Caring Uk Weekly January 11

The weekly online newsletter for the care sector

Mixed reaction to extra £250m for social care

A CARE campaigner has given a mixed reaction to news that the Government is to put £250million towards tackling the growing crisis in health and social care.

Mike Padgham said every penny of funding to help the situation in social care was valuable but he was worried it was “too little, too late”.

“This extra funding is very welcome and we hope that it will get to the frontline of social care very quickly to boost capacity in the social care sector and aid the speedy discharge of people in to the community,” he said.

“My biggest regret is that it didn’t come sooner – we and others in the sector have been warning for months, if not years, that social care was in crisis and, particularly since the pandemic, struggling to survive.

“An extra £250m, whilst welcome, is not going to touch the surface in terms of tackling the overall crisis.

“And my major fear is that it will get bogged down in bureaucracy as the £500m to aid hospital discharge announced last September has become.

“We urgently need the NHS to be given the go ahead to purchase care provision directly from care providers, which will speed up the process significantly.”

He was concerned at reports that in some places health trusts might resort to using

hotels to provide care for people discharged from hospital.

“I desperately hope that is not the case,” he added.

“It would be setting an extremely dangerous precedent in discharging patients into places that have not had the rigorous inspection that properly-regulated, managed and staffed care and nursing homes have had.

“Panic measures such as these suggest to me that the Government doesn’t have a properly thought out plan for tackling the crisis in care.

“Those of us delivering care on the frontline know what needs to be done and have the expertise and knowledge to do it.

“We are happy to discuss it with the Government if they will listen.

“The Government’s announcement, whilst welcome, is another very small sticking plaster on the problem when what everyone really needs to see is a proper, sustainable root and branch reform of the social care sector.

“We are seeing that the NHS is unsafe and that social care is broken. We cannot go on any longer.

“We need urgent measures to tackle the 165,000 staff vacancies within the sector and then a longer-term strategy to create parity of pay and working conditions between NHS and social care staff.”

Sybil ‘drops home’ for tea with hubby

A DORSET care home resident enjoyed the simple pleasure of tea and biscuits back in the home she shared with her husband, thanks to her thoughtful carers.

Sybil Fish, 86, a resident at Colten Care’s Whitecliffe House in Blandford Forum, was brought up in the village of Sturminster Marshall, near Blandford.

She met and married her husband Ed at the age of 23 and the couple moved to neighbouring Charlton Marshall, where Ed still lives in their small bungalow.

Sybil moved into Whitecliffe House three years ago.

And Ed, who still drives, visits her several times a week.

Colten companion Becky Wyeth said: “We regularly ask our residents for their ‘wishes’ and Sybil said she would simply

like to go back and visit Ed at home.

“So, we checked their home for access to ensure the visit could go as smoothly as possible, arranged transportation and Sybil went home for tea and biscuits with Ed.

“She had a fantastic time and was so happy.”

Becky added: “Making our residents’ wishes come true is very important to us, whether they are as ambitious as riding on a motorbike, going up in a hot air balloon, or like Sybil’s, just simply spending time with a loved one in familiar surroundings.

“Ed was also over the moon to have Sybil there enjoying tea and homemade cakes with him and both are still talking about it now.”

The opera has come to the state-of-the-art Belong Morris Feinmann care village in Didsbury, Manchester, with residents taking part in interactive performances delivered by students of the Royal Northern College of Music with SoundUp Arts, a community interest company which aims to improve the quality of life of people living with dementia through music. Residents at the specialist dementia care village have been enjoying weekly instalments of the RNCM’s current production of Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus involving multi-sensory audience participation, such as singalongs, dressing up, dancing and handling props and instruments.

Home launches with support from winner

SIGNATURE at Farnham Common, a new care home, provided an early glimpse of its luxurious facilities with the help of BBC MasterChef winner and author Jane Devonshire.

Jane, the 2016 winner of the BBC show, provided a full culinary demonstration to the home’s first residents, their loved ones and care teams, which saw her prepare thyme and lemon roast chicken and chicken bon bons.

It builds on Signature Senior Lifestyle’s partnership with the chef, who co-designs the four seasonal menus the operator serves each year to 2,000 residents at its 37 care homes across London and the south-east.

Alex Alexandru, general manager of Signature at Farnham Common, said: “The event was an excellent opportunity to show our new and prospective residents the pride we have taken in providing luxury care facilities to deliver the care they need.

“Each one of Signature’s care homes is unique and has its own sense of community.

“This event marked Farnham Common’s first opportunity to

present ourselves to our residents who will write our care home’s first chapter and make up our very own community.”

Farnham Common, the latest addition to the Signature family, will provide 74 studio apartments to residents.

At the launch event, guests were able to preview the state-of-the-art home’s facilities which include:

n The in-house Blyton Café, paying homage to the celebrated author Enid Blyton’s connection to Farnham Common.

n A fully functioning in-house cinema.

n An emporium providing a hair and nail salon, therapy room and spa bathroom facilities.

n Salon treatments including hand and manicures.

n A therapy room with regular chiropody and physiotherapy treatments.

In keeping with our other Signature homes, Farnham Common will provide specialist residential, nursing, dementia, and respite services tailored to each individual resident.

Team helps more than 500 people in a crisis

ENCORE Care Homes is celebrating the second anniversary of its Rapid Response Team, which has helped more than 500 older people experiencing a care crisis.

Encore’s free dedicated RRT service operates across Dorset and Hampshire 365 days a year to assist older people who urgently require permanent or respite care.

Relatives and professionals can call the RRT 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to speak to one of Encore’s clinical assessors, who will assess in the hospital or the person’s home to create a bespoke care plan.

The RRT can arrange admission into an Encore care home within three hours of the initial call, where necessary.

The RRT is led by George Jenescu and consists of experienced Registered Nurses in the capacity of Clinical Assessors who respond to calls from the public and frontline services requiring help.

Since its inception in 2020, the RRT has helped over 500 older people move into a care home in partnership with the NHS and local authorities, with 300 admissions coming directly from local hospitals in Dorset and Hampshire.

George said: “I am immensely proud of how far we have come in the last two years through innovation,

development, and partnership working.

“We have made a real difference in many people’s lives while supporting our professional colleagues in the NHS, local councils, and other frontline services through times of immense pressure.

“These are exciting times for the RRT, and I am confident our sustained effort will continue to make a huge impact on the lives of older people who deserve the best care.”

The Encore family includes Great Oaks in Bournemouth, Oakdale in Poole, Fairmile Grange in Christchurch, and Hamble Heights in Fareham.

HRH The Duke of Kent visits home

RMBI Care Co. Home Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh Court, in Wokingham, welcomed a longawaited guest when His Royal Highness Duke of Kent visited.

The home, which provides residential care, nursing and residential dementia support, warmly received the royal visit to mark the official opening.

His Royal Highness enjoyed a tour around the care home with manager Abigail Cranston, RMBI Care Co. managing director Mark Lloyd and

the chairman of RMBI Care Co., John Boyington CBE.

Both residents and staff at the newly named Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh Court had the opportunity to meet the Duke of Kent in person, who was pleased to greet everyone.

The Duke of Kent was also invited to unveil an engraved stone plaque to commemorate the official opening of the care home.

He also met with the teams involved in the construction, including RMBI Care Co. directors and the architects.

Residents’ creativity celebrated at event

RESIDENTS at Richmond Villages Witney were given the chance to showcase their artistic skills and the retirement village displayed their work for the community as part of its dedicated art week.

The event saw a number of creations on display around the village, all produced by residents or staff.

Drawings, paintings and sculptures were on show, as well as handmade embroidery including jumpers, cushions, rugs and animals.

There were even illustrated poems and an incredible depiction of Her Majesty the Queen made from buttons.

Activities manager Joanna Cambrey said: “We have some incredibly talented artists here in our village, so

there was no better way to celebrate that than to put on an exhibition to demonstrate the wealth of artistic talent at Witney.

“It’s great that residents have been given the opportunity to express themselves in this way, and the village looked wonderful with all the artwork displayed.

“Here at Witney, we’re all about activities and engagement with our residents, so to see everybody enjoying themselves while browsing residents’ artwork – and creating their own – was fantastic.”

The Richmond Villages Witney Arts and Crafts Week also included midevent workshops. Residents enjoyed a painting workshop and a still life drawing tutorial during the week.

George Jenescu

Christmas was marked by residents of Signature at Parklands Manor as they received homemade cards and gifts from the children of Hythe Community Primary School. Local pupils from all years designed and crafted personalised bookmarks and cards, which they then hand delivered to residents at the care home in Chertsey. The seasonal goodwill did not stop there, as children put on a carol concert and also performed We Wish You A Merry Christmas, with accompanying sign language, for the residents. This intergenerational celebration provided an opportunity for residents to share their memories of childhood Christmases, and to hear about the children’s own Christmas plans.

Residents at a Hastings care home were treated to a host of Christmas activities. Mountside, a branch of ACI Care that specialises in residential, respite and dementia care, organised a full schedule of festive entertainment for its residents and families, courtesy of local community groups. They were treated to children from Blacklands Academy attending to put on a small concert of festive songs that some residents recognised and could sing along to. The local Rainbows, Brownies and Girl Guides groups also paid a visit to sing more Christmas songs for the residents. To help fund such activities, the home has hosted a Christmas fayre, a raffle and has a collection box for donations to help raise money for its residents’ fund. Internal activities also helped to get residents into the festive spirit, as they offered their hand at making mince pies, decorating the home and creating Christmas cards.

St Monica Trust’s chefs headed to Trinity Centre recently to cook dinner for the final day of Caring in Bristol’s Big Christmas Dinner. Food development manager Adrian Kirikmaa led a team of chefs from Oatley House to provide 200 hot dinners at the Trinity Centre for those experiencing homelessness and hardship this Christmas. Caring in Bristol, a charity which works to end homelessness in the city, launched ‘Bristol’s Big Christmas Dinner’ on December 24. The project has run for three decades to help feed people experiencing homelessness over the festive period. The campaign saw some of Bristol’s top restaurateurs and chef teams provide restaurant-quality dinners with all the trimmings and a warm, welcoming atmosphere for those experiencing homelessness.

A food bank drive which was launched by the team at Bluebird Care Walsall with the aim of supporting those in need in the community has proven to be a huge success with 20 boxes of urgently needed supplies donated. The homecare provider kick-started the initiative at the beginning of December in a bid to play its part in helping others during this challenging festive period, gathering as much food as possible ahead of a collective donation to Walsall North Food Bank. Driven by registered manager Vicki Smith and inspired by some of her team’s previous experience of poverty during their lives, over the several weeks the group worked hard to collect as many donations as they could, including tinned goods, toiletries and other vital supplies needed by the food bank.

Halcyon House, a residential care home in Formby, gave their windows a makeover to reflect the spirit of the festive season, with a touching story about a woman who recently lost her husband. The house’s windows were painted by Liam Brown. Liam started working for Halcyon House as a carer to help fund his university studies, and then assumed an administrative role during the Covid-19 pandemic. He studied illustration at university and now likes to take on freelance jobs to help build his portfolio whilst continuing to work for Halcyon House. Liam painted across the windows of Halcyon House’s dining room, where residents spend their mealtimes together, with each window telling part of the story. The windows could be seen by passers-by making their way to and from the playing fields close to the house.

Residents at Care South’s Alexandra House, Dorset House, Castle Dene, Wickmeads, Fairlawn, Elizabeth House and St Ives House care homes along with clients from Care South at Home Bournemouth enjoyed a visit to AFC Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium for its annual Christmas coffee morning. The club warmly welcomed Care South residents alongside its senior season ticket holders to celebrate the festive season. Residents were able to enjoy a morning of tea, coffee, cakes, mince pies and festive entertainment provided by carol singers with plenty of singing and dancing.

Portraits from past inspire youngsters

CHILDREN at The Nursery in Belong, which is located within the state-of-the-art Belong care village in Chester and run by national charity Ready Generations, have been exercising their creative skills while discovering what it was like to grow up in a previous generation during intergenerational sessions combining art and history as part of a partnership with the city’s Grosvenor Museum.

Inspired by resources from the Grosvenor Museum, including portraits of famous Chester sons and daughters from the Victorian age, residents of the care village and nursery children took it in turns to paint and draw self-portraits on consecutive days.

The following day, they shared their artworks and were challenged to match sitters with their likenesses. Older participants spoke about their childhoods and what the city was like in times gone by, with the children having chance to ask them questions, and costumes helped children and adults to step back in time and

imagine themselves as a person living in a previous era.

Nursery manager Ruth Sandbach said: “We’re delighted to see children and adults benefitting from intergenerational connections following the opening of The Nursery in Belong.

“The children learned new words and developed creativity and confidence interacting with others.

“Adults also got to put their communication skills to the test and could feel that they genuinely contributed to the children’s education and getting to understand themselves and the world around them.

“Both enjoyed building relationships and being part of a community.”

The portraits will be included in an exhibition entitled ‘See me, Hear me, Know me’ at the Grosvenor Museum, part of a partnership between Ready Generations and the museum to develop The Nursery in Belong’s Mirrored Curriculum framework, which is at the forefront of the care village’s intergenerational strategy.

Manager retires after 26 years at care home

LONG-serving manager Linda Johnson has bid farewell to residents at her care home in Crosby, Liverpool after 26 years of serving older people in the community.

During her time at RMBI Care Co. The Tithebarn, Linda has delighted the residents, celebrating milestone birthdays and fulfilling their dreams.

In 2019 she supported 104-yearold Liverpool super fan Bernard Sheridan’s dream to watch a football match at Anfield and to meet manager Jürgen Klopp.

Recently she received a British Citizen Corporate Award in recognition of her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Residents were full of well wishes and enjoyed sharing the celebration day with her.

Business relationship manger Sarah Gilligan said: “Linda’s dedication and spirit has been exceptional. She will be dearly missed.”

Linda first started as a care assistant in a nursing home in York in 1974 and trained as a registered nurse specialising in paediatrics.

Due to her former husband’s commitment in the Army, Linda spent time in Germany and had a career break for seven years to raise her two children.

She worked as a practice nurse in the Army medical centre.

On returning to the UK, Linda worked in hospitals in Wiltshire and Southport and completed

her conversion course at Aintree University Hospital in Fazakerley to become a registered general nurse.

She started working at The Tithebarn as a nurse in 1996, while continuing to work at the hospital.

Over the years she has been promoted to head of nursing, deputy manager, acting home manager in 2003, and then home manager in 2004.

Linda said: “Working for RMBI Care Co., who are committed to supporting and developing their staff, and providing high standards of care to our residents, has been a privilege.

“I will take with me wonderful memories of the residents and committed staff members that I have met over the years, and look back at my time at The Tithebarn with great fondness.”

Shining stars celebrate success

ST IVES House, a Care South care home near Ringwood on the edge of the New Forest National Park, scooped the ‘Care Home of the Year’ award at the operator’s annual Stars Awards ceremony.

Now in its 13th year, the Stars Awards recognise and reward individuals and teams from across the company for their outstanding achievements and excellent care provision.

The St Ives House team was delighted to be presented with the ‘Care Home of the Year’ award based on a number of criteria including feedback and reviews from residents and relatives.

Home manager Emma Cotton said: “We are delighted to have won the Care Home of the Year award. The team are always going above and beyond to help residents to continue to lead rich and fulfilling lives and all our hard work has paid off.

“We all love what we do and wouldn’t want to change it. Thank you to our fantastic team for helping make this happen.”

The ceremony was held live over Zoom, with chairman Jane Stichbury and chief executive Simon Bird hosting each care home and Care South at Home office joining online and having an afternoon of celebration offline afterwards.

Sessions are extended to friends and family

FAMILY-run group Athena Care Homes is extending its dementia awareness training to residents’ families to help break down barriers and create a greater understanding of the condition.

The learning and development team will be running workshops at Amberley Hall in Kings Lynn and Avocet Court, open to friends and relatives of those living in the homes.

Learning and development manager Lucy Hoddy is keen to share the team’s expertise with those closest to their residents to give them greater awareness of the signs and symptoms of dementia.

She also wants to give them the tools they need to support their loved ones on their journey, from jumping into their world to reducing the risk of harm to them.

Lucy said: “We are proud of our

dementia teams and the skills they have.

“They go the extra mile to support our residents with dignity and compassion.

“Now we want to share that with those closest to our residents. We know residents can become frustrated and even angry when they are confused, and helping their families understand what is happening and how to react can reduce that frustration.”

The workshops will last two hours and will cover the early signs of dementia, facts and figures about mental health, the different types of dementia and person-centred care for those with dementia.

The sessions will be rolled out at the three other homes operated by Athena in East Anglia in the near future.

Residents Janice McAdam and Ian Kearl along with Theo, who attends the Nursery in Belong, with their self-portraits at the Venue at Belong Chester

Deputy home manager Sue Burge, home manager Linda Johnson, and business relationship manager Karyn Butler.

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How to attract and retain staff

By Professor Martin Green OBE

THE enormity of the social care staffing crisis has been underlined by new data from Skills for Care.

Since they last issued data on vacancy levels, these have increased by 52 per cent and there are well over 150,000 vacancies in the social care sector.

This data demonstrates the scale of the staffing crisis in social care and, while we have the challenge of recruiting new entrants into our sector, we must also focus on how to retain our staff, because keeping good quality staff is vital to the delivery of good quality care.

Roles in social care are incredibly rewarding, but they are also very complex and challenging.

When we see unemployment at very low levels, we have to do all we can to make social care a destination for new staff – and we are doing this at a time when we have to compete with other parts of the economy, much of which offers better pay.

As a sector we need to do more to recruit from our local communities.

One of the things that is so good about social care is that the people who are delivering it usually reside in the same area where they work, and they have an impact not only on the lives of the people they support, but they are also a powerhouse for economic development within that local area.

Social care staff live, work and spend in the locality.

So they really are central to the

infrastructure of the local area, and this is another reason why we should be focusing on attracting people to this sector.

One of the things that employers need to do is start making our appeal much broader, and we need to reach out to communities that have not usually engaged in social care work.

This sector recruits on values and behaviours. If people have the right values of kindness, compassion, reliability and empathy we can train and develop them to become a valued part of the social care workforce.

This may require us to think differently about shift patterns and to offer more part-time work for those who want to make a contribution, but for various reasons, cannot commit to either 17.5 or 35 hours a week.

Much of the workforce focus has been on care staff, but many other roles are essential to delivering high-

quality care.

The cleaning and support roles are vitally important in care services and are as critical to delivering the highest quality, safe care as any care staff.

I have been to many services, and I have seen the contribution that catering and cleaning staff make to care quality.

This is not only about ensuring people have good quality environments in which to live, but also making sure they are clean and safe from the risk of infection.

When I have talked to cleaning and support staff, they have often told me that because of time pressures, they desperately need assurance that the products they are using are not only easy to use but are proven to deliver the highest level of hygiene and cleanliness.

What is also noticeable is that people who live in care services, as well as those who work in them, tend to like products that they are familiar with and have some belief in.

There are many things that motivate people to work in care.

It is the responsibility of care providers to do everything they can to ensure that our colleagues’ lives are made as easy as possible that will be the root of the retention, and using products that are tried, tested and recognised, is undoubtedly a good way to keep your vital cleaning and ancillary staff happy.

n Professor Martin Green OBE is an Expert Advisory Council member for P&G Professional and the chief executive of Care England.

Pen pals for Louth care home

MEADOWS Park Care Home in Louth, Lincolnshire received a sack full of letters from the year four children from Grimoldby Primary School.

Residents were overjoyed to sit down in the lounge and read the lovely words the learners had written.

The letters brought back happy memories for many of the residents who recalled a time when mail was the most prominent form of correspondence.

Residents looked back fondly at the excitement of receiving a letter and finding a spot to sit down and savour the content.

They also remembered carefully steaming off the stamp to add it to an ever-growing collection.

They now plan to write back to the children and are looking forward to sharing their own stories and making new friends.

“It was amazing to receive the letters,” said activities coordinator Paula Byram.

”Our residents really enjoyed reading them. We have now sent them letters in return and are looking forward to hearing back from the children.

“Hopefully this will be the beginning of a long and happy relationship.”

The care team at Friends of the Elderly’s Little Bramingham Farm care home in Luton, Bedfordshire left nothing to chance in celebrating Blanche Fromenton’s 102nd birthday. Along with gifts, balloons and cards she got a special treat with a surprise visit from her granddaughter Holly, who flew in from St Louis, Missouri in America to share in her Gran’s birthday celebrations. For her extra special day, the care team ensured decorated the care home in an array of congratulatory decorations and presented Blanche with a cake which she shared with her family and care home friends.

The care team at Friends of the Elderly’s Redcot residential care home in Haslemere, Surrey pulled out all the stops to celebrate Juliet Fuirer’s 100th birthday. Juliet’s milestone day began with gifts, balloons and a special card from Buckingham Palace, but it didn’t stop there. She was whisked away by her family for lunch and, when she returned, Juliet enjoyed a funfilled birthday party, complete with a birthday cake, with all her care home friends. Juliet, who was born in Ludhiana, the most populous and largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, has been a resident at Redcot residential care home for twoand-a-half years. Juliet spent the first six years of her life growing up in India before moving with her family to the United Kingdom.

More than 250 messages of congratulations greeted a ‘wonderful’ lady on her centenary after her Winchester dementia care home issued an appeal for people to send in birthday cards. Great great grandmother Jo Gough, described as ‘full of character’, was astonished with her birthday maildrop at Colten Care’s St Catherines View. The home’s companionship team leader Laura Sheldrake called for as many cards as possible to be sent in to help Jo celebrate her landmark day. As well as local and UK well-wishers, people responded to the Facebook plea from across the world including Thailand, Budapest, Connecticut in the USA, Moscow, Guernsey and Jersey. Children and staff at Winchester’s Harestock Primary School and the team at Happy Day’s Childcare in South Wonston were among nearby respondents.

Edith Bowmer, who lives at Ideal Carehomes’ Hambleton Grange in Thirsk, celebrated her 100th birthday in style when she was given a VIP tour of Newcastle United’s St James’ Park, the home of her favourite football team. Edith (Edi), a former shop assistant from Hemlow Farm in Chatham, woke up on her birthday to be whisked away by staff at the care home to visit the ground. Throughout her life Edi has been an avid football fan and often watched her husband Eddie play. Upon arrival at St James’ Park, Edi was given a VIP tour of the stadium, posing for pictures on her way.

Professor Martin Green OBE