Caring in the Snow

While Warwickshire grapples with the worst winter weather for several decades, there is a small band of heroines and heros who are working steadfastly through the artic conditions to ensure that the most vulnerable people in the county are still able to receive hot food and help with personal care.  They are the  County's care workers  some of who work for SureCare.

Paying for Care

Paying for care for the future  is becoming a hot  political issue both nationally and locally.  Warwickshire County Council  (WCC) have an ongoing consultation on the increase in care fees with individuals making greater and, they say,  more equitable contributions to their  community care costs.  Care home fees are not under scrutiny at the moment but no doubt will soon be targetted for "equity" as well.

Supporting Admiral Nurses

Last week it was my pleasure to meet an Admiral Nurse -  one of only two who work in Warwickshire. Admiral nurses are specialist mental health nurses who specialise in supporting  people with dementia adn their families similar to MacMillan nurses who support people with cancer.

Positive Futures: Coping with Caring for Someone with Dementia

There are 820,000 people with diagnosed dementia in the UK and most of these will be living at home cared for by their families.  The whole family can be affected by the diagnosis of dementia and  family carers will wonder how they are going to cope with the life changes which will follow the diagnosis.  Caring for someone with dementia which can stretch for many year and is tiring. And isolating. And often leads to depression and anxiety for carers. Where can carers get help?

SPECAL is Special

SPECAL stands for Specialised Early Care for Alzheimers and is a method of communication which harnesses a person with dementia's  intact past memories to relate to present events and  so allows them to enjoy well being and a good quality of life.  I came across SPECAL several years ago and have been intrigued by the approach but only last week was finally able to access a course held at the SPECAL centre in Burford, Oxfordshire.  It was everthing I expected - good quality training which gave much food for thought and inpiration.

The Dementia Declaration

Readers will notice that there is a new badge on this blog site - The Dementia Declaration.  This is a campaign spearheaded by the Community Care magazine and involving a number of high profile bodies such as the Alzheimer's Society and the United Kingdom HomeCare Association.  Thy are quite simply calling for a full debate on the issue of dementia during the general election, a recognition of the increasing numbers of people with the disorder and the the need to make their care an explicit priority when allocating resources in the future.

Championing Dignity in Care

This week I became a Dignity Champion.  I felt quite privileged to be following in the footsteps of Michael Parkinson who has been the Government's Dignity Ambassador since 2008 and frontman for the Dignity in Care Campaign.  I am also joining a growing  group of people from all  walks of life - Dignity Champions -  who believe passionately that Dignity is a basic human right and that care services must be compassionate, person-centred as well as efficient.  Dignity Champions  promote dignity within the care sector and take practical steps to improve dignity for clients in service delivery.

Training is Essential to Good Quality Care

We held an  induction training session today.  Our new recruits arrived early and full of anticipation for the day ahead and the role they will be undertaking in the future.  My welcome to them included a summary of our values and ethos and how as an organisation we will be supporting them in their future role and the training they will receive with SureCare.

Helping Clients to Live Independently and Safely

It seems scarcely a week goes by without a horror story being reported in the press about elderly people who have been subjected to revolting forms of abuse.  It seems that no matter where you are - at home or in residential accomodation, if you are elderly,  you are at risk.   And in addition to violence, neglect and doorstep fraudsters which are all too common and well covered in the press, perpetrators find ever more ingenious ways to take advantage of the elderly.

I was reading this week about a couple who befriended their neighbour, a woman in her eighties with health problems living alone without family and few friends.  This "caring" couple started out by befriending their neighbour, helping with her chores, progressing to cancelling her care workers, moving her into their home to "look after her", isolating her from her contacts and eventually persuading  her into signing over her home to them.   Luckily for this lady one of her "real" friends became suspicious, investigated the couple and found that they had a history of preying on elderly women living alone in valuable properties and had managed to acquire three other properties in this way.  The friend reported the case to Social Services, but although they ageed to keep an eye on the lady, there was little they could  do in these circumstances when the lady is grateful to her "friends" and seems to be be acting of her own free will.

We need to be vigilant about our vulnerable elderly neighbours. Care Support Workers can be a great help in looking out for their elderly clients ensuring that they are visited regularly and noting anything unusual  in the day to day activities of the home.  This can give peace of mind to relatives.   They can also be sure that our Care Staff are trustworthy because at SureCare, we take safeguarding of our clients very seriously.  All our Care Support Workers have an enhanced CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check and two written references from previous employers.

We then  train them to spot any signs of abuse and have robust procedures to ensure that any suspected or actual abuse is reported and acted upon promptly. The director of SureCare also belongs to the Warwickshire Safeguarding Network to keep up to date with developments in safeguarding and cascades information on safeguarding down to all staff. We are constantly vigilant to ensure that all our clients  are able to live full and independent lives in safety. 

If you are a relative of an elderly adult who needs care please see our website for more information on our services: www.surecarewarks.co.uk

Looking After Our Staff

We have been recruiting staff this last week as Care Support Workers.  Their role will be to work with older people in their homes supporting them with personal and domestic taks to enable them to live independently for as long as possible.

Listening to how some Care workers are treated by Care Agencies makes me very angry.  Care Workers are not the best paid and have very low status in society in spite of the critical work that they do in ensuring older people with care needs - who are some of the most vulnerable people in our society - are supported at home.  Poor training, poor supervision, poor monitoring, poor management, call cramming and so on are all things I'm hearing  from potential recruits are widespread in the care sector particularly amongst private agencies.

In SureCare, our starting point in providing high quality person-centred care is to look after our staff. Because we beleive that if our staff are well paid, well supported, well trained and supervised they will in turn do a good job of looking after their clients.  Simply, by respecting the personhood of the Care Worker, we respect the personhood of the client. 

Our calls to clients are a minimum of 1/2 hour and we will ensure that our staff remain to for the full half hour because the client deserves to get their full time allocation that they have paid for. There is no call cramming and adequate travelling time factored in for staff to reach their next client.  We give staff a full induction programme plus additional training in  important areas such as medication, moving and handling  and food hygiene.  All our staff will also undergo specialist dementia courses to support our clients with dementia. When they have completed this training they will be able to wear a Specialist Care Worker badge to indicate their completion of this additional training.   We encourage our Care Workers to complete NVQs in social care.   Monthly supervison, yearly appraisal and regular team meetings all contribute to supporting and mentoring our staff  so they can provide the best care for our clients. 

We are always looking for highly motivated and committed care staff.  If you know anyone who would like to join our team please see our website at http://www.surecarewarks.co.uk/  or email us at info@surecarewarks.co.uk for more information.

Person Centred Care

We hear a lot about "person-centred" care in the care sector to the extent that you can't be delivering "good" care unless it's "person-centred" now.  But what does it mean?   Trying to discover what it really means is not straightforward and there seems to be many interpretations.   It can mean individualised care or a set of techniques to use with people with dementia or just a value base. 

The best definition which I've found for person-centred care is from Dawn Brooker* who describes four elements to person centred care using the following "VIPS" model:
1. Valuing people with dementia and their carers - promoting their rights and inclusion regardless of their age or abilities.
2. Treating people as Individuals with all their history, personality, preferences and resources.
3. Understanding the Perspective for the person with dementia, their experience and empathising with them.
4. Recognising the need for a  Social environment which enriches and promotes relationships and focuses on the abilities of the person with dementia.

This is an excellent  blueprint for person-centered care planning and delivery and for developing our domiciliary care service within SureCare.  We value people by ensuring that they get the time and quality of service which they deserve.. We treat each client as  an individual who has choice and aim to focus on supporting the client to make the most of  his or her abilities. We aim to provide a service which supports people in their own homes to remain part of their community and lead as full lives as possible. 

For more information on SureCare services please go to http://www.surecarewarks.co.uk/

*See Person Centred Dementia Care by Dawn Brooker ISBN 978-1-84310-337-0

Social Care - An Election Issue

It's a well known fact that the population of Great Britain is getting older -around 34% of the population is over 50 and this is set to rise to 40% by 2026.  This is a huge challenge to all involved in the social care sector as  it is estimated, that over 1.7 million people will require social care.

The National Audit Commissio's report, Under Pressure, published this month is a sobering read on the costs of care for an aging population.  It says that increasing levels of public debt coupled with falling income from taxation  means that the Government will be under pressure to cut public spending. Consequently,  Local Authorities will be under pressure to cut their levels of spending just  as more and more people are going to be requiring care.

The reasons for the increase in care is that age-realted health conditions are on the increase. Older people disagnosed with Dementia, for example,will double over the next 30 years to 1.4 million and the associated costs will treble to over £50 billion a year.

The cost of  future care was debated accross the country last year in a government consultation following the green paper on Shaping the Future of Care Together.  The paper proposed a National Care Service  with three main options for funding future care:  the first is for a partnership of people and the State sharing the cost based on ability to pay, the second is a voluntary insurance scheme and the third is a compulsory payment of £20,000 which can be deferred until after death. 

Paying for social care is a tricky question and none of the major parties in government seeming to want to get to grips with the issues favouring instead sensationalist prouncements such as "free care  for everyone with cancer" or a £20,000 "death tax".   Attempts to find common ground has so far been unsuccessful with all parties blaming each other for the collapse of talks.

With a general election looming the funding of social care will be high on the agenda as it should be.  We should be listening closely to what the main parties are saying about social care and what their propositions are for funding care in the future.  They have all known about the demographic time-bomb for many years and have been reluctant to accept responsibility and make unpalatable decisions.  This issue won't go away - and it affects us all.  Who will give us  the care we need when we grow old? Will they get our vote?

For more information on SureCare Home Care service please go to www.surecarewarks.co.uk


 

Where is the Love? - Valentine's Day thoughts

Valentine's Day is a celebration of love and I would like to take the opportunity to think about love in my business.  In social care we do see a lot of people in difficulties, with illness, disability and difficult family situations.  However, there is also a lot of love in this business which isn't often recognised.

I often meet people who give up their jobs and livelihoods to look after a spouse or a parent or other member of the family.  Parents with a disabled child who dedicate their whole lives to  their child and never have time for themselves.  Neighbours and friends who give their time and compassion to those who need them even though they have their own lives and difficulties.  These are all carers whose love and dedication is needed to save the economy £81 bn each year yet get so little recognition for their  vital role in society. Lets think about carers on Valentine's Day.

Care Workers often get bad press  - I'm sure that many people will have seen  some of  the TV expose of bad domiciliary care agencies or read press reports of  cruel care  work practices. The really good Care Workers never get any press time.  I have met lots of wonderful care staff who work with great dedication, compasssion and loving kindness with their clients.  I'd like to celebrate these wonderful people who work in difficult conditions on low pay and without any recognition for the excellent work they do year in and year out.  In the recent bad weather many of these workers were true heroines and heros ensuring that their clients received a service even if it meant  walking through the snow for miles to get to a client's house.  Lets think about Care Workers on Valentine's Day.

There are many volunteers who work in social care providing a huge range of services which are vital to supporting people lives and well being. From providing talking books for the visually impaired to hot dinners for homeless people there are many many people who give their time for love and compassion for those who are less fortunate.  This pool of volunteers is getting smaller as fewer people are taking on volunteer roles and it often falls to older retired people to fill the gaps. Volunteers are also vital to our society and their work often goes unnoticed in our busy world.  Lets think about all the volunteers amongst us on Valentine's Day.

So there is a lot of love in social care and it seems an ideal time on Valentine's Day to think about all the people who work in our field with love and dedication.  I salute them all and wish them all a very Happy Valentine's Day!

For more information on carers please go to the SureCare website at http://www.surecarecarewarks.co.uk/

Dementia in the News this Week

There has been a lot of interest in dementia in the news this week.  The Alzheimers Society started the debate with their report which says that dementia care is not getting enough funding and research into dementia falls far behind other high-profile illnesses  - in fact £12 is spent on cancer research for every £1 which goes into dementia research.  A lot of  the media picked up on this story  - on BBC IPlayer there were at least five radio programmess covering the story with many listeners calling in with their own harrowing stories of looking after someone with dementia - lack of support, information and delays in diagnosis.   All were calling for more money to go into dementia research.

Another story which made the headlines was that the incidence of dementia has been underestimated and that there are around 821,884 people who have been diagnosed with dementia which is a big increase on the 700,000 previous estimates. 15,000 of these are under the age of 65.  The total numbers of people who will be affected by dementia will reach 1m by 2021. 

The cost of dementia care has also been reported in the press.  The total cost to the economy of dementia is £23bn per year.  Every dementia patient, according to researchers from the University of Oxford, costs the economy £27,647 - nearly fives times more than a cancer patient and eight times more than someone with heart disease.   However, it is the costs met by carers and residential care, rather than the expenses of the NHS  which really pushes up the burden of dementia.   And to come a full circle, these costs bear no relation to the amount of money which is being put into funding the research into the treatment and prevention of dementia.

 World famous author, Terry Pratchet kept dementia in the news too when he gave the David Dimbleby lecture on Tuesday evening, 2 February.  His lecture was called Shaking Hands with Death explored how modern society needs to deal with terminally  ill people and how they might have a good death.  Sir Terry gave the introduction and his "stunt Terry" - aka  Balack Adder actor Tony Robinson - read the lecture.  He did an excellent job with passion and humour and you could tell that Terry heartily approved by his big beaming smile. 

It's heartening to see the subject of dementia getting such a lot of attention in the media. For too long the word "dementia" has been whispered and not openly mentioned.  It is said that dementia is where cancer was 50 years ago - but thanks to a number of high profile people living with dementia like Terry Prachett and the work of various dementia charities,  it is now being openly recognised and debated and given media time. However, without more funding into  research and treatment of dementia it still has the potential to be the timebomb which overwhelms the NHS.

Please visit our website at http://www.surecarewarks.co.uk/

A Busy Week!

It's turned into a really busy and interesting week! 

On Monday I was very pleased to welcome  my new Care-Cordinator - Lynda .  She joins SureCare with a wealth of experience in domiciliary care and is going to lead on the operational side of the business.  Great to have her on board! We are going to be a formidable team!  In the picture below, I'm on the left and Lynda is on the right.

On Tuesday, Lynda's second day we had our very successful "Time for a Cuppa" Day which was really well supported and raised £103 in total.  It was a great opportunity for Lynda to meet some interesting people who work in our building as well as a number of our friends and colleagues in the 4Networking group to which I belong. Thanks to everyone who helped us by  making  cakes and made such generous donations to our chosen charity forDementia.

 This week Lynda and I are putting together our recruitment packs and literature and looking at the best way to recruit care staff.  We are looking forward to welcoming our first care support workers to the SureCare Warwickshire fold soon.  Watch this space!!

For more information on SureCare Warwickshire please visit our website: www.surecarewarks.co.uk

Time for a Cuppa Day - Tuesday 2 February 2010

forDementia  is a charity that provides specialist Admiral Nurses to support people with dementia and their carers in their homes. A national fundraiser called Time for a cuppa day is being held on  2 February  2010 where cake and a cuppa is sold for £1 with all proceeds to forDementia projects.  TV presenter, Fiona Phillips, whose father is currently living with dementia is endorsing this event.

SureCare Warwickshire is holding a Coffee Morning at their offices in Tatchbrook Park Leamington on 2 February to support this national event and everyone is invited to come along meet us and have a cuppa to raise money for this worthwhile charity.  SureCare Warwickshire provides practical help and support to older people and specialises in the care of people with dementia and their carers.  Here is our invite to this event:

Take Time Out on “Time for a Cuppa Day”

and Join:

Desiree & Lynda of SureCare

 

For a “Time for a Cuppa” event to help raise money in aid of  Charity forDementia

EVENT: Coffee & Cake morning—Homemade Cake & a Cuppa for £1,

Times Crossword £2 - all proceeds to fordementia charity
DATE: Tuesday 2 February 2009

TIME 10.00 a.m.—12.00 p.m.

PLACE: The Meeting Room, Pure Offices,

3 Plato Close, Tachbrook Park, Leamington Spa, CV34 6WE

Please RSVP to: 01926 800159 or email: info@surecarewarks.co.uk

Introducing SureCare

SureCare Warwickshire is a newly established domiciliary care service based in Leamington Spa offering the highest quality home care to older people in  South Warwickshire enabling them to live at home independently, excercising choice and control in their lives.  We can offer domestic, personal and social support. We specialise  in the care of older people with dementia and we also support their carers by enabling them to have a break from their caring role and having some time for themselves. 

My name is Desiree Lambert, and I am the director and registered manager of SureCare Warwickshire.  I am writing this blog is to chart our progress in establishing our service, to record interesting information and news in the field of dementia care and to be able to communicate with a wider audience who have an interest in supporting older people and dementia home care.  I look forward to hearing readers views too through feedback and comments and look forward to an exciting and interesting interactive blog space.

To find out more about SureCare please go to:  www.surecarewarks.co.uk