Specialist Neurological Rehabilitation Service in Oxfordshire rated Outstanding by the CQC
A neurological rehabilitation centre in Oxfordshire has been rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Orchard House, which opened in 2014 and is run by Christchurch Group, provides specialist community-based transitional rehabilitation in the village of Harwell in Oxfordshire. It supports adults with neurological conditions resulting from injury, illness or disease. The service offers accommodation for 9 residents and is a Headway Approved Provider. Inspectors praised the service for its exceptional care, its strong, values-led leadership and their person-centered approach displayed by the registered manager and staff, which provided clear therapeutic benefits for patients. The CQC also highlighted how the registered manager had ‘continually thought of initiatives to make improvements to enhance people’s lives and those of the staff.’ Alexandra Costa, Christchurch Group’s Registered Home Manager, commented: “We strive to ensure those we support are at the heart of life here at Orchard House and to create a friendly, welcoming environment, so I’m enormously proud to see that recognised. “Great credit must go to our fantastic team, including care, therapy, governance and support staff, who enable our patients to achieve positive outcomes. Without their diligence and genuinely caring approach this would not have been achieved.” As part of the inspection, a number of patients, staff and relatives were spoken to and encouraged to provide feedback on the support they received at the Harwell centre. One individual commented: “I feel I am safe and in a good place. I have been moved from home to home for a number of years. The people and staff are like a second family. I love it here.” A relative added: “I am absolutely amazed at the care my daughter receives. The staff are really good, they’re always there, anything you want you get.” Richard McKenzie, Christchurch Group’s Chief Executive Officer, added: “I am delighted that Orchard House has been awarded ‘Outstanding’ status. We are proud to deliver life-changing, evidence-based outcomes for adults with neurological conditions. “An ‘Outstanding’ CQC is testament to the hard work and dedication that the staff at Orchard House have put in over the past 12 months. We are passionate about providing high quality, person-centred care, so to find out this has been recognised through a formal inspection is very rewarding.” Christchurch Group was established in 1998 to provide high quality brain injury rehabilitation within a community setting. The organisation has since grown into a leading provider of specialist neurological rehabilitation that offers a range of specialist services across eight centres in York, Lincoln, Birmingham, Northampton, Bedford and Harwell in Oxfordshire.
Borough Care Marks Nutrition & Hydration Week
Borough Care, the largest not-for-profit provider of care for older people in Stockport, marked Nutrition & Hydration Week (11-17 March 2019) with a programme of special food and drink related activities. Every day during Nutrition & Hydration Week, Borough Care’s catering teams at each of the company’s eleven homes put on tasty treats for residents, based around a different theme. Events included mocktail Monday, using fruits and juices to make non-alcoholic drinks; a cheese and wine tasting; an afternoon tea party; fruit tasting and a breakfast club. The week culminated in a Sunday roast celebration meal. Commenting on the Nutrition & Hydration Week events put on for residents, Nicci Gregory, Head Cook at Borough Care’s Bamford Close home in Cale Green, says: “Myself and Joanne Morris, our Activity Lifestyle Facilitator, decided our events needed to be fun and creative so residents would want to engage with each activity. For mocktail Monday, we decided on a Hawaiian themed party. I mixed and pureed ingredients to make a choice of mocktails, which we served in sugar coated glasses with tropical themed accessories. We put on tropical themed music and soon our residents were enjoying singing and dancing along.” Nicci Gregory continues: “For our cheese tasting session, we sourced a wide variety of different cheeses to tickle the taste buds of our residents. Lots of the residents hadn’t sampled many different cheeses before but were up for the new experience. Wensleydale and Cheshire came out on top, with Stilton getting a definite thumbs down. We decided to make our afternoon tea party very traditional, to provoke memories among residents. I made a selection of savoury treats and the obligatory cucumber sandwiches, followed by an array of cakes and scones. Our residents immediately engaged with the activity and many of their family and friends joined us for the occasion. It was a wonderful afternoon, with lots of smiles and laughter.” Nutrition & Hydration Week highlights and educates people on the value of food and drink in maintaining health and wellbeing in health and social care settings. Preventing malnutrition and dehydration is crucial to good health, especially in older people. Mark Dale, Catering & Hospitality Manager at Borough Care, says: “We are committed to ensuring all our residents enjoy high quality food and eat well. Offering healthy, well-balanced meals to suit a person’s specific dietary requirements is an important part of the care we provide. Getting older people to eat well can sometimes be difficult. The food we serve not only needs to be nutritious, it has to be presented well and look appetising, to encourage people to eat it. We have recently introduced a nutritional tool that can track a resident’s food consumption. This enables us to make sure people are receiving the correct nutrients in their diet. Nutrition & Hydration Week provided the ideal opportunity to highlight the importance of food and drink to good health.”
Eastenders star celebrates care workers at glitzy awards event
Actor Shaun Williamson, famous for playing Barry in Eastenders, was the host of a glittering awards evening to celebrate staff at specialist care provider, Cornerstone Healthcare Group. Shaun helped to celebrate the long service of more than 30 Cornerstone employees at the newly refurbished Langstone Quays Hotel in Havant last week. All of the staff ‘VIPs’ have worked for Hampshire-based Cornerstone Healthcare for more than 10 years, with four of them celebrating more than 20 years loyalty and dedication to their residents and the company. Cornerstone Healthcare employs 381 staff at two specialist nursing homes; South Africa Lodge in Waterlooville and Kitnocks House in Curdridge. The service cares for people with challenging behaviours associated with complex neurological, physical and mental health needs. Shaun said; “This has been the most amazing evening! It was an honour to meet such a committed and energetic group of people. They are doing such important work in a sector that has a tendency to be under appreciated and it’s great to see them being recognised.” Cornerstone’s CEO, Johann van Zyl, joined Shaun in applauding the staff for their commitment. “We value our team and we hope this award ceremony shows them how much,” he said. “Continuity of care is so important for people with dementia or mental health needs and we work hard to make this a supportive environment for our employees. “The staff turnover rate in the UK generally is 18%, and for the care sector that goes up to 33% – ours is just 8% so we’re doing something right!” Chief Operating Officer for Cornerstone Healthcare, Dara Ni Ghadhra, said: “Our staff are at the forefront of this really challenging industry every day and they deserve every accolade. We are thrilled to give them this recognition.” As well as ongoing training and development, which sees staff members’ ideas and initiatives at its heart, Cornerstone also offers a psychological counselling service to help staff deal with the stresses of supporting people with complex needs. More than ten per cent of Cornerstone’s staff have over ten years’ service. Janice Parker has worked at South Africa Lodge for 23 years as a carer and was among those recognised at the event. “I love my job but to have this recognition is so special,” Janice said. “It’s been a fantastic evening and it’s given us all a little boost to know that what we do each day for our residents doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Teens and businesses making a difference in Huddersfield
A CELEBRATION evening was held to thank businesses across Huddersfield for providing volunteering opportunities to hundreds of teenagers. Over 590 young people were involved in the Huddersfield Giants Community Trust National Citizen Service (NCS) programme in 2018. They worked on 48 social action projects around the city and helped fundraise more than £26,500 for the activities and work they carried out. One of those projects was transforming the garden at Thornhill Care Home, on Thornhill Road. A group of 15-to-17-year-olds from the NCS programme created plant pot borders around the home’s garden, installed solar lighting and laid artificial turf. They held fundraising activities and appealed to local businesses for supplies to complete the work. They also received funding from Kirklees Council, after support from Councillor Sheikh Ullah, to purchase benches for the home’s residents. The Huddersfield Giants Community Trust organised a celebration to congratulate the young volunteers and also thank the businesses who have provided community project opportunities. The event took place at Northfield Hall, Norfolk Ave, Huddersfield, attended by community trust workers, dozens of business representatives and members of Kirklees Council. Kirklees Council Deputy Mayor Cllr Mumtaz Hussain, Deputy Mayoress Noreen Hussain and Cllr Sheikh Ullah, who supported the Thornhill Care Home project, were among those at the event. Nina Baker, Huddersfield Giants Community Trust NCS programme coordinator, said: “This event was our way of saying thank you to everyone who has supported our NCS programme Social Action Provision in the summer and autumn of 2018. “It was a huge success and great to see so many organisations without whom we couldn’t have such an incredible impact throughout Kirklees. “We look forward to working closely with Hill Care and other organisations throughout Kirklees for the 2019 programme, which will begin in June.” Johnny Edwards, home manager at Thornhill Care Home, said: “We are so grateful to Huddersfield Giants Community Trust NCS programme for choosing Thornhill Care Home for their community project. “The work they have done in our garden is exceptional, a real transformation, and will be enjoyed by our residents for many years to come. “We look forward to working with the NCS programme again this year as well as seeing them at our sister homes across the region.” Thornhill Care Home is one of several Hill Care Group homes providing support for the 2019 programme, including Longroyds and Pilling House Care Home, in Skelmanthorpe, and Aden Lodge Care Home, in Clayton West. Vicky Taylor, regional manager for the Hill Care Group, said: “We are delighted to offer our ongoing support to the Huddersfield Giants Community Trust NCS programme. “The social action projects at our care homes are hugely beneficial not just to the homes themselves but to the residents and the young volunteers. “They provide opportunities for intergenerational activities that have a positive impact on those living in our homes and give the volunteers an opportunity to make a difference in their community.” The Hill Care Group operates care homes across the north of England. For further information visit www.hillcare.net. For further information on the Huddersfield Giants Community Trust and the National Citizen Service programme visit https://hgct.co.uk/.
Bristol Trainee to become one of First Nursing Associates
A trainee from Bristol will become one of the country’s first Nursing Associates when she completes her apprenticeship qualification next month in April. Michelle Alderson, 29, who works at Sirona care & health’s Charlton House Community Resource Centre in Keynsham, is one of the pioneers for the new nursing role having participated in one of the country’s first pilots for the qualification. Nursing Associates will work with healthcare support workers and registered nurses to deliver care. A Qualified Nursing Associate can also go on to train as a registered nurse which is Michelle’s long-term goal. Michelle enrolled on the new Nursing Associate apprenticeship degree course in 2017, studying one day a week at the University of the West of England. She says: “I started at Sirona as a support worker which I enjoyed but knew I wanted to go further. Sirona has supported me all the way. It was really exciting being part of the pilot course and that we are one of the first sites to implement it. I like to think we have paved the way for the Nursing Associates of the future.” Karen Gleave, Professional Development Facilitator at Sirona care & health, says: “Michelle and the Sirona team have together helped pioneer this important qualification. It will not only create an invaluable new role but will act as a stepping stone for those who wish to go on and train as a registered nurse. I enrolled Michelle on the course and am very proud that she will qualify next month.” Once qualified, Michelle will complete her preceptorship year at Charlton House Community Resource Centre. She then plans to complete the additional two- year top up to become a registered nurse. Sirona care & health currently has 60 apprentices. Its ethos of developing and progressing staff means that, whether you are 16 or 66, you can learn and grow with the organisation.
Nutrition & Hydration Week 11th – 17th March
Nutrition and Hydration Week has taken place every March since 2012. Its purpose is to bring people together to create energy, focus and fun in order to highlight and educate people on the value of food and drink in maintaining health and well being in health and social care. Organisations from around the world and from all areas of health and social care take part and new organisations are welcome to join in the fun. Get involved with Nutrition and Hydration Week Nutrition and Hydration Week is open to absolutely anyone who wants to join our shared cause of helping people understand the importance of nutrition and hydration in health and social care. It’s fun and its free to join and all the resources on this website are available to downloaded for free and be customised as you wish. Getting involved is easy and its really up to you to decide what you would like to do for your organisation. To help we have produced a Nutrition and Hydration Week handbook which gives you loads of ideas and practical tips and advice on how to make your week a huge success! We also recommend subscribing to our e-newsletter so you can stay up to date with the latest news about Nutrition and Hydration Week. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Across the rest of the year when we aren’t busy with planning Nutrition and Hydration Week we also have some focus days to help continue the momentum generated by Nutrition and Hydration Week, and give you an opportunity to keep highlighting the important messages about nutrition and hydration. The focus days for 2019 are: Big Breakfast – 21 January 2019, Thirsty Thursday – 13 June 2019, Fruity Friday – 20 September 2019, Tasty Suppers –26 November 2019. So please make a note of them in your calendar and we will be talking more about them closer to the time in our e-newsletter. Find out more
Pets charm residents at Teesside care home
A HERD of fluffy, four-legged friends were the latest visitors to a Middlesbrough care home. Rabbits and guinea pigs hopped in to see residents at The Gables Care Home, on Highfield Road, for an animal therapy session. Staff from Pets at Home, on Teesside Park, Stockton-on-Tees, brought the animals for residents to hold and stroke. Having contact with the cute, cuddly creatures provides therapeutic benefits for those living with dementia, according to home manager Pam Rodgers. She said: “Watching, stroking and holding guinea pigs, rabbits and other animals can have a calming and positive impact on everyone – but especially those living with dementia. “They might bring back fond memories of their own pets or give them something to focus on and care for. Everyone had big smiles on their faces at the end of the session.” After holding the rabbit, resident Maureen Hall said: “How wonderful is he. I could hold him all day.” Fellow resident James Haslam said: “It’s great being able to meet animals like this. Thank you. They are beautiful.” The Gables Care Home is part of the Hill Care Group. For further information visit www.hillcare.net.
LOROS Hospice raises palliative care nursing profile
LOROS Hospice is one of five major health and social care employers behind the recently launched recruitment campaign Y/Our Future that is encouraging doctors, nurses and health and social care workers to relocate to live and work in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Latest figures from NHS Improvement show that 11.8% of nurse posts in England were not filled – a shortage of nearly 42,000[i]. Experts described the situation as at risk of becoming a “national emergency” given the rising demands on the NHS[ii]. An NHS report last year highlighted the negative impact this is having on specialist nurses, including cancer and palliative care nurses[iii]. Hospice UK has also reported that staff shortages and increased caseloads prevent effective pain management at home for dying people. As part of the Y/Our Future campaign, LOROS Hospice is keen to promote the Hospice and the role of palliative nursing to encourage more nurses and healthcare workers interested in working in this field to relocate to the region. LOROS Hospice provides free, high-quality, compassionate care and support to terminally ill patients, their family and carers, both at the Hospice and in patients’ own homes. LOROS delivers palliative care to around 2,500 people a year across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Clare Green works as a Community Nurse Specialist at LOROS Hospice and goes out to see patients in their homes. Clare has been a nurse all her working life and has worked in a community nursing role for the past 20 years. Clare relocated to work at LOROS Hospice from Peterborough because she particularly enjoys palliative care. She explains why: “People often ask why we do the job we do and I just hope that I can make small differences to both the patients and their families during really difficult times. If we can improve symptoms and provide support to the family then we will help make the overall situation slightly more bearable.” The role entails visiting patients at home – predominately referred from GPs and hospitals, but sometimes from colleagues at LOROS as well – to resolve complex issues and provide psychological support. Clare says that LOROS is a unique place to work. She highlights there is a really high retention rate amongst staff and that’s because LOROS is a relatively small organisation, it’s got a great atmosphere. She says: “I have been here for six and a half years. It provides the team with a lot of experience as there only three people who have been here for less time than me. It’s a friendly place to work – everyone speaks in the corridor and you really feel that everyone is trying to strive for the patients and their families. “We are able to discuss the patients so there is a great sense of teamwork here. We are very lucky we have many volunteers helping out too, which also creates a good atmosphere and gives a better patient experience.” Clare says Leicester is a good location for nurses, doctors and health and social care workers to pursue their careers, given its central location and plenty of health care facilities, including specialist centres. It’s also a great place to live. Clare adds: “It is a really diverse area, as well as being an easy place to get around. I live in quite a rural area but can quickly get into the city centre. You can also get to places quickly throughout the UK because of the good motorway network, plus the trains are really good in this area too.” LOROS Hospice is part of the Y/Our Future recruitment campaign that unites five major health and social care employers – University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Rutland County Council and Leicester City Council – to recruit doctors, nurses and health and social care workers to work in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Y/Our Future aims to promote Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland as a leading career destination for health and social care professionals, with great career and lifestyle opportunities. LOROS Hospice currently has vacancies for Registered Nurses, a Discharge Liaison Nurse and a Social Worker. For current vacancies across the county visit: https://www.your-future.co.uk/
Farm animals bring smiles to elderly residents’ faces
HOOVES clattered through the halls of an Ellesmere Port care home when residents were treated to an animal therapy session. Two miniature ponies, a goat and a rabbit were among the latest visitors to Aaron Court Care Home, on Princes Road. The four-legged farm animals were brought to the home by pet therapy company Doolittles Animal Therapy. The residents were given the opportunity to stroke, cuddle and talk to the animals during the session. One resident, Mavis Shaw, was brought to tears upon seeing the goat and repeatedly said “thank you” to the company’s expert handlers. Animal therapy sessions helps to reduce stress, ease anxiety and improve overall wellbeing, according to home manager Lindsey Bevan. She said: “You only have to watch the residents with the animals to see how beneficial these sorts of therapy session are. “Particularly for those with dementia, as it can bring back fond memories, which has a positive impact on stress and anxiety. “Everyone was very excited when the animals got here and the smiles on the residents’ faces said it all. It’s not every day ponies and a goat visit a care home.” Aaron Court Care Home is part of the Hill Care Group. For further information visit www.hillcare.net.
