Cramond Village is a Work of Art for Primary School Pupils
Budding young artists from Cramond Primary School have their work on display at a local exhibition following their success in a recent art competition. Over 400 pupils of all ages took part in the competition, run by Edinburgh’s newest care home Cramond Residence, which challenged them to design a poster to show what makes the village of Cramond a special place to live. Now, a successful shortlist of 48 colourful paintings, drawings and mixed media pieces are on display at the exclusive free exhibition at Cramond Kirk Halls, which is open to the local community for viewing from until Monday 18 June. The competition was split into four categories – primary 1, primary 2-3, primary 4-5 and primary 6-7. The winner will be announced during the exhibition, with runners-up also being declared for each category. The winning artwork will take pride of place in Cramond Residence when it opens in summer. The difficult task of judging the entries was taken on by a team of well-known locals from around Cramond, made up of Jennifer Thomson, a professional artist from The Blue Easel Gallery, Reverend Russell Barr, minister of Cramond Kirk, Dr Patricia Donald, from Cramond Medical Practice and David Fairweather, editor of Cramond Grapevine. Eileen Gray, General Manager of Cramond Residence, said: “We were incredibly impressed by the calibre of artwork that the pupils entered into the competition and it’s wonderful to see just how many talented young artists we have in our local area. The judges had a very difficult job narrowing all the posters down into a shortlist for the exhibition so we’d like to say a huge thank you to them for taking on such a challenging task. It’s fantastic to see all the beautiful pieces now on display and we are very excited for the winner’s announcement to find out which picture will be framed and hung in our care home. We know it will be loved and admired there for years to come.” Helen Donaldson, Headteacher at Cramond Primary School, said: “This was a fantastic initiative by Cramond Residence and we were very excited to be involved. All of our pupils had lots of fun getting creative and using everything from crayons to sand to design their posters. It was great to see how much effort they put in and all the artwork really depicts just how beautiful a place Cramond is to live. We are now eagerly awaiting the announcement of the winners and wish the very best of luck to all our pupils who took part.” The art exhibition is free to enter and is running from Monday 11th June to Monday 18th June at Cramond Kirk Halls, 16 Cramond Glebe Road, Edinburgh, EH4 6NS, for more information please click here.
Encore Care Homes’ activities are given some Oomph!
Encore Care Homes is delighted to announce its new partnership with Oomph! starting this month in all three of its homes, which are located in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Fareham. Established in 2011, Oomph! works closely with care and housing services throughout the UK, to support staff and help residents improve their health and fitness, through fun exercises and activities. During the programme residents and staff at Encore will take part in a variety of sport, music, relaxation and nature workshops. One of the key workshops in the project is Oomph! Sport, which aims to make physical activities as fun and beneficial as possible for residents. The training programme involves a variety of chair-based exercises to upbeat music. These exercises will increase the health and wellbeing of Encore’s residents, and are also a great opportunity for those who want to try something new and improve their fitness. Another element of the Oomph! programme is providing in-house activity training and support to the management and staff members of Encore. During this time all staff will create a unique, varied and person-centred programme, which will bring added value to the home. Izzy Nicholls, operations and quality director of Encore Care Homes, said: “We are very much looking forward to starting the Oomph! programme across all three of our homes. Oomph! makes sure that everyone who wants to be involved stays active at a level that they’re comfortable with, whilst having some fun. Not only is Oomph! a brilliant experience for our residents, but it’s also going to be extremely beneficial for our staff across the three homes. It will give our team the chance to review their work and improve their activity skills, which they can put to use in the future.” Ben Allen, chief executive of Oomph!, added: “We are excited to have the opportunity to work with the team at Encore. It is a privilege to be a key partner and an integral part of the organisation’s activity provision. We share the same values and drive for innovation and are delighted to be adding additional fun and engagement to resident’s activities.” Encore Care Homes is a specialist residential, nursing and dementia care home manager with three homes across Dorset and Hampshire. Great Oaks in Bournemouth, Fairmile Grange in Christchurch and Hamble Heights in Fareham, are all part of an established family of care homes managed by Encore. To find out more information about Encore please click here or call 01202 476960 to speak to a member of the team.
Adult care home brings 150 jobs to Leigh and surrounding areas
The launch of a new adult care home in Leigh, Wigan is set to create more than 150 jobs in the local area. The Exemplar Lakeview home will officially open its doors in autumn 2018, with staff due to start work in June. Lakeview, just off Ena Crescent in Leigh, will provide specialist nurse-led care to thirty adults with complex needs including people living with early-onset dementia, long term mental ill-health and Huntington’s disease. It’s been designed to offer unspoiled, restful views of Fir Tree Flash from the floor-to-ceiling windows and open-air terrace. Due to the breadth and quality of care Exemplar is known for providing, applications have already been flooding in from professionals across the sector, including many nurses from hospitals in Manchester and carers from across Wigan. From care roles to domestic and catering roles, Lakeview’s manager Jo Roughley has been delighted with the response to the first wave of vacancies, saying: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response to the home’s opening, and by the amount of interest we’ve had in working with us. We’ve filled a number of vacancies already, with applicants revelling in the opportunity to be part of something brand new and to play a role in making it their own. It’s a really exciting time to join and we can’t wait to welcome staff and residents over the next few months.” Further details on the home and its official opening date are expected over summer but Jo, who has moved from the Exemplar Kavanagh Place home in Liverpool, explained that they’re encouraging anybody from the local area who’s interested in a role to get in touch soon, ahead of the first residents arriving in July. Jo is also particularly keen to hear from Registered Mental Health and Learning Disability nurses who can help to shape the new service. For more information on the roles still available visit www.exemplarhc.com/job-search.
Merriment in May for MHA Waterside House
Residents of MHA Waterside House, off Moathouse Lane in Wednesfield, have been enjoying a glorious start to the summer. The home, which specialises in dementia care, always has a packed schedule of events to entertain and engage residents, but May was a particularly jam-packed month of summertime activities. From Royal Wedding celebrations to local school children visiting to share in donut day, the community surrounding the home enjoyed everything May had to offer. For the Royal Wedding, bunting was displayed around the home, flags were given out for residents to wave and a special cake was created especially for the day. Residents have also been able to revel in the sunshine with activities designed around the outdoors such as a Sunday service being held outside and even a spot of planting out in the gardens. Residents were able to choose the flowers and shrubs themselves with a trip to the local garden centre. Ann Thomas, from MHA Waterside House, said: “We all love to try new things and our residents are no different! As a team we try to make sure we have a nice mixture of activities so there is something for everyone to enjoy. Of course, as one of the highlights in May, it was really important to ensure we could share in big national events like the Royal Wedding and for the residents to be able to reminisce together about all the wonderful Royal occasions they’ve witnessed in their lifetimes. It really was a special day for everyone.” MHA is an award-winning charity providing care, accommodation and support services for older people throughout Britain. We are one of the most well-respected care providers in the sector and amongst the largest charities in Britain, providing services to older people for almost 75 years. Our aim is to eliminate isolation and loneliness among older people by connecting them in communities that care. MHA delivers a range of high quality services to more than 17,700 individuals. For more informationa bout MHA Waterside House please click here
More needs to be done to attract men into social care
In the UK currently, there is a distinct lack of male nurses, male childcare experts and male adult social carers. In fact, there is a shortage of men in the social care sector altogether – they are hugely outnumbered by women. UK Government statistics show that a staggering 84% of carers in England are women, and just 16% are men – figures that have barely changed since 2012. Yet, by 2025, it is estimated that 1 million more care workers will be needed to cope with the UK’s ageing population, men could help to plug this gap. The National Minimum Data Set assessed the amount of people employed within the social care sector, finding that 82.2% of employees were women and only 17.8% were men – reinforcing the belief that men are not applying for jobs within the social care sector. Yet, the core values that underpin social care – dignity, compassion, choice and respect – apply just as much to men as they do to women. As part of our review within our social care recruitment at Cohesion, we analysed data covering 27,000 job applications within this sector. Encouragingly, our findings showed a more positive gender split – 40% of applicants were male and 60% of applicants were female. There is no doubt that men are dropping out of the recruitment process and need greater support during interview stages. Helping candidates with application forms, providing prep sheets and video tutorials before interviews, are just some of the ways we can support applicants. I believe that social care organisations could also do a lot more to simplify the application process by introducing shorter and ‘mobile-friendly’ forms which would also appeal to a younger audience. I also believe that the introduction of more ‘values-based interviews’ could support men more, instead of basing interviews purely on previous experience and role competencies. Whether you’re male or female, the facts remains that the social care sector offers a huge number of benefits including job security, a sense of reward and ‘making a difference’, as well as the opportunity to progress up the career ladder within an organisation. For more information about Male nurses pleae visit http://cohesionrecruitment.com/
Woodbridge nursing home appoints new Home Manager
Haughgate House nursing home in Woodbridge, Suffolk, is delighted to announce the appointment of Judith Morgan-Worrall as its new Home Manager. Judith originally joined the Healthcare Homes Group in February 2014, initially as an interim manager at Foxgrove residential home in Felixstowe. She then took on the full registered manager role for both Foxgrove and neighbouring home Maynell House and stayed in post until June 2017. However, needing to be closer to home to support her ill father, Judith took the role of a support manager elsewhere. Having returned to Healthcare Homes in 2018, Judith is delighted to be taking on the new role at Haughgate House as she explains: “Following Healthcare Homes’ acquisition of Haughgate House in February, I initially came here as a support manager. I am now delighted to become the home’s registered manager. It really is a lovely home, which has a real warmth. The care team is fantastic, and the home has a great deal of potential. Already, we’re working on a 9-bedroom extension, a new deputy manager and administrator have been appointed and we’ve also embarked on a recruitment programme to bring more carers into the home, in light of the expansion plans.” Judith has significant experience in the care industry; prior to Healthcare Homes, she managed a small home in Ipswich for three years, which expanded into helping with homes that required improvement. Before this, Judith worked to support individuals with learning disabilities in the community. Concludes Judith: “As Haughgate House is a recent acquisition, we are in the process of transferring care plans to our robust Healthcare Homes format and transitioning everything over. Once this foundation is in place, it gives me a great base on which to implement many positive updates and initiatives, including working more closely with the local Woodbridge community. We have already received positive feedback from the Local Authority.” Haughgate House is part of the Healthcare Homes Group and is based on Haugh Road in Woodbridge, Suffolk. For more information on the services offered at the home call 01394 386249 or visit www.healthcarehomes.co.uk.
Shipdham care home welcomes new manager
Shipdham Manor care home in Shipdham, near Thetford, is delighted to announce the appointment of Kay Emsley as the new home manager. Shipdham Manor is part of the Healthcare Homes Group and provides residential care for up to 42 people, many of whom live with dementia. Kay, who lives in Bradenham, has worked for the Healthcare Homes Group for 10 years, previously serving as the head of clinical care. She brings a wealth of experience to the role and is looking to build on the home’s excellent service levels, even further improving the home for residents. Kay was recently named as the winner of the Healthcare Homes Group’s ‘Frontline Leader’ award at the Group’s inaugural Star Awards, which recognise staff that go above and beyond. Kay was selected by judges as the winner as a result of her continued dedication to supporting the management, operations and care team at the home. Kay has already made an impact at Shipdham Manor, by achieving ‘six steps accreditation’ for herself and the home – meaning it is accredited as providing specialist support around end of life care. Kay and her colleague Vikki Gill have become recognised ‘Six Steps Champions’ as part of the scheme led by Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust. Kay said: “It’s an honour to have been offered this position. I began working for the company 10 years ago when I left school, as a kitchen assistant at weekends and have been working my way up through the company. When I first began working here I had no insight into the care sector or dementia. It really opened my eyes and I quickly fell in love with my job and I knew I wanted to stay within the sector to continue to provide the upmost care and dignity for the residents we look after.” “I made my manager aware of my passion and how I wanted to develop myself so in the future the quality of care we deliver is maintained. She fully supported me with this and taught me things along the way. The Team here at Shipdham have been so supportive and I couldn’t have done it without them.” Shipdham Manor is based on Chapel Street in Shipdham near Thetford. For more information on the range of services provided at the home visit www.healthcarehomes.co.uk or call 01362 820939.
The Sound Doctor partners with Essex County Council to support patients to ‘Live Well’
The Sound Doctor, the social enterprise focused on effective patient education, has teamed up with the Essex County Council and Essex Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs)* to launch a new initiative – the Live Well campaign. The patient education videos are being offered as part of a Live Well campaign to engage families and individuals – promoting health and wellbeing in the county of Essex by providing high quality information and solutions. By setting an agenda to underline the benefits of healthy living, Live Well intends to have a positive impact on both the lives of people within the county and also reduce the strain on the National Health Service (NHS). In making available hundreds of bite-size educational videos for the Live Well campaign website – available here- The Sound Doctor will provide a valuable and interactive element to the initiative. Rosie Runciman, co-founder of The Sound Doctor, said: “We are thrilled to be working with local authorities across Essex through partnering with Essex County Council and Essex CCGs*. From our perspective, the Live Well project demonstrates how we can make health information both engaging and accessible and we look forward to implementing this formula in our work with other CCGs”. The move by The Sound Doctor is in line with its mission statement to empower people to manage their own health and health conditions. The videos are between three to five minutes in length and will provide accessible information to those who are interested in how to maintain and improve their health and wellbeing. They feature clinical experts and have been backed by leading disease-specific charities, such as British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society and the British Lung Foundation. Topics include diabetes, COPD, back pain, heart failure, dementia and weight management surgery. Dr Kashif Siddiqui, local GP and Chair for NHS Castle Point and Rochford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said: “Whether you have a long-term condition or caring for someone that does, it’s important to feel in control and confident.” He continued: “The Sound Doctor is a tool that offers high-quality information, giving you the confidence to manage your own health allowing you to continue your day-to-day life as much as possible. The Sound Doctor videos are full of information that people often forget to ask during a GP appointment, it is available 24/7 and you can also hear from other patients who are facing the same conditions.” BBC Essex recently showcased the campaign. Visit The Sound Doctor website to listen to the interview. For editorial enquiries, contact 0131 357 8977 or email pr@redheadpr.co.uk
Kingdom Homes to Takeover Bield Care Home
A DEAL which will see all residents and staff transfer from a Bield care home to a local provider has been finalised. Last year, Bield announced 12 of its care homes across Scotland were to close and has since been working tirelessly to find other providers to keep them open. Following extensive discussions, the housing and care provider has announced that an agreement has been reached which will see locally based Kingdom Homes Ltd buy Finavon Court in Glenrothes, Fife. The deal means that residents seamlessly transfer over to the new Kingdom Homes, with very few changes being experienced and, in particular, all existing staff will keep their jobs. Charlie Dickson, Director of Housing and Care Services, said: “It’s extremely pleasing that we’ve been able to strike an agreement with such a reputable care provider which has many other care homes throughout Fife. The deal ensures that high quality care is still provided to existing service users with no need for upheaval or disruption and also safeguards the jobs of staff. We were fully aware of the serious impact the decision to close the care homes made on the lives of the people who use our services, their families and our staff. Once we made the decision to close the care homes we worked closely with our specialist agents Christie & Co to ensure that every possible attempt to find new care providers was explored across the country. I’m delighted that our discussions with Kingdom Homes Ltd have resulted in this deal. Our service users and staff have remained of paramount importance throughout what is clearly a stressful and traumatic time.” Colin Smart, Managing Director at Kingdom Homes Ltd, said: “We are pleased to bring Finavon Court into our group of 12 care homes. With over 30 years in the care sector in Fife we are confident that under our management the home will continue to flourish. From the moment we first visited the home and met with the staff and residents we knew that Finavon Court could not be allowed to close and thus we worked tirelessly with Bield to come to an agreement to allow Kingdom Homes to takeover and ensure the continuation of the service. Safeguarding the home for all the residents who live their along with the jobs for all the staff who currently look after the residents. When we had discussions with the local authority about Finavon, they stressed to us that they felt Finavon was a real community-based care home and they were very keen to see it continue to provide the care it does for the local community in Glenrothes. Great credit should be given to the staff who have maintained a positive attitude at the home and ensured that the residents have remained well cared for. We will look to build on this and support the existing staff to continually improve the service for the residents at Finavon in the future.” Martin Daw, Director Christie & Co, commented: “We are delighted to have advised and supported Bield through this journey to secure the transfer of Finavon Court to Kingdom Homes. Kingdom homes are a well-respected care operator with an excellent reputation for delivering high standards of care. Bield announced 12 of its care homes were to close due to a change in strategic direction and ongoing financial pressures, and has been working tirelessly to find other providers to keep them open.” The decision to withdraw from the residential care home market was a last resort option for Bield and one that if not taken, would have compromised the vital work it does to support and care for thousands of older people across Scotland. The Housing and care provider will continue to provide innovative solutions to address the needs of the next generation of older people and will operate – as normal – its range of highly successful housing services such as its retirement housing options and Bield Response24 service. To find out more about Bield care home and its developments, visit www.bield.co.uk
