Caring UK Weekly - Issue 82

Issue 82 10.11.21

The weekly online newsletter for the care sector

Jab decision angers care providers CARE providers are furious after the Government delayed compulsory Covid19 vaccination for NHS staff until April but continued with the plan for care workers this month.

The Government announced that mandatory vaccination for NHS workers would be delayed until April after listening to concerns about the impact it might have on staffing levels during the busy winter period.

But it has not made any such announcement for social care workers, for whom mandatory vaccination is due to come in tomorrow.

This despite warnings that it could rob the sector of up to 60,000 care staff at a time when vacancies within care are running at more than 100,000 and providers are struggling to cope.

The Independent Care Group says the Government should rethink the “no jab, no job” policy for care workers too, in the light of its decision on NHS workers.

ICG chair Mike Padgham said: “We need help, not hindrances.

“What is the point in keeping hospitals working if there is nowhere to discharge patients to if homecare providers don’t have the staff to care for people

at home and there are no staff for care and nursing homes?

“The Government has listened to the NHS’ concerns about the winter but ignored social care saying the same thing, time and time again.

“The Government has no understanding of how social care and NHS care need to work together.

“To delay this deadline for NHS workers but maintain the deadline for care workers makes no sense.

“Vaccination for care workers should be a personal choice, but if it is to be made mandatory it should at the very least be pushed back until April, like the NHS. “Time and time again, the Government demonstrates that it doesn’t understand the relationship between NHS and social care.

“To spare the NHS this draconian measure but still impose it on social care staff is plain wrong.

“Don’t they understand that helping the NHS is pointless unless you support social care too.

“The two do not and cannot work independently of each other and yet here is another example of the Government believing they can.”

Excitement building for CUK Awards

Residents of a Rotherham care home got to snuggle with a snake, inspect an iguana and meet a mouse when the mobile zoo came to visit. Leanimal Mobile Zoo, a not-for-profit social enterprise focusing on animal-led education and therapy, visited Moorgate Croft, giving residents the opportunity to play with furry – and not so furry – friends. Manager Jennifer Hololob said: “Our residents and staff really enjoyed the visit from Leanimal Mobile Zoo and got to spend time with lots of different and exotic animals. We strive to provide interesting and engaging experiences for our residents to keep them active in body and mind. We know the residents loved seeing the animals and hope to have another visit from the zoo soon.”

T H E 2 0 2 1 C A R I N G U K AWA R D S

EXCITEMENT is building 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.

Nominations for the 2021 awards are now closed and the full shortlist is on the Caring UK website.

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 2 – where host Dean Andrews from Emmerdale 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 director Judith Halkerston added: “We have been amazed by the incredible work that has taken and is continuing to take place in homes nationwide, and the last 18 months 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 2.”

CARING UK AWA R D S 2 0 2 1

Thursday 2nd December 2021, THE ATHENA, LEICESTER

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THE 2021

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CARINGWEEKLY

A former commando enjoyed a 93rd birthday surprise thanks to some clever, covert manoeuvres by his family, his Dorset care home and the Royal Marines Association.

Ron Moyse said he was ‘absolutely flabbergasted’ to witness a ‘mess beating’ performed in his honour by five musicians from the Royal Marines, along with a visit from two servicemen he fought alongside in the Korean War 71 years ago. Unbeknown to him, five bandsmen had arrived and, temporarily stationed in the home’s summerhouse at the end of the garden, changed into their uniforms until the order came that Ron was in position and it was time to play.

A Hertfordshire care home held a special 100th birthday party for one of its residents, inviting family and friends along to celebrate in a socially distanced gathering. Despite close compliance with the relevant Covid guidance, Doris Armitage, a resident at Foxholes Care Home, near Hitchin, still managed to celebrate in style and her children joined her in a celebration that involved all the traditional birthday accoutrements such as balloons, cake, cards and more. Surrounded by friends and family at the home, the 100-year-old birthday girl, who sported a glamorous tiara and sash, was treated to a special vanilla cake made by Foxholes’ in-house chef, as well as cards, flowers, champagne, and presents, which were exchanged during a birthday buffet specially tailored to suit Doris’ tastes.

Resident Violet Connell – who is known to everyone as Peach – celebrated her 100th birthday at Cotman House in Felixstowe. Peach, who has been a resident at the home since 2014, was born in Ipswich in November 1921 and lived there for most of her life.

On leaving school she worked as a bookbinder at Cowells in Ipswich and during the war worked at the munitions factory in Stowmarket making bomb trolleys. During the 1960s she worked as a librarian in Ipswich. Peach met her husband on a blind date in the early part of World War II. They had two children who are now living in Felixstowe and Yorkshire, as well as three grandsons and five great grandchildren.

Leslie Bradfield celebrated his 100th birthday at Highfield Residential Care Home in Hythe, Kent. The home currently has several residents who are over 100 – Eileen King will soon be 101 very soon, Evelyn Williams has just celebrated her 102nd birthday and Eileen Hills is also looking forward to her 102nd birthday in the near future.

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Colten Care’s latest centenarian has celebrated her landmark birthday more than 12 years since she moved to Kingfishers in New Milton. Avis Neville was the centre of attention as staff at the Outstanding-rated care home presented her with gifts, cards and flowers. After Happy Birthday was sung, she was presented with a cake specially baked by Kingfishers’ chefs. Companionship team leader Rose Arcellana said: “Avis is a lovely, charming lady who had a wonderful active lifestyle when she was younger. She still always gives you a nice smile when prompted.” Among Avis’ fellow centenarians at Kingfishers, Merrick Kearsey celebrated his 101st birthday in May while in March Marjorie Nutton and Irene Harris turned 100 and 104 respectively.

Beatrice Shutes was treated like royalty for the day when she celebrated her 100th birthday. Staff at Mundy House in Basildon pulled out all the stops to make sure Beatrice reaching her centenary was marked in a majestic fashion. As is the tradition, a card from Her Majesty the Queen was delivered to the home in honour of the milestone birthday, which Beatrice was thrilled to receive. She was crowned ‘Queen for the Day’ with a 100th birthday tiara, a sash adorned with that title, balloons, in regal colours, decorated the room and there also was a birthday cake fit for royalty.

Nina Ansell, a resident at RMBI Care Co. Home Zetland Court in Bournemouth, has celebrated her 100th birthday.

To mark the special milestone, Nina enjoyed a small family gathering and was presented with flowers, a cake and a card from the Queen. The staff at Zetland Court decorated the Home’s bar for her, where she enjoyed an afternoon tea with fellow residents. Nina moved to Zetland Court in November 2018, where she has become an active member of the community. When asked about how to have a long life, she said: “Hard work and a good wine is the secret to reach 100.”

A Royal Star & Garter resident has celebrated her 103rd birthday at the charity’s Home in High Wycombe.

Ena Mitchell was treated to a day of pampering by staff, who styled her hair, gave her a manicure and massaged her hands. In the afternoon she enjoyed a socially distanced party with other residents from the floor she lives on. The Indian food fan also indulged in a curry lunch,specially cooked up by the Home’s chef. She married Bill, a soldier who served in the East Yorkshire Regiment, in 1939.

He was one of the 330,000 troops successfully evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940, and four years later took part in the D-Day landings on June 6, the date of his 33rd birthday.

Bill survived the offensive, but later that year, on September 13, was killed in Belgium when the Bren gun carrier he was travelling in to fetch supplies for his unit was bombed.

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CARINGWEEKLY

Quarter of homecare workforce could be lost to mandatory vaccine rules MORE THAN a third of homecare providers believe they would lose up to 24 per cent of their workforce if vaccination becomes a condition of deployment, according to latest research from the Homecare Association.

Responses were received from 150 homecare providers across all regions of England, who provide care to 27,000 people and employ 33,500 staff.

Homecare Association CEO Dr Jane Townson said: “We strongly support vaccination of the homecare workforce and we lobbied hard, right from the beginning, to ensure it was as easy as possible for homecare workers to access vaccinations.”

“Progress is being made and currently 83.2 per cent of homecare workers have had the first dose of vaccine, and 73.7 per cent the second dose.

“We understand that people who use services and their families expect care workers to be vaccinated.

Vaccination is also desirable to help

Dr Jane Townson

protect the health and safety of care workers themselves.

“We are, however, warning of a risk of losing a quarter of our workforce, at a time when demand is rising and recruitment and retention are harder than ever.

“This creates a serious risk that homecare will not be available for tens of thousands of older and disabled people who are wholly reliant on support. Who will care for them?”

Almost a quarter of homecare providers surveyed thought they would lose more than 25 per cent of their staff who provide care to older and disabled people in their own homes.

More than 90 per cent thought it was certain or likely that recruitment will become harder if this comes into force, and more than 80 per cent thought they would need to dismiss staff as a result.

Of those reporting that they would lose 25 per cent or more of their workforce, all regions of England were represented (except the South West), with the North West, East of England and London strongly represented.

In a previous survey conducted by the Homecare Association, more than three quarters of providers said that recruitment was the “hardest it has ever been”.

Many have experienced a 75 per cent reduction in job applications since January.

Jane added: “We feel it’s very important to balance the mitigated

risk of infection with the risk of unavailability of care at home for highly dependent older and disabled people.

“Vaccination is a key line of defence against serious illness but was only ever part of a wider set of infection prevention and control measures.

During the first phase of Covid-19, when there was inadequate PPE, no routine testing and no vaccines, homecare workers kept people safe and deaths from Covid-19 of people at home were very much lower than those in care homes.

“Data suggests that vaccinated people may be able to spread the delta variant of Covid-19 as readily as unvaccinated people.

“Care workers have thus continued to follow guidelines on PPE, regular testing, ventilation, cleaning and other IPC measures.

“Our belief is that persuasion will be more effective than compulsion at encouraging vaccination of those with genuine fears, without losing vital workforce capacity.”

Charity reflects on service through the decades THE unwavering dedication and service of the Armed Forces through the decades is being remembered

by Royal Star & Garter ahead of tomorrow’s Armistice Day. Founded to care for veterans in WWI, the charity provides care for men and women who have seen active service from WWII all the way up to the Iraq War. Air Vice-Marshal Maria Byford, who has served in the RAF since 1991 and is a governor at Royal Star & Garter, said: “As we move further from the last world war, we are now supporting residents who’ve been engaged in more modern conflict.

“This has seen them continue to put their lives in danger for the safety of others.

“They have helped bring peace around the globe and been involved in the crucial work of supporting the recovery and rebuilding of war-torn countries, and those affected by natural disasters.

“Every veteran at Royal Star & Garter, and every resident we look after, is a part of this country’s

Former RAF low-level reconnaissance pilot Peter Lewis. campaign, Conflict Never Stops, military family, and we are proud highlights the invaluable role played to care for them and share their by our Armed Forces, starting with stories.”

Florence Mahoney, who served Royal Star & Garter’s Remembrance

during WWII as a driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.

It looks at the daring missions carried out in the 1950s and ‘60s by RAF low-level reconnaissance pilot Peter Lewis, which earned him the affectionate nickname ‘Prussian Pete’, and the humanitarian work of Navy veteran Jim Pitt, who helped rebuild Caribbean communities devastated by tropical storms.

Lily Fair joined the Women’s RAF in the 1950s because she “wanted to see the world”, and worked as a telephonist in Singapore.

It also focuses on veterans of more modern campaigns, such as Brian Bucknall who served in the Army for 36 years.

He was stationed in Germany and then in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

Lastly, the Conflict Never Stops campaign focuses on 34-year-old Stephen Vause, who was left with brain injuries caused by a mortar bomb attack while serving in Iraq in 2007.

Advertiser’s announcement

QCS to launch ‘Building a Better Workforce Together’ survey RESILIENT, resourceful and resolute are adjectives that best describe the UK’s army of care professionals.

But these are challenging times for them and their sector.

A telling comment from Nuffield Trust on Skills for Care’s latest report said the workforce is “close to being overwhelmed entirely by a toxic combination of pressures”.

Over 410,000 care workers left their jobs last year. Covid-19 and Brexit have exacerbated the perennial recruitment and retention hurdles, while government funding to enable care services to increase pay and to

support mental wellbeing has failed to materialise.

Whilst we know that funding is the key to keeping frontline managers in place, it’s just as important to understand the workforce challenges that care settings face.

It is only then that we, as a sector, can begin to solve them.

With over 130,000 care workers at all levels, across 6,000-plus care providers, who have all chosen Quality Compliance Systems, QCS is in a particularly strong position to take the pulse of the sector.

In order to do so, we have created a

Building a Better Workforce Together survey. Our aim is to find out what keeps people working in the sector and what pain-points put them at risk of leaving?

And for those that choose to stay, what improvements would make their jobs easier?

The results, which we plan to widely share before the end of the year, will help us to form an accurate picture.

This in turn will ensure that QCS continues to lead the way in supplying the right people with the right tools at the right time, enabling them to provide outstanding care.

QCS CEO Nikki Walker.

CARINGWEEKLY

Carer’s challenge to Minister over Ed Balls documentary A CARE provider, whose homes appear in a new TV documentary on the crisis in social care, has challenged the Government to debate the issues raised in it.

Mike Padgham, whose Scarborough homes appear in the two-part documentary ‘Inside the Care Crisis with Ed Balls’, has invited both Health Secretary Sajid Javid and Social Care Minister Gillian Keegan to meet and thrash out the issues shown.

“The documentary exposed a social care system in meltdown but now we need to hear what the Government intends to do to address the crisis,” said Mike, managing director of Saint Cecilia’s Care Group.

He is hosting an event on December 3 to mark the documentary, which will include excerpts from both programmes and a question-andanswer session with presenter Ed Balls and the production team. He has invited the Secretary of State and Minister to attend.

Mike allowed a crew into his nursing and care homes in Scarborough as part of the two-part BBC Two documentary on the challenges facing the social care sector.

He hopes the programmes will prompt the Government to tackle

Mike Padgham the under-funding and staffing crisis in the care of our oldest and most vulnerable.

“The result is an unflinching, twopart documentary that shows, warts and all the challenges facing social care at the moment,” he added.

“But we have to move forward and tackle the very real challenges that social care faces.

Wren Hall care home assigns Rensair as first line of defence

WREN Hall is a specialist dementia care nursing home in Nottinghamshire, with a CQC rating of ‘Outstanding’ across all categories.

But nothing could prepare it for the pandemic and 23 residents tragically lost their lives.

“The situation was far from clear, but in November 2020 the WHO declared that the chief risk of Covid transmission came from inhaling aerosols rather than touching surfaces”, said Anita Astle MBE, managing director of Wren Hall and a member of the Board of Directors at the National Care Association.

“That ruled out fogging machines, which aim to clean surfaces, and we turned our attention to HEPA-based purifiers which effectively clean the air.”

Wren Hall acquired several Rensair units for the communal areas within the older part of the building, which was not equipped with a modern HVAC system.

“Our family members understandably complain about cold drafts, so ventilation is a real challenge”, said Anita.

“By purifying the air instead of bringing in

outdoor air, we are able to help prevent viral transmission, keep everyone warm and save on energy costs for heating. It’s a complete solution and we can all detect a difference in the freshness of the air.”

Key to Wren Hall’s decision was the strong airflow provided by the Rensair unit, with each one capable of cleaning 560m3 of air per hour.

Furthermore, the unique, patented technology was important, ensuring that the airflow and HEPA filter configuration holds virus particles in place so that they are systematically eradicated by germicidal UVC light, rendering the filters safe for maintenance.

“Wren Hall is now Covid-free, but we must take every precaution,” added Anita.

“New vaccine-resistant variants could potentially emerge and we will do everything in our power to protect those in our care and avoid further outbreaks.

“We certainly feel safer with our Rensair units as the first line of defence.”

Enquiries: For further information visit rensair.com or call 020 3973 8927.

“As providers we have many ideas and suggestions and need the Government to listen and take action.

“By inviting the Secretary of State and Minister to the screening event we hope to open constructive dialogue, offer solutions and discuss the many issues that the two programmes show.

“To begin with we want to see the Government delay the introduction of compulsory vaccinations for care staff until April as they have done for NHS staff.”

The crew filmed in Saint Cecilia’s Nursing Home and Saint Cecilia’s Care Home in Scarborough in the midst of Covid-19 restrictions during the summer to provide an in-depth and “immersive” view of the current state of social care.

“Above all, I think the documentary, over its two parts, poses the question: what value do we place on the care of our oldest and most vulnerable? Mike said.

“It challenges the Government over what it plans for social care and we hope it sparks it into taking action.

“I am grateful to our residents, their relatives and our staff for agreeing to take part in the documentary.

Doing things like this does bring with

it risk but we wanted to show the blood, sweat and tears that is shed to provide care in 2021.

“We did so to show people a snapshot of the situation. We were very careful; everyone gave consent and all the crew were tested and wore full PPE. “Care providers are working extremely hard to provide the best possible care in a sector that has seen more than £8bn cut from funding since 2010.

“Some 1.5m people are living without the care they need and we have 120,000 staff vacancies across the country. Things are only going to get worse.

“The staffing crisis has been exacerbated by Brexit robbing the sector of overseas job applicants and people finding other, less stressful and better paid work elsewhere.

“The million people receiving care at home and in residential homes, the 1.5m who can’t get the care they need and our amazing staff all deserve better.

“If this documentary can help get the crisis in social care higher up the political agenda and bring about some positive change, it will have been well worth it.”

Residents of Edward Moore House got into the spooky spirit with a celebratory party. A fun eerie atmosphere filled the Gravesend care home as staff invited residents to join in some Halloween themed activities. Dressed in their finest and scariest fancy dress, staff put on a host of games including pin the tail on the black cat, mummy wrapping with toilet paper and some good old-fashioned apple bobbing. After all that fun, residents had worked up quite an appetite, so they tucked into the boo-ffet, with plenty of seasonal treats on offer including some bright orange pumpkin doughnuts.

Resident Jean Fritter is pictured with activity co-ordinator Christine Boswell.

Residents at Gracewell Maids Moreton were treated to an unforgettable Halloween surprise. After their planned entertainment had to cancel, the knights in shining armour at White Company stepped up at short notice to save the day. White Company is the number one ranked team in Europe for full contact medieval sword fighting, holding two world championship belts. When they were contacted by Gracewell of Maids Moreton, they were eager to come down and entertain the residents. The highlight of this session for many was when they were shown a selection of weapons that would have been used in the era.

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