May 2016

no.239 • £4.75

By Dominic Musgrave

DOZENS of worried social care providers fear they could be forced to close down as the crisis in the sector is made worse by the introduction of the National Living Wage, a new survey has found.

The Independent Care Group asked its members what they felt the impact of the National Living Wage would be.

82 per cent said they feared the extra cost would have some or significant negative impact on their businesses.

And when asked about the future, two per cent feared they would close within a year, five per cent within two years and 10 per cent within three years.

One respondent said: “Without an increase from our local council, the new National Living Wage will cause serious threats to our business.”

Another added: “National Living Wage is good if the care sector is equally supported by a rise in council fees, otherwise care homes will not be able to survive.”

The National Living Wage saw minimum pay for staff aged over 25 rise to £7.20 an hour from £6.70. Social care providers say this will have a devastating effect on their already struggling businesses.

The last six years has seen more

than £5bn cut from social care budgets and the amount local authorities pay to providers to offer care has been savagely cut back.

The ICG is currently in negotiations with both North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council to try to get better fees for the region’s providers.

The group’s chair, Mike Padgham, said: “This survey bears out what we feared: that providers are seriously worried about the future.

“Everyone supports the introduction of the National Living Wage because all workers, especially those working hard in social care, deserve to be paid fairly.

“But because local authorities, the NHS and ultimately the Government are not putting enough money in to properly fund social care, providers are going to really struggle to meet this extra cost and for some, it may signal the end.”

The ICG surveyed more than 400 members and had a response rate of around 32 per cent.

Respondents were in favour of the introduction of the NLW, with 69 per cent agreeing or strongly agreeing that it was a good idea. Most, (62 per cent), felt it was at the right level. However, 51 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed that it was being introduced at the right time.

Care operators fear closures, survey claims

Patricia Martin, a resident at Hallmark Care Homes’ Bucklesham Grange in Ipswich, met Peter Andre after winning a wish granting competition. She was chauffeur driven by Rolls Royce to Peter Andre’s ‘Come swing with me’ concert, to meet him in person and watch him perform live. Patricia was accompanied to the show by care assistant and family friend, Beverley Shaw. She said: “I had a lovely time and I enjoyed meeting Peter, he is a really nice man and a talented singer. It was worth the late and sleepless night!” After the show, Patricia was given a signed programme and lanyard with Peter’s signature.

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A CHARLTON care home has hosted a special visit from members of the Denmark community.

The team at Sanctuary’s Time Court Residential and Nursing Home invited and hosted a Danish delegation that was supported by the Danish Embassy in London.

The delegation, which included healthcare specialists from Academia, the Danish Embassy, municipalities and healthcare companies came to see and learn how a Sanctuary Care home is designed, organised and managed. The delegation met with staff and residents and enjoyed a tour of the home.

The delegation and Jes Lauritzen from the Danish Embassy were taken on a tour of the home to learn about the care and support services provided to older people in the UK.

Seeing first-hand how residents are cared for, the group also discussed with the team how recent advances in technology have helped further support staff.

Manager Mary Johnson said: “It was fantastic to welcome our Danish VIPs into Time Court, we really enjoyed their company and it was a great opportunity to show off our home and our fantastic residents.”

Care home is visited by the Danish community

3CARINGNEWS

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By Dominic Musgrave

A RUGBY care home has installed pion-eering technology to help improve care for its 75 residents.

WCS managed Drovers House is one of 12 Warwickshire homes which will now permanently use an innovative acoustic monitoring system which non-intru-sively listens to sleeping residents and triggers an alert when the sound level in a room exceeds individually set thresh-olds.

Operations director Ed Russell said: “We’re committed to ensuring we deliver the highest quality care and have recent-ly introduced an innovative new tech-nology to assist our night teams.

“The new system enables staff to respond swiftly to residents in need of care with the continuous monitoring replacing routine in-room checks so that peacefully sleeping residents are not dis-turbed every hour by someone knocking on their door and checking in on them.

“Staff can instead focus on those whose distress has triggered an alert call, which is made to mobile handsets and can be viewed on WCS monitoring screens.”

Representatives from the WCS sen-

ior management team visited the Netherlands to observe the acoustic monitoring system in action and, based on this, carried out the trial at Drovers House.

Ed added: “Acoustic monitoring has been used in the Netherlands for about 25 years and seeing it in action last summer was impressive. Staff there said they wouldn’t be without it and could not believe it wasn’t standard practice in the UK. We observed a resident who couldn’t use the traditional nurse call buttons, call out in the night for help.

“The system picked this up instantly, logged the call, and a carer attended almost instantaneously. Typically this sort of situation could get missed if someone was not standing outside the room.”

The system provides additional report-ing so that when an alert occurs, the resi-dent’s information is automatically dis-played on screen and an audio recording is created to provide a permanent elec-tronic log of the event.

Ed said: “Our team of night carers no longer has to unnecessarily patrol the building knocking on doors every hour and residents in need of attention are reached much faster.

“Staff are able to listen in and talk into the relevant room via the mobile handsets and the monitor screens. The system can also be used during the day to provide more intensive monitoring of those residents’ with special or addition-al needs.

“I am in no doubt that both the caring experience for people at night living in one of our homes will be improved beyond previous expectations and, as a consequence, the job satisfaction felt by staff will be huge.”

Pioneering technology to improve residents’ care

Tara Hutchinson, care manager at Drovers House, uses the acoustic monitoring.

CARINGNEWS4

STAFF from Critchill Court near Frome faced their fears to raise money for organising events and trips out for their residents.

Eleven members of staff accepted the challenge of abseiling down Split Rock near Wells. Supported by members from the Wiltshire Outdoor Learning Team, the staff made the descent while being supported by family and colleagues who were cheering them on from below.

The total amount raised has now reached just over £1,500, which includes two generous donations

from local companies Permaframe Ltd and Stowell Concrete Ltd.

The monies will be donated to the residents’ amenities fund which goes towards booking entertainment, organising events and trips out.

Manager Karen Reeves said: “We are overwhelmed with the amount of money raised with this challenge and would like to thank everyone that has sponsored us to take part.

“I was terrified that my rope would fray, but we all made it to ground safely with just a few aches and pains.”

The Critchill Court staff who abseiled down Split Rock in Wells.

Fundraising reaches new heights

Residents reaping rewards of taking part in initiativeBy Olivia Taylor

RESIDENTS at a Lancashire care home are reaping the rewards of an innovative Memory Box Project.

Holme Manor Residential Care Home in Rawtenstall was approached by East Lancashire’s Clinical Commissioning Group to take part in the initiative.

Activity co-ordinator Paula Bond said: “It’s great because we get to know things about the residents that we didn’t know before. It’s so nice to pull everyone together and get everyone involved.”

The project encourages residents to fill a memory box with things that represent them, whether that’s photographs or letters. Elderly people taking part also benefit from a weekly singing and dancing session, allowing them to reminisce and have fun.

Paula said: “It’s absolutely fantastic, it’s lovely to have people come in and be with them, normally there’s only me. They really enjoy doing the memory boxes, everyones are very different, and with dementia music is often the last thing to go so the other sessions are really beneficial.”

Paula has worked at the 30-bed care

home for six years. She added: “I love what I do, if

someone would’ve said to me years ago that I would be doing this, I’d have laughed. But I love it, it’s so rewarding. You get to know the residents and you get so attached, it’s like we’re all a big family. It’s great to know I’m doing a job that actually helps people, if I see someone who looks a little bit down I try and brighten their day because they brighten my day.”

A Holme Manor resident works on his memory box.

CARINGNEWS6

A-103-YEAR-OLD woman who became a national hit after revealing a love of hot curries as her secret to a long life has landed a well-deserved award win.

Margaret Phillips, a resident at Bupa’s Balcarres care home in Dundee, was dubbed the ‘nan who loves naan’, thanks to attributing her good health and longevity to a love of the fine Indian cuisine.

She has now been crowned this year’s Curry Lover of the Year at the Scottish Curry Awards 2016, having received nominations from members of the general public.

The great-grandmother of 16 was born in Dundee in 1912, but spent nearly 15 years of her life living in

India, marrying her second husband in Bombay (now Mumbai) and honeymooning at the famous Taj Mahal Palace and Towers hotel.

During this time Margaret discovered a love of the dish, and boosted her talents in the kitchen.

Margaret’s daughter, Jacqueline, said: “She certainly makes a mean curry and, before she moved to Balcarres, she was famous within the family for her curry suppers, which she would hold on a regular basis.

“The whole family is thrilled that she has won. It was a huge surprise when she was initially nominated, but we honestly cannot think of anyone more deserving of the Curry Lover of the Year title.”

Margaret with daughters Jacqueline (right) and Susan (left) on her 103rd birthday.

Nan who loves naan wins award

Government care report welcomed by sector leaderA REPORT on Welsh domiciliary care workers that recommended the country’s Government does all it can to boost recruitment and retention in the independent sector has been welcomed by a homecare agency.

Abacare, which employs more than 600 care workers in Wales, agrees that something needs to be done to encourage more young people into the industry.

Peter Angelides, CEO of Abacare, said: “The report by Manchester Metropolitan University recommends care workers are well-trained, well-paid and secure with regards working patterns and that they have good contracts, with minimal use of zero hour ones.

“We whole heartedly agree with all these recommendations. They are initiatives that we already have in place but are keen to develop further and we want to help boost the image and perception of the care industry, and to attract younger workers into the sector, which is fast becoming woefully under resourced.”

Peter said there is a shortage of kind, committed and reliable people, who have excellent communication skills and a genuine care for others.

He added: “There are excellent career prospects for the right people with regards working in care. We offer training galore and there are lots of other rewards too.

“We provide good rates of pay to our care workers as well as flexible hours to fit around their busy lifestyles. We also offer a range of benefits and incentives including a staff discount scheme, various team away days and career advancement opportunities.

“We are now registering the company as a Qualification and Credit Framework provider under the umbrella of City and Guilds.

“In addition, plans are in place for the company to be one of the first to register as a training provider as part of the Government’s new apprenticeship scheme. We’re developing a team that shares the same high standards and drive to deliver care that is fit for purpose in the 21st century.”

Abacare was recently awarded an Investors in People for staff training and development for the fourth year running. It also recently won the Most Outstanding Care Agency in the UK accolade for the second year running at the Over 50s Housing Awards.

CARINGNEWS8

THE sound of the Australian outback reverberated around a care home while residents took a deep breath and relaxed.

Didgeridoo player Chris Thorn, who is also a mental health nurse, enchanted his audience with a special performance with the traditional Aboriginal instrument at the Pendine Park care organisation in Wrexham.

Anita Moran, an activities and enrichment coordinator at their Hillbury House care home, said she had never seen residents so relaxed.

She added: “The effect on residents

was astounding – it really was amazing.

“One resident described it to me as like taking a deep breath and then just floating off in a bubble.

“It’s definitely something we will try again as residents appear to have gained a lot from it.

“I know Chris does a lot of work with neurological patients who benefit from the sessions but I didn’t realise just how profound the calming and relaxing effect the didgeridoo has on people.

“It really is remarkable.”

Didgeridoo player Chris Thorn watched by Helen Watts from Pendine Park, resident Brenda Simons and her husband Jack and activities coordinator Anita Moran.

Didgeridoo enchants residents

Resident John sets wheels in motion for Sport ReliefA DORSET care home resident has shown that age is no barrier when it comes to raising cash for Sport Relief.

John Griffiths, 87, was determined to do his bit for the charity appeal by joining an in-house cycle relay at Colten Care’s Canford Chase.

Thirty team members, volunteers and guests at the Branksome Park home planned to pedal on a static bike for eight continuous hours in 15-minute individual sessions.

When John heard about it, he put his name down too and spent several afternoons limbering up with some gentle bending and stretching exercises under the careful guidance of his carers.

A grandfather and retired economist, John was a keen cyclist in his younger days.

He said: “I loved cycling when I was a lad. I used to take my bike to school every morning and at the weekends go for miles into the countryside. I could cycle all day.

“I’ve always kept myself fit and I was only too happy to help Sport Relief. It’s a great cause. I made sure I didn’t run out of breath and I really enjoyed taking part.”

Maria Grant, activities organiser at Canford Chase, added: “He did

really well and got a hearty round of applause from everyone when he finished his stint on the bike. As well as John, we thank all those team members and visitors who took time out to cycle for 15 minutes each.”

Other Sport Relief fundraising activities at Colten Care homes included a ‘mini Olympics’ challenge at Avon Cliff in Bournemouth.

At Woodpeckers in Brockenhurst, activities organiser Jane Bunker raised more than £200 by dressing up in dozens of sports-related clothes and items of kit and completing a sponsored run round the home’s garden.

John Griffiths begins his Sport Relief bike challenge at Canford Chase care home in Poole with team members Kathryn Cherrett (left) and Maria Grant.

CARINGNEWS10

High school pupils take a trip down Memory LaneBy Olivia Taylor

HIGH school pupils from Glasgow teamed up with residents at a care home to deliver an artistic community project.

The creative initiative saw five sixth year pupils from St. Mungo’s Academy and Whitehill and St. Andrew’s RC secondary schools spend a weekend at Bupa’s Eastbank care home to engage with and design memory books for the residents.

Each resident was then presented with their own, individual memory book, filled with photographs and details of significant past experiences that they had shared, at a special ceremony hosted at the care home by staff.

By successfully completing the community project, as well as providing the residents with a heart-warming and meaningful gift, the pupils have achieved the Mark Scott Leadership for Life Award.

The programme is run by the Outward Bound Trust and supports young people to develop their confidence and gain the skills and attributes needed in transitioning to further education, training and employment.

Liz Gilmore, project coordinator at

The Outward Bound Trust, said the project had proved hugely beneficial for both pupils and residents alike.

She added: “The pupils were admittedly a little nervous at first, as they weren’t sure how easily they would get along with the residents, but they hit it off straight away and really enjoyed spending time in their company.

“They appreciated getting to know what the residents did in their youth and were often surprised by how

different things were from how they are today.

“What was most beneficial for both groups, however, was realising how much they have in common. It was great to watch them all getting along so well.

“This was a highly innovative and creative community project which the pupils developed entirely on their own, so it was great to see such positive results and they have definitely gained a variety of skills that can be used in later life, not to mention hugely built up their confidence.”

Elizabeth Monaghan, activity coordinator at Bupa’s Eastbank care home, added: “We try to encourage our residents to get involved in the local community as much as possible, and this project was just perfect for this.

“Spending time with the pupils gave the residents such a boost as they love interacting with them and hearing about what life is like for teenagers growing up these days.

“The memory books that they put together are beautiful and such a lovely idea. I know the residents will treasure them and have already given them pride of place in their bedrooms.”

Two of the five school pupils present a resident at Eastbank care home with her memory book.

A LANCASHIRE based care group has launched new health and wellbeing initiatives to help members of staff keep fit and well.

Staff at the Springhill Care Group, which operates three care homes and a supported living service, will receive regular visits from a registered nurse to monitor blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and BMI.

In addition, the group’s chefs are creating menu cards containing healthy recipes, which are simple, affordable and part of a balanced diet, providing the vitamins and nutrients required for optimum health. Staff are encouraged to try out these recipes at home.

Staff are also being provided with a selection of fresh fruit to encourage healthy snacking and help fulfil the quota of five portions of fruit and veg a day.

Ginny Perkins, head of human resources at the Springhill Care Group, said: “Often our busy lives can get in the way of taking care of ourselves, but it’s so important to keep on top of health and wellbeing.

“Sometimes it’s about making time, so by introducing these initiatives into the working day, we’re helping to give staff a head start.”

Group puts health top of menu

11CARINGNEWS

RESIDENTS and staff at 12 RMBI care homes across England and Wales enjoyed a cream tea party as part of a challenge to become the world’s largest multi-site tea party.

The event was organised by the homes’ catering company WhiteOaks, part of the Compass Group, which presented the challenge to its partners to help break the record.

A minimum of 25 participants had to take part at each site, with two independent adjudicators to witness the start time and number of people present.

The current record is held by the Yorkshire Building Society, involving 667 colleagues across six locations.

“Our residents enjoy a good tea party and so we were really excited when we were asked to be involved in this record breaking attempt,” said Maricel Foronda, marketing and communications officer at RMBI.

“RMBI Homes are located throughout the country and it has been a great way to be able to bring people together by taking part in a fun activity at exactly the same time, and to feel part of something bigger.”

Homes take part in record attemptResidents from one of RMBI’s care homes enjoy a cream tea party as part of the world record attempt.

13CARINGNEWS

Caring Homes’ facilities held a week of teas, talks and tastings to highlight good nutri-tion and hydration in celebration of Nutrition & Hydration Week. The series of events – which involved residents, relatives and care home teams – were held throughout the week to reinforce nutrition and hydration as an important part of quality care. Home Manager of Coppice Lea in Surrey, Meera Govindapillai, said: “We invited everyone to be part of this global week. It was a great success thanks to our dedicated dining, nursing, care and activity teams who are directly involved with residents’ food and nutrition.” Resident Lillian Fotherby is pictured joining in with the popular Taste It Tuesday session at Coppice Lea.

By Dominic Musgrave

A DURHAM homecare company that prides itself on putting the care back into caring has been awarded an Outstanding rating by the inspector-ate.

Home Instead Senior Care Durham was established by Trudi Jameson in 2013 – providing homecare and companionship for older people to help them live independently in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes as long as possible.

Trudi was inspired to set up the company after her mother Glenys received poor quality care. Breakfast visits that took place at noon, visits missed entirely and being put into pyjamas at 5pm were just some of the undignified scenarios her mum experienced before she passed away.

Passionate about seeing care for older people that could be trusted 100 per cent, Trudi started her company with a special ethos. She wanted to see care delivered with standards that passed the ‘mum test’ – the quality of care you would want for yourself or your own loved one.

As a provider that puts the care back into caring, and with visits that last a minimum of one hour, Trudi’s home-care company has passed the ‘mum test’ with flying colours, receiving the highest rating possible in the CQC’s Ofsted-style rating system.

“Having an Outstanding rating reflects care that passes the mum test in Durham with top marks. It’s validation that we do what we say we do, we put the care back into caring,” said Trudi.

CQC inspectors added: “Without exception, people were treated with compassion, respect and dignity by staff who built meaningful relation-ships with them.”

And they praised Trudi’s team of 40 CAREGivers and office team in turn, saying: “There was evidence of staff at all levels ‘putting themselves in the shoes’ of the people who used the service before making decisions.”

Trudi ensures that the phrase ‘care that passes the mum test’ is instilled into every member of staff personally, by conducting induction training herself.

She added: “My CAREGivers are the face of Home Instead and with-out their commitment to delivering quality care, we would not have an Outstanding rating for what we do for care here in Durham.”

Care that passes ‘mum test’ rated Outstanding

Trudi Jameson

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Group’s newest home set to open in LeedsBy Olivia Taylor

LUXURY elderly care provider Hadrian Healthcare Group will open its latest care home this month.

Oulton Manor, Leeds is the company’s sixth purpose-built Manor House care development in Yorkshire and the North East since 2009.

The £6million home will provide residential, dementia and respite care.

Home manager Stephanie Dyson said: “We have been able to show people round on request already and have reservations for residents to move in as soon as we are fully open.”

Oulton Manor has 77 spacious furnished rooms each with ensuite facilities.

There are also landscaped gardens, residents’ bar and restaurants, a hair and beauty salon, library and shop.

A team of in-house cooks will prepare all the catering using locally sourced fresh produce, and a lifestyle co-ordinator will organise relevant social activities for each resident.

All accommodation is arranged

in small living groups creating a homely environment.

Jas Gill, managing director of Hadrian Healthcare Group, added: “Our homes are all individually designed to blend with their particular locations and have the luxurious but homely interiors which are

synonymous with Hadrian Healthcare. It is very important to us that our residents feel settled and at home.”

Hadrian Healthcare Group employs over 400 staff, holds the Investors in People Silver award and has its head office in Gateshead.

Oulton Manor in Leeds.

Calum Macleod, head of Barchester’s Inverness office and IT director, with Harry Kelly.

Planning advisor retires from roleHARRY Kelly has stepped down from his UK-wide role at Barchester Healthcare at the age of 71, after many years in the sector and a long, successful career.

Harry, who worked as Barchester’s head of development planning before moving into an advisory role last year, was instrumental in the growth of the company.

He joined Westminster Healthcare in 1999, which was later acquired by Barchester, and his role has included extensions, refurbishment and new builds of care homes from Somerset to Skye.

Harry said: “I’ve had 56 years of full employment doing a job I loved – now I will have more time for golf and for volunteer work with Highland Hospice.”

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Altro Pisces harnesses technology to create ‘home from home’ in wet environments

ALTRO has unveiled innovative Altro PiscesTM, a wet environment safety flooring for shoes and bare feet which combines all the benefits of safety flooring with the look and feel of home.

Altro Pisces is the first flooring to be developed with new AltroBeadTM Technology, giving a soft and domestic feel developed with comfort, warmth and relaxation in mind and avoiding the clinical feel that some home-from-home environments create.

With a Pendulum Test Value (PTV) of 50, a soft-look finish and 16 attractive shades, Altro Pisces allows you to bridge the gap between high-performance safety flooring and demands for domestic-style flooring, bringing together the best of both worlds.

Altro Pisces uses unique AltroBead Technology. For each of the shades, tiny beads in three carefully selected hues are blended and evenly distributed into the flooring on top of the base colour.

The result is the consistent, soft appearance that you would expect and want from domestic interiors. The subtle blend of four colours in each

shade makes matching or choosing walls and fixtures much easier.

Enquiries: Visit www.altro.co.uk

Polyflor flooring creates uplifting dementia care environment at Cwmgelli Lodge

1,700m² of Polyflor’s vinyl flooring was recently used to create a fresh and spacious environment at Cwmgelli Lodge care facility in Blackwood, Wales.

Wood effect Forest fx PUR sheet vinyl in American Oak was installed throughout the Lodge’s communal areas, circulation spaces, café and dining areas as well as bedrooms by Floor Furnishings Ltd of Cardiff. Polysafe Standard PUR safety flooring was also installed to provide sustainable wet slip resistance for residents in en suite bathrooms.

Forest fx’s realistic light wood tones helped to create a refreshing and non-institutional feel that would contribute to reduced anxiety levels for the residents. Available in 14 shades, the Forest fx collection includes various wood designs with intricate grains and natural colourways to replicate the beauty of real wood in a practical and durable vinyl sheet format suitable for very heavy commercial installations such as healthcare

environments. It is also further enhanced with PUR, Polyflor’s exclusive and robust polyurethane reinforcement which is cross linked and UV cured to provide a low cost, polish-free maintenance regime for the lifetime of the flooring.

Enquiries: Visit www.polyflor.com or call 0161 767 1111.

A construction apprentice in Stoke-on-Trent has returned to the extra care scheme he helped to build, in celebration of National Apprenticeship Week. George Cartledge, 18, helped to construct leading housing and care provider Sanctuary Group’s Baskeyfield House extra care scheme last year and has gone back to see the end result and visit some of the residents who are now living there. Residents at the scheme enjoy independent living in their own self-contained one or two bedroom apartment with a lounge, fully-equipped kitchen and bathroom; with care provided as and when it is needed by staff on site. The scheme also boasts communal facilities that are open to the general public including a hairdressers, restaurant and café. Training as a plumbing apprentice, George worked on Baskeyfield House for 15 months, with his responsibilities including supporting the team with the installation of the central heating system and water pipes throughout the scheme.George is pictured with resident John Whitmore.

Opportunities in a care home market under pressure ...By Ian Wilkie, HPC director

MUCH has been written of late concerning the impact of the national living wage on the care sector.

In particular, the focus has been on those businesses and areas of the country which are reliant on local authority funding and where it is feared there will be a significant shortfall in fees, relative to the increasing cost burden. The concern is that, as the impact the national living wage takes effect, we might lose valuable care services which are unwilling or unable to meet the rising cost.

The reality is that we are already into that next phase of evolution in the UK care home sector. In 2015 HPC released a research document showing that, over a three-and-a-half year period, the average number of beds registered every year in newly opened care homes was almost equally matched by the numbers lost through home closures.

What the document also highlighted was that the vast majority of new development was in more affluent areas. Laing & Buisson subsequently reported that 3,000 beds were lost from the elderly care market over the following six-month period. It is clear from our dealings in the sector that these trends continue unabated. National Living Wage has served only to exacerbate the problems and accelerate the polarisation of the sector.

The problem is that local authorities are being asked to make significant budgetary cuts, and social care will always be in the spotlight. The two per cent Council Tax precept announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement will go some way to plugging the gap in social care funding. It is however widely acknowledged that this is both inadequate and flawed, in that the most deprived areas, which are by definition in greatest need, will be those least able to benefit from the rise due to Council Tax rates which are inherently lower than their more affluent counterparts.

The CQC continues to put additional pressure on operators through implementing more stringent requirements. The regulator has undoubtedly become tougher since having its shortcomings very publicly exposed in the wake of the Winterbourne View scandal.

It is of course correct that the CQC does its utmost to protect the most vulnerable in our society, but that should be as a result of working alongside the care providers. The continued disconnect between the CQC and the local authority commissioners who set the fee rates continues, inevitably, to cause problems. A system in which those who lay down the requirements whilst publicly dissociating themselves from any responsibility in funding the means of meeting said requirements is, in the long term,

untenable. All of this might sound like terribly gloomy news, yet we are seeing as much investment in the UK care home sector as we have for many years. Institutional investors continue to look for attractive deals, seeking out not just good operating tenant covenants but also quality property assets in demographically attractive areas. We are also seeing a step-up in activity from mid-market consolidators – those existing operators with small to medium sized portfolios, good track records and an appetite to grow their estates. At single-home level, there has been as much activity from new entrants to the sector over the last 12 months as there has been for many years.

So in spite of all the challenges then, what attracts all these parties and where are the opportunities?DemographicsThe most obvious is plain and simple demand. It is what we have known about the sector for years and what has attracted people to operate within it for years. If you are prepared to look beyond the zeitgeist politics of austerity and regulation, the fact remains that the population is ageing and although the terminology and infrastructure may evolve, the fundamental demand remains. DesignOver the last five years or so we have seen a step-change in the design of care facilities. This is not just restricted to the super-luxury new care homes in affluent areas, but can be seen in innovative designs provided by housing associations and non-profit operators. We are seeing a real move to make care properties more pleasant places to be for all generations, encouraging more frequent and longer visits and also integration of local communities through offering shared facilities. This next generation of design offers a real opportunity for creative architects and providers to shape the future of care provision in the UK.QualityWhile the CQC has been criticised for an over-zealous approach to implementing standards, there is no doubt that expectations generally in 2016 are considerably more advanced than they were 25 years ago. The barriers to entry are now much higher, but to a new wave of professional and pragmatic operators who have cut their teeth in a world of greater compliance and regulation, there are opportunities to benefit from meeting the 21st century demands of residents, families and commissioners of care services.ReprovisionThe inevitable effect of fiscal and regulatory pressure is that we are seeing care homes closing or being sold off by group operators. It is not always the case that these disposals represent the end of the line and with new investment, under new ownership, these properties can often present excellent redevelopment and turn-around opportunities.

20SPONSORED BY www.bluestreamacademy.com

Homes’ residents and staff reap rewards of a skilled workforceBy Dominic Musgrave

HOMES from Dorchester to Bradford and London to Wigan are among more than 80 receiving awards for the quality care they provide their residents as they approach the end of their lives.

The latest cohort of sites to be accredited by the National Gold Standards Framework Centre provide further evidence of the importance of training for staff as they endeavour to deliver care in line with residents’ wishes right up until the end of their lives.

Presenting the awards at a special ceremony in Birmingham, Sharon Allen, chief executive of Skills for Care, said: “A skilled, confident and capable workforce is at the heart of high quality, person-centred care.

“This is crucially important for the sensitive provision of end of life care, which is why Skills for Care sets the standards for, and endorses those learning and development providers and programmes that demonstrate they meet these standards.

“We are delighted that GSF is one of a growing number of endorsed providers. By proving

that they have embedded the skills learned in the GSF training, these homes have demonstrated that they are at the forefront of excellent end of life care.”

Of the 80 homes to receive the Quality Hallmark Awards, which are recognised by all of the major care home associations, the Royal College of General Practitioners, National Skills Academy and the Care Quality Commission, more than 50 were doing so for the second or third time.

Twenty six of the homes have now been adhering to these standards for eight years. Many have halved the number of their residents dying in hospital, as well as halving crisis hospital admissions, leading to greater satisfaction for families, residents and staff and significant cost savings for the NHS.

To be accredited, homes have to achieve 20 quality standards, including the four must dos: reduce hospitalisation, offer advance care planning to all, improve collaboration with GPs and care in the final days.

Homes must also submit a portfolio of evidence and undertake an independent visit

from a trained assessor.Professor Keri Thomas, GSF

clinical director, added: “Quality person-centred care should be at the very heart of what gold standard care looks like in any care home.

“These homes have demonstrated what can be achieved by embracing a simple framework and using it to excellent effect – developing a proactive approach, listening to residents’ wishes and then planning and delivering their care in line with those wishes.

“As patient choice in EOLC is now a key issue, GSF care homes lead the way and can demonstrate what is possible to achieve.”

More than 3,000 homes across England and Wales have now completed the GSF in Care Homes Training Programme, with almost a quarter of all nursing homes in England having undertaken the training.

During that time almost a quarter of a million staff have enjoyed a boost to their confidence, learned a new set of skills and a sense of satisfaction in being able to deliver the care their residents want and deserve.

GEMMA Haselden, who works at Wealstone, the CLS-run care home in Upton, Chester, has won the Apprentice of the Year award in Health and Social Care at the annual West Cheshire College Apprentice Talent Awards.

Gemma, 29, has worked at Wealstone since September 2012 as a senior care assistant. She won the award based on her work towards a Level 2 Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care, which she completed as part of her continuing professional development.

She said: “I couldn’t believe it when I found out about winning the award. It was brilliant to celebrate at the ceremony with my colleagues and made me feel like my work is really valued.”

Carer is topapprentice

Gemma (centre) with Wealstone home manager Joy White and Andrea Male from West Cheshire College.

22SPONSORED BY www.bluestreamacademy.com

Care provider is recognised for commitment to its staffBy Olivia Taylor

SHROPSHIRE’S largest care provider is celebrating after retaining the prestigious Investors in People award following a rigorous assessment process.

Coverage Care, which runs 14 homes in the county on a not for profit basis, has held the standard that recognises organisations for their investment and commitment to their workforce continuously since 2001. It has now been recognised for a further three years.

The company employs more than 1,000 people in a range of roles from caring to administration at its homes in Shrewsbury, Telford, Newport, Whitchurch, Market Drayton, Oswestry, Bridgnorth and Bishops Castle as well as its regional office.

David Coull, chief executive of Coverage Care, said retaining the status was testament to the company’s commitment to the meaningful and directed development of its staff.

He added: “Our most important asset is our staff and we are committed to helping

them focus every effort on supporting those people in need of our care and thereby to develop their careers should they wish.

“Our staff make a real difference to the lives of the people we support, providing the excellent standard of care for which we are well known. As an organisation, we are determined to provide a framework that helps them achieve the best they can and the Investors

in People accreditation is external validation that we are successfully meeting that aim.”

To achieve the Investors in People standard, employers have to demonstrate how it leads, supports and improves its workforce, meeting nine key indicators in areas such as leading and inspiring, managing performance and creating sustainable success.

The organisation had to demonstrate that it satisfied 37 mandatory evidence requirements in a rigorous assessment that reflected the latest workplace trends, essential skills and effective structures to demonstrate it is a leader in its field.

The internationally recognised accolade is only awarded to 14,000 organisations across the world.

Coverage Care has a dedicated in-house training team that provides mandatory and regulatory training as well as a full range of skill specific training tailored to staff requirements.

It also offers leader development programmes, regular staff reviews and runs a monthly award scheme to reward outstanding employees.

A WORCESTERSHIRE care home has appointed a new manager who plans to introduce its residents to the healing power of being outdoors.

Tracy O’Sullivan has been appointed to run Redwood House Residential Home in Barnt Green. She aims to improve services by promoting its dementia-friendly approach and making use of the home’s two-and-a-half acre grounds to promote wellbeing among residents.

Tracy said: “I am thrilled to join the team and I am looking forward to getting to know each and every resident and helping them to feel even more at home. I also feel an affinity with the elderly. Working with people in residential care gives me the opportunity to be really hands on, and alongside making sure our care is of the highest standard, I want to introduce more wellbeing initiatives that people enjoy.”

New manager for care home

Tracy O’Sullivan

By Tanya Clover

IN THE fabulous Phantoms in the Brain, Ramachandran and Blakeslee discuss how our brains interpret what our eyes are seeing.

Their discussions prompted me to think how, in health and social Care settings, looking might not be the same as seeing.

It can be a challenge for managers and practice development leads to identify the skills and knowledge that staff have and where the opportunities for growth or change may be.

Buying one size fits all training packages may help the organisation to tick a box, but how can you be sure that the package you are investing in takes into account the existing skills that your staff have?

Tools to record the direct observation of care have always been a very powerful method of driving change.

There are a number of new tools available including the new and widely used Sit and See Nursing care observation tool.

The CQC’s short observation framework (SOFI™) was developed by University of Bradford, and derived from the internationally recognised Dementia Care Mapping™ (DCM™) tool.

Using DCM™ as part of your total quality assurance cycle can help you identify and then build on existing skills of your team.

Training should then support staff to increase their knowledge to scaffold new learning onto those

existing skills.Organisations can then use the rich

data from dementia care mapping™ to both measure existing knowledge and skills and inform future training and coaching packages.

Mapping™ again post training or coaching will give you a measure of change in staff skills attitudes and approaches.

Can you afford not to measure the value and impact of your staff training programmes?

Tanya Clover is a licensed DCM™ trainer with Bradford School of Dementia Studies (formerly Bradford Dementia Group) and is lead consultant at Clover Care Consultants. Tanya@clovercareconsultants.com

Do Martians see red?

Tanya Clover

Chief Executive of Coverage Care David Coull and training officer Steph Lewis with the Investors in People certificate.

CARINGNEWS24

CQC announces changes to its regulatory fees for providersBy Dominic Musgrave

THE inspectorate has outlined the fees that providers of health and adult social care in England will now pay to cover the costs of their regulation following a public consultation last year.

In its public consultation last year, CQC outlined proposals to achieve full chargeable cost recovery for all of the sectors it regulates over a period of either two or four years.

The responses received expressed a strong preference for the four-year option.

However, following the Government’s Spending Review, the level of grant-in-aid available to CQC for 2016/17 is such that in order to fulfil its statutory functions, the regulator has had to recommend the two-year option to the Secretary of State, except for dental and home care providers.

The Secretary of State has consented to these recommendations.

David Behan, chief executive of the

CQC, said: “We understand that the scheme that has been put forward is not the one the majority of those who took part in our consultation would have preferred.

“In order to achieve our requirement to the Government and commitment to the taxpayer, we need to work towards reaching full cost recovery while reducing our overall budget by at least £32million.

“In May, CQC will publish its strategy for 2016-21, which will set out how we will be an efficient and effective regulator with fewer resources. It is important that while we make efficiency savings, we can continue to carry out our role effectively.

“Over the next five years we want to develop our approach so that providers of services get more value from the work that we do, by sharing data about the quality of services and highlighting good practice.

“The fee paid by providers is the charge for entering and remaining

in a regulated sector. The public deserves nothing less than safe, high-quality and compassionate health and adult social care, and we must continue to act in their best interests.”

The amounts CQC will charge to providers differ depending on the cost of regulation in each sector and how close they are currently to full cost recovery.

Examples of the impact of fee changes on some of the sectors include:

£451 increase for a care home with 26-30 residents.

£573 increase for a single-location community social care provider (such

as a home care agency). £58,656 increase for an NHS trust

with an income of £125million to £225million.

£1,849 increase for a single-location GP practice with 5,001-10,000 patients.

The two sectors furthest from full chargeable cost recovery are NHS GPs and the community social care sector (such as home care agencies).

Home care agencies will be subject to fee changes on the basis of the four-year trajectory towards full cost recovery.

The Government has recently announced additional funding for GP practices to cover the expense of the required increases to fees in 2016/17.

General dental practices will continue to pay the same fees as they have done in 2015/16 for 2016/17 because the full chargeable cost of their regulation has already been recovered.

CQC will publish a calculator on its website to help providers work out their exact fees for 2016/17, alongside detailed fees guidance.

What do you think of the price hike? Email your comments to reporter Olivia Taylor at ot@scriptmedia.co.uk or leave a message on our Twitter feed @caringuk

David Behan, chief executive of the CQC.

“We understand that the scheme that has been put forward is not the one the majority of those who took part in our consultation would have preferred.”

Leaders slam fees hikeTHE inspectorate’s decision to ignore the results of the public consultation on fees and to recommend the two-year option instead of the favoured four has been widely criticised.

National Care Association chairman Nadra Ahmed OBE said: “Our members have been eagerly awaiting this announcement hoping that their comments in the consultation would have been heeded, but once again we remain disappointed that the CQC has pursued its own agenda.

“Rewarding the regulator with such substantial increases flies in the face of outcome based results. This is an organisation which has not met its targets and has continued to fail providers who are awaiting re-inspection following one of their visits: a delay which has serious consequences for providers, despite the fact they will have rectified any failings they continue to be penalised by commissioners because of an out of date report!

These views were echoed by Care England chief executive Professor Martin Green OBE, who questioned the point of the public consultation.

He added: “As a member of the CQC Fees Advisory Panel, Care England made its views clear about increasing fee rates for providers. Fee rates of this magnitude are neither fair nor proportionate.

“That the Department of Health has seen fit to give GPs additional funding to mitigate the increased fees is grossly unfair to the care sector, that is largely publicly

funded and on which thousands of people rely, and which is the bedrock for an efficient and effective NHS .

“As with the responses from the last 2015/16 fees consultation, we do not feel that our voice has been heard. The decision to increase fees over two years instead of four years goes against the majority of responses to the consultation and we question the point of consultations in this case.”

The RNHA has questioned the timing of the announcement.

CEO Frank Ursell added: “To make matters worse, the increase we are having to absorb from the CQC is far above the rate of inflation and comes on top of the 7.5 per cent we are obliged to find to meet the cost of the new National Living Wage and the one per cent pension contribution we have to make towards the new auto-enrolled staff pensions. So the CQC fee hike couldn’t have come at a worse time.

“To compound it, we have local authorities wringing their hands and telling us not to expect anything above around a two per cent increase, if we are very lucky, in the amounts they are willing to pay for the publicly funded residents we care for on their behalf. It sometimes feels as though the CQC are happy to hammer us about standards while not acknowledging the financial pressures to which we are relentlessly subjected by national and local Government.”

25CARINGNEWS

AN innovative partnership has been created in the North East between the NHS and the private sector to share expertise in the provision of social care.

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, the North East’s mental health and disability care provider, has signed an agreement with Newcastle-based Malhotra Group PLC.

This will enable them both to share their knowledge and experience in estates management, property redevelopment and accommodation needs to help deliver enhanced health and social care solutions in the region.

The partnership will see the Malhotra Group – whose subsidiary Prestwick Care provides nursing, dementia and residential care for elderly and vulnerable people across the North East – work closely with NTW in combining their individual capabilities to deliver increased value to the NHS.

Malhotra Group’s chairman Meenu Malhotra said: “We very much believe in the benefits of private and public sector collaboration.

“We hope that, by entering into this alliance with NTW, we can share our expertise and experience to help bring further benefit to elderly and vulnerable people within the region.”

Trust and group to share expertiseNTW chief executive John Lawlor with Malhotra Group PLC chairman Meenu Malhotra.

Group launches new approach to dementiaEASTGATE Care Ltd has launched its new ‘The 6C’s Approach to dementia care’ strategy.

They are: Commitment Compassion CompetenceCommunication CourageCare

The strategy is based on the work and vision of operations director Sharon Di Maio.

She said: “The overriding aim is to put our residents’ wellbeing at the heart of the service we provide and aim to enable people to ‘live well’ with dementia. Eastgate Care will become the first choice for individuals and families seeking high quality dementia care.

“Our mission is to ensure all our residents living with dementia are enabled to live full lives in an environment that enriches and supports their choices.

“We want the culture to permeate all levels, roles and responsibilities within the organisation.

“The aim is to eliminate a task focussed culture by focusing on the

6C’s principles which is the crux of achieving high standards of care and positive outcomes for the people who use our services”.

Sharon has worked with the group’s practice and professional development facilitator, Fiona McCandles – Sugg, to provide a specialist training programme to equip the staff team with the knowledge and skills to provide a high class service.

She added: “It feels like I’ve been working towards this time since I first met people with dementia 32 years ago. It was doing a work placement when I was on a pre-nursing course at college that made me change my application to become a registered mental nurse. We have some incredibly committed staff who will make this strategy a success.”

Staff from each of the group’s five homes will undertake a training programme between now and September.

26SPONSORED BY www.sky.com/business

The Oomph! ‘Instructor of the Year’ has been awarded to Claire Harne from Alder House care home in Nottingham. With an increased emphasis on the importance of innovative activities programmes, James Tweddle, sales director at Sky Business, takes a look at what makes a great instructor.

Creativity, energy and passion – bring enjoyable activities into your home with Oomph! and SkyCLAIRE Harne from Alder House care home in Nottingham has been named 2015 ‘Instructor of the Year’ by Oomph!, an award winning social enterprise dedicated to enhancing the mental, physical and emotional wellbeing of older adults.

The need for innovative activity ideas is increasingly being recognised as crucial to enhance the health and wellbeing of everyone in the care home environment. Providing fun and engaging activities that meet the ability of residents, from the very active to those with reduced mobility, has therefore become a key focus for care homes.

Here are some of the reasons that Claire was chosen as The Oomph! ‘Instructor of the Year’: 1. Creativity Claire was chosen for her incredible creativity, integrating themes across the whole range of activities she has introduced to Alder House. From VE Day

celebrations to Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year and the Grand National, Claire has designed a creative activities programme which gets everyone in the home involved, from residents and their relatives, to staff and carers!

2. Energy and fun Bringing energy and fun to the daily life of residents at Alder House has been a key focus for Claire. She makes all events colourful and exciting, and regularly dresses up and decorates the home around the theme or event they are celebrating on the day. Using fun activities, which incorporate both physical and mental stimulation, she has improved the lives of the people she supports.

3. Passion Claire brings passion to everything she does and has been driven in her efforts to improve the quality of life of all residents

by introducing inclusive and effective exercise and activities programmes at Alder House. As a result, she has seen a vast improvement in the wellbeing, happiness and mobility of residents.

Claire has won £100 to spend on a party at Alder House to celebrate her and her residents’ success, a voucher for herself and a Sky TV package for one year for her care

home to serve as inspiration for movie and sport themed activities.

For the past year, Oomph! has partnered with Sky to deliver themed activities, based on Sky’s TV content, to stimulate residents and get them moving, whatever they are doing or watching.

Television and technology can engage people collectively and notably increase wellbeing. TV in particular can have a powerful effect. With an increase in available channels, and therefore variety of content, from Sky, there is an opportunity for instructors to develop innovative new ideas on a wide range of fun and creative activities. These can be built around residents’ specific interests such as classic movies, entertainment, sports, arts and natural history content.

To find out more about how Sky can help your care home, contact James Tweddle, sales director at Sky Business. james.tweddle@sky.uk www.business.sky.com

33SPONSORED BY www.sky.com/business

A compassionate activities coordinator who uses exercise and activity to motivate residents at Sandfields care home, Cheltenham has received a national award for his efforts. David Ible was voted the activities coordinator of the year at the Residential Care Services’ annual Stars Awards. The awards, held by the UK’s largest health and social care provider Care UK, celebrate the unsung heroes in their homes. Among the 15 categories were awards such as maintenance man and housekeeper of the year. Sandfields care home manager, Deanna Lane, said: “David has really helped all the residents at Sandfields to get involved in life at the home, spending time with each of them on a one-to-one basis to find out about their interests and family.”

Austin Seven dream comes true for LizMILLS Meadow care home resident Liz Austin’s dreams came true when she took her first ride in a classic Austin Seven car.

The Care UK team arranged a special visit from the Norfolk Austin Seven Club, who drove a fleet of 10 cars dating from the 1920s and 1930s to the home for all residents to enjoy.

Liz, 89, who has lived at Mills Meadow in Framlingham since 2011, enjoys keeping active and trying new things.

She said: “They’re such beautiful classic cars that remind me of when I was younger and I’m so pleased I got to ride in one. It’s never too late to try something new.”

The Austin Seven visit was part of Mills Meadow’s activity based care approach, which supports residents to live meaningful and fulfilled lives. Residents are encouraged to keep active and get the most out of each day, as it helps to improve self-confidence and maintain independence for longer.

Charlotte Golder, lifestyle coordinator at Mills Meadow, said: “It’s a wonderful feeling to make residents’ dreams come true and to go the extra mile to create new memories and special experiences. A big thank you to the Norfolk Austin Seven Club for coming along and making today possible.”

Liz Austin with Charlotte Golder.

Care group turns wishes to realityRESIDENTS in brighterkind homes are having their wishes turned to reality through a wishing well scheme that is fixing it for them to enjoy things they really want to do.

The scheme, which is unique to brighterkind, has been introduced into all 70 of its homes.

Examples of wishes that have been granted include: Norman Bannister, 92, who is a resident at The Grange care home is a long standing fan of Burnley Football club. He was treated to a VIP day, together with his grandson, including a tour of the grounds and behind the scenes.

Annie McNeil who is a resident at Avery Lodge, wished to continue Scottish dancing, so the activities team arranged for members of a local Scottish dancing club to come in and dance and Anne got up and performed her favourite dance for other residents.

Two ladies from the club visit the

home every other week to sing and Annie gets to dance.

Nancy Wiltshire, a resident at Brampton View, wished to share her love of poetry. The staff arranged for her to read poems to residents at special events such as the Armistice Day wreath laying ceremony and a Christmas Eve party. Now she meets regularly with a group of other residents who share her love of poetry.

Helen Brown, national activities manager for brighterkind, said: “In each of our homes we have a programme of activities and entertainment that is planned together with residents so they have wide appeal.

“In addition, we try to learn about the things that individual people really want to do as something special and through the wishing well scheme, we make it happen whenever we are able.”

By Dominic Musgrave

RESIDENTS have raised a glass to a care home’s successful scheme to serve up memories of a cheery night down at the local.

Lesley Griffiths, who represents the area in the Welsh Assembly, had heard about the pop-up pub which regularly opens for business at the Pendine Park care organisation’s Hillbury House home in Wrexham, North Wales, and wanted to see it for herself.

So she called in at the “Hillbury Arms” for a quick drink and a chat around the bar with regulars.

And before last orders Lesley, who is also Welsh Minister for Communities and Tackling Poverty, toasted the hostelry as “another great innovative idea from Pendine Park.”

Landlady of the Hillbury Arms is Pendine Park enrichment co-ordinator Olivia Thomas, who said it’s all about stimulating recollections of happy family occasions in the neighbourhood pub for residents.

She added: “We’ve tried to arrange everything so it looks like a good old-fashioned local from the times that lots of residents will recognise and fondly recall.

“We’ve gone to quite a bit of trouble to make it as authentic as possible, with a backdrop which looks like a traditional oak panelled pub wall covered in posters advertising the famous beers and spirits of the 1950s.

“At the bar we serve a full range of drinks, both alcoholic and otherwise, such as wine, beer and lager and also orange juice and lemonade.

“We can even make cocktails and mocktails which contain no alcohol. One of the most popular with residents is mango fizz, which we mix in a silver shaker using ginger ale, mint and cranberry juice. We can then add any kind of spirit for those who want it.

“Possibly one of the best things about the Hillbury Arms is that the drinks are all free and the residents can order as little or as much as they like.”

Grin and tonic at pubOlivia Thomas, resident Miriam Hodson and Lesley Griffiths AM.

CARINGNEWS34

Tenant raises over £33,000 for several care charitiesBy Olivia Taylor

A 73-YEAR-OLD man from Livingston has gone the extra mile raising over £33,000 for charity with plans to continue fundraising for great causes.

Over the last three years John Thompson, a tenant at Bield’s Craigengar Park Retirement Housing Development, has taken part in a series of events including a 24-hour dart marathon, sponsored walks and football matches to help collect the grand sum of £33,500 for charities including Save The Children, Heart and Stroke Scotland, Prostate Cancer UK and Poppy Scotland.

Adding to his list of fundraising efforts, the retired sheriff officer recently completed a 15-mile walk in less than six hours to raise over £2,500, bringing his total up to this incredible amount.

John, who has lived at Craigengar Park for four years, said: “I am ecstatic that I have been able raise this amount of money for charities close to my heart.

“I have always enjoyed taking part in various charitable activities and have done so for a number of different organisations, including the Erskine Hospital, the Army and Air Force and The Royal British Legion.

“I love to help people, especially those in the local area, and so I am

always keen to raise funds for the likes of local schools because to me, education is important.”

“I can’t actually believe how much money I have managed to collect over the last three years and I am delighted it has benefitted a number of different causes.”

Although the grandfather-of-two has been an avid fundraiser his whole life, his focus intensified when his eldest grandson was born 15 weeks premature. From then he has been

actively raising money for children’s charities in addition to other causes.

However John has no plans to stop yet and is already organising his next charity venture, a 35-mile cycle from Glasgow to Livingston.

John is also heavily involved in arranging social events and activities at Craigengar Park and recently he organised two Christmas nights for tenants, one to Saltire for a Christmas meal out and another to see the pantomime Aladdin.

Fundraiser John Thompson presents cheques to Dedridge Primary School, Braid House, Cederbank School, Eliburn Adult Training Centre and Beatlie School.

BRITISH pie week 2016 was celebrated in style at Wellfield care home Earsdon Grange.

The home hosted their ‘Big Pie Tasting Party’ which featured a coffee morning and pie cook off competition, with staff bringing along a home-baked pie for residents and their families to judge.

Residents, staff and guests at Earsdon Grange, which provides residential care for the elderly and those living with dementia, tucked into the Pie’d and Tested recipes before scoring the pies out of 10 based on presentation and taste.

The winners of the sweet and savoury category were Jeff Douglas, who is in charge of maintenance at the home, with his corned beef, potato and onion pie, and care assistant Jackie Moor, who made a delicious apple pie.

Both took home a bottle of wine for their tasty winning efforts.

Nicola Bell, manager at Earsdon Grange, said: “We place a lot of importance on providing our residents with the food they love.

“Many grew up enjoying home-cooked pie dishes so we thought that it would be a great way to celebrate British pie week by trying a selection of traditional and newer recipes.”

Residents say bon a’pie’tite for Pie Week

35

Care provider tastes success with prestigious top ratingCZAJKA Care Group has achieved the prestigious five-star Food Hygiene Rating Scheme Certificate across all five of its nursing and care homes and its members’ club, and is now planning to recruit two new chefs to continue building on its high standards.

The Saltaire based company owns and operates Fairmount Nursing Home, Brookfield Care Home and Staveley Birk Leas Nursing Home, which are all in Nab Wood near Shipley, as well as Currergate Nursing Home in Steeton and Beanlands Nursing Home in Cross Hills.

The company also runs The Clubhouse at Fairmount Park, which is a members only club with a restaurant and bar offering a wide range of leisure facilities.

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is a rigorous inspection that rates all businesses and organisations that produce or sell food, to determine how seriously they take food hygiene. At the end of the inspection, businesses are given one of the six ratings ranging from zero to five.

Czajka Care Group’s managing

director Konrad Czajka, said: “Our catering services are something that we continually invest heavily in, because mealtimes are such an important experience and they are a time of the day that the majority of our residents look forward to – both for the food and the social aspect of eating with friends.

“We pride ourselves on giving residents the opportunity to order anything they like to eat. If we have the produce in stock, we’ll prepare it straightaway or otherwise they can request meals in advance for the following day.

“To have our efforts recognised with top marks for hygiene across

all six of our kitchens is a huge success and we’re delighted that our outstanding food standards have been recognised in this way.

“We’re now planning to build on this further by expanding our catering team with two new full-time chefs that can work across all our sites.”

Gerard Raedcher, Czajka’s area catering supervisor, and his deputy catering supervisor Richard Walton.

36

LEADING equipment purchasers and specifiers from many of the UK’s leading care homes have confirmed their attendance at Commercial Kitchen 2016.

Taking place at the NEC Birmingham on June 7-8, it’s the UK’s first trade show dedicated to the running of effective, profitable kitchen operations across every sector, including the important care home sector.

The event will feature nearly 100 founding exhibitors showcasing the complete range of innovative equipment, devices and utensils required to run an efficient, sustainable commercial kitchen; including cooking equipment, refrigeration, storage, warewashing, fit out and design.

The show’s organiser Diversified Communications UK (behind the

award-winning lunch! and Casual Dining exhibitions), says it’s delighted with the industry-wide support Commercial Kitchen is receiving.

“It really is fantastic to see the way that everyone is responding to the launch,” said group event director Chris Brazier. “More operators and specialist catering operators, including care homes, across the UK are looking to invest in better kitchen facilities, which meet their specific needs and budgets.

“The kitchen is one of the most important and most expensive investments a care-home has to make, and Commercial Kitchen aims to be the most comprehensive trade show of its kind, in this country.”

For further information and to register for a free trade ticket, please visit www.commercialkitchenshow.co.uk quoting priority code CK63.

Equipment buyers gearing up for Commercial Kitchen 2016

Highlighting the importance of quality catering in care home management ...RESIDENTIAL and nursing care has changed dramatically over the last ten years and with people living for longer, the care environment has become notably more complex.

Many of the 487,000 beds available in Britain’s 18,000 care homes are now allocated to the provision of specialist dementia services to an ageing population – and the resident care home population is also gradually ageing; in 2011, people aged 85 and over represented 59 per cent of the older care home population, compared to 57 per cent in 2001.

Improvements in population health have led to the increase of the disability-free life expectancy; however, the increasing age of the population means that in the future, more people will require some form of care during their lives.

The care required could also become more intensive, since those aged 85 or over are more vulnerable to conditions requiring high levels of support and the care home population of those aged 85 or over continues to increase, despite the numbers of those aged 65+ in care homes remaining stable.

So, how do care homes ensure they continue to meet the needs of this changing population, not only among the clinical and nursing teams, but particularly where meals are concerned? With the elderly generally having a reduced appetite, how can catering teams address the ongoing struggle to tempt some of those least interested in, but most in need of a good diet?

With care service best-practice centred on individuals who are placed at the heart of all arrangements, with full choice and control about how they choose to eat, sleep, socialise, medicate and relax, what comes out of the kitchen can have a marked effect on both

residents and carers. We know the kitchen is at the heart of many a happy home and the same can hold true for those being professionally cared for, yet, as anyone trying to please their nearest and dearest with home cooked food three times a day knows, it’s not always plain sailing.

Anne Kasey, registered manager at the Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, a maritime charity caring for former seafarers based in Surrey, said: “Caring is a skilled profession and a difficult job and complementing a sector full of excellent nurses and care coordinators are the catering teams. It’s their job to ensure that a healthy diet is on offer as the foundation to maintaining optimum health for an individual.

“It’s a constant challenge and one aspect of our approach that offers the most reward in terms of satisfaction is involving our residents and tenants at every step of the way.

“We have to place individual

choice, dignity and a person-centred approach at the top of the agenda and keep people informed.

“So we ask the residents about their favourite dishes or those particular meals they really remember enjoying and we have hands-on tasting days as we develop each seasonal menu.

“By really listening to what flavours, cooking methods and styles of food are preferred, we make sure we stay relevant to those who matter most.”

One of the ways which Royal Alfred has approached good nutrition is by providing flexibility to meal times. Initially operating around a core of set hours, the team established that some residents fare much better with meals they’re able to eat in their own time and thus, residents are able to request that they have their meals alter then that advertised.

Jennifer O’Neil, The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society’s catering manager, said: “It’s been eye-

opening how well this approach has worked and our decision to provide flexibility with meal times has improved eating habits for some of our residents.

“We know some people really struggle if their medication changes or if they are facing a specific health issue and their appetite is affected, so we ensure we offer additional support and choice at those times.”

Jennifer also emphasised the importance of mealtimes as an opportunity for residents to interact with one another.

She added: “A shared love of food provides a great opportunity to socialise and relax and spending time with friends while eating stimulates the senses and enhances well-being.

“We have found that enjoying the environment is equally as important to residents’ well-being as getting nourishment from fresh food, so we ensure we make it as pleasant as possible.

“Light and bright dining rooms help the residents to see what they’re eating and often results in less food being left.

“The arrangement of tables is also important so people can choose a more private or group spot depending on how they feel.”

With old age bringing a natural decline in the senses including taste and smell, it’s no secret that many residents develop a very sweet tooth and need stronger, more robust flavours to their food

The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society serves around 70,000 meals in a year and the balance of meeting the welfare needs of an individual whilst providing individuals with ample choice and autonomy with a genuine right to choose remains the challenge.

1 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_373040.pdf

Belvedere House, Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society’s home in Banstead, Surrey.

CELEBRITY chef Jo Wheatley visited Admiral Court in Essex to bake with the residents and share culinary advice with the care team.

The British Bake Off star, best known for winning the hit BBC show in 2011, visited residents at Hallmark Care Homes’ specialist dementia and nursing facility after the home won the Gingerbread Challenge organised by Unilever Food Solutions earlier this year.

As part of the prize, Jo spent the day decorating cupcakes with residents

and gave a live demo with a Royal birthday theme, marking the launch of Unilever’s novelty 90th birthday cake challenge.

Sarah Savidge, lifestyles leader, added: “We thoroughly enjoyed the activities taking place at the home and it was so nice to see everyone smiling and laughing together over tea and cakes. New friendships and relationships have been made and the residents and our catering team have come away feeling inspired and excited to bake.”

Celebrity chef visits homeJo Wheatley with Sarah Savidge and residents at Admiral Court.

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In the wake of this year’s Allergy Awareness Week (April 25 to May 1), Lee Sheppard, director of public policy and external affairs at apetito, explores the unique challenges care homes face in catering to residents with allergies and food intolerances …

Are you allergen aware?THERE can be no doubt that food allergies (where the body’s immune system reacts to certain foods) and intolerances (where the immune system isn’t involved in a food reaction) are on the rise.

At least 13 per cent of the UK population has a food allergy or intolerance1 and, according to Allergy UK, the number of allergy sufferers in the country increases by five per cent each year2.

Together with the fact that awareness of food allergies and intolerances is steadily increasing, it can only be expected that care homes will have to cater to more and more residents with food allergies in years to come.

For allergy sufferers at greatest risk, even the tiniest trace of a food allergen can trigger severe symptoms and, in some cases, cause fatal or near fatal reactions.

What can further complicate matters is that sufferers usually have a combination of more than one allergy (research from Wiltshire Farm Foods indicates that people living with food allergies tend to be allergic to between two to three separate allergens.

Confirming residents’ food allergies will naturally form part of an initial nutritional assessment when a resident is admitted to a care home, but once you have established which foods they must avoid, how can you

make sure the food they are served is genuinely free from those allergens? This can prove quite a challenge for a typical care home kitchen. In fact, according to a recent study, more than half of UK care homes find laws on allergens in food challenging to implement3.

Avoiding cross-contaminationThe EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation identifies 14 food allergens. Care homes are required to warn residents if any dish on their menu contains one or more of the major food allergens covered by the legislation: gluten, milk, egg, fish, nuts, peanuts, celery, molluscs, crustaceans, lupin, sulphites, sesame, soya and mustard.

It’s also absolutely vital that no cross-contamination occurs during the preparation of food. For example, it is imperative that gluten-free bread is not put into the same toaster as other kinds of bread and that butter from a separate container is used with a clean knife to ensure no crumbs from regular bread are transferred.

Choosing ingredientsAs a visit to most supermarkets will confirm, there are a range of free-from products and ingredients available, marketed to those who experience a common food allergy or intolerance. However, many of these

are free from only one allergen, or contain unhealthy levels of fat, salt or sugar, making them unsuitable when preparing meals and snacks for residents who, for example, have diabetes or are required to follow a low sodium diet.

When preparing menus for residents with food allergies, it’s also important to bear in mind that they could potentially be lacking in the vitamins and minerals typically provided by the foods they are unable to eat, which will need to be accounted for through supplementation, fortified

options or other dietary sources. For instance, those following a gluten-free diet may not be consuming adequate levels of vitamins A and B, plus minerals like iron, magnesium, phosphorous and zinc.

One way to be assured that residents with allergies and food intolerances are served meals that are safe, while also being nutritionally balanced, is to work with a specialist food provider.

At apetito, we are launching a new Free From range for care home residents – a selection of delicious meals that are free from the following 12 allergens: gluten, milk, egg, fish, nuts, peanuts, celery, molluscs, crustaceans, lupin, sulphites and sesame and additionally they are made without onion, garlic, soya and mustard.

These meals have been prepared in strictly controlled conditions to ensure no cross-contamination has occurred and are based on recipes that have been carefully considered to ensure that allergen-free is not at the cost of taste or nutritional content.

For advice on catering to residents with food allergies or, to book a FREE tasting session with the apetito Care Homes team, call 0800 542 2631 or visit www.apetito.co.uk/care-homes1. Mintel, 20132. www.allergyuk.org/allergy-statistics/allergy-statistics3. Acquire Services, July 2015

Lee Sheppard

Creed Foodservice hosts care and education showcase days

CREED Foodservice will host two customer events this year, both designed for chefs, catering managers and buyers in the education and care sectors.

The first event will be held at Hatherley Manor Hotel, Gloucester on May 26 between 10am and 4pm for customers served by the company’s Staverton depot. Customers served by Creed’s Ilkeston depot in the care and education sectors will also be catered for at an event which will take place in the East Midlands during the summer.

Creed suppliers will exhibit a range of solutions suitable for caterers in both school and care home settings. These will range from meal solutions including grab and go, products that help with portion control, new healthcare and school compliant products as well as a demonstration of Creed’s nutritional analysis software ‘Saffron’.

Creed’s in-house executive development chef Rob Owen will also be showcasing recipe ideas developed in the company’s own kitchens and detailed in the new product guide for delegates to taste.

Enquiries: Register now by emailing marketing@creedfoodservice.co.uk or call

01452 858183. View the Creed Foodservice website at: www.creedfoodservice.co.uk/

The Digital Oven Thermometer is no lightweight

THE new Digital Oven Thermometer has been designed to do one thing really well!

Simply set your target temperature with the ‘Up’ or ‘Down’ buttons, insert the probe into your food, and the DOT beeps (70 dB) when the food gets to the required temperature. It’s as easy as that.

Press any button and the beeping stops but the display still flashes until your temperature drops below the required set temperature.

The moulded-in, splash-proof seals and commercial grade plastic body will survive even in the busiest of kitchens. Each unit includes a tilt-out stand for counter use and a strong magnet for attaching to metal surfaces.

The DOT is supplied with a food penetration probe. A range of alternative temperature probes are also available as optional extras. The DOT is competitively priced at £24 exclusive of VAT and carriage from Electronic Temperature Instruments Ltd – www.etiltd.comEnquiries: For further information call 01903

202151 or email sales@etiltd.com

MAGGI® launches Gluten Free Vegetarian GravyJason Rodriques, MAGGI® Savoury Food Category and commercial manager at NESTLÉ PROFESSIONAL®, looks at the latest trends in the stocks and sauces market

“There can be no doubt that behind every good meal is a good gravy or sauce. And with 15 per cent of British households – or 3.8 million consumers – now avoiding gluten and wheat, demand for a good sauce

that is also gluten free, has never been stronger. With this in mind, care home caterers are increasingly turning to ingredients that are suitable for all residents, without compromising on taste, texture and flavour.

“This is where the new Gluten Free Vegetarian Gravy from MAGGI® comes in. Thick and tasty, the gravy offers the same delicious, deep roasted flavour consumers have

come to expect from the original MAGGI® gravy. In addition, it is 100 per cent vegetarian and goes that bit further, offering care home caterers an even higher yield. We also know care home caterers are very busy, with the added pressure to provide healthy meals that cater to special dietary needs. It’s very quick and easy to prepare, being ready in just two minutes – all chefs need to do is add hot water and simmer.”

CARINGNEWS40

Nationwide study consults specialist dementia centreBy Dominic Musgrave

FIVE residents and their families from specialist dementia care centre, Clifden House in Sussex, have been chosen to take part in a nationwide research study on the future of dementia care in England.

The collaboration follows a meeting between the dementia care centre and the government-led study group earlier this year.

MODEM (modelling outcome and cost impacts of interventions for dementia) will look at ways in which society can provide high quality support and treatment for people with dementia in an affordable way.

Delia Spindlow, whose husband Derek is a resident at Clifden House, said: “We have chosen to be involved with this study because we feel it’s important to help further research into dementia and the effect it has on everyone involved, and to try and make things better in the future for dementia sufferers and their carers.”

Dementia sufferers and their relatives, friends or carers are visited twice a year by MODEM researchers and asked a series of questions to chart their lives over a whole year.

They ask both groups questions about their lives, needs and care, including what services they are using and what support they provide.

Nial Joyce, who runs Clifden House, a specialist dementia care centre in

Seaford, East Sussex, added: “We’re all living longer, but hopefully we can live longer in a healthier and more financially sustainable way. We need to be smart and find ways to deal with the disease, and this is what MODEM and everyone involved in the study is hoping to achieve.”

The research is led by the London School of Economics and Political Science, which analyses the data and calculates cost forecasts, in partnership with the Universities of Newcastle, Southampton and Sussex and the International Longevity Centre UK.

The project was initially launched in 2014 following a Dementia Summit held in London by the G8 countries. Preliminary results from the study are expected to be released in late 2017.

A resident and carer at Clifden House Dementia Care Centre in Seaford.

NIGHTINGALE Hammerson hosted a new theatrical installation, designed especially for those living with dementia, at Nightingale House during a four-day residency.

Spare Tyre, one of the country’s leading national participatory arts charities, brought The Garden to Nightingale House. The Garden places emphasis on non-verbal communication and sensory engagement to awaken the imagination of people with dementia.

Sound, touch, taste and smell are all key components of Spare Tyre’s responsive approach, interacting with participants in the moment rather than drawing on memory or reminiscence. This form of creative stimulation can not only alleviate the stresses and frustrations of living

with dementia but has also been found to encourage verbal and non-verbal expression, which can increase important social and cognitive interaction amongst dementia sufferers.

During the residency Spare Tyre’s artistic director Arti Prashar, also delivered training to staff at Nightingale House, focusing on developing non-verbal communication skills.

Jacqui Beyer, activity team leader at Nightingale House, said: “Most residents responded instinctively to the non-verbal format of the experience and there was much joy and laughter.

“Our staff also responded very positively to the sessions and the training.”

Performer Fauve Bickerstaffe with Nightingale House resident Violet Sulkin. Picture credit: Patrick Baldwin

Home hosts ‘The Garden’

Abbeycrest care home in Sonning Common has been described by South Oxfordshire environmental health officer Christian Moore as ‘one of the best homes I have ever visited’. The comment came after the home, which is part of the Caring Homes Group, received an unannounced inspection. Abbeycrest was awarded a Food Standards Agency Five Star hygiene rating on the spot for the fourth consecutive year. Marilyn Kimayong, home manager at Abbeycrest said: “The health of our residents is always our primary concern and it’s fantastic to receive the five-star rating. We are delighted to have our exemplary food hygiene levels recognised once again and receive such excellent feedback from the inspector. His report says that he witnessed very high standards during his visit and that our head chef was very knowledgeable.”Abbeycrest chef Stephan Yone Shin is pictured with manager Marilyn Kimayong.

THE Care Home Open Day, which takes place on June 17, has partnered with Growing Support, an award winning social enterprise tackling loneliness, social isolation and inactivity.

To launch its involvement in the event, Growing Support is running a Gardening Challenge competition, with the aim of creating lively hubs of community activity in thousands of care home gardens across the UK and residents can scoop great prizes by getting their green fingers working.

The suggested theme for this year’s Care Home Open Day is “Celebration” and care homes can decide what it is they would like to celebrate! In line with this theme, care homes will be able to enter the Gardening Challenge competition under one of four categories: “Celebrating Community”, “Celebrating Age”, “Celebrating Success” and “Celebrating the Queen’s Birthday”.

Victoria Hill, director of Growing Support, said: “It is well known that spending time outdoors, being active and connecting with nature is good for us.

“Residents don’t need to be an expert or have a big garden to enjoy the benefits of gardening. Simple activities such as growing herbs on a sunny windowsill or sweet peas for the patio can help relieve stress and depression and develop a sense of achievement.”

“We hope that the Growing Support Gardening Challenge will encourage more care home residents than ever before to get out and get gardening and we are delighted to be linking up with care homes taking part in Care Home Open Day 2016.”

Prizes include plants, tools and services worth more than £100. Entrants are asked to submit a short description and photo of how residents have been active out in the garden by June 24.

Challenge launched as part of Open Day

THE owners of Hollybank Care Home in Flintshire, North Wales have toasted a landmark anniversary.

Jacqui and Brian Jones toasted their 20th anniversary of ownership of award winning Hollybank Care Home with a party for residents.

Their 20 years of hard work, success and innovation has paid off as the company has gone from strength

to strength, and now also operates a domiciliary care agency offering homecare across the Deeside area.

Jacqui said: “While we are very proud of what Brian and I have achieved over the past 20 years, we are most grateful to our entire team for their hard work, loyalty and commitment which has enabled us to deliver such high standards.”

Residents and staff join owners Jacqui and Brian Jones to celebrate Hollybank’s 20th anniversary.

Hollybank toasts its 20th anniversary

41CARINGNEWS

Group’s charity totaliser tops £32,000RESIDENTS and staff at a family owned care home provider have raised £32,000 for good causes in the past year.

The amount means Colten Care has benefited charities and voluntary community groups by more than £140,000 in the past six years.

Each of the operator’s 19 homes in Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire is encouraged to nominate a main charity to help every year, leaving scope for other organisations to be supported too.

Activities organisers, social carers and other team members then enable residents to contribute directly in meaningful ways such as making arts and crafts to sell at fundraising fetes and suggesting ideas for sponsored events such as walks and quizzes.

Canford Chase in Poole, Dorset, reported the highest total of all the homes, raising £3,800 for charities including the Youth Cancer Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Avon Reach in Mudeford, Dorset, was second highest with £3,350. Funds there went to help the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, the RNLI and others.

Across all 19 homes, Colten Care doubled its specific fundraising for Children in Need, raising around £3,900.

Activities manager Karen Burdon said: “The chance to help people less fortunate than you is something our residents and team members are only too happy to grasp. It’s another way we can support the communities

we serve locally and the big nation-al charities that also do great work locally.”

Among other Colten Care homes in 2015:

Castle View in Dorchester raised £2,700 for the Weldmar Hospice Care Trust, Dementia Awareness Week, Race for Life, Macmillan Cancer Support and the Children’s South West Hospice.

Newstone House in Sturminster Newton raised £2,370 for CLIC Sargent and the North Dorset Women’s Refuge.

Fernhill in Longham, Dorset, raised £2,365 for charities including Children in Need, Autism Awareness, Memory Walk and Race for Life.

Braemar Lodge in Salisbury raised nearly £1,912 for Age UK, Children in Need, British Legion Poppy Appeal, Macmillan Cancer Support and Red Nose Day.

Belmore Lodge in Lymington, Hampshire, raised £1,600 for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, Dementia Drop-in Centre, MacMillan Cancer Support, Children In Need, Royal British

Legion Poppy Appeal and the RSPCA. Amberwood House in Ferndown,

Dorset, raised £1,800 for the John Thornton Young Achievers Foundation, Comic Relief, Macmillan Cancer Support and Children in Need.

Avon Cliff in Bournemouth raised £1,428 for the Royal British Legion, Comic Relief, MacMillan Cancer Support and Children in Need.

Linden House in Lymington raised £1,200 for the Alzheimer’s Society, Red Nose Day, Macmillan Cancer Support and Children in Need.

Staff and residents at Colten Care’s Belmore Lodge home in Lymington raised money for charities including Children in Need and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance. On one fundraising trip, staff wore bras on top of their other clothes to highlight the air ambulance’s textile recycling campaign Bag a Bra. Under the initiative, donated bras, shoes and other textiles are recycled and resold in West Africa, creating a further source of income for the air ambulance service here.

Concern over gap’s effect on medicine management NEARLY half of Brits (46 per cent)are concerned the funding gap for UK care homes will result in a poorer quality of medicine management, according to a recent report.

A quarter of the respondents who have an elderly relative in a care home also worry about them being given the wrong medicine (26 per cent) and how this could impact on their health, while 36 per cent cited accurate medicine management as a priority when choosing a care home for the first time.

Well Careplus, which manages medication in more than 500 care homes across the UK, asked 2,000 adults about the concerns they have for their elderly relatives, as it launched medicine management sys-tem – the Well Pad.

Shiraz Khan, head of Careplus cus-tomer experience for Well, said: “With effective medicine management being at the core of the Well Careplus service, the results of this research exemplifies the need for innovation in the field.

“One respondent in particular said their relative had been given the wrong medication, which caused an allergic reaction – something which simply shouldn’t happen in UK care homes.

“We use the Well Pad as part of the Well Careplus service, which ensures common mistakes – such as giving medicine to the wrong resident or giving medicine too soon – are eradi-

cated, thanks to its unique barcode technology and a photograph of the patient being saved on the system.”

The report follows an evaluation of the Well Pad’s technology by the School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University, which found 21 out of 23 types of errors, relating to medicine management, could be avoided with the use of the Well Pad.

The technology was found to reduce: overstocking of medicines by 22 per cent, returned medicine wastage by 55 per cent, missing medi-cation administration entries on the residents’ records by 80 per cent and over 92 per cent of participating care homes said they would not wish to return to paper based systems.

Shiraz Khan

43CARINGNEWS

Armstrong equips laundry in Leeds homeADEL Beck Children’s Home is a secure children’s home in Leeds for 24 young people aged 10 to 17.

It was designed by Keppie Design and built by BAM Construction adjacent to the site of an old, outdated home which was no longer fit for purpose.

The laundry was equipped by Armstrong Commercial Laundry Systems. The home opened in January 2015 and is now fully occupied by young people, many of whom will have very complex problems and require a lot of support to turn their lives around. The residents generally stay for between two months and two years.

The laundry is equipped with an 8kg and an 11kg Amazon high spin washers, and a Huebsch Twinstar stacked dryer providing two x 14kg drying capacity. The laundry is in operation full time from Monday to Saturday and handles all the laundry from the home including bedding, kitchen items and young peoples’ personal clothing.

Enquiries: Telephone 01635 26341 or visit www.armstronglaundry.com

Randolph Hill Nursing Homes Group Limited has raised £6,577 in donations for the charity Alzheimer Scotland following a series of fund-raising activities. The company, which owns and operates six nursing homes across central and east Scotland, raised £5,897 at its 30th anniversary ball, staged in Edinburgh near the end of last year alone, generating an additional £180 through its Just Giving page and another £500 from a one-off donation. The company’s managing director, Peter McCormick, said: “As a company which provides nursing and care facilities we know first-hand about the important support work delivered by Alzheimer Scotland and we are therefore delighted to play a part in helping their fund-raising efforts.”Randolph Hill’s Peter McCormick, Ingrid Neville and Carol Campbell are pictured presenting Abby Parkhouse from Alzheimer Scotland with a cheque for £5,897 from its 30th anniversary ball.

Travelling time and minimum wageBy Ben Stepney

IT was recently reported that MiHomecare, a care agency with more than 30 branches across the country, settled an employment tribunal claim for a failure to pay the minimum wage to a former homecare worker, Caroline Barlow. MiHomecare reportedly agreed to pay £1,250 in an out of court settlement.

This should lead all homecare pro-viders to review their pay to ensure they are minimum wage compliant, which can mean more than just pay-ing a basic hourly rate of at least £7.20 (for workers aged 25 or over) or £6.70 (21 to 24 year olds).

The claimMs Barlow was employed to look after elderly, sick or disabled people in their homes and attended an average of eight daily appointments. Although her hourly rate was £7.68, well above the minimum wage, she was only paid for the time that she spent giving care at the service user’s home and not for the time spent travelling between appointments. She claimed travelling time should count as working time and that her employer’s failure to count this time as working time meant she had been paid less than the minimum wage.

Group action?It has been reported that MiHomecare could be facing a bill for hundreds of thousands of pounds for

non payment of the minimum wage under a threatened group action law-suit by other homecare workers who were underpaid in a similar way to Ms Barlow.

For other homecare providers, this case draws attention to the issue of underpaid employees in the care sector and could lead to other home-care workers to consider whether they have been underpaid and to seek advice about whether they have grounds for a claim.

What does the law say?The Minimum Wage Regulations state that time when a worker is trav-elling for the purposes of carrying out assignments to be carried out at different places, between which the worker is obliged to travel, count as working time. This appears to be dir-ectly applicable to homecare workers, like Ms Barlow, who are travelling between different appointments throughout the day.

RisksThe risks for homecare providers not paying their staff for travelling time between appointments include:

Potential legal claims by workers that they have been underpaid. If the workers bring a claim in a county court they can claim for arrears going back six years.

HMRC can investigate whether the minimum wage is being paid and take enforcement action. They can order the employer to make up the

underpayment at the current rate of the minimum wage and can impose a fine of up to 200 per cent of the total underpayment (capped at £20,000 per underpaid worker).

Providers who cannot demonstrate to their local authority that they are paying for travelling time may find that they are not able to win

local authority contracts, following guidance to the Care Act 2014 which obliges local authorities to assure themselves that service providers are paying appropriate remuneration for travelling time.

What can homecare providers do?Employers who may be at risk of claims should consider altering pay rates now to make sure that they are minimum wage compliant going forwards. This may boost workforce morale, but does not extinguish the risk of litigation concerning histor-ical underpayments and the change to pay may highlight the historical underpayment.

Another option would be to pay up now in respect of any underpayments over the previous six years. This would be costly but removes the risk of future litigation and may boost the morale of the workforce.

A third option could be to do noth-ing, but this does not seem to be attractive. Even if you assess that your workers are unlikely to bring claims, there is still the risk of an investigation by HMRC who, as well as the remedies and penalties men-tioned above, could carry out a crim-inal investigation as to whether there has been a refusal or wilful neglect to pay the minimum wage, for which companies and directors can be liable to conviction and a fine.

Ben Stepney is an Associate Solicitor in the employment team at Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP.

Ben Stepney

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Village pilots hospice schemeBy Dominic Musgrave

BELONG Atherton has partnered with Wigan and Leigh Hospice to launch the Hospice in Your Care Home scheme in a bid to enhance the quality of palliative and end-of-life care available to village residents.

The scheme, currently being piloted over two years in eight care facilities across the North West region, has been designed to prevent individuals from being unnecessarily admitted to hospital in their last few weeks and days of life.

Tracy Paine, operations director at Belong, said: “Without the correct training, some of our staff lack the confidence and experience to support residents and their families at the end of life which, unfortunately, can result in some individuals being admitted to hospital.

“Our aim at Belong is to provide a ‘home for life’, and we know that, when provided with skilled and compassionate care, most individuals prefer to pass away in the comfort of their home with their families. We look forward to seeing our customers and staff benefit from the lessons the scheme can teach us.”

Supported by a team of qualified nurses and healthcare assistants, staff will take part in training sessions and clinical skills workshops to enhance the end-of-life experience for residents and their families, offering more comfort and support for the individual and improved bereavement support for relatives.

If successful, it is hoped that the scheme will be rolled out to all care facilities in the region, and findings will be presented

nationally to help to improve the model of palliative and end-of-life care in the UK.

Nicola Johnstone, lead nurse at Belong Atherton, added: “Running the Hospice in your Care Home scheme at Belong Atherton has helped us to identify areas of end-of-life care that we can improve on.

“We aim to provide comfort and support to our customers at every stage of their journey with us, including at the end of life, so we are delighted to receive professional guidance and support from the team at Wigan and Leigh Hospice to help us to achieve this.”

Belong Atherton’s lead nurse Nicola Johnstone, CEO Doctor Alan Baron, Wigan and Leigh Hospice manager Debbie Dempsey and Belong Atherton support manager Claire Bibby.

A NORTH East care company honoured its staff in a special awards evening.

300 staff from Helen McArdle Care joined together to see who had been successful in securing an award for their work within the company.

The award categories at the ‘Helen McArdle Care Recognition Awards’ covered care, catering, housekeeping, nursing, activities and management, with the top award being ‘Care Home of the Year 2016’, which was won by Foxton Court in Morpeth.

Helen McArdle CBE, chairman and founder,said: “The Helen McArdle Care Recognition Awards are very important to me as it is my way of saying a big thank you to all of our staff; if it wasn’t without their hard work, care and dedication, the business wouldn’t be what it is today.

“This year we received a record number of nominations from residents, relatives and professionals and I am so proud of each and every member of staff that makes a difference to our residents’ lives.”

Care provider celebrates its staffStaff from Foxton Court celebrate their award win with presenter Steve Walls.

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New Banbury care home back on trackBy Dominic Musgrave

WORK has restarted on building a new care home in Banbury after a delay caused by the original construction company that was responsible for building the home going into administration last summer.

Care UK, which will own and operate the new facility, has appointed specialist developer Castleoak as the new construction company. The home is expected to be ready to accept its first residents in the summer of next year.

The new care home will offer nursing and specialist dementia care for up to 73 residents over three storeys.

It will feature a coffee shop in the reception area for residents and their visitors to enjoy, as well as a beauty salon, cinema and landscaped gardens.

All bedrooms will be en-suite and grouped around shared lounges and dining rooms to create a homely feel.

Over the past few weeks the new builders have started to take down part of the structure put up by the first contractor.

Once this is complete, they will start to build the new home from scratch to the specifications set out in the original planning documents.

Gary Renton, construction project manager for Care UK, said: “Losing our builders last summer was a real blow and it’s been very frustrating having to wait for that process to resolve itself before we could re-start work.

“However, we’re back on site and, fingers crossed, good weather will allow the home to be built in just over 12 months.”

Care UK and Castleoak are keen to make sur they are good neighbours and have registered the Banbury

site with UK-wide Considerate Constructors Scheme.

This means it will be regularly inspected by an experienced, independent industry professional to assess consideration towards areas including the local community,

environment and workforce.Once complete, the new home

will create around 100 new jobs for carers, nurses, caterers and housekeepers.

Recruitment for these will start early in 2017.

An artist’s impression of the new Care UK facility in Banbury.

Staff step up to director level Time to give your home a Spring clean

Builder celebrates 30-year anniversary

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SHAW Healthcare has made two key promotions at its Cardiff headquarters, strengthening its management team with the appointment of new directors.

Property services manager Tony Lane has been promoted to director of property management and will oversee the estates management for Shaw’s 80 sites across the UK, while building surveyor Geraint Evans has been made director of property development, taking on responsibility for landlord functions and new business leads.

Tony joined Shaw Healthcare, or Shaw Homes Housing Association as it was then, straight from university in 1995 as a maintenance officer.

His career progressed to property services manager after five years

where he became more involved in managing the organisation’s rapidly expanding portfolio of care homes.

Geraint began his career working in the utilities industry as a design draftsman and later as topographical surveyor. He joined Shaw in 2007 as a building surveyor.

Jeremy Nixey, chief executive, said: “Both Geraint and Tony’s promotions are well-earned. They provide us with expert advice and play a crucial role in the effective management of our extensive property portfolio.

“Their enthusiasm for their respective roles will be important as Shaw Healthcare continues to grow, while still providing quality care services across our diverse portfolio to thousands of people across the UK.”

Staff step up to director levelTony Lane and Geraint Evans.

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By Andrew Long

THE weather is teasing us but we’re well and truly ready for spring.

Most of us will partake in the annual Bank Holiday’s sprucing up our surroundings, while B&Q brace themselves for the deluge of newly-enthused DIY-ers. With the impending good weather, you may be looking at your care home interiors and considering what needs refreshing for the year ahead.

Here are a few hints. These are all important elements of design LNT Care Developments incorporates into our new build homes.

Aesthetics are important – this is your resident’s home and you want them to be proud of it – but a properly furnished and equipped home will add to the comfort and amenity of those living in it.

First of all, take a look at your furniture – is it dementia friendly? By this we mean, does the colour choice, material and design assist residents to continue to enjoy quality of life and retain as much independence as possible within the care home setting.

The main principle that should drive furniture colour choice is the light reflective value. Achieving at least a 30 per cent distinction between floor and seat colours will enable those with impaired sight to more clearly distinguish what they are going to sit upon and help them judge the distance and depth.

In regards to chair coverings, LNT has recently moved toward using vinyl inner-linings and fabric-outer.

For many, vinyl conjures up images of institutional settings but with the modern fabrics available, not only does it provide a more durable solution, it looks and feels more comfortable and luxurious. It is far more practical for those living in the home and provides dignity through improved cleanliness and longer-lasting condition of chairs. Also, choosing furnishings with lots of different textures will stimulate a tactile approach for those who like to rub their hands for reassurance and relaxation.

If you’re up for a spot of DIY, you might want to consider your décor choices. To make your home

dementia-friendly, you should choose wall and floor coverings which do not have any 3D or visual disturbance. Pattern can confuse the eyes and be aggravating to the brain.

At LNT, we pick out the handrail in a contrast colour to the wall and swap these over on the opposite wall so the look is aesthetically appealing, whilst

beneficial to residents on a practical level.

You can even use the colour choice throughout your home to denote the purpose of a room – for example, choose a calmer colour in quiet areas to promote relaxation and rest.

LNT customarily use four different colour schemes for bedrooms which we juxtapose to aid resident orientation. No two rooms of the same colour scheme are next to each other so residents immediately know when they are not in their room.

Like any good spring clean, you’ll want to consider those finishing touches. At LNT, local history and images are chosen for wall pictures throughout the home to stimulate memory and reminiscence. Dining areas will typically have classic images of food and beverages with a choice of red and orange colours to stimulate appetite.

These are easy items to acquire and you’ll quickly see the subtle ways in which they enhance our residents’ lives.

Andrew Long is development director at LNT.

Andrew Long

Time to give your home a spring clean

DC CARE was again in attendance at the Pinders Healthcare Design Awards as a major sponsor for the fifth year running.

Northern and southern region directors Alison Taylor and Andy Sandel were present at the Lancaster Hotel in London for the annual awards luncheon.

Entertainment was provided by magician Jamie Raven and ventriloquist Steve Hewlett, accompanying Arthur Lager who presented each award.

Alison Taylor presented the Best New Care Home – Elderly Award to Dukeminster Court in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, which was selected from a competitive shortlist of

finalists. Following the presentation of

the award to Quantum Care, the proprietors of Dukeminster Court, Alison said: ”The quality of all finalists demonstrated just how much attention goes into the provision of care, raising the bar in standards each year. Congratulations to all at Dukeminster Court and at Quantum Care.”

Summarising the day’s events, Andy added: “Every year the Pinders Healthcare Design Awards celebrates innovation in the design of healthcare facilities, something to be encouraged and commended. We would like to congratulate all the award winners and finalists.”

Representatives from DC Care with staff from Dukeminster Court in Dunstable.

DC Care presents Best New Care Home Award

New entrant completes on homeKEELE House in Ramsgate, a well-established care home registered for 31 residents, has been purchased by our clients Mr and Mrs Toot.

Although this is their first care home purchase, they have first-hand experience working within the sector and have family also involved in the industry.

They identified Keele House as a perfect first purchase. It has very high standards of accommodation and an excellent reputation in the area.

Mr Toots said: “After playing with

the idea of gaining some exposure to the ever-growing care market I decided to enter with the purchase of a residential care home.

“I am keen to make the business a success and improve the facilities offered to all residents tailored to suit their needs, we provide a safe open environment for all staff members and pride ourselves on our principles which is an open door policy. We are an interdependent team and there are no individual efforts.”

New care planning software to revolutionise home careUNRELIABLE, inefficient paper-based records and human error in care planning will soon be a thing of the past, thanks to a brand new tablet-based care planning software product named Zuri®.

Care Software Solutions Ltd, a start-up company specialising in personal care planning software for nursing and domiciliary care agencies, has launched a new tablet-based home care management system which brings the management, communication and record keeping systems that are currently in place across home care into the digital age using the latest innovative technology.

Zuri® is a sleek, user-friendly

platform which allows carers to log in with a unique password, access live client information, assessments and care plans, and update communications or alerts in realtime, allowing care managers to action interventions immediately and manage changing care requirements far more efficiently.

Zuri® was showcased for the first time at the Care and Dementia Exhibition in Birmingham late last year, gaining interest and support from care providers due to its clear and responsive user interface, secure encryption of client and organisation data, cutting-edge live assessment and reporting capabilities, and its patient-centric focus.

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Builder celebrates 30-year anniversaryPROPERTY development company Wynbrook started life as a residential builder back in 1986, expanded into the booming apartment sector in the 1990’s and has now developed its niche building care homes.

The firm is run by brothers Mike and Steve Day and recently became a third generation business when Mike’s son Edward and Steve’s son Ryan came on board. They work as a contracts surveyor and site manager respectively.

Wynbrook’s willingness to adapt to changes in the market has enabled it to go from strength to strength over the years. To coincide with the 30th anniversary landmark the firm is hav-ing an overhaul, with a re-brand and new website to reflect the markets in which it now operates”.

Managing director Mike Day said: “It has taken a long time to build the company to the size and reputation we have both locally and regionally.

“Our previous names Wynbrook Homes and Wynbrook Design and Build created lots of confusion as Homes was supposed to represent our expertise in the residential market not the care home market, and design and build was supposed to represent that fact we can design and build, and our care home expertise had no identity at all.

“As you can see – very confusing.”

The new brand identity will see the company operate as three distinct divisions – Wynbrook Design and Build, Wynbrook Care Home Build and Wynbrook Homes. It’s a move the company believes will help them communicate better with each mar-ket sector and create a better under-standing of its expertise.

Wynbrook has a full order book for the next two years, which should mean it will break through the £10million barrier in 2016 – a £2.5mil-lion increase on 2015.

In the last five years Wynbrook Care Home Build has built 12 new nursing homes in the East Midlands and are on site at another four at the moment.

Current projects include a 44-bed care home, in Wollaton, a 78-bed care home in Derby, an 88-bed care home in Melton Mowbray and a 66-bed care home in Worcester. It also has a planning application in place for a new 85-bed care home in Stamford with 21 assisted living apartments which will be determined this month.

Wynbrook attributes its achieve-ments to the good relationships it has built with clients and funders. The company currently employs 12 staff, works with around 50-60 contractors, and places a high importance on retaining talent and well-respected contractors.

Construction director Steve Day

added: “We have been very careful of who we work for and the kind of projects we take on. All of the care homes we have built have been indi-vidually designed and developed to the client’s specifications and requirements.”

The future trend within the indus-try is to build more ‘care complex-es’ as opposed to care homes and Wynbrook Care Home Build believes it is at the forefront of exploring those possibilities.

Mike added: “We are looking at schemes that are going to involve assisted living as well as care homes. With an ageing population, the demand for care will continually grow. The challenge will be to ensure that demand continues to be met a in a manner which suits the needs of those requiring care. This means maintaining build quality and design

standards as well as ensuring high class facilities and resident care are provided.

“We have already seen that assist-ed living complexes are growing in popularity. Each resident gets to remain living fairly independently, but without feeling isolated and alone.

“They can enjoy living in a com-munity that provides many home-from-home comforts and other leisure facilities such as cafes, bars, dining areas, self prep kitchens, laun-dry areas, cinemas and music rooms and yet care and support is close by if needed.

“We are excited about the projects we have in the pipeline which are all with existing clients. We are also looking at opportunities to develop sites ourselves in the nursing home sector.”

A Nottingham based care home builder is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Caring UK found out more.

Steve Day, construction director and Mike Day, managing director.

CARING PRODUCT NEWS52

THE Alzheimer’s Show is the UK’s only dedicated exhibition and conference offering support and information for families and healthcare professionals on all aspects of dementia care.

It is held in association with Alzheimer’s Society and is supported by Alzheimer’s Research UK and Dementia UK.

The two-day event at Olympia London features expert speakers, family carers, professionals and those living with dementia in a full conference programme across three theatres.

Topics covered in the main Alzheimer’s Matters Theatre include managing behaviour, research news, risk reduction, dementia friendly environments and personal accounts of living with dementia from Keith Oliver and Chris Roberts, both diagnosed with dementia in their 50’s. Q&A panel sessions each day, chaired by Angela Rippon and Jeremy Hughes, allow visitors to put their questions to many of the expert speakers.

The Talks & Topics Theatre features professionals covering a range of practical topics such as the Mental Capacity Act, legal provision, personal budgets, drugs and nutrition alongside family carers sharing their

own unique experiences of caring for a loved one with dementia.

Admiral Nurses will be running free one to one advice clinics where you can put your questions to specialist dementia. The Law Society will offer free advice in their legal surgeries. Both can be booked at the show.

Visitors can take part in practical activity workshops including art, seated yoga, singing, horticulture and an introduction to Cognitive Stimulation Therapy. Dementia Friends will be running Information Sessions where you can learn more about dementia and Dementia Friendly Communities.

Carers accompanying a person with dementia can use a quiet room for an hour of free support from a specialist dementia team run by SweetTree Home Care Services, the headline sponsor.

Over 50 dementia and care exhibitors will showcase hundreds of practical ideas and new solutions including home care, living aids, care homes, consumer advice, legal, finance, assisitve technology and much more. Many of the exhibitors will be discussing their latest products and services in The Exhibitor Workshop.

Tickets are £12 online (+ £1 booking fee) and £18 on the door.

Show offers support on all aspects of dementia

LIFEVAC is new a single suction anti choking device. The device has a one way patented valve, when applied it only sucks up and does not push air down when pulled therefore LifeVac creates three times more pressure than the abdominal thrust and chest compressions as trained in First Aid.

In all testing, LifeVac has dislodged obstruction of the airway 99.9 per cent of the time in one use (reports available). Plus it has no risk to the casualty. LifeVac is ideal for disabled

people that cannot receive traditional choking treatment.

The device is ideal to be used on the elderly, disabled, people with swallowing disorders plus any person where the abdominal thrust and back slaps are not suitable. After an independent study the LifeVac has been peer reviewed and published in the American Journal Of Emergency.

LifeVac has been purchased by Exemplar Health Care plus many more establishments in the UK.

Anti-choking device launched

Society to host infection prevention conferenceTHE Infection Prevention Society is one of the UK and Ireland’s most influential charitable organisations with a clear vision that no person is harmed by a preventable infection.

Their mission is to inform, promote and sustain expert infection prevention policy and practice in the pursuit of patient or service user and staff safety wherever care is delivered.

The Infection Prevention Society is holding its major infection prevention conference at the HIC in Harrogate between September 26 and 28. There will be in excess of 800 delegates in attendance and over 100 exhibitors.

The scientific programme will deliver an array of renowned speakers covering all your infection prevention needs. In addition to conference, a specific one-day event focusing on infection prevention in care and at home is being held on Wednesday September 28.

Infection prevention is high on the agenda for every healthcare

organisation. This conference will discuss some of the 21st century challenges we face in care homes and care at home in looking at latest evidence and applications for practice.

It is relevant for all staff and in particular those senior staff with the accountability for infection prevention within the organisation.

Included within the registration cost of £55 is access to the UK’s largest infection prevention and control exhibition along with lunch and refreshments.

We are also running a competition for a chance to win a free place to attend. To enter, complete an online registration before August 1.

A winner will be selected shortly after this date and the cost of their registration will be refunded.

Proud to be CharteredAS part of Howden UK, Howden Care division (previously CHIS and PrimeCare) is proud to have been awarded Corporate Chartered status by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII).

Chartered status is a prestigious accreditation awarded to insurance brokers that have met a set of demanding qualification criteria and shown dedication to the pursuit of the highest industry standards.

Stuart Rootham, joint managing director, Howden UK Retail General Insurance, said: “Following the recent acquisitions of CHIS, PrimeCare, Perkins Slade and Powell Bateson and merger with R K Harrison, Howden has the scale and regional footprint to become a leading UK powerhouse in insurance broking.

“Achieving Chartered status illustrates our commitment to providing clients with the highest standards and service across all of our teams, underpinned by a strong investment in the professional development of our staff.”

Graeme Sutton, director of corporate development at the CII, added: “Howden is clearly committed to developing the insurance profession and we are delighted that they have achieved Chartered status.

“This announcement offers further evidence that insurance brokers are alive to the benefits of professionalism, both as a driver of competitive advantage and as an important means of building confidence and trust in the insurance sector.”

Howden’s Chartered status officially applies to all Howden’s UK Retail teams, including its Professional Indemnity division and associated brands including CHIS and PrimeCare.

What working with a Chartered broker means To date less than six per cent of insurance brokers have achieved Chartered status so clients and partners can be confident that they are dealing with professionals who are committed to providing the best possible advice, service and support1.

The Chartered hallmark

The CII is empowered by the Privy Council to award Chartered status, and the award is only made in deserving cases. And while Chartered titles are steeped in history, they remain the benchmark of professional excellence and integrity.

Though Chartered titles are widely revered in the insurance industry, the CII launched a new initiative in 2015 to increase awareness beyond the remit of financial services.

You may have seen the CII’s advertising campaign in all major cities and throughout the UK rail and London Underground network.

This effort has made significant headway in raising the profile of the Chartered accreditation amongst business and consumer markets and helped position the logo as a recognisable symbol of excellence.1. Chartered Insurance Institute data, correct as of March 23, 2016.

Company provides specialist serviceHSC Professional (Consultancy) provides a specialist service to regulated care services, for representations in response to draft inspection reports, proposed enforcement, and performance ratings (draft or published), on a fixed fee system or at an hourly rate.

Consultant Dr Richard Fairburn was a nursing home owner and domiciliary care provider for 20 years, and is legally qualified. He has been providing consultancy since 2000.

He said: “I am a strong believer in backing up my work with on-going research on the outcomes of

inspections. Looking at published inspection reports, and the reasons for findings of breaches of regulations or downgraded ratings, allows me to pick up trends in inspection methodology that help with representations for clients.”

The consultancy’s regular series of seminars on regulation and inspection cover changes as they happen. The forthcoming series of full-day seminars in Manchester, Eastleigh and Birmingham will cover the new policies and methodology of inspections, due to commence in May after the recent consultation.

HEALTHCARE Midlands Ltd specialise in the supply, service and maintenance of all types of healthcare products.

We believe that our new products’ portfolio and over 35 years’ experience in the healthcare industry enables us to consistently deliver high standard products and quality service to all our customers.

The company operations centre is currently based in the Midlands where our dedicated sales team and customer service advisors are contactable on the any of the numbers listed below with friendly help and advice if required.

Due to our continued expansion, we have recently opened service facilities in the south east to cover the London, Kent, Essex and areas surrounding the M25.

Our team of highly trained and experienced engineers can service and repair all of the most commonly used products on the market. We also boast a 90 per cent first time fix rate for repairs.

Should you require any further information about Healthcare Midlands, its products and its special offers on product of the month promotions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Firm provides various products

CARINGINDUSTRY NEWS 53

Beaucare’s Beauwash™ range BEAUWASH is an efficient, cost effective and eco-friendly laundry cleaning products range, specifically formulated with healthcare establishments in mind.

It is cleverly designed to provide superb cleaning performance at lower temperatures, shorter wash cycles and kill bacteria at just 30°C, providing a more sustainable laundry cleaning process in terms of overall running costs and for the environment.

Available in powder or liquid form: 10kg tubs, 5lt, 10lt or 20lt liquid containers. When combining

the laundry liquid with automated dosing systems, it creates one of the most efficient laundry solutions available on the market today.

Beaucare also offers advice on the most efficient way to run all healthcare laundry needs and provides expert fitting and maintenance of automatic dosing systems by its own service engineers.

Enquiries: Call 01423 878899, email sales@beaucare.com or visit www.beaucare.com

SINCE 1982, Colne (Lancs) based, Richards Residential Supplies have concentrated upon supplying simple solutions to common nursing home problems.

The new WACMAT® adheres strongly to this tradition.

With its ultra absorbent cotton pile and 100 per cent waterproof backing, the remarkable WACMAT® is an ideal accessory where spills may occur.

Used as a commode mat, in bedrooms or bathrooms, the WACMAT® ensures full carpet protection. Then, after use, simply machine wash and tumble dry! It’s that simple...

The WACMAT® will then be clean and odour-free, ready to perform time and time again. Alternatively the flat-laying WACMAT® can be used as an entrance mat, saving you hundreds of pounds in rental costs alone.

Enquiries: Telephone 0800 074 3749.

Simple solutions

Claim VAT back on your home even if you are not VAT registered

IT is true, care providers can reclaim VAT worth about £3,000 per bed for any residents who stayed in your home between 1993 and 2002 paid for by the local authority.

You don’t have to be VAT registered to make a claim. We can usually find the information required with minimal disruption to your business.

How is this possible? Well in 2002 a care provider called Kingscrest challenged the view held by HMRC and won.

There is no cost to you unless we are successful.Typical claims: 50 beds – £240,000; 40 beds –

£170,000; 287 beds – £1.25m.And the best part is that you get the money in

your bank account before you pay us. Don’t forget the tax repayment is free of tax – it

is extra profit.Enquiries: Call 01233 640985 and ask for Howard to find out more.

Extensive frames selection and expert eye care in your homeSPECSAVERS offers a home-visit optical service for the housebound, offering professional eye tests and access to a great range of glasses.

Known as Specsavers Healthcall, mobile optometrists take eye-testing kit and a range of 180 glasses to the housebound, whether living in their own home or a care home.

It’s very much the same service that is available in Specsavers stores, including the use of Digital Precision Care – the new measurement system which runs on a tablet device and ensures glasses fit perfectly.

With complete glasses starting at just £25, the diverse range is regularly refreshed to offer the latest in fashion, style and comfort so that customers have a wide choice just as they would in-store. The current collection includes many eye-catching designer frames including styles from the new

jewel-inspired Twiggy for Aurora collection – customers can choose from the delicate, silver Aurora Lapis frames decorated with pale blue crystals and the pretty pink Aurora Rose Quartz frames with gorgeous square cut Swarovski stones.

There is a frame to suit every customer plus Specsavers Healthcall opticians are more than happy to bring along additional frames that customers can select ahead of their appointment from the full range available on the website.

Complete maintenance software solution ... and it’s affordablePIRANA CMMS, the UK’s number one maintenance software solution, is becoming increasingly popular as the cost effective, quick start-up maintenance software choice, proving that organisations don’t have to look towards expensive and complex systems to meet maintenance goals

It’s the complete CMMS solution, with a fully functional free trial:

Fully featured asset, meter and task registers.

Servicing and inspection.Preventive and predictive

maintenance. Materials, inventory and

purchasing control.

Costs and charges management tools.

Management KPIs and reports.Multi-platform, scaleable mobile

solutions.

Choice of setup:1. On-premise (installed on your own network).2. On-demand (cloud).

Shire delivers a range of ‘hands-on’ training courses as well as free ‘try-before-you-buy’ regional roadshows.Meet your sustainability goals:

Optimise equipment lifecycle.Analyse outsourcing requirements. Minimise energy usage.

SPECIALIST online retailer dementiacareproducts.co.uk has further expanded its range to include innovative products which allow people to wash themselves and their hair effectively without using water.

The range from Nilaqua is ideal for care workers looking after people who are confined to bed, recovering from surgery or unable to access a bath easily. It is also particularly suitable for use with people with dementia who have a fear of water because they find it hard to see or dislike the feel as

it touches their skin. The cleansing products are easy to

use; simply apply to the skin or hair, massage in thoroughly to cleanse and remove dirt or odours, then wipe off with a towel. Already widely used in the NHS, they cut patient washing times, save energy bills and ease stress for staff and patients.

These waterless bathing products complement the high visibility signage, reminiscence aids and other specialist products available for purchase online.

Online retailer launches products

Market leading pressure care technology ALERTA Medical is a new leader in the design and manufacture of innovative alternating pressure relieving mattress systems, delivering solutions for care providers to proactively prevent and treat the development of pressure ulcers.

Developed and proven with the end user over many years, Alerta Medical alternating pressure relieving mattress systems have been designed to overcome common flaws in other alternating mattress products on the market. Alerta Medical pride themselves on innovative functionality, superior quality and reliability – resulting in improved patient outcomes and peace of mind for care providers.

The Alerta Medical alternating pressure relieving mattress systems incorporate S™ – constant auto pressure sensing through an air sensor and microcomputer regulator to provide ultra-low interface pressure and promote an even ambience for natural sleep patterns and stable blood circulation with Ultra-Silent™ pump operation.

Alerta Medical offer a comprehensive range of alternating pressure relieving mattress systems, covering all risk levels, complimented by the addition of an alternating cushion system.

Enquiries: Call 08452 088 097, email sales@alertamedical.com or visit www.alertamedical.com

Martin McKee, head chef at The Hawthorns Retirement and Care Home in Aldridge, has won a place in the national finals of a cookery competition run by the National Association of Care Catering. His winning dessert of white chocolate mousse with a coconut sponge and a passion fruit curd wowed the judges at Stratford College, and he was awarded the Midlands regional first prize. He will now compete with the best in the country at the national finals in early June at Barking and Dagenham College. Prior to joining The Hawthorns to head up the fine dining experience at the luxury new retirement and care home, Martin worked as the head chef at the Apley Estate in Bridgnorth, awarded one of the top three farm restaurants in the UK by the Sunday Times’ AA Gill. Martin trained in fine dining in award winning restaurants in his native Scotland, before relocating to the West Midlands with his fiancée.

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Blue Stream Academy is the UK’s leading provider of eLearning. We offer a highly effective online training system for nursing and residential care homes, dental practices, hospices and GP practices. With over 45 modules covering over 250 topics, we aim to ensure CQC compliance and reduce costs. Our eLearning suites also include a comprehensive Management Information System ensuring managers have full control and can track all training. Generic policies are also available. Additionally, Blue Stream Academy now provide the Care Certificate eLearning Suite, which can be used in conjunction with a work place assessor to achieve the one-off certificate.

Is your laundry provider meeting your needs?LAUNDRY provision is a key necessity in any care home, and it is essential to align yourself with the right service partner.

We are frequently approached by businesses that have been let down by their previous providers, and have been left waiting frustratedly for a number of weeks after an urgent service call out request.

At Forbes Professional we understand that engineer response times are crucial to the running of an on premises laundry function. Established in 1926, we remain a family run company today, and pride ourselves on the level of service that we provide to our clients.

We have an expansive nationwide infrastructure and a large team of in-house engineers that enable us to deliver a same day next day engineer response service.

Proud to be partnered with Miele Professional, we offer a wide range of WRAS approved commercial laundry and dishwashing appliances.

We always assume a consultative approach and advise upon all the necessary requirements for CQC compliance. Our Complete Care solution gives access to premium brands without the incumbent upfront capital outlay and with no unexpected maintenance or repair bills, for the life of the contract.

Charity makes a positive differenceTHERE are nearly two million care workers in the UK, contributing to one of Britain’s largest workforces, and caring for some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

Early starts, long hours, mentally draining work; it’s all part of the job. But add an injury, illness or other unforeseen circumstance and all but too easily things can take their toll, and push beyond financial limits.

The good people of the care sector make a massive contribution to peoples everyday lives and it’s our dream that one day we will be able to help everyone who needs it. Supporting The Care Workers Charity is a great opportunity to unite behind a worthwhile cause that people can identify with and feel passionate about.

We are contacted by care workers

almost on a daily basis seeking support where no one else is available to them and we are able to signpost them to opportunities and where we can provide direct financial assistance.

There are far more applicants for our support than our funds allow at the moment, and it is our wish to ensure that we can on behalf of the social care sector provide the safety net for our own.

The charity relies heavily on support from organisations, volunteers and budding fundraisers, and is forever looking for fresh faces.

So if you fancy having fun and meeting great people, all in the name of a worthwhile cause, get in touch with Martin on 0845 601 9055 or email info@thecareworkerscharity.org.uk