Care home review ratings now showing in Google search results
People searching for a care home on Google search results, can now see at a glance, a care home’s rating and how many reviews it has. Looking for a care home for a relative or a friend is a huge life change and can be arduous and time-consuming, as well as very emotional. Now carehome.co.uk, the leading care home reviews website, has made things even easier, by teaming up with Google so people can quickly see a care home’s average review rating. Somerset Care, was the first care home provider to trial the widget and the integration service with Google. Oli Blackwell, technical director of carehome.co.uk, said: “The best way to find out the quality and standard of a care home is to ask the residents who live there. “carehome.co.uk features reviews from the residents, their family members and their friends giving a clear and accurate picture of the care home in terms of its staff, the rooms, cleanliness, facilities, care, management and whether residents are treated with dignity. “Once the carehome.co.uk review widget is embedded on the care provider’s website, Google will then display their carehome.co.uk average review rating.” Saskia Pearlstone, marketing co-ordinator for Somerset Care said: “Using the review widget was a straightforward decision for us. We have 30 care homes in Somerset and on the Isle of Wight and it is important that people are clear about the options available to them. “Enabling people to easily see how our care homes have been rated goes with the whole ethos and values of Somerset Care which are customers, care and candour. “It is absolutely vital that there is a system for people to review the provision that they are part of. “It is a huge lifestyle change for people when they move into a care home so it is important for them to have as much information as possible.” Des Kelly, who is chair of the Centre for Policy on Ageing, having spent 13 years prior to that at the helm of the National Care Forum, has called it a “positive initiative” saying: “I think it’s vital for the public to have a wide range of ways to get authoritative information on care services.” Oli Blackwell added: “We are very pleased to take advantage of a recent Google update that enables service based businesses such as care homes to use their reviews from third party review websites, like carehome.co.uk, to generate a rating against their own listing in Google’s search results. We expect to see a significant impact to the Click Through Rate, for care homes which enable this feature. “For care home providers, having their homes given star ratings by Google, is a definite bonus. As many people now search for care homes online, the first place they will look is Google. Highly rated care homes on Google can expect to get more traffic than those with no ratings due to the trust factor. “Care providers can ensure their home get these valuable star ratings by using carehome.co.uk’s review widget which also displays their latest carehome.co.uk reviews on their own website.” For more information carehome.co.uk’s review widget go to http://www.carehome.co.uk/reviews/widget/. · The rating displayed in Google search results which is out of five uses part of the provider’s carehome.co.uk review score. · The carehome.co.uk review score which is out of 10 is based on the average rating out of five and the number of positive reviews out of five. · There are currently over 35,000 reviews of care homes on carehome.co.uk making it the go to site for anyone looking for a care home.
Space saving safe surface temperature radiators from Autron
With a wall to front face depth of only 75mm, Autron’s Slenderline is one of the slimmest LST radiators on the UK market. This makes them ideal for environments including care home corridors where space is at a premium, but safe and effective heating is a must. All standard Autron radiators use innovative heat emitters that contain far less water than typical conventional flat panel radiators, producing the same heat output. This means they can heat up and transfer heat more quickly, and in a more controllable manner than both panel radiators and underfloor heating systems. As Autron LSTs heat up faster, the heating can be turned on later saving on energy costs, whilst maintaining a comfortable environment – an important consideration in care homes. Visit http://www.autron.co.uk/case-studies/ to read our latest care home case studies. Call Autron on 01952 290498 or mail us on sales@autron.co.uk for more information on the full range. www.autron.co.uk
Hill Care website redesigned to meet digital age
HILL CARE has revamped its website to better meet the needs of residents, families and staff – with Wednesday, 1st February, set for the launch. The website has been entirely redesigned as part of a process to modernise the company’s online presence. The new site contains up-to-date photography, testimonials from families, a more intuitive enquiries page and career opportunities with the care home group. Social media has also been incorporated, as it now plays a significant role in communicating with residents’ families across Hill Care’s 18 homes in the north of England. Wendy Waddicor, Managing Director of the Hill Care Group, said: “We needed a new website to meet the expectations and requirements of an increasingly digital savvy population. “The families of our residents, and our staff, are using social media to get news and updates from our care homes. People expect to be able to contact us through our website and see regularly updated content. “As a forward-thinking care home operator, we wanted to ensure we’re able to meet these changing expectations. Our new website will allow us to do that.”
Cairn Care Launches Online Training Hub for Care Homes
Infection control product specialist, Cairn Care, has launched an online training hub to help care home staff to learn about effective infection control, continence care and health and safety. Packed with a bank of training materials, it aims to provide a useful resource for managers looking to create a proactive working environment. Accessible free of charge and available 24/7, it offers downloadable easy-to-follow cleaning schedules, infection control plans, advice posters, and basic workplace training tools. In addition, it contains useful information to help care home customers use Cairn Care’s products correctly and effectively. This is because the training hub forms only part of Cairn Care’s new website, www.cairncare.co.uk, which also comprises of a new online store dedicated to the UK residential care sector in the UK. The website store has been developed in response to sustained growth in both the care home industry and ecommerce sector and will sell premium, hospital grade infection control products, continence care and other healthcare consumables. Offering secure online ordering via credit/debit card and PayPal, www.cairncare.co.uk will allow busy care home staff to place orders quickly and simply. With individual account logins, customers will also be able to see earlier orders, helping them to identify previously used products and order quantities, as well as to place repeat orders at the click of a button. Marketing Manager, Donna Bedford said: “We have been supplying the care home sector with premium incontinence and cutting-edge cleaning products for many years, so our long-term relationships give us an insight into the demands of the industry. As such, we saw that training and information is crucial to support our care home customers. “In addition, there is a definite move towards care homes wanting to order consumables online. This is partly because time is at a premium for care home managers and staff and online ordering means that they are no longer restricted to office hours. “What’s more, as payment details are held securely, any team member can place orders online with the option to replicate past orders for ease. This all makes online ordering so convenient that we are anticipating the ecommerce function to quickly overtake telephone ordering.” To see Cairn Care’s training hub or to view and order their products online please visit: www.cairncare.co.uk
Check out Alpine HC’s New Hybrid Mattress Video
This revolutionary non-powered mattress combines air and foam so that its users benefit from the comfort of a static mattress whilst profiting from the advanced pressure relief that an alternating pressure mattress provides. The Reposa® Synergy by Alpine HC possesses a cutting-edge technology that uses nature to redistribute the pressure applied on the mattress. Exposed valves naturally inhale and exhale air when pressure is exerted on the inset air-foam cells, evenly distributing pressure across the user’s skin. Using multiple specialist foams, the Synergy mattress greatly enhances user comfort. A rigid foam frame surrounds the air-foam cells, providing a sturdy structure and support for the user when transferring into and out of the bed. A two inch super-soft foam topper provides exceptional comfort and added pressure relief. The foam has 240 individually semi-rounded nodes on the top surface of the mattress, with each node of soft foam compressing easily to provide as little resistance as possible to pressure applied on the mattress. The foot end of Alpine HC’s Reposa® Synergy mattress system is tapered down to relieve pressure on the vulnerable heel skin of the user. By tapering the foot end of the mattress, the thighs take the majority of the weight, relieving pressure on the patient’s heels. Heels are renowned for being at riskof pressure sores, bearing a lot of pressure a small area of skin. The Reposa® Synergy is designed for high dependency users, and safety was at the forefront of the whole Synergy development. Four handle loops are fixed to the underside of the mattress, greatly increasing the ease of evacuation in the event of an emergency. Buckle straps also ensure the Synergy can be securely attached to the bed it is used with. Find out more about the Reposa® Synergy on the Alpine HC website
CARING HOMES GROUP HELENA JEFFERY AWARDED LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The founder of Caring Homes Group, Helena Jeffery, has been rewarded for her lifetime of care and dedication to the care industry with a ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award at the National Care Awards on 27 November at the Hilton London Metropole. Helena Jeffery established the Caring Homes Group in 1994 with her son Paul, following a successful career as a registered nurse. She founded the company on an aspiration to provide better quality care for older people. Helena Jeffery explains her founding principles: “Every home we operate must be sustainable and successful, but first and foremost, every Caring Home must be exactly that, a caring home for each resident, where they feel completely free to live life to the full. She continued: “It’s a great honour to receive this award, but I could never have achieved such success without our amazing and hardworking teams. This may be a lifetime achievement award, but I fully intend to continue to work for as long as I can. I thrive on making a difference to people’s lives and that ‘drive’ will always be intrinsic to Caring Homes’ philosophy.” The judges chose Helena because ‘she has demonstrated a real passion and commitment for high quality care and a well-motivated workforce, which has been embedded within the Caring Homes business throughout its 21 year history’. The organisers also said they were ‘thrilled that Caring Homes and Helena have won this highly prestigious and sought after award’. The first Caring Homes was launched in 1994, Bradbury House in Braintree, Essex. Since then the company has grown to become one of the most highly respected independent care and support providers in the UK and manages over 60 care homes supporting at least 2,400 elderly residents. Helena is still a very active member of the management team, and is dedicated to ensuring that her teams remain absolutely focused on providing the highest standards of care and support in the best environments. Helena interviews all regional and Home Managers to ensure they share her dedication for caring in a compassionate manner. She also works closely with the Operations Team on the ongoing refurbishment programmes that ensure each home provides a high quality living environment. Helena is also passionate about offering the highest levels of training to all colleagues, and launched the ‘Helena Jeffery Training Academy’ in 2014 to ensure all new team members are fully equipped to reach Caring Homes Group exceptionally high standards. Paul Jeffery, CEO, Caring Homes, is delighted with the award win. He says: “Helena has dedicated her life to best serving the needs of others. She is an inspiration to many, and it is thanks to her, Caring Homes Group is a beacon of excellent care within the care industry.” He continued: “I would like to speak on behalf of the 5000 Caring Homes Group employees by congratulating her on this prestigious and well-deserved award.” Her other son, Robert Jeffery, Support Services Director, Caring Homes, adds: “Our mum managed care homes before co-founding Caring Homes, and I recall she would often cook Christmas lunch for residents before coming home to do it all again for the family. It was obvious even in those early years that mum thrived on making a difference to both the residents and staff; she has never lost her work ethic or her natural way of talking to people from all walks of life and all ages. I guess she was always deserving of such a prestigious award, but to receive it at such a senior level makes it even more meaningful.” Caring Homes Group are also recent winners of a prestigious Laing & Buisson Award for ‘Supported Living’. Their newest care home, Ivy Court in Norwich, has also just won ‘Most Outstanding Care Home’ at the Over 50s Housing Awards, run by Seniors Housing. To find out more about Caring Homes visit our website at: www.caringhomes.org.
CARING HOMES SHORTLISTED FOR HR DISTINCTION AWARDS 2016
Industry leading care home provider, Caring Homes Group, has been shortlisted for the HR Distinction Awards in the Occupational Health and Wellbeing category for their ‘Living in my World’ dementia training. Due to an ageing population, and an increase in the rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s, Caring Homes Group HR team created a pioneering training course to provide their carers with a full understanding of what it is like to live with dementia. ‘Living in my World’ is a training programme, accredited by City and Guilds, that has been rolled out to all 60+ residential and nursing homes in the Caring Homes chain and has been instrumental in ensuring exceptional levels of care. Laird MacKay, Managing Director, Caring Homes, explains: “The course has already made a very positive difference to the lives of thousands of people living with dementia, their families and the dedicated colleagues who support them. It has also created a great career pathway for colleagues, providing a clearly signposted training route to enhance their skills in dementia care.” He continued: “We’re particularly proud of our HR team who were instrumental in creating this bespoke industry leading course.” James Allen, Managing Director, Caring Homes’ sister company, Consensus – the provider of accommodation for individuals with learning disabilities, also comments: “Some individuals with a learning disability have additional risk of developing dementia. The application of such a pioneering course to some of the services within Consensus is giving our colleagues an invaluable insight into how to provide more effective and person centered support for some of the individuals we support with dementia. This will increasingly become an issue as we know that people with a learning disability are living longer and as such rates of dementia in the people we support will increase.” The Living in my World training course offers three levels of award: ‘My World’ (bronze), ‘Understanding my World (silver), and ‘Supporting my World’ (gold). The bronze has been developed for all Caring Homes’ colleagues in mind, whereas the silver is aimed at colleagues in a care role and the gold level is for nurses and senior care colleagues. The courses include face-to-face training, self-learning activities, an assessed workbook, plus an e-learning knowledge test. The awards will be announced at a gala ceremony on the 3 February 2016 at the ICC Birmingham. The Caring Homes Group was established in 1994 by registered nurse Helena Jeffery and her son Paul. Since then the company has grown to become one of the most highly respected independent care and support providers in the UK. To find out more about Caring Homes visit our website at: www.caringhomes.org <http://www.caringhomes.org> .
DOUBLE AWARDS NOD FOR DUNDEE CARE HOME
A Dundee care home which developed a pioneering ‘village’ to enable those living with dementia to reconnect with old memories has been shortlisted for two respected UK-wide awards. Bupa’s Balcarres care home, in Broughty Ferry, is in the running for the Person-Centred and Compassionate Care plaudits at the annual Bupa Clinical Excellence Awards, thanks to its innovative and attentive approach to dementia care. 90% of the residents at Balcarres care home are living with dementia, and the home has already introduced a putting green and bus stop cafe to its garden space and continues to break new ground. Staff are currently constructing a working post office, grocer’s and thrift shop, all of which are specifically designed to enable residents to reconnect with recognisable social surroundings in a safe and familiar environment. The Clinical Excellence Awards celebrate the stars among Bupa’s 27,000 employees from 300 care homes across the UK. The awards recognise individuals and teams who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field of work, and who go the extra mile to deliver high standards of care to residents and support to colleagues. Lynn McLean, Home Manager at Bupa’s Balcarres care home, said: “Ultimately, the driving force behind our work is to improve the quality of life of the people in our care and we are all absolutely thrilled all our efforts are being recognised. “The creation of the bus stop cafe and putting green is so important for our residents as it allows them to reconnect with previous memories in a secure and familiar environment. “We are very excited to continue to expand this project and add the post office, grocer’s and thrift shop, as these kinds of features have been proven to provide residents living with dementia cognitive stimulation which relieves feelings of anxiety and confusion. “We always aim to provide the highest level of care to all our residents and we believe the ‘village life’ setting is a fresh and innovative way in which to do this. “The satisfaction we gain from this and the extremely positive feedback from the residents is all the thanks we need but to be shortlisted for two categories is really special and we are all very excited to attend the event in London.” In addition to the ‘village’, other creative features at Balcarres care home include a Wi-Fi cafe to ensure residents are able to keep in touch with friends and family across the world, a children’s play area for visiting youngsters, a gardening club and a ‘1940s room’ to enable residents to reminisce about times gone by. Staff also recently dedicated their time to take four residents on a short break to Butlins, in order to enable them to revisit a favourite holiday destination of their youth. The Dundee care home is planning to provide more short trips for residents in the near future. The winners of the Bupa Clinical Excellence Awards 2015 will be announced at a ceremony at the King’s Fund in London on the evening of Thursday 5th November.
Oxford care home celebrated for putting an ‘Oomph!’ into activities for older people
The spotlight was shone on staff and residents at Manor House care home in Oxford, who were featured in a special Oomph! video celebrating their excellent innovation in exercise for older people. Oomph! is an award-winning social enterprise which delivers engaging and accessible exercise classes for older people, promoting mobility, stimulation, and social interaction. The classes are co-designed with care home residents and fun is at the heart of each activity. Amber Derbyshire, who is the Activities Coordinator at Manor House, has gone to great lengths to design classes which inspire and enthuse residents, whilst also helping them to keep fit, healthy, and happy. Oomph! classes at Manor House have seen residents pom-pomming on a boat trip down Henley-on-Thames and glittering in sequined get-up at Southsea. Most recently, residents were glided along the ice in their wheelchairs for a class at Oxford ice-rink. One long-time Manor House resident, Sylvia, has particularly benefitted from the classes. After suffering from anxiety, Sylvia had been hesitant to engage with other residents, but becoming an ‘Oompher’ renewed her confidence and she has taken great leaps forward in making new friends in the Manor House community. The Manor House team also received organisation-wide recognition for their leadership in developing creative activities for residents, with the Oomph! video premiering at the Embrace Manager’s conference. Manor House is part of Embrace, and provides personalised nursing, residential and dementia care for older people. Activities Coordinator, Amber Darbyshire, commented: “The whole team works really hard to ensure that each and every resident is able to participate in activities which suit their personal needs and interests. Oomph! shows that residents can be supported to exercise in in a fun and accessible way, and regular exercise has a very positive impact on their health, wellbeing and happiness.” “We are excited to keep on developing exciting new ways to keep residents fit and happy, and running Oomph! classes are a core part of that.” Manor House Service Manager, Jane Ritchie, commented: “Everyone at Manor House is getting involved in designing and delivering Oomph! classes, and it has made the whole team more dynamic and creative. I’ve seen colleagues become more confident in planning, adapting and delivering exciting new activities for residents, and the benefits have been enormous.” “The benefits of Oomph! resonate throughout Manor House. Staff are really enthusiastic about getting involved, residents can exercise at a pace which suits them, and their loved ones are delighted about how fun it is.”
