Sarah celebrates 25 years as care home artist
Wales’ first ever care home artist in residence is celebrating a quarter of a century in the ground-breaking role.Talented Sarah Edwards was engaged as a consultant by the Pendine Park care organisation by arts loving owners Mario and Gill Kreft in 1995.Since then Sarah’s has supported the development of award-winning enrichment programmes at their eight care homes in Wrexham and Caernarfon where she has also masterminded their interior design. .Sarah, a gifted artist in her own right, first helped Pendine Park when they were opening their third care home, Highfield House, in Wrexham.Mario and Gill were keen to bring the benefits of art and music to residents and staff.Mario said: “We knew that art and music could be a huge benefit and were thinking of how it could be included in day to day care.“That’s when, out of the blue, an approach to provide innovative services arrived from Sarah who had just graduated from Cardiff University. It seemed to us that Sarah had already decided she was going to become the first artist in residence at Pendine Park and indeed the first In Wales.“We were intrigued to know more and invited Sarah to come and meet us. I met her with my grandfather, Freddie, who was 95 then and a big lover of the arts. Sarah interviewed us with some forensic questioning and fortunately we passed. The rest is history and we became clients.”Sarah has helped guide Pendine Park to win won numerous arts related awards and in 2015 the organisation was named Business of the Year at the prestigious Arts and Business Cymru Awards. Born and raised in Wrexham, Sarah graduated from Cardiff University with a first in illustration after initially studying art at Yale College which is now part of Coleg Cambria. She said: “My initial plan, as I graduated, was to illustrate children’s books, but I had a problem in that I’d be working on my own and I felt I’d be isolated. “Having completed a project at a hospital in Gwent to brighten up the hospital environment and make it an inspiring place for patients and visitors, the experience stayed with me and I thought about how I could take that idea forward into a care home setting. “I believed the arts, not just painting, drawing and collage but music, drama, writing and all other art, could have a positive impact not just on the lives of residents but staff too.” “I met Mario and his grandfather, Fred, who was a resident himself in what is now Highfield House. “I brought my portfolio in with me and explained my vision of how I saw the arts and the whole concept of enrichment developing. I agreed to volunteer at first and really enjoyed the interaction with residents. “Suddenly residents weren’t ringing their bells and demanding attention. They had a focus and something to concentrate on. ‘ I’m proud of what we have achieved together in terms of the arts and enrichment. “I run regular art classes, which are always with some popular, I work one-to-one with some residents, run craft groups, calligraphy sessions and lots of other projects. I’m a free agent, “ I advise on the interior design and colour schemes for all Pendine Park homes as they are refurbished through a rolling programme of improvement work. “Together we have run some big enrichment projects that I’m very proud of and that have had a very positive effect on the lives of residents. “I met with the Hallé orchestra 11 years ago and we have collaborated ever since. I’ve also worked with Welsh National Opera, and Wrexham Symphony Orchestra on different projects. And I have devised ground-breaking dementia projects at the Llangollen International Music Festival for six years. She added: “People come into a care home and sometimes believe it’s the end, or near end, of their lives. But it isn’t, it is in fact just the start of a new chapter. They are often amazed to discover they have talents they didn’t know they had. That’s what inspires me. “Enrichment and the arts are a cornerstone of life at Pendine Park. I want to see how we can develop that even further. Some residents have showed me how that is possible. “I get a huge thrill out of being with and talking to residents and seeing them find something in themselves that they never knew was there. People who would never, or rarely, leave their rooms come to art sessions and are inspired and enthusiastic’ “I get as much inspiration from residents and staff of Pendine Park as I hope they get from me.”
Bookshelf – Care and nursing books for staff and families
We take a look at some of the new care and nursing books out there for staff and families. Covering a range of topics, these titles off CPD, advice and comfort as well as proving a great resource for activities. Sign up to our magazine for more care and nursing books and look out for book package prizes on our competitions page… Namaste Care for People Living with Advanced Dementia: A Practical Guide for Carers and Professionals By Nicola Kendall (£18.99, Jessica Kingsley Publishers) Namaste Care is a therapeutic approach to caring for those living with advanced dementia, focused on improving their quality of life through a simple, soothing and rewarding process. This step-by-step guide is for anyone looking to translate the principles of the Namaste Care approach successfully and professionally into a home or care setting, with an emphasis on the value of volunteers in the community in implementing this. The Namaste Care approach is focussed on giving comfort and pleasure to people with advanced dementia through sensory stimulation, especially the use of touch, and this book provides extensive guidance on every stage of the process, including harnessing community interest, recruiting and training volunteers, and managing pain and discomfort. In a time of ever-growing strain on healthcare resources, this practical guide is a timely reminder of the power and value of informal care and compassionate communities in helping to care better for people with dementia, and is essential reading for carers, professionals and family members. In this book: • The author brings extensive personal experience to the book, having implemented its processes herself, in her own community. • Foreword by Joyce Simard, the original developer of the Namaste Care method. • Extensive detailed information on the actual implementation processes involved in delivering Namaste Care. • Details of a very cost-effective method of caring for those with advanced dementia; appropriate for current economic strain on healthcare systems. About the author Nicola Kendall is a qualified psychotherapist, complementary therapist and mindfulness teacher, as well as the Namaste Lead at St Cuthbert’s Hospice, Durham. She is responsible for setting up a community project involving trained volunteers delivering Namaste Care to people living with advanced dementia at home. Making Sense of Dementia (Orchard Care Homes) If you work in a care environment with people who have dementia you will know that one vital aspect of their wellbeing is continued positive interactions with visits from relatives and friends. But what must it be like for the children who visit? It can be a scary and confusing experience for children. Orchard Care Homes, a leading provider of high-quality care for the elderly, has launched a new children’s activity book, ‘Making Sense of Dementia,’ designed to develop understanding and remove some of the fear and confusion associated with the condition. The book features fun traditional games such as mazes, spot the difference, optical illusions, memory tests, word searches and much more. Every activity is linked to the challenges somebody with dementia may face, with many pages asking children to question what they could do to help. By taking part in these activities, children will better understand the difficulties of having dementia as well as empathise and bond with family members who have the condition. See orchardcarehomes.com to find out more about the book and about how the Reconnect specialist dementia care model will deliver a holistic approach to caring for people with dementia that is significantly improved over traditional dependence on medication. Evidence-based Practice in Dementia for Nurses and Nursing Students by Dr Karen Harrison Dening (£24.99, Jessica Kingsley Publishers) Dr Karen Harrison Dening, editor of Evidence-based Practice in Dementia for Nurses and Nursing Students, discusses why dementia care is changing over time – and what care staff should be taught to ensure they can offer the best support… More people are living longer in old age, thus we are seeing an increase in both the prevalence and incidence of age-related conditions such as dementia. Dementia is a term used to describe a syndrome; a collection of symptoms, including a decline in memory, reasoning and communication skills, and a gradual loss of skills needed to carry out daily living activities [1]. The symptoms are caused by structural and chemical changes to the brain as a result of neurodegenerative change and processes. These include tissue destruction, compression, inflammation, and biochemical imbalances. In other words, the process of dementia is the end-stage manifestation of numerous brain disorders [2]. But that is the underlying technical rationale for what is going on; what about dementia care? Dementia care has changed massively on many levels since my days as a student nurse in the 1970s where people with dementia were contained in ‘back wards’ in large psychiatric hospitals. We saw the advent of such marvels as the ‘Kitwoodian’ approach to person-centred dementia care [3]. Also as the large psychiatric hospitals were closed we saw the expansion in a variety of dementia care settings and range of dementia services, education, technology, validation and revalidation of professional registrations…need I go on? As I moved through my career, reflecting on my practice and knowledge I would sometimes find myself saying ‘if only I knew then what I know now’ – then where would I be today? What resources might I have benefited from during my years of training and then as an early career nurse? I would have highly valued a book such as this that introduces the knowledge I needed, the evidence base for practice but that also the guidance to transfer this newly acquired knowledge into my everyday practice. The book was an inspiration following the publication of a very successful series of articles on dementia that ran in a well-known nursing journal between 2015 and 2017, which included 30 individual papers in all from prominent practitioners and academics in the field of dementia care and research. The section editor for the journal approached me and invited me to plan, commission and co-edit on a range of issues and topics on dementia and care
Paying for the time of care workers fairly
By Christian Brøndum, CEO of staffing software provider Planday In July of 2018, transformative legislation was enacted that would change the professional lives of care workers. The Court of Appeal overturned employment tribunal rulings that had meant care workers on ‘sleep-in’ shifts were entitled to minimum wage for each hour they were at work, effectively halving the workers salaries and the salaries. Charities and care providers stand to profit from the change, avoiding an estimated £400m back-pay bill, but it has left many of the UK’s essential care workers out of pocket. What does it mean for care workers? Lancashire County Council will be the first of the country’s local councils to react to the Court of Appeal’s ruling. The council’s current arrangements mean that shift workers are paid an average of £67 per shift. Following council decisions made in mid-June, those workers are due to earn an average of £45 per shift. These salary cuts are expected to save the council £7 million a year but they offer no further security to shift workers. At the end of 2018, the care sector’s staff turnover rate stood at 30.7%, climbing by 7.6% since 2013. Employers have been struggling to find, recruit, and retain people with the necessary skills for working in the sector. These can include required and essential skills such as conflict resolution and physical intervention training, but also equally important skills such as teamwork, empathy, and communication. In reflection of the hard work done by the care sector’s workforce and in face of legislation that makes it increasingly difficult for them to work, employers have an obligation to take measures to make their lives easier. Care providers can offer employees more control over their working lives, and in turn encourage them to remain working with them. Taking back control With the care sector financially stretched as it is, providers, charities, and other kinds of employer will need to take other steps to improve the lives of their employees. Encouraging and enabling flexibility in their timetables and fostering high levels of communication between their team members and their managers are management decisions that can easily and positively impact the lives of workers, creating a workplace where workers have a much higher level of control over their time. An increase in flexibility of this kind will discourage residential care workers from opting to work for agencies instead, removing a key factor of employee attrition. Improved communication structures also ensure that employees’ pastoral needs are met in the workplace and additionally allows them more oversight and more say in their schedule, resulting in greater knowledge of how much they stand to earn. Embracing innovation With this in mind, technology can have a transformative effect on the way care homes manage their staff. Cloud-based software has been shown to enable businesses across all sectors to provide online and mobile platforms which place more control in the hands of the employee. By providing permanent workers with an open platform which can be accessed on the go, employees can more easily communicate with each other, enabling easier swapping of shifts as well as other features of a flexible workplace. This can result in greater staff retention and higher employee satisfaction. Efficiently managing employees’ rotas not only helps to ensure they are not working overtime without being paid, it also means that their pay is recorded correctly and that mistakes can be avoided. Whilst for a long time, the care sector has invested in technology that takes care of patients, it’s time for employers to invest in technology that takes care of employees. Although Lancashire County Council’s cost-saving realisation of the Court of Appeal’s ruling will indubitably save money, care homes should look to other methods with a more positive effect on employees as a first measure.
Chatterbox goes silent to support those with cancer
A CHATTERBOX care home worker raised hundreds of pounds to support those with cancer by taking on a 12-hour sponsored silence. Amy Trattles can always be heard chatting and singing to residents when on shift as a care assistant at The Beeches Care Home, on Green Lane, Stockton-on-Tees. So she took on the challenge of staying silent for the day to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, the 2019/20 chosen charity of the Hill Care Group, which owns and operates the home where Amy works. Communicating with hand gestures and writing, Amy collected £300 in sponsorship after successfully completing 12-hours without a word spoken. After the sponsored silence, she said: “It was very difficult to keep silent, especially when the residents were trying to trick me into singing for them. I sing all the time and they really like it so I had a real struggle to keep quiet. “Staff were also testing me by suggesting I answer the phone and I’d only remember at the last minute that I couldn’t. No one thought I could keep quiet for five minutes, never mind 12 hours, but it’s for such a good cause that I was determined to keep my mouth shut. I can’t thank everyone enough. They’ve been so generous.” Resident Dot Cowley said: “I think it’s a brilliant thing Amy’s done. I’m really proud of her as I know she loves to talk.” Jessica Brown, home manager at The Beeches Care Home, said: “Amy decided to do this as she is the home’s chatterbox. “When on shift you can always hear Amy chatting away or entertaining the residents with a sing song. She raised an amazing amount in this first of many fundraising events and activities for the home over the coming year, as we join the rest of the Hill Care Group in raising as much as possible for Macmillan Cancer Support.”
Partnership to develop innovative wearable technology for residents at risk of falls
Essex County Council (ECC) and global innovation and transformation consultancy PA Consulting (PA) announce that they are working together to explore the potential of a new service using wearable technology – like socks and slippers – to help residents at risk of falls. ECC and PA aim to use this innovative technology for the first time in the UK with residents in Essex. The annual cost of falls in Essex is forecast to be over £46m in 2019, with almost a third of the population of Essex ‘at-risk’ of falling. Falls are often a preventable health issue and the partnership between ECC and PA will explore how technology can help to prevent them. The project, funded by the Local Government Association (LGA) through its Social Care digital innovation programme, will explore how wearable technology such as smart socks and slippers can collect real-time data on the movements and vital signs of a wearer’s lower limbs – their gait, strength and balance. This would then alert the wearer or a health or care professional to warning signs that a fall is imminent. Preventative action could then be taken to avoid the fall, such as taking some rest or drinking some water. Throughout the first discovery phase, ECC and PA will speak to organisations across the health and social care system in Essex. This will include professional and informal carers, health and care practitioners with specialist falls expertise, fallers and service delivery providers. Working with these stakeholders will help ECC and PA to establish the viability of the solution from a user, technical and service perspective. Once this is complete, the partnership’s aim is to give smart socks or slippers to Essex residents at risk of falls. Robert Turnbull, local government and care technology expert at PA Consulting, says: “It’s tremendously exciting to be working in partnership with ECC. The wearable technology innovation that we are exploring has the potential to be truly lifechanging. “PA has unmatched experience in bringing ingenuity to life in the care sector. We have a proven track record of innovative uses of technology to improve the lives of vulnerable adults, building a positive human future. We’re excited to be working with ECC on this project. ECC and PA share a passion for care technology and its ability to make a real difference to vulnerable people and their carers.” John Spence, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care at Essex County Council, says: “The impact of falls on individuals and their families can be devastating and can severely impact both their quality and length of life. Reducing falls and fractures is important for maintaining health, wellbeing and independence among older people and their carers.” For more information about wearable technology and care technology please visit PA Consulting
Seaside childhood memories rekindled for elderly residents
A SEASIDE trip was a walk down memory lane and brought back many childhood memories for elderly care home residents on an outing to Whitley Bay. The town on the north east coast was the scene for many a childhood holiday for residents at Waverley Lodge Care Home, Lemington, near Newcastle. Staff and family joined the residents for a day out to the coast, which included fish and chips and a walk along the beach. Resident Veronica White, 68, who first visited Whitley Bay in the 1960s, was astonished at how much the town had changed from when she was a child. She said: “It doesn’t look like Whitley Bay. It looks posh now.” Michelle Park, activities coordinator at Waverley Lodge Care Home, showed Veronica a display of old posters and photos outside the amusement arcades, which brought back memories. Michelle said: “Veronica recognised the old Spanish City leisure centre, a local landmark that had slides, merry-go-rounds, waltzers and other fairground rides. It was great to be able to take the residents out for the day, the smiles on their faces meant the world to all of us. When they got back to Waverley Lodge they all wanted to tell everyone how much fun they’d had and their childhood memories.” After returning to the care home, resident Francis Costello, 92, said: “I had such a lovely time. I’m ready for my bed now. It must be the sea air.” Jackie Wright, daughter of resident Matty Ovington, said: “It was lovely seeing my dad look so happy. He’s really enjoying living at Waverley Lodge.” For more stories like elderly residents reliving their childood memories please visit the Care and Nursing news page
British healthcare in crisis
Jonathan Bruce, Managing Director at Prestige Nursing + Care, discusses the need for politicians to focus on the future of healthcare. They say a week is a long time in politics, and the past few have seen the long-term future of British healthcare plunge deeper into uncertainty. The latest episode of this healthcare crisis was aired in May, with the news that the Social Care Green Paper was not to be published for at least another five months. It had been originally slated for Autumn 2017. What makes this issue and development particularly worrying is the supposed disagreement on how to fund the plans, between No10, the Treasury and the Department for Health, which has become so wide that there have been rumours that the Green Paper could be dropped permanently. This would be disastrous for all concerned in the care industry. Uncertain times for healthcare The change in Prime Minister will only serve to continue the confusion and stagnation surrounding the long-term healthcare plans. Can the new PM really balance the task of getting the care industry out of this crisis while getting to grips with the most important job in the country over the coming months? Moreover, the next Prime Minister will have their own agenda, ambitions, as well as people in mind to fill Cabinet positions. It’s possible that Matt Hancock won’t remain as Health Secretary beyond this leadership election, as one of his competitors may have brought in someone that aligns more with their beliefs. We have little idea of what the next Health Secretary will do with these Green Paper plans, whether they’ll support them or rip them up and start again. All this means is that the Green Paper that could do so much good for the industry will fall further and further away from seeing the light, at a time when it is needed the most. See prestige-nursing.co.uk to learn more about the healthcare provided by the group.
Overcoming loneliness and improving Extra Care at Grand Union Housing Group
by Jan Davis, Dementia Project Officer (Extra Care & Dementia), Grand Union Housing Group At Grand Union, we’ve long seen the impact of loneliness and feelings of social exclusion amongst our older customers, but with new developments in digital technologies, we’ve been able to tackle this problem head-on. By adopting modern ways of care and support, we can ensure our customers continue to live happy, healthy, engaged and independent lives. Digital technology has revolutionised care and support for customers at Quince Court – our Extra Care scheme in Sandy, Bedfordshire – after replacing our analogue system with Appello’s Smart Living Solutions. They now benefit from apartment‐to‐apartment video calls, video door entry system, upgraded smoke detectors and pendants for each resident to wear in case of emergency. Extra Care, extra quickly Most significantly, we have improved speed of access to support down from minutes to seconds, with much better two‐way speech, which can be far less confusing for older people. If someone is ill or unable to leave their apartment, they can call friends or carers for a chat, helping to promote social engagement in situations where normally they might feel isolated. Central Bedfordshire Council’s care team works in partnership with our independent living advisors to give the best level of 24‐hour care and support for customers at Quince Court. If a customer calls for assistance and one of the care team is busy with another customer, the call will automatically get routed to the Appello monitoring centre after a few seconds, to reassure the customer that help is coming. If it’s an emergency, then an ambulance will be called straight away ensuring help arrives as quickly as possible. It is hard to articulate the difference this has made to the carers. Now they know that every customer is getting support, even when they are busy elsewhere and without being torn between calls for help. Carers can prioritise incoming emergency calls and the Extra Care team can now proactively monitor the calls to see when and where support calls are generated, allowing us to proactively improve the services we offer. It’s great that through using digital technologies, we are able to help combat social exclusion and with an ever-growing older population and more people developing dementia and Alzheimer’s, we can subsequently help older people to remain in their own homes, outside of formal care for longer. For more information, see guhg.co.uk
HC-One enables Resident to stay with her fury companion
A HC-One Care Home has enabled a Resident to live with her beloved cat of 13 years after fears they may be separated. Beryl, a Resident at Berry Hill Park Care Home had her world turned upside down when her partner of 30 years passed away in January. The 81-year-old, was forced to relocate 75 miles to Mansfield, Nottinghamshire to be closer to her sister, but was faced with the prospect of being separated from her cat George. Beryl’s sister contacted Berry Hill Park Care Home in Mansfield, who were only best pleased to accommodate both Beryl and George into the home. Sally Tebbett, HC-Ones Berry Hill Park Care Home Manager describes how both Beryland George are now settling in perfectly to their new surroundings. She said: “We’re so pleased to have welcomed both Beryl and George into the home, they’ve adapted to their new surroundings quickly and are fitting in perfectly. They have a beautiful bond and we’re proud to have kept that, ensuring they both live a happy and fulfilled life.” Beryl added: “We have to be together because George needs me and I need him. Nobody loves me like he loves me. It’s great that I’m sharing this story as hopefully more cats will move into the home and George will have more friends.” Berry Hill Park has recently been rated Band 5 Premium by Notts County Council (NCC) following their recent inspection. NCC found that Berry Hill Park met high standards throughout all five categories, with Residents receiving quality care through an effective and professionally managed service. The managers take responsibility, are appropriately registered and accountable for their actions, and have an effective system for identifying, assessing and monitoring complaints and the quality of the service provision. Talking about the NCC rating, Sally said: “It is a great achievement for Berry Hill Park to receive such a high rating from our County Council. Our priority is to deliver the highest level of care and support to our Residents.” Located in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, Berry Hill is a purpose-built care home offering short and long-term stay to members of the community needing nursing and dementia care. The home provides a dedicated care plan for each Resident, working with them and their families to ensure that their wellbeing needs are met. For more information about HC-One Care Homes or to arrange a tour, visit www.hc-one.co.uk or call 0333 999 8434.
