Runwood Homes launches on-person guide for its carers
Runwood Homes, a leading UK residential and dementia care provider, has recently launched a new on-person care guide to every care delivery staff member, across all 72 of its homes. The R.E.D. Care Guide, which stands for ‘Residents Every Day’, is an innovative resource, full of supportive material for carers to promptly refer to, if and when required, and aims to support and promote safe, reliable, evidence-based care to residents every day. In the form of a laminated A6, on-person, multipage flipchart, The R.E.D. Care Guide is now carried on shift by Runwood Homes’ 3,700+ carers, in their tunic pockets as part of their everyday uniform. Gavin O’Hare-Connolly, Chief Operating Officer of Runwood Homes, comments, “The Guide is an easily accessible support and assists, using traffic light signal cues, to check residents’ health. For a consistent service, it provides standardised suggested next steps, highlighting when any issues require escalation. Providing our staff with this go-guide will give them heightened confidence in decision making in their important role of caring for residents.” Runwood Homes Care Assistant, Nicky Powell, talks about the R.E.D. Care Guide, “It’s a fantastic tool and really handy. The industry standard charts, which are tools that we refer to every day, are a great inclusion, such as The Abbey Pain Tool, Bristol Stool Chart and urine colour scale. Other prevention information included, for example, about falls, pressure sores and sepsis are also really helpful and keeps everything to look out for, front of mind, whilst still tending to residents everyday needs and wishes.” Find out more
Runwood Homes – Yellow Ribbon scheme
At Runwood Homes, we believe that it is of utmost importance that we treat our residents with dignity and respect in life and after passing. We have introduced the yellow ribbon as a sign of respect and remembrance. If a resident sadly passes away, a yellow ribbon will be present on their bedroom door handle so that all residents, staff and visitors are aware. We believe this is a comfort for families and friends and can help with the grieving process and for everyone to fondly remember them. At the end of life, a Comfort Wicker Basket will be placed in a resident’s room containing some important, personal belongings so that a special item may be picked out by a loved one to keep. The chosen item will be something that provides comfort at an emotional time. A meeting will be held with residents and families to decide what items they’d like included in their basket. Please speak to any staff member to discuss the Yellow Ribbon. www.runwoodhomes.co.uk
New Key Appointment at Runwood Homes
With 33 years’ credible experience within the health and social care sector, Clare Silvester has joined Runwood Homes at its Head Office in Hadleigh, Essex, to fill the recent Head of Quality and Governance vacancy. Beginning her career as a carer, Clare’s passion and drive for good quality care has seen a natural and significant progression within adult and elderly care, gaining valuable hands on experience and knowledge along the way, to become an expert in senior care quality and governance. As Head of Quality and Governance, Clare‘s role will ensure a robust framework to evidence the delivery of personalised, safe, effective, caring, responsive, well lead, high quality healthcare. Clare also monitors Runwood Homes residential care and nursing home services and continuously strives to improves care standards across the portfolio. Speaking of her role with Runwood Homes, which commenced in April 2019, Clare Silvester said, “Initially my priorities will be to review what current systems are working well and looking at immediate opportunities to improve our services. My longer term strategy will be to ensure Runwood Homes is always proactive and forward thinking with all our approaches to care delivery and governance.” Clare Silvester’s previous employment includes working for West Essex CCG in day care and acute elderly wards, advancing to long term employment with Essex County Council with successful roles in adult social care inspection management and quality improvement. More recently, Clare has taken on independent consultancy work, acted as Area Director and was a specialist Advisor for the Care Quality Commission. When asked what the future of Quality and Governance look like within the care service industry, Clare said, “The future holds exciting challenges for the sector; Quality and Governance will be more than just monitoring the overall operations of the business via Key Performance Indicators. We need to provide the entire workforce with appropriate and robust information that can be used consistently up and down the line to ensure everyone’s performance directly supports key objectives and strategies of the business.” Chief Operating Officer of Runwood Homes, Gavin O’Hare-Connolly, adds, “I welcome Clare in this pivotal appointment as we progress our services to a level leading the sector. The provision of high quality nursing and residential care is both expected and standard across our organisation and the investment in quality and governance only cements my clear vision of excellence as standard.” For more information about the Senior Team at Runwood Homes please visit https://www.runwoodhomes.co.uk/senior-team For all general enquiries please call 01702 559797 or email info@runwoodhomes.co.uk
