University of Bolton celebrates first non-commissioned nursing programme in England
The first nurses in England to complete self-funded studies celebrate as they approach graduation from the University of Bolton. The non-commissioned pre-registration course was developed in addition to Health Education England’s commissioned students and ensures local talent ‘stays local’, supporting nearby healthcare initiatives. Eleven student nurses, who this week are approaching the end of their three-year self-funded studies, are celebrating their achievements at the University of Bolton before graduating and taking their places in hospitals across the North West later this year. The occasion marks the first cohort of nurses to conclude their training since the government-funded bursary scheme for undergraduate nurses was withdrawn in 2017. The students all applied for a standard degree loan and started their courses in February 2015. Undertaking their practical training at Preston & Chorley (Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), the nurses will formally graduate in summer 2018 and all go directly into employment in the North West. The University of Bolton has pioneered the self-funded degree training course and provided the first non-commissioned nursing programme in England, with subsequent intakes of undergraduate nurses now studying at teaching hospitals in Manchester, Bolton and shortly, Wigan. The University has a further target intake of 290 nursing undergraduates in 2018, starting in January, May and September. “We are incredibly proud of our first group of nurses as they conclude their training.” said Professor George E Holmes DL, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Bolton. “Their hard work and the commitment of both University staff and local teaching hospitals has resulted in nursing students recruited and trained locally, who will go into work at local hospitals, supporting Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust along with Greater Manchester’s 2021 vision for healthcare.” Nursing student Sanna Hussain commented: “The support, knowledge and skills I have gained during my time at the University of Bolton will help me enormously throughout my career. By running this programme, the University has enabled me to fulfil my dream of becoming a nurse, something that a few years ago, I was not sure would be possible.” The University of Bolton ranked number one in England for teaching quality across its nursing courses in The Times & The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018, and the University was rated first in Greater Manchester for student satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2017.
Staff at Queensway House invites public to open day
Queensway House, a residential care home in Hemel Hempstead, is to open its doors to members of the public and prospective residents to give them the opportunity to learn more about what it has to offer. The home, which is located in Jupiter Drive, will be providing visitors with a guided tour of the facilities and entertainment from singer, Ricardo, who will be performing a sing along with residents at the home. Those who attend the event on 18 January 2018 between 2.30pm and 4pm can also learn about the home, which has rooms for up to 80 residents, its staff and the activities it can offer to those aged 65 and over. This latest event follows on from a similar event hosted in December last year, which saw a number of local people attend to gain a greater understanding of what the home, which is part of the Gold Care Homes group, has to offer. Julie Canale, Care Manager at Queensway House, said: “Everyone at the home is very excited to be welcoming guests during our latest open day. The last event we held was fantastic and this time around we are stepping things up with entertainment for all to enjoy. “We are very proud of our home and the care that we offer, so we hope people will join us later this month to find out more about our commitment to high-quality care.” If you would like to learn more about Queensway House and its range of residential care services, please call 01442266088 or visit www.goldcarehomes.com/care-homes
Karaoke Sessions Hit The Right Note At Glasgow Care Home
Residents at Bupa’s Ailsa Craig Care Home in Glasgow have been channelling their favourite musical icons with their very own version of ‘Stars in their Eyes’. The home – which is in the Cessnock area of the city – has been hosting popular karaoke nights at the request of residents, who have been keen to take the microphone. Family members and staff at the home have also been able to get involved with the fun. Inspired by conversations with the residents and their own personal interests, the nights have provided an eclectic mix of songs, with those living at the home performing classic hits from yesteryear such as It Had to Be You by Frank Sinatra. Stewart Kyle, Activity Coordinator at Bupa’s Ailsa Craig care home, said: “The karaoke nights have proved to be a real hit with the residents, and family members and staff have been getting involved too. It’s great to see everyone coming together!” “We’ve got a lot of keen singers at the home, and it was only through chatting with them all that I realised this would be such a hit. They love a sing-song! We wanted to make sure it was the full karaoke experience, so I downloaded all the software and music so that everyone can sing along, word for word. We even purchased a PA system which really makes the experience something to remember.” The residents are able to sing on their own or can join in as part of a group, further encouraging friendships within the home. After initial sessions proved successful, the home is now hoping to make the nights a regular occurrence, with the team constantly growing the list of songs on offer. Ailsa Craig offers the highest standards of care, comfort and support, with staff who take the time to get to know the residents and make sure that they get exactly the care they need. The award-winning Bupa ‘Personal Best’ customer service programme ensures staff show commitment to training and developing as carers and nurses. The home comprises three separate units with a total of 90 bedrooms – one for nursing care, one for nursing dementia care and a third for enhanced residential care.
Greenock Care Home Manager Scoops Sue Pembrey Award
A care home manager from Greenock is celebrating after being named the joint winner of a prestigious nursing leadership award. Barbara Lawson, Home Manager at Meallmore Ltd’s Kincaid House care home, has scooped the win for the coveted Sue Pembrey Award 2017, which recognises clinical leaders who play a vital role in enabling high quality, person centred care. The committed manager, who has worked with Meallmore for six years, was nominated by the University of the West of Scotland, where she is currently studying for an MSc in Gerontology and Later Life studies. She was praised by the Foundation of Nursing Studies – which announces the winners of the Award – for being a compassionate advocate for people with dementia and their families, who has established a caring culture in which staff and residents have flourished. Speaking of her success, Barbara said: “I was honoured just to be nominated in the first place and I feel absolutely overwhelmed and excited to have won. “This is a national and prestigious award, as Sue Pembrey herself was an outstanding nurse leader, so to follow in her footsteps is very humbling. “As a care home manager, I think it’s vital to be visible and genuinely take an interest in people’s lives. I really enjoy chatting with the residents and their families, finding out about their experiences in the home and knowing that we have helped to provide the best possible care. “I’m over the moon that all my efforts have been recognised but I couldn’t have done it without the team at Kincaid or without Meallmore. The company has always greatly encouraged me and even funded my studies, without which I would never have been in a position to receive this award.” Gerry Hennessey, managing director of Meallmore Ltd, said: “In her various roles at Kincaid House, Barbara has always demonstrated a tremendous interest in people with dementia. “Her win acknowledges the incredible job she does, day in day out, and her constant commitment to the residents, relatives and staff at the home. “We’re thrilled that she has been recognised externally with this very well-deserved accolade and we’re sure she will have many more successes in the future.” Barbara was presented with her award at a ceremony held in York on the 8th of December 2017. She shares this year’s award with Freedom Nwokedi who is a clinical team leader with NAViGO Health and Social Care CIC.
The importance of care records for Continuing Healthcare funding (CHC)
Supporting and advising clients about healthcare funding can be a confusing process with lots of variables and parties involved in the health and social care maze. Whilst the law governing eligibility for continuing healthcare funding hasn’t changed, actually getting the funding seems harder than ever. A key part of overcoming this perceived difficulty is acknowledging the importance of care records—a catch-all term for the written information recorded by professionals who deliver support either in an individual’s home or a care home setting. These provide a picture of an individual’s care needs at a particular time, and the quality of those records can affect whether someone is found eligible or not for Continuing Healthcare (CHC). This can often mean the difference of tens of thousands of pounds per year in care fees. Three main elements to care records include: a Care Plan, which is usually reviewed and updated by care staff on a monthly basis; Daily Records, providing a record of how the care plan is implemented on a day-to-day basis and the level of support patients need; and a MARS sheet, which is a record of a patient’s medication needs, including whether or not patient accepts it. Good quality, accurate care records fulfil a range of purposes, including helping to ensure service users are safe, and that service providers are meeting their legal requirements by meeting and documenting individual’s care needs. It is vital that family members attending the CHC assessment familiarise themselves with their relative’s care needs. This can be done by attending regular Care Plan review meetings and reading through care records. Other professionals, such as speech and language therapists and mental health teams, may attend these meetings to provide support and advice that is then incorporated into the Care Plan. Their involvement will be recorded in correspondence and a record of professional visits. If someone has very specific needs, for example in relation to challenging behaviours or continence, it is vital that comprehensive information is recorded by care staff about the level of support they need to provide. Someone is only eligible for Continuing Healthcare funding if they have a ‘primary health need’, which is above and beyond what the local authority can be reasonably expected to provide. If the detail care staff give in Daily Records is vague, such as “had their usual day”, this is not enough evidence to qualify for CHC funding. For those who receive paid care, it is worth spending some time familiarising yourself with your care records. Many people are unaware of the information a care provider must record about them or their loved one until they participate in a NHS Continuing Healthcare Assessment and the question of care funding is raised. If you receive a care service, either at home or in a care home, you will be involved in your care planning and access to your records should be quite straightforward as part of your ongoing reviews. Accessing health or social services records requires a more formal approach. Each health provider or local authority will have details available about how they handle requests for personal information. Your request will need to be in writing and the organisation concerned may ask you to complete their own Subject Access Request form. There may be a fee payable between £10 to £50 to process the request, depending on the type of records requested and whether they are stored electronically or in paper form. There are a number of factors that must be considered for personal information requests, including risk of harm to the individual from disclosure and a person’s mental capacity. QualitySolicitors Moore & Tibbits’ Health and Community Care Team have a wealth of up-to-date knowledge and experience in the law relating to care, including care records. We provide advice and guidance to individuals, families and care providers on record keeping, monitoring and reviews.
Local care home hits the right notes with memories musical
Students from a Glasgow theatre school recently teamed up with a local Bearsden care home to create a unique, musical performance inspired by residents’ memories. The Glasgow Academy of Music and Theatrical Arts (GAMTA), students and residents from Meallmore Ltd’s Antonine House visited each other over a period of eight weeks and worked in pairs to get to know each other by sharing stories and life experiences. These memories were then used to help create a short musical, ‘A Fine Wee Lass’, which tells the tale of a young woman seeking adventure in a big city by leaving the Isle of Skye, her boyfriend and family behind. After each practice session, the group would wind down by singing a few songs together, allowing Antonine House resident Elsa – a retired music teacher – to rediscover her love of the piano and play for an audience for the first time in many years. The musical was performed in the Bearsden Baptist church in front of an audience that included the home’s residents, families and friends. Samantha Dougan, Activities’ Coordinator at Meallmore’s Antonine House, said: “We wanted the residents, who share a love for singing and interacting with the younger generation, to be able to collaborate in a project with the school. “It was really wonderful for us to see this idea come to life in such an exciting way, but it was even better to see the residents and the students working so well together and making friends.” Sharon Graham, Principal of GAMTA, said: “I have a particularly close relationship with the care home as my mother is a resident there, so it was fantastic to be able to work together on this. “It was amazing to see the pride and joy the residents and students took in the performance. This was a creative project that we hadn’t done before, and our students loved it.”
Cleethorpes to Tackle Isolation Through Sport
A charity which helps older people living with dementia, depression and loneliness through sport has set up a new support group in Cleethorpes. The Sporting Memories Foundation, which encourages people to share their memories of watching and playing sport, set up the group using funds from HMT St Hugh’s Hospital in Grimsby. The hospital has made an initial donation of £5,000 as part of its commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of the community in North East Lincolnshire. The group will meet every Tuesday at 10am, starting on Tuesday 16th January, in the Mariners Trust’s Youngs Lower Bar at Grimsby Town Football Club. Sporting Memories Group Leader Kristine Green said: “I’m delighted to be able to offer free Sporting Memories sessions to members of the community who might be feeling withdrawn or lonely or are living with dementia. “The sessions have been made available thanks to a unique partnership with the befriending and advice specialists Friendship at Home and HMT St Hugh’s Hospital, who recognise the health and wellbeing benefits that the sessions will promote. “By sharing memories of sporting moments and tapping into their passion for sport we’ll help people to connect with one another and get involved in gentle but competitive exercise too.” The team at Friendship at Home will be signposting members of their groups with an interest in sport and will attend the sessions to offer advice and guidance to anyone who needs it. The money HMT St Hugh’s Hospital has donated will be used to buy the equipment needed to play boccia and indoor curling and pay for the ongoing running costs of the group throughout 2018. Gary Allington, Health Promotion Officer at HMT St Hugh’s Hospital, said: “Through our work with Friendship at Home we’ve been looking for projects which offer wellbeing support as well as an activity, and when we heard about Sporting Memories we jumped at the chance to get involved. “Staying active is important for everyone, but the Sporting Memories sessions will also offer an opportunity for people with shared interests to come together and combat isolation and dementia.” In 2017 HMT St Hugh’s Hospital supported Friendship at Home by funding two members of staff for its dedicated dementia team, the Memory Lane Choir and a community drop-in centre in Freshney Place. For more information about Sporting Memories or to confirm your attendance, email Kristine Green on Kristine@marinerstrust.co.uk or join the group on Tuesday 16th January at 10am in Youngs Lower Bar at Grimsby Town Football Club. To find out more about HMT St Hugh’s Hospital’s community work, visit: https://hmthospitals.org/st-hughs/community/
Managing and Controlling the Risks of Legionella in Care Homes
Legionella bacteria is commonly found in water and especially in purpose-built water systems such as cooling towers, evaporative condensers, hot and cold water systems and spa pools as well as water fountains. The bacteria can multiply where water temperatures are between 20-45°C whereas the bacteria is normally dormant below 20°C and does not usually survive above 60°C. Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially fatal type of pneumonia, contracted by inhaling airborne water droplets containing viable Legionella bacteria. Such droplets can be created, by hot and cold water outlets, atomisers, wet air conditioning plant, and whirlpool or hydrotherapy baths.Anyone can develop Legionnaires’ disease, but the elderly and those with cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory or kidney disease are at more at risk.So how can Legionella be prevented and what measures need to be undertaken by care homes to control and or eliminate the likelihood of catching this life threatening disease?. First of all, the health and social care providers should carry out a full risk assessment of their hot and cold water systems and ensure adequate measures are in place to control the risks.The primary control measure would be to check the water temperature from the sentinel taps and ensure:• Hot water storage cylinders (calorifiers) should store water at 60°C or higher• Hot water is distributed at 50°C or higher (thermostatic mixer valves are fitted as close as possible to outlets, where a scald risk is identified).• Cold water is stored and distributed below 20°C. It is recommended that ‘sentinel’ outlets (furthest and closest to each tank or cylinder) are checked at least monthly for the distribution temperatures. One should also check the hot water storage cylinder temperatures at least once a month and cold water tank temperatures at least every six months.Stagnant water which can be prevalent on dead legs favours Legionella growth. To reduce the risk one should remove dead legs/dead ends in pipe-work, flush out infrequently used outlets (including showerheads and taps) at least weekly and clean and de-scale shower heads and hoses at least quarterly. Cold-water storage tanks should be cleaned periodically and water should be drained from hot water cylinders to check for debris or signs of corrosion. It is also important to ensure that systems are designed in order to minimise Legionella growth. This can be achieved by:• Keeping pipe work as short and direct as possible;• Ensuring there is adequate insulation carried out in pipes and tanks;• The use of materials that discourage growth of Legionella;• Ensuring contamination is prevented for example by fitting tanks with lids and insect screens. Additional recommended controls should ensure that Water samples are taken periodically and analysed by approved Laboratories to determine Legionella bacteria counts remain at an acceptable level. The testing frequency should be determined by level of risk, in accordance with the risk assessment.Other methods to control Legionella include copper and silver ionisation and biocide treatments (eg chlorine dioxide). To ensure that they remain effective their application will need suitable assessment as part of the overall water treatment programme including proper installation, maintenance and monitoring. How can we help:Stansted Laboratories is independent and has been in operation for over 25 years and is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to the norm ISO/IEC 17025:2005. We meet the market’s environmental analytical services and provide these to a diverse group of companies. Our services include Microbiological Analysis of Water & Air including Legionella testing and Bacteriological analysis. In addition we do chemical analysis of water and trade effluent and Legionella Risk Assessments, the latter through our trusted partners who check all water systems (plant/equipment and associated components) and test to ensure compliance with the law.Stansted Laboratories personnel offer a high level of technical expertise and consultancy. We are differentiated by our independence and versatility, allowing us to adapt to the characteristics of every customer and respond to the demands of each specific sector. Our customers can trust in a high performing workforce which has many years of experience carrying out sample testing to meet strict legal requirements. Our Laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation and testing facilities to enable a speedy multi component analysis with results quickly available through our secure online portal.Our analytical services follow very simple values:• Service: using the latest equipment to provide accurate trustworthy results• Competence: unparallel technical experience• Commitment to quality• Continuous development of services both in terms of efficiency and cost effectiveness Contact us for any enquiries or clarification on any aspect of the above or for all your water testing requirementssales@stanstedlabs.co.ukTel: 020 8594 5104
Care home resident celebrates an ‘unlikely’ 100th birthday in Steyning
A Sussex woman, whose parents were told it would be ‘unlikely’ that she would reach the age of seven because of a heart condition, has celebrated her 100th birthday at a Steyning care home. Vera Brennan was joined by staff and residents at Croft Meadow care home, run by Shaw healthcare, in celebration of her centenary, where they enjoyed a tea party. Her nephews, David, Martin and Andrew, were also in attendance to mark the special occasion. Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, Vera was diagnosed with a heart condition, but has defied the odds given by the doctors when she was first born. After the Second World War, during which she had joined St John’s Ambulance, she met her husband, Jim. They married in 1949, with Vera wearing a wedding dress that she made herself. Vera and Jim spent many happy years running fish and chip shops, before he sadly passed away in 1984. Vera then moved to Croft Meadow and, for as long as she was able, gave of her time visiting poorly people, both in hospital and at their homes. Her nephew, David Collins, said: “As a family, we are so appreciative of the care she receives here at Croft Meadow, and we are so pleased that she has made some wonderful friends.” He added: “Vera absolutely loves dogs – her memory is not what it used to be, and she sometimes forgets when my wife, Penny, and I visit, but she never forgets when our greyhounds visit.” Home manager, Sharalee Thrumble, commented: “It’s wonderful to be able to mark such a milestone and give Vera and her family the chance to celebrate together. Vera has settled in so well since moving in almost a year ago and we love to hear her interesting stories.”
