. Christopher Bateman, 49, and his business partner Nicola Fairweather, 48, are banned for 25 years from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court. Robert Clarke, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: “Our thorough investigations uncovered extensive abuse of investors who have lost millions of pounds through Christopher and Nicola’s deceitful activities. Many investors were regular people who were not familiar with investments and were duped to transfer money from their hardearned pensions. “The judge commented in court that this was an appalling exploitation of relatively unsophisticated investors. “Thankfully Christopher and Nicola have been removed from the corporate arena for a significant amount of time and this should send a clear message to other company directors that there are serious consequences if you dupe those seeking to invest pension funds to best effect.” The Insolvency Service’s investigations were triggered when two connected companies, GCC Management Ltd and Amek Solutions Ltd, entered into insolvency procedures. Christopher, from Knutsford, and Nicola, from Macclesfield, were directors of both companies. GCC Management was an unregulated company that offered people the opportunity to invest in the purchase of care homes, with the promise of fixed rate returns of 10 per cent to 30 per cent. Amek Solutions advised on and/or arranged investments in GCC Management. Investigators found Christopher caused Amek Solutions to breach the Financial Services and Markets Act
2000. Misconduct included: advising people – many being unsophisticated investors – to transfer funds from their pensions; failing to advise investors to seek independent financial advice; and Amek did not have authority to encourage investments. Amek Solutions promoted GCC Management’s scheme to at least 133 people, who invested close to £6.3million from their pensions despite not being protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Amek Solutions was rewarded by receiving more than £5.4million in commission from GCC Management. Investigators also looked into the affairs of GCC Management and found that when the company entered into liquidation, investors were owed £13.2million. GCC Management produced misleading and unrealistic marketing materials based on a business plan which lacked commercial viability, there were no mitigation plans to help investors if returns couldn’t be made, and the company sent false information to investors about when their returns would be repaid. By September 2012, GCC Management only had one operating care home that had generated income, which was much lower than expected. However, the company continued to push their investment opportunities to dupe more investors. Investigators calculated that at least 243 people invested more than £11.6million with GCC Management. 166 of these investors transferred more than £7.8million from their existing pensions. From the funds they received through deception, GCC Management made unaccounted payments worth millions that did not benefit the company or its investors. This included £1.4million paid to connected companies Bateman and Fairweather were directors of and another £1.4million to foreign exchange companies.
A Coupar Angus care home activities coordinator has reached the finals of the Perthshire Chamber Business Star Awards. Patrycja Dwojak from Balhousie Coupar Angus has been nominated as employee of the year for her work providing meaningful and stimulating activities to residents. Patrycja is the second staff member from the home to receive an award nomination recently. Home administrator Lorna Menzies is a finalist in the Scottish Care Awards in the ancillary worker category. Home manager Morag Shea said: “Patrycja is so loved by our residents and appreciated by the care home team here, and Lorna is the backbone of the home. I honestly couldn’t do my job without them. We’re rooting for both of them.”
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CARINGWEEKLY
Final chance to enter design competition
Residents at RMBI Care Co. Home Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh Court in Wokingham enjoyed a touching tribute to Doris Day. The care home invited Emily, a local singer, who performed some of the late American actress and singer’s most famous tunes. While enjoying coffee, tea and cold drinks, the residents tapped their toes, waved their arms in the air and sang along. Activities coordinator Sharon Fletcher said: “They all had a fantastic time. It was so nice for them to sing together and reminisce. We all talked about the songs, films and hits from the past. The memories even caused a few tears of happiness. We hope to have Emily to perform for us again at Christmas.”
Veterans’ charity launches Remembrance campaign ROYAL Star & Garter has launched its 2022 Remembrance campaign. ‘They gave their all for us’ highlights how young some of the charity’s residents were when they joined the Armed Forces, and looks at how the charity is able to give back to them each day through its award-winning care. Pauline Shaw, director of care at Royal Star & Garter, said: ”A lot has been said about service and sacrifice since the death of our Patron, Her Majesty The Queen. “These are traits seen within our Homes. The people we care for were willing to risk everything for the good of our country and the world we live in. “They gave their all for us, and in their times of need, we are now here for them. We give back every day and thank them for everything they did, with our loving care.” The campaign features residents from across its homes. They include Solihull resident Annie, who has affectionately been known all her life as Nanza. She was 20 when she joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1943, and worked as a wireless operator, learning Morse code and helping decipher coded German messages. Connie also served during WWII, joining the Women’s Royal Naval
Service at the age of 17. Her husband was in the Army and part of the unsuccessful mission to secure the bridge at Arnhem in 1944. As a result, Connie, who is now living with dementia at the Surbiton home, still attends Liberation Day services in the Netherlands. Jim, who lives in High Wycombe, signed up to the Navy at 15, in 1959. During his 12-year career, he “chased hurricanes” in the Caribbean. There he would help rebuild communities devastated by tropical storms. Holmes Care Group residents transformed their homes into Halloween haunts with ghostly decorations and giant spiders. Residents adorned their walls with Halloween bunting and dressed up in fancy dress costumes to play themed games with one another. Preston House in Glenrothes tapped into the autumnal atmosphere by creating a wreath out of pinecones, while Cardenden’s Fernlea House hosted a pumpkin carving contest, where residents channelled their artistic abilities to compete for the top spot. Donna Dunsire, lifestyle activities coordinator at Preston House, said: “It’s important for us to celebrate events as it brings the residents so much joy and encourages us all to come together as a community. A scarily good time was had by all.”
BUDDING inventors are being encouraged to enter concepts and designs to competition that will help improve the daily lives of elderly people and those living with mobility challenges. The Blackwood Design Awards celebrates the best new concepts that enhance independent living and will be judged in three categories by top industry experts. Now, the leading Scottish housing and care provider is appealing for any last minute entrants to come forward to be in with a chance of winning this year’s competition – with the deadline closing on Monday. The Dragon’s Den style competition welcomes entries from all around the world and encourage groups and individuals, seasoned professionals and gifted amateurs to take part. This means that both technologically advanced and those simpler, yet often most successful designs, are equally welcome. Marie McQuade, 50th anniversary programme coordinator at Blackwood, said the design awards is a great platform to support budding inventors for their first big break. She added: “It’s always fantastic to see how entries can range from being
Marie McQuade intricate, high-tech products to basic designs and ideas that simply haven’t been considered before. “There isn’t much time left to enter as the deadline is fast approaching, so we would encourage anyone thinking about submitting to go ahead – who knows it might lead to a big break.” Designers have the chance to win £2,000 of prize money and support packages to help bring the designs to life while sharing industry expertise. Winners will also receive support packages, which will see the inventors receive industry, marketing and IP advice to help them bring their designs to life. The V&A Dundee will host the awards ceremony in January.
Bluebird Care Mid Essex hosted its second successive spooky party at its office in Maldon. With the Halloween season in full swing, team members at the home care provider wanted to do their bit and get involved with the celebrations once again. The party for the care assistants’ children proved to a huge success, with scary decorations, great outfits and plenty of sweets, as well as Halloween-themed games including pass the parcel, pin the nose on the witch, sticky toffee’ and British bulldog thoroughly enjoyed by all. Residents and staff at two Winchester care homes laid on games, craft sessions and ghostly garden trails as spooky treats for visiting children. The bonechilling fun at Colten Care’s Abbotts Barton and St Catherines View featured costumes and decorations guaranteed to give everyone goosebumps. Eight young visitors, all children of team members at Abbotts Barton, had to navigate an array of hanging spiders, cobwebs and skulls as they made their way round the home’s garden. At St Catherines View, Colten Care’s dedicated dementia care home, residents welcomed a Halloween visit from nearby Tops Day Nursery and Preschool. The fun included a craft session in which residents and visitors designed and decorated Halloween masks. There was also the chance to take part in games and have a run-around in the garden. n Abbotts Barton resident Jillian Cambrook is pictured on the Halloween trail with companionship team member Sarah Kingston.
delphi festive elves Our Christmas Wish During the Covid-19 pandemic, we recognised more than ever the need for communities to come together, to enhance the lives of those who use social care services and combat social isolation. Christmas for most, is a time of joy and celebration but for many people, who have little or no contact with others, Christmas is a time when they may feel a deeper sense of loneliness. This Christmas, we want people to feel connected and to have the opportunity to share happy memories.
How can you help? Simply register your service, and we'll provide you with a Delphi Festive Elves pack full of conversation prompting templates, reminiscence ideas and Christmas carol lyrics. We'll then add your service details to our Festive Elves Christmas list; where people will be able to send Christmas cards and Festive cheer to all those at your service.