Dear Member

You are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the Association which will take place at The Resound Centre, Blackhorse Road, Mangotsfield, Bristol, BS16 9BP on Wednesday 20 November 2019, during the General Meeting.

Nominations for the Board are open now and up to the day of the AGM.  You can email me on Sam@Ablecare-homes.co.uk or alternatively you can download the nomination paper below and speak to me on the day.

NOMINATION PAPER

The AGENDA can be downloaded here.

I look forward to seeing you on November 20th.

Yours faithfully

Sam Hawker

Secretary

All the Awards Finalists are examples of the best behaviours and practices in the Care Sector locally and the guests at the function on the evening are amongst the most dedicated and supportive, employers and managers.

C&SW Director and leader of our celebrated Registered Managers Network gave us his opinion on why the dinner is special for him and for his care organisation.

So many people working in Social Care work tirelessly to ensure that the people they support or care for receive the very best they can provide … there are so many occasions each and every day where staff should be at home or with their friends and families but instead they stay on or come in to work to give fully and freely of themselves in the service of others.

What I love about the Care Awards is that it is an opportunity for some of these wonderful people to be recognised and celebrated for the work that they do.

What the Awards also do is shine a light on some of the real talent that exists within our sector … to identify if you like its leaders … its movers and shakers.

For me it is one thing to recognise and celebrate a person for their motivations, skills and attributes but the Care Awards also provides us with an opportunity to meet with these people, to work with them and to learn from them and in this way we can promote aspects of what they do more widely and in so doing maybe we can all become a little wiser.

The Oxfordshire Association of Care Providers have kindly shared their very useful page of Brexit information and updates. You can find it here: https://oacp.org.uk/brexit-eu-exit/

Health Education England in the South West is hosting a key event to help nursing staff to share, celebrate and learn.

It will be at Taunton Rugby Club on 26th November. You can download the flyer with more information here.

Once one member of staff gets a dose of flu, it sweeps through both workforce and potentially clients causing a devastation of staffing and rota problems. Public Health England have issued a series of resources for you to use in your campaign to up your staff ‘flu jab’ participation rates. Read their letter and access their resources below:

The brand new flu vaccination campaign for health and social care workers launches for the coming 2019/20 flu season. “Time to get your flu jab” takes a new approach – created for use by all social care organisations by Public Health England and NHS England & NHS Improvement – the staff facing campaign focuses on the protective benefit of the flu vaccination using a “Shield” motif.

Campaign materials show social care, social worker and other community based care staff going about their work protected by the shield of flu vaccination and the message “Help protect yourself, your family and the people you support. Get your free flu jab”.

 The campaign is available to all organisations to use and adapt to encourage the uptake of flu vaccinations by frontline health and social care staff – the resources available include:

• Social Care and community/mental worker posters (three variations)

• NHS Trusts posters (6 posters - featuring a Doctor, Porter, Nurse, Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker and Paramedic)

• Leaflets for health and social care audiences

• Sticker artwork

• Social media toolkits including static and animated images for Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

• Brand artwork

• Communications toolkit (including long and short copy)

• FAQs

• Screensavers

• Email signatures

 All materials, including adaptable artwork and social media tools, are available on PHE’s Campaign Resource Centre for colleagues to download or print locally. We would encourage organisations to localise these resources to suit their own local requirements – however please do use the brand guidelines which can be found here.

We are also keen to extend our photo-library to include a wider range of health and social care roles so do let us know if you have images you own that you are willing and able to share with colleagues across the health and social care system.

*To Note: There are a range of digital resources available – those targeting social care staff use the phrase “” and not “patients”.

Kind regards,

Will Juba

 Will Juba-Whitfield | Senior Partnerships Manager (Starting Well)

Health Marketing & Public Engagement |Public Health England

Ph: 020 368 20672 |ext. 20672

Mob: 07975 237023

http://www.gov.uk/phe |Follow us on Twitter @phe_uk

Competing for staff in a period of relatively low unemployment is never easy and there is general agreement currently that recruiting people into the care sector is challenging. The question we are asking is whether coming to the Awards Dinner will make any difference at all. We believe it does on a number of levels.

One of the easiest ways to be successful at recruiting is not to have to do it! – i.e. by ensuring you hang on to the great people you already have!

One of the most effective ways of keeping hold of your great people is by letting them know that they are valued and that their work is recognized. The annual Awards ceremony is a clear recognition of great work and, even if someone is not themselves recognized, knowing that their colleagues have been can be a great boost and differentiate your organization from those that have not won awards.

Equally, it can support recruitment. Being a Winner is a great differentiator and something you can celebrate from being nominated as a finalist to being named a winner on emails and website. (Winners and finalists are sent special banners that can be added to a website and e-mail signatures). You can also use the event as content on your Facebook pages, internal newsletters, with pictures from the evening.

This has the double advantage of showing potential ‘purchasers’ of your care that you are successful and externally recognized as special; and particularly that people looking to you as a possible organization to work for also see you as special, supportive of and appreciative of their staff.

Wouldn’t we all rather work for a winner?!

Words of wisdom from Angela Roberts, Deputy CEO Care & Support West, HR consultant and ex HR Director Milestones Trust, this is our second blog on why team motivation is so important, particularly in the Care Sector.

People love to know that their work is recognized and noticed and in this case, not just their own work but that of their whole team. There’s much research about the motivational benefits of recognizing people’s work and contribution to success. Team work is often a crucial part of delivering quality care and knowing that other people see how well a team is doing can make you feel great- and re-energise you and the team to work even harder, give even more.

 In the care context, the idea of the ‘team’ can embrace also those who are the recipients of care; knowing that you are supported by a team that other people have recognized and given and award to  makes you feel that you are part of something special. I visited a small home supporting people with mental health needs soon after they had won and award and the people who lived there were clear that the award belonged to everyone there!

Care work can be hard, but the load can be lightened by knowing that other people rate what you do, respect and value what you do and have taken the trouble to write a nomination about your work. As a team, this is rewarding and sets you up to carry on that work with renewed purpose and energy. There’s surely no better forum for recognition and celebration of great care work and workers than the Awards Ceremony!

To Book places or a table either complete this form or contact David.smallacombe@careandsupportwest.com

Enhanced funding for completion of the apprenticeship standards is available to help cover the additional costs of apprenticeships, such as the 20% off-the-job learning time.

Funding can be claimed upon completion of the diploma within the apprenticeship and further funding is available following successful completion of the end-point assessment and achievement of the apprenticeship standard.
 

• Adult Care Worker (level 2) – employers can claim up to £1,000 per learner. £600 for the diploma + £400 for completion of the standard.

• Lead Adult Care Worker (level 3) – employers can claim up to £1,300 per learner. £800 for the diploma + £500 for completion of the standard.

Engaging with End-point Assessment Organisations (EPAO)

Employers of apprentices need to engage the services of an EPAO to deliver the end-point assessment to their apprentices. Early engagement with the EPAO significantly increases the chances of a successful outcome for the apprentice. We've created a leaflet to help employers with the process.

If you need further information on the courses please email wdf@skillsforcare.org.uk.

WDF is supplied by Skills for Care. In the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire areas it is accessed via the C&SW WFD Partnership.

To register with the partnership complete this form or e-mail Karen.holley@careandsupportwest.com

Well-led: aimed at registered managers, learners will become more effective leaders, with the skills, understanding and techniques needed to lead and transform services, improving the quality of care. Delivered by our endorsed providers, employers can claim up to £500 per learner completing this programme.

Three continuing professional development (CPD) programmes for registered and other managers:

• Understanding performance management

• Understanding self-management

• Understanding workplace culture

The one-day programmes will be delivered by our endorsed providers and employers can claim up to £125 per learner per programme.

Endorsed providers will begin delivering these new learning programmes and modules from October 2019. You’ll be able to search for endorsed providers delivering the new licenced programmes in our endorsed provider search directory

If you need further information on the courses please email wdf@skillsforcare.org.uk.

WDF is supplied by Skills for Care. In the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire areas it is accessed via the C&SW WFD Partnership.

To register with the partnership complete this form or e-mail Karen.holley@careandsupportwest.com

In 2019-20 the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has prioritised support for managers, their deputies and succession planning with £3 million of targeted funding available from the Workforce Development Fund (WDF).

This targeted funding will support managers and deputies to develop the skills and knowledge needed to lead high quality services. This emphasis on the targeted fund is generating significant interest from sector press.

Our development pathway for managers and deputies outlines the learning and development needed on the journey to becoming a manager and highlights where employers can receive support from the WDF. This is a useful infographic to share with your members.

What’s currently available?

• Level 4 Certificate in Principles of Leadership and Management for Adult Care Employers can claim up to £600 per learner completing this qualification.

• Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management in Adult Care
  Employers can claim up to £1,500 per learner completing this qualification.

• Lead to succeed (recommended for aspiring and deputy managers)
  Employers can claim up to £500 per learner completing this program

If you need further information on the courses please email wdf@skillsforcare.org.uk.

WDF is supplied by Skills for Care. In the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire areas it is accessed via the C&SW WFD Partnership.

To register with the partnership complete this form or e-mail Karen.holley@careandsupportwest.com

At Care & Support West we really want to make a noise about how fabulous is the work and dedication of thousands of care workers, and what a difference that work makes to the lives of countless people; so for us The Care Awards is how we do that the Gala Dinner is the centrepiece of it all.

Attending the Gala Dinner is a joy; it’s a glitzy night at a prestigious venue where the room is decked out as for a ball; there are magicians; there’s dancing; there’s music. Everyone looks fabulous, ladies in lovely frocks, coiffed, painted and perfumed; gents in their suits; it’s a far cry from the workaday world that is care. People tell us every year:  “It’s a great night, we had so much fun!”

But, is it just about fun? Is it just for the finalists, simply a night of mutual congratulations?

Is there more to it? Are there more subtle benefits of attending the Awards Dinner? We’re taking a brief look at some of the motivational messages that come from being there and being part of the celebrations.

The key underlying message is about motivating staff. There is no doubt whatsoever that motivated employees perform better and deliver significant benefits to the bottom line; the trick is to find the way to keep staff motivated and to find ways to stop them becoming disaffected and demotivated.  In this blog we are looking at Reward and Recognition

The original ‘pay as a motivator’ theory doesn’t really work in the care sector where, squeezed with chronic underfunding, monetary rewards are not a major enticement. (Equally, the traditional ‘stick’ side of the equation doesn’t work because labour is so scarce you can’t afford that negative message.) Essentially the care sector has to focus on the social and psychological motivators, the need for social rewards, being part of a team; the need for self- fulfilment.

Freddie Silver (https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/three-major-theories-motivation-1260.html) talks about the need to reward good behaviours and to reinforce positive attitudes. Connecting the reward to the behaviour in a consistent way and where it is really valued by the employee can have significant short term and long term benefits. Research has shown that recognition and prestige can have great motivating potential so that praise and public acknowledgement of a job well done can work wonders.

The Awards process is ideally placed as a mechanism for this type of reward framework. Embracing the Awards process within the business, identifying great work, and outstanding contributions; nominating employees for awards constitutes motivational behaviour in itself because employees feel recognised, acknowledged and valued.

Further, your employee may not be a finalist, but when you take employees to the dinner you are saying that you value them sufficiently to put your money where your mouth is and take them to the event.  You are also giving that sense of social inclusion within your business team, the employee has the opportunity to see the manager at play, to see a different dimension, contributing further to the ‘social’ reward structure.

In illustration of this Emily Bladen-Wing of Community Therapeutic Services told us:

“The first time we attended the awards ceremony we had one or two nominations but did not win. Regardless of this, the evening had a positive impact on the staff who attended. The buzz of the event became hugely motivational. This led to staff going back to their respective teams and motivating other team members to celebrate their outstanding care practice by nominating colleagues for more awards the following year. We have now been fortunate enough to win on some of these nominations and the awards ceremony has become a fantastic way to celebrate the hard work and innovation of our staff members”.

In another theory about motivation, Scott Thompson (https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/ethics-philosophy-motivation-21091.html) builds on the premise that people want to do ‘worthwhile’ things at work and will work better with ‘inner motivation’.  The Awards help to foster this sense of inner motivation, attending the event  develops a feeling of being part of something bigger, part of a worthwhile mission to improve the lives of those we care for, part of a bigger group of people all working towards the same end.

Of course, we’re sold on the Awards and think you should all join in and help us to celebrate, but we’re realistic and know that in cash strapped times, it is easy to see only the cost involved. It’s important to look past that and calculate impact on the bottom line of motivated, committed staff.

So, if you haven’t yet got your table or places booked, contact david.smallacombe@careandsupportwest.com or you can fill in this FORM

Costs and booking administration
Ticket price includes a pre-dinner drinks reception at 6pm, followed by a 3 course meal plus tea and coffee.

• Standard tickets are £60 per guest or £600 for a table of 10

• Early Bird (EB) ticket purchase are still available until Sunday 18th for organisations with Finalists. These are £55 per guest or £550 per table of 10

We will invoice you on receipt of your order. We will send the form for you to complete your guest list and their menu choices separately.

Altura Learning’s First CQC ‘Preparing for an Inspection Workshop’

On 23rd July 2019, Altura Learning held its very first in-house ‘CQC - Preparing for an Inspection’ workshop at their offices in Milton Keynes.

Delivered by Jill Timms, one of Altura’s subject matter experts involved in our Preparing for an Inspection course, the workshop proved to be very informative and insightful. Attended by care providers from across the country, the aim of the workshop was for Jill to provide coaching to help homes to try and achieve good and outstanding CQC ratings. The workshop covered how to prepare and plan for an inspection, examples of what makes an outstanding care home as well as time for Q&A’s.

The delegates were also offered a tour of Altura Learning’s state of the art production studio and got a better insight into how Altura Learning produce and deliver all their own video content.

Kasia Rykowska, Service Manager from The Edmund Trust Training said: ‘The training was very informative, took on lots of pointers and information. it was very good to hear from other providers and their experience with the CQC and learn about the services they provide. Very helpful materials, example presented in form of support plan and paperwork that Jill shared with us’.

Jill Timms commented: ‘I had the pleasure of meeting with Managers from a range of services, from Residential Care, Learning Disabilities, Domiciliary Care and Retirement Village environments. We are all inspected to the same KLOEs, and general Care, Recruitment, Compliance standards, so we found common ground. The workshop was a great idea, hopefully a rewarding morning for a selection of Directors, Operations Managers and Registered Managers’.

 If you would be interested in future workshops with Altura Learning, please email natalie.binder@alturalearning.com

Following on from the Conference where the topics were all about using digital technology, we found this paper What’s Holding Back the Adoption of Technology in the Social Care Sector? 11 Jun 2019, written by Dr Sarah Carlick, an International digital safeguarding expert, who works tirelessly to bring the benefits of digital technology into safeguarding.

She argues that it is not just the social workers that need to be included in the conversation, but support workers, housing staff, voluntary sector charities, and care staff. You can read the full article here but the main barriers are below; It would be interesting to get your comments!:

·        There is an inherent lack of innovation in this space for social practitioners. Simple proof of this is by making a comparison with the health care sector – compare to health tech

·        A lack of feasibility, seed funding, notwithstanding the lack of upscale and sustainability funding.

·        Poor and inadequate resources within everyday practice.

·        We are at the beginning of acknowledging how technology could impact on outcomes for the sector and holding a committed belief that this is the way forward for enhancing communication and interaction with service uses. Nevertheless, we do not know what this looks like and it feels like a never-ending cycle of, if we always do what we do we, will always get what we get…

·        A lack of strategy for merging and creating new viewpoints for information sharing and technological pathways and frameworks.

·        There is no recognition that Local Authorities Digital Strategies are combined with social care and health strategies. I believe these should be viewed as one.

·        Culture change where we move from the traditional masses of databases (Carlick, 2018) to one of mobile applications with secure seamless capabilities.

According to a report last year from the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness, more than 9 million people in Britain—around 14 percent of the population—often or always feel lonely.

Risk factors for loneliness include “family breakdown, a divorce” or “perhaps the safety net wasn’t there to stop that descent,” Like other developed countries, the U.K. has largely focused on the elderly when addressing issues of loneliness, But data shows that in Britain and the U.S., poor, unemployed, disabled and migrant populations tend to suffer most from loneliness and isolation—and typically struggle to access adequate support. Young people aren’t immune either. a study found that 16 to 24 year-olds reported feeling more lonely than pensioners between the ages of 65 to 74.

The ‘Minister for Loneliness’ appointed last year produced a strategy document which can be found here.

The strategy focuses on the need to ‘work together’ for everyone to play their part; the Social Care sector, although not specifically mentioned (see below) has a massive role to play, particularly given their proximity to the vulnerable in our society. The strategy also talks of personalised and local initiatives so we ask you how we in our area can support the strategy, both as individual businesses and as an association, what can we do? We have enabled comments on this post so you can add your voice.

For more information, the text below is extracted from the executive summary.

The strategy looks at what can be done to design in support for social relationships in our changing context. It builds on the strengths we have as a nation – including our strong public, private and voluntary sector institutions, as well as the great everyday contributions that people make to their communities. To get there requires society-wide change. Three overarching goals guide government’s work on loneliness.

• The first is a commitment to play our part in improving the evidence base so we better understand what causes loneliness, its impacts and what works to tackle it.

• The second goal is to embed loneliness as a consideration across government policy, recognising the wide range of factors that can exacerbate feelings of loneliness and support people’s social wellbeing and resilience

• The third goal is to build a national conversation on loneliness, to raise awareness of its impacts and to help tackle stigma.

Guiding principles A number of principles have guided the development of this strategy:

• working in partnership with businesses, the health sector, local government, the voluntary sector and wider civil society, recognising that government can act as an important catalyst but that we must all take action to reduce loneliness effectively.

• a willingness to test, iterate and learn as government takes forward its approach,

• ensuring a truly cross-cutting and crossdepartmental approach,

• focusing on the key trigger points that push people in and out of feeling lonely frequently, alongside preventative action that can benefit wider society.

• recognising the importance of personalised approaches and local solutions to tackle loneliness.

taken from the Loneliness Strategy document

A new badge is launched as a unifying symbol of pride in our 9 million social care champions and to raise money for care-related causes 

With 9 million paid and unpaid carers in the UK, Care England and everyLIFE Technologies have launched the CARE badge, to promote awareness of and appreciation for this crucial service and raise the esteem in which social care and its participants are held.

·         Public launch of the CARE badge as a unifying symbol of pride and quality in social care for those providing, receiving or supporting care across the UK

·         34,300 CARE badges sold during the three-week soft launch phase, with a further 42,000 of badge enquiries awaiting restocking

·         All profits from CARE badge sales go to care-related causes and charities selected by care workers and carers

The CARE badge was born on 19th March 2019 while listening to Professor Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England, highlight the opportunities and challenges faced by care providers and the lopsided message that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care sends by only wearing an NHS lapel badge. The Chairman of everyLIFE Technologies, Robin Batchelor, sitting in the audience, turned to his colleague and said: “We should work with Care England to change that.”

This new initiative calls on the UK’s business leaders to buy the £1 CARE badges and distribute them for FREE to their employees and customers in a visible display of support for the 1 in 4 of the UK population that is either providing or receiving care outside of a hospital environment every day.  Care and Support West are supporting the CARE badge imitative.  

With 9 million paid and unpaid carers in the UK, Care England and everyLIFE Technologies  launched the CARE badge to promote awareness of and appreciation for this crucial service and raise the esteem in which social care and its participants are held.

While the CARE badge is personal to everyone, those wearing the CARE badge share common benefits, including:

·         showing involvement with and/or support of social care in its many forms

·         building a team spirit within a widely distributed care community

·         a personal commitment to quality in care

·         an invitation to start conversations about care

·         encouraging recruitment and retention of care staff

·         reinforcing the size and importance of this often-overlooked care community.

Robin Batchelor, Chairman of everyLIFE Technologies said: “Two million professional carers and 7 million more unpaid carers provide care for others each day, no matter if it’s a holiday for the rest of the population or if the weather is adverse and travel is difficult. Unfortunately, they often do so with minimal or no financial reward and without the public interest and support that other care professionals reasonably enjoy. The CARE badge will help everyone make sure that these care heroes don’t go unnoticed or underappreciated.”

Liz Jones Policy Director National Care Forum said “The CARE badge is such a simple and inspiring idea – a great way to recognise and thank the millions of people involved in providing great quality care across the UK and a great way to help that huge community of people feel proud and valued. I am delighted to join the Board and am wearing my CARE badge with pride – I hope you will all get you orders in for the CARE badge and start wearing it to help us all raise the profile of care!

For further information regarding the CARE badge, please contact Robin Batchelor or Professor Green via enquiries@carebadge.org or visit www.thecarebadge.org. @thecarebadge #badge4careitative.

Able Care are always innovative in ensuring that their activities are meaningful and engaging. Recently they engaged with the Bristol Ageing Better – Kickstart Funding and have been successful in getting funds to support a new activity. Manager Teresa sent us this information:

Bristol Ageing Better has committed £250,000 to help kick start community activities that will help reduce isolation and loneliness amongst older people in Bristol.  The Community Kick-Start fund allows Organisations, groups and individuals to seek up to £2,000 for a new activity.

We recently had a taster session with Music Therapy with Stephen at one of our Care Homes with excellent feedback from the residents and staff present.  Music therapy is a new activity idea and completely different from music education as it focuses on health, functioning and wellbeing.  Every person is unique and Stephen’s music therapy sessions are person-centred based.  During a music therapy session the residents are invited to experiment music and sounds using a variety of instruments.  No previous musical experience is needed and the focus is to support residents in expressing themselves creatively through sounds, silences, songs, rhythm and words.  An evaluation was completed after the taster session and the feedback was as follows; all the residents present thoroughly enjoyed the session and responded well to Stephen.  One resident who usually chooses not to join in actively participated and said he would like to join in with future music therapy sessions.  Another resident who had been a little unsettled at the start of the session quickly became very relaxed and moved her hands to the rhythm of the music and said ‘more, more’.  Each music session is tailored to the residents needs, whether in a small group or on a one-to-one basis according to the residents preferred choices and needs and interests, creating an inclusive and supportive environment.  The one-to-one sessions would be particularly beneficial for some of the residents who do not wish to socialise/interact with others in groups preferring to socialise on a more personal level.  These one-to-one sessions would reduce any isolation or loneliness they have  previously experienced.

Stephen also regularly provides presentations/workshops with the staff in order to increase awareness and knowledge of music therapy,  The workshops are particularly important for the carers in order to involve them to create an inclusive working environment and comprehend the meaning and value of music therapy for the elderly and to ensure the residents individual therapeutic goals and objectives are being met during the sessions.

For every session a music therapy report will be compiled by Stephen for both groups and one-to-one sessions and will be given to the Care Homes.

At Able Care Homes we were very excited about this new activity and the positive feedback received and put in a bid to the Kick-Start Funding.  We were thrilled when our application for Kick-Start funding was successful and have now set some dates for Stephen to visit each home.

Nursing teams within the charity Brunelcare have have been inspired by this year’s international nurses week theme: mind body and soul.

 Since 1965 nurses day has been celebrated around the world on 12th May to mark the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth 1920, also recognising the contribution that nurses make to society.  From 6th - 12th May 2019 nurses around the world are celebrating the theme: The Balance of the Mind, Body and Soul.

 At local charity Brunelcare, its nurses were asked how they have been inspired by this year’s nurses week theme and celebration and this is what they said:

 Amanda Cooper (pictured, with Brunelcare senior nursing team and an article about nurse Princess Campbell), Senior Nurse, at Brunelcare’s Orchard Grove Reablement Centre says:

 “We often source new inspiration for our nurse training here at Brunelcare’s Orchard Grove Reablement Centre, where we are helping people back on their feet after hospital stays. Inspiring nurses help motivate us with our learning. This not only motivates us as nurses but also teaches us valuable techniques we can use with those we care for every day. A nurse who used to work at Bristol’s Glenside Hospital is a recent inspiration to us: Princess Campbell was the first Black Nursing sister in Bristol and this was her mindful message:

                      “Use determination and your self-esteem; value yourself

                      and let no one crush you. When you come up against

                      challenges and adversity, don’t run away; stay and fight if

                      you want to change things. Education is a most powerful tool

                      and it opens doors.”

Karolina, Unit Care Leader, at Brunelcare’s Deerhurst care home explains:

 “I have been running Mind, Body & Soul sessions every Thursday afternoon since March this year, for some of those we care for at Deerhurst who show signs of anxiety. One of the objectives of the sessions is to see if these relaxation techniques help reduce the need for medication over time. The sessions include aromatherapy, with massage of feet and hands using specially blended aromatherapy oils, music and touch - we bring in herbs and flowers to touch and smell and a lovely relaxed environment is created in the room. Groups are no more than eight people at a time to ensure maximum benefit for everyone who takes part.”

 And finally, Amanda Hendy, Deputy Manager and Registered Nurse for Brunelcare’s Robinson House care home says:

 “A resident recently required more than just all our tender loving care for his end of life care. To celebrate his birthday we set about organising to have his band, who he had played backing guitar with, to play alongside him here at Robinson House. He was so excited when he heard we were organising this and really put everything into practicing with his band mates for it. Sadly he died a few days before his birthday, but he lived in real hope, giving him the best possible outcome. This definitely met the balance for mind body and soul for this lovely gentleman.”

 For more about the charity see Brunelcare.org.uk and on Facebook and Twitter @Brunelcare

The Care Association Alliance, of which C&SW are members, asked CQC about defibrillators. They asked:

“The placement & use of defibrillators in care homes (with & without nursing). What are the guidelines and are they in sync with the NHS?” You can read their responses below;

 We cover the use of equipment under several different KLOES:

 S2 How are risks to people assessed and their safety monitored and managed so they are supported to stay safe and their freedom is respected? S2.6 How is equipment, which is owned or used by the provider, managed to support people to stay safe?

This prompts providers to check the appropriate equipment is available in order to meet the needs and wishes of people who use the service and that it is checked/serviced when required. We don’t specify what equipment providers must have, although we do expect providers to have the appropriate emergency protocols/procedures in place and these must be clear and transparent. This might be for staff to provide resus (if they are trained and competent to do so) or to call for emergency medical assistance.   

S3 How does the service make sure that there are sufficient numbers of suitable staff to support people to stay safe and meet their needs? And S3.3 Do staff receive effective training in safety systems, processes and practices?

Puts the expectation on providers to ensure staff are trained and competent to use all equipment. This would include a defibrillator should the home decide to have one available.

Under KLOE E2 How does the service make sure that staff have the skills, knowledge and experience to deliver effective care and support? Prompt E2.1 Do people have their assessed needs, preferences and choices met by staff with the right qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience?

We expect that staff are clear about their responsibilities regarding equipment, it is used correctly to meet statutory requirements and support people to stay safe and take into account people’s wishes around resus and their consent.

CQC update their profiles of care services for older people in every local authority in England 

 How well do health and social care services in your area serve the needs of older people?   Most older people, particularly those with complex needs, will receive care at some time. Their experience will often depend on how well different services work together for them, their families and carers.

 As of today (23 July) CQC have updated their report showing a detailed picture of the care services in your local authority area and how well they work together, which is now available from the CQC website 

 • Are older people supported to stay well and to continue to live in their home?

• What happens when someone needs more care, for example, they need to go to hospital?

• Are they supported either to return home safely, or to move somewhere new that meets their needs?

CQC draws together a range of national data to build a profile on every local health and care system, to understand how services work together. The individual reports provide a detailed insight into the journey through health and social care for people who use services - and identify where there are gaps which mean that people experience fragmented or poor care. The reports compare the outcomes with similar local authority areas and against national performance. 

 For instance - how does your local area compare when an older person needs to go to hospital?    The reports presents nine elements in an acute hospital pathway, through A&E attendance, to admission, discharge and reablement, compared with the national performance across England. 

Here are downloads of our local profiles:

Bristol; North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North east Somerset

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Marilyn Clarke, long time secretary of C&SW shares some reminiscences of what Care & Support West was like back in the day!

It is 40 years since the seeds were sown for Care Home Providers to form a support group.

In 1979 the draft regulations for the 1980 Residential Care Homes Act were drawn. For the first time there were to be a set of standards for compliance, with consequences if these were not met.

Most providers at that time were local small businesses with very little contact with each other and often in direct competition with the numerous care homes run by local authorities in the area.

I was contacted by the owner of Rosedale House who had worked in Social Services with my husband who asked me if I would join him to begin a support group, as many of the new requirements would be contentious. We had 2 homes, both being conversions of older properties and the new bedroom size, communal spaces and WC and bathroom requirements would need to be met. Many of the existing care homes were in old buildings and we realised we would need to form a trade association to support each other when the Council set out their registration guidance. Initially there were 4 of us. Rosedale’s Graham Doughty, Frenchay House, the Coles family, a Bath provider, all supporting elderly persons and myself with residents with learning and physical support needs. It was a case of going through the Yellow Pages to find other providers and circulating our request for them to join with us. The small number of providers to begin with met up monthly at a cold, damp cricket pavilion belonging to Imperial Club West Town Lane. Graham as Chairman led the charge when we needed to have a voice to challenge some of the Council’s requirements. Representing the Council for the registration process was Mr Edward Gully. I well remember him coming to look around my 2 homes with his clipboard and tape measure and being the obnoxious Council representative we had come to expect. He closed one of my bedrooms which did not meet the size requirements. This became a contentious issue for numerous providers and subject to many appeals at the time.

We had called ourselves the Avon Residential Care Homes Association, ARCHA and gradually as we became better known, new members came forward to join us. There was no dialogue between us and the Council because they had their own homes and we concluded that their political bias of not needing a private sector was the driver to exclude us.

The 1980 Act was superseded by the 1984 Act and still at that time the main issue for Inspectors was compliance with the physical sizes of rooms. In addition there were big changes in the hierarchy of the Council and some officers took early retirement. One of these was Edward Gully. Ted as he became known to us was invited to join us as our link with the Council and his invaluable insider knowledge was the beginning of the setting up of the Council’s Provider Forum. The officer given the task of being the Council’s representative at this forum was known to Ted and myself and this was the start of a much softer approach towards us. This gave credence to it’s not what you know, but who you know!

One of the significant development factors during those early years was the offer by the council for 4 members of the Association to join their Inspection Unit. How ironic that private sector providers were paid Council employees for 2 years. At that time there was no requirement for the Council’s homes to be registered or inspected. Those of us who were now Inspectors lobbied for that to change so that all homes in the Council area were inspected. It became clear that whilst private sector providers had a clear set of standards to meet, there were Council homes falling way below these standards. It was almost a Council own goal. We began to vocalise the double standards, the higher cost of local authority homes, the disparity in pay and conditions to the extent that by the end of the 2 years there was an awareness of the need for Council homes to be brought up to the registration standard. I believe this to be the start of the demise for Council run care homes. They had recognised that there was not a level playing field. Legislation later brought all homes into compliance standard.

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There has been many and various bumps in the road regarding Council’s commitment to work in

tandem with providers. There was a time when the first Council contract with home owners was

mooted and the Avon Registered Care Homes Association as we were then called was asked to be part

of a contract planning group. We met regularly with Council officers, Lawyers and Finance to agree the

content of the contract. We were listened to, had serious support for our views and signed off section

by section. What a contrast with how we are treated now. Contracts are presented to us and the

smokescreen of consultation results in us having to fight for any changes we might need, to sustain our

businesses.

ARCHA continued to grow membership, Chairman at the helm were from the elderly sector until 2004

when the CEO Steve of Brandon Trust joined us. He served until his untimely death and was replaced

by Chris from Freeways Trust. He, too, was to suffer an untimely death shocking all who knew him.

We lost Ted Gully too who had been the rock of the Association’s growth and recognition. We owe

him a great deal.

Moving on, to widen the brief of ARCHA, Care & Support West was born. Nursing homes, Domiciliary

and Community Care, supported living providers are now all able to join this trade association. It now

has a CEO and a Board of Directors with a more ambitious strategy to support and sustain its many

providers big and small who are across the 4 Councils in the area. Each decade has brought its own set

of issues for social care and during much of the past 40 years we seem to have been the poor relation to

the NHS. The challenge for the future, apart from ever diminishing fee levels is how Health and Social

Care can work in tandem, acknowledging the value of both and hoping for parity in pay and conditions

for our amazing social care workforce.