January 2010

no.164 • £4.75

In association with

By Dominic Musgrave

THE owner of a Bradford nursinghome has been left with a bill formore than £2,000 after rogueworkmen dug up her car parkwithout permission.

Hanna Gumeniuk, who runs RoseGarland, said she was approached bytwo men who said they had somespare asphalt and could carry outwork on the car park.

She refused and said she did notwant anything to be done withoutseeing a quote first.

Hanna said the men told her theywould return the following day togive her a written quote.

She added: “I live in the house nextdoor to the home and was upstairsjust after 8am when I heard drillingoutside.

“I looked out of the window andthere were three workmen digging alot of the car park drive up. Theywere digging around the cars of thestaff and have left half a dozen holes,which is dangerous, particularly aswe are a care home.”

Hanna and her daughter ran out oftheir home and told the workmen toput the mess right and go. She then

contacted the police and thecompany the men worked for, whoagreed to send somebody else to putthings right for a fee.

Hanna added: “They came aroundand did a little bit before saying theyhad run out of tarmac, and that is thelast I have seen or heard of them.

“It isn’t the right weather to bedoing this sort of work at themoment, so I have just had to get ahandyman to fill the tarmac holes infor now.

“It is one of those things that I canlook back and think is quite funnynow, but at the time it was anythingbut. The staff were getting theresidents out of bed when they camearound, so could do nothing to stopthem.”

Hanna had a quote of £1,900 for thework from another company whohad erected a sun lounge at thehome earlier in the year, but says it islikely to be a lot more now.

“What makes it worse is that whatthey have dug up from the car parkthey have just dumped it on thenearby school fields, and it is stillthere,” she added.

Owner leftwith £2,000car park bill

Leading businessman Sir Gerry Robinson hastackled the state of dementia care homes for hislatest television programme. The former chairman ofGranada and the Arts Council visited various homesfor the two-part BBC2 documentary ‘Can GerryRobinson Fix Dementia Care Homes?’For an interview with Sir Gerry turn to page 14.Picture: BBC.

High feesleavingrelativeswith littleHIGH care home feesmean many elderlypeople are leaving littleor nothing to loved ones,it has been claimed.

The Law Society saysmany wills needreviewing to take intoaccount care residents’depleting assets afterresearch by Age Concernand Help the Aged foundthat average weekly carehome fees are now £470.

Irene Chenery, ofChenery Maher Solicitorsin Clitheroe, said: “Thereis a danger that manyelderly people are forcedto dip into their lifesavings, selling theirhomes or other assets topay care home fees.

“In many instances,they will have asked theirsolicitor to include thoseassets in their will to beleft to family and lovedones. However, in realitythere could be nothingleft once their care homefees are paid for.”

The Society says notenough people areupdating their wills toaccommodate fees, andalso to take into accountlong term financialeffects of the recession.

incorporating

The Number One magazine for the care sector

01 15/12/09 17:17 Page 1

02 15/12/09 13:05 Page 1

3CARINGNEWS

AdvertisingSales and Marketing Director:Tony BarryNational Sales Executives:Mandy EdwardsTel: 01226 734333 Email: mandye@caring-uk.co.ukFax: 01226 734477Rebecca Hazell Tel: 01226 734 685 Email: rh@whpl.net

PublishersWharncliffe Publishing Ltd.47 Church Street, Barnsley, SouthYorkshire S70 2AS.Email: info@caring-uk.co.uk

EditorialGroup Editor:Andrew Harrod Tel: 01226 734639 Fax: 01226 734478

Healthcare Editor:Dominic MusgraveTel: 01226 734407

Reporters:Christina EcclesMary FergusonLouise Cordell

Group Deputy Editor:Judith HalkerstonTel: 01226 734458

Database enquiries to Tel:01226 734695 E-mail: circulation@wharncliffepublishing.co.ukWhilst every effort is made toensure the accuracy of all con-tent, the publishers do notaccept liability for error, printedor otherwise, that may occur.

www.caring-uk.co.uk

By Dominic Musgrave

STAFF uniforms have been scrapped at aBromsgrove care home after its managerpassed a new course.

Regents Court manager Karen Hancoxcompleted the year-long Dementia CareMatters course, which aimed to show thestudents how to put people at the centreof dementia care.

And she has already put into practicethe knowledge she has learned by train-ing staff at the home on the topics shecovered.

Karen said she plans to make 50changes to the way the home is run overthe next few months.

She added: “I have worked in care forthe last 14 years and was trained the oldfashioned way, but this course was a realopener and has totally changed the way Ido things here.

“The course focussed on the feelingsattached to dementia, and one of thethings we worked on was a 50-pointstrategy about the way the home is run.

“One of the first changes I have madeat the home is getting rid of the staff uni-form, which has helped improve rela-tionships by removing the perceived bar-rier between them and the residents.”

Karen has also changed the care plansto make them more feelings based, butsays one of her biggest challenges hasbeen getting the staff to support her.

She added: “Traditionally care is very

much task based, so some of the staffwho have worked in the sector for manyyears have found it difficult to change toa new way of working.

“But once they have seen the goodresults and the improvements in the res-idents’ well-being they wanted to to getinvolved.

“This has led to a lot better atmospherearound the home. The staff seem a lotmore comfortable spending time withthe residents, and we have had less inci-dents from those residents who havesome very challenging behaviour, whichtells me they are feeling better.”

Karen has also cut back on the anti-behavioral medication given to residentsunless it is a last resort, while otherchanges she plans to impose includemaking meal and bed times morerelaxed, with residents able to get up, goto bed and eat when they wish, ratherthan at set times.

Scrapping uniformsimproves relations

You can now followus on Twitter atcaringuk

Karen Hancox

Television personality and architectGeorge Clarke transformed a Surrey carehome as part of a programme forChannel 4.The Home Show presenter visitedAbbeyfield House for a one-off edition ofthe show, which is owned by a charity ofthe same name. It has 12 residents withan average age of 88.Challenges he faced at the home, whichwas originally two houses, includedchanging the communal lounge, kitchenand dining rooms and making use of adisused second kitchen.

03 15/12/09 17:18 Page 1

CARINGNEWS4

By Dominic Musgrave

WORK has begun on a specialistdementia facility which was delayedfor more than three years following abitter row with nearby residents.

In 2005 Alison Lee first came upwith the idea of building a 35-bednursing and terminal care homealong with a 22-bed specialistdementia facility in the grounds ofHill Brow Nursing Home in Farnham.

She told Caring UK that localresidents were against the plan,arguing that their children would notbe safe to play outside with dementiasufferers nearby.

Alison added: “ It took us over threeyears to get through planningbecause of some worries that peoplehad about living near people withdementia.

“The locals were so naive abouttheir knowledge of the disease,saying they would have to lock theirdoors at night and didn’t want theresidents who would be living herestaring at their children as theyplayed in the garden.

“Thankfully we won hands down at

the appeal because this is a muchneeded service in this area.

“We have worked alongside theAlzheimer’s Society in the designprocess and, although there havebeen a lot of changes along the way, we are hopeful that what we are developing is as close tothe perfect care home as you canget.”

The new home will be split intosmaller units of 10 bedrooms, andeach will have their own kitchen,lounge, office area and a safe outsidearea. A key-shaped path will also leadresidents to a coffee shop with flowerstall outside.

Alison added: “It will give theresidents a feeling of achievingsomething if they go to a differentplace, as well as giving their familiessomewhere to take them.

“The relatives of residents in ourexisting home tell us they don’t knowwhat to do with them when theyvisit, so the coffee shop will besomewhere they can go, an it will beaccessible for everyone whether theyare mobile, in a wheelchair or even ina bed.

“We are also going to put in a play

area for the children so it gives thegrandchildren some enjoyment andencourages them to come and visitas well.”

The new development is due forcompletion in early 2011, and onceopened is expected to create between60 and 70 new jobs.

Owner wins appeal to buildfacility despite opposition

James Arbuthnot MP cuts the first sod at Hill Brow Nursing Home along with Alison Leeand her mother Gillian, who started the business 35 years ago.

04 15/12/09 16:56 Page 1

5CARINGNEWS

By Dominic Musgrave

A HIGH turnover of managers isbeing blamed for the failures at aScottish care home which has beenslammed by the inspectorate.

A specialist management team hasmoved into Whim Hall near Peeblesto steer through major improvementsafter it was threatened with closureby the Care Commission over con-cerns about poor standards of care.

Regulators found that none of theirfive requirements from a previousinspection had been met, leading tothe regulator’s proposals to cancelthe site's registration.

But Guardian Care Homes manag-ing director Gary Hartland toldCaring UK the group is determinedto get to grips with the changes itneeds to make, mainly in improvingstaff training and paperwork.

He added: “Over the last 18 monthswe have had a high turnover of man-agers at Whim Hall, which has unfor-tunately meant that the changes thatwe have been trying to make therehave not been carried through asthey should have been.

“We are half way through a£400,000 refurbishment of Whim Halland will soon be building new bed-rooms, which will increase the capac-ity of the home to 46 residents, all inen suite rooms.

“After that we aim to build a 23-bed,

£1.2m extension so that the homewill specialise in nursing for residentswith dementia, for which there is ris-ing demand.”

Cleethorpes Care and Nursing Ltdhas been commissioned by the groupto run the home, which has 29 resi-dents, in a bid to prevent the closure.They will oversee the daily runningfor 12 months and have brought infive healthcare assistants, with man-agers introducing new systems andstaff training.

The company is also advertising torecruit 10 senior healthcare assistantsand carers for the home.

Care Commission regional managerLawrie Davidson said its priority is tosafeguard the safety, privacy and dig-nity of the residents living at thehome.

He added: “The Care Commissionhas taken enforcement action againstWhim Hall as it has continually failedto improve the standard of care thatit provides to residents. It is unac-ceptable that improvements have notyet been made.

“We have issued a notice to proposeto cancel the service if improvementsare not made, which could effectivelyremove its licence to operate.

“The provider has already indicatedto us that certain improvements havebeen made, and we will be carryingout an inspection to check on thisprogress.”

Whim Hall

Home blameshigh turnoverof managers

Residents’ backing for troopsRESIDENTS of a North Yorkshirecare home are doing their bit forthe troops in Afghanistan.

The residents at Rivermead CareHome, along with their familiesand staff, have been filling shoe-boxes to send out to the soldiers.

The home’s administratorLorraine Kitching, who has organ-ised the collection, told Caring UKthat 100 have been sent to mem-bers of the Household Cavalry.

She added: “My husband and sonare both serving in the HouseholdCavalry.

“Mark was out in Afghanistan afew months ago and pointed outhow the soldiers are in need oftreats so we thought we would tryto help.

“We have received an email fromsome of the soldiers saying howpleased they are to get the shoe-boxes.”

05 15/12/09 16:25 Page 1

CARINGNEWS6

By Dominic Musgrave

ONE in six care homes areproviding substandard care forelderly people, a report by theinspectorate has found.

And almost 4,000 residentialhomes and other agencies mustimprove the quality of service theyprovide, according to the research,which also named and shamedeight councils it considers to beproviding the worst care for olderpeople.

CQC chief executive CynthiaBower said there had been a“steady improvement” in standardssince 2003.

But she added: “I am concernedthat many care homes andagencies have more to do to deliverthe quality of care expected ofthem.

“Those affected should beabsolutely clear that we will be verypersistent in ensuring they takeaction in the run up to registrationand afterwards, using all the new

powers that will be at our disposal. “There are also serious issues for

councils to address in areas such asgiving people more control overtheir care, treating people withdignity, and ensuringcommissioning is as effective aspossible. I want to see theregulator and councils working intandem to drive poor quality careout of the market.”

The commission’s report - basedon a snapshot of standards taken inMarch this year - found that 30 percent of homes fail to meet itsspecific minimum standard forstoring, handling and providingresidents’ medication.

Twenty-nine per cent fall short ofthe minimum standard forensuring that residents are properlysupervised by staff, while almost 10per cent failed to provide residentswith privacy and dignity.

The report said some localcouncils are to blame because theyplace people in substandardhomes.

Cynthia added: “It is striking thatmany of the issues of most concernto the public - such as dignity - arenot necessarily things that cost alot of money to put right.

“So there is clearly room tocontinue improving services,despite the tough economicbackdrop. There is no excuse fortaking the foot off the gas.

“I have to say however that I amdeeply concerned about thepotential impact of lower spendingon social care. We all know thereare choppy waters ahead, so theissue is how well the systemresponds to the situation. We planto be particularly vigilant about thison behalf of people who useservices.”

According to the commission,there are 458,638 registered placesin care homes in England, 10,406 ofwhich are in 400 homes and careagencies rated as ‘poor’, 71,473 arein 3,500 rated ‘adequate, with mostof the remaining homes rated as‘good’ and 17 per cent ‘excellent’.

‘One in six providingsubstandard care’

CQC chief executive Cynthia Bower

Andre Bikey joins residents in the BodyVive class

RESIDENTS at a Burnley care homeput their fitness to the test when theywere joined for an aerobics sessionby two Premier League footballers.

Burnley captain Steven Caldwelland midfielder Andre Bikey joined inwith the BodyVive session at CrowWood Court, which are runfortnightly by the club’s communityteam as part of the Creating Chancesinitiative.

Fitness trainers take the elderlyresidents through a series ofstretches and warm-ups, which use avariety of techniques and props towork on areas of fitness such as co-

ordination, balance and cardio-vascular fitness.

The home’s manager MarjorieBolton told Caring UK the classesaim to combat age-related isolation.

She added: “The classes have reallytaken off at the home, and theresidents here love the activities andalways look forward to them.

“Since we begun the classes wehave noticed a real improvement inthe residents’ mobility, and they allseem more confident about doingthings. We hope the necessaryfunding will be found to ensure thatthe classes can continue in future.”

Footballers join residentsfor aerobics session

Research says investing instaff is key to quality careINVESTING in staff and leadership isthe key to delivering quality care forthe elderly, according to newresearch.

Care services with high star ratingsspend up to 20 per cent more on staffand their training, development andmanagement, the National CareForum and Counsel and Care report“The real cost of quality care andsupport” found.

They also put service users at thecentre of everything they do says thestudy, which was produced as aresponse to the green paper on thefuture funding of care.

Counsel and Care chief executiveStephen Burke told Caring UK that

more resources are needed to fundbetter quality care.

He added: “Valuing care meansvaluing the people who provide care.

“The underfunding of care in thiscountry means that many staff arepoorly paid and poorly trained. Olderpeople and their families are the reallosers. The Government’sconsultation on the future funding ofcare must address urgently the needfor extra resources for unmet needsnow as well as increasing demandssuch as dementia care in the future.We must invest in the care workforcefor all our futures.”

The report was based on a survey ofnot for profit providers of care.

06 15/12/09 16:57 Page 1

7CARINGNEWS

Home strugglesamid three-daypower cutBy Mary Ferguson

STAFF at a West Sussex care homewere forced to manually carry a 102-year-old resident to another bed-room after it suffered a three-daypower cut.

Seb Maleki, who runs The Gables inIfield Green, says she suffered fourcuts in the space of a fortnight, whichher energy provider EDF blamed onbad weather.

She told Caring UK that vitalequipment was put at risk, and withthe heating linked to the electrics, itmeant a chilly spell for elderly resi-dents.

Seb added: “Some of the residentsare on special equipment that needsto run on power and because wecouldn’t do any cooking or laundrywe had to wash our clothes and getfood delivered from elsewhere.

“All 37 of the residents are over theage of 70, and it’s not a simple matterof moving two or three residents,especially people I’ve got on specialmattresses or special feed pumps.

“Seven residents had to be movedout of their upstairs bedrooms down-stairs, and myself and the staff had tocarry our eldest resident because wehad no lift. She thankfully found itquite amusing, but it was distressingfor her to have to be moved intoanother bedroom.”

Seb said she was almost forced tohire a generator at a cost of morethan £1,000 on numerous occasions,with several residents and the equip-ment they used having to take a 15-

minute ambulance ride to TheGables’ sister care home, AniskaLodge.

She added: “I had to move my resi-dents who are on feeds quicker, andthose that are on specialist mattress-es had to be moved on to normalones, with staff checking them regu-larly and in some cases sit with themfor long periods.

“EDF didn’t seem to take any noticeof me when I told them that weshould be on a priority list becausewe have some very vulnerable andelderly people here.

“It is very well them charging thesehigher rates but when it comes to theservice they didn’t seem to have anyconsideration for us.

“I asked them about the possibilityof some compensation for the prob-lems they had caused, but was toldthat this isn’t something they canoffer.

An EDF spokeswoman added: “Werun a Priority Services Register forcustomers who are especially vulner-able, such as the elderly or those withmedical equipment powered by elec-tricity.

“Unfortunately we will only knowabout those customers who have reg-istered this information with us. Wecontacted the home yesterday toinvite the home to join our PriorityServices Register.

“We also wanted to check whetherwe could provide support, throughour British Red Cross partnership,while our repair work is progressing.”

Ricky Hatton took a break from the boxing ring to open his home town’s newest carehome. The ‘Pride of Hyde’ cut the ribbon at a ceremony at the purpose-built HattonGrange, a 70-bed facility built by Leeds operator Ideal Care Homes which will include aspecialist dementia area. He also mingled with staff, including manager Joanne Fogg,residents and their families at the site, which includes sensory gardens and a hairdressing salon. Ricky added: “I am delighted to lend my name to Hatton Grange. It pro-vides a valuable service to the surrounding community and it has been a pleasure tomeet the team and residents.”

Residents at a Scunthorpe care homehave been showing off their artistic talentin an exhibition.Bridgewater Park care centre, which pro-vides residential, nursing and dementiacare for older people, held a week longevent to highlight and celebrate the workthey do.The created different pieces of art work,from collages to paintings, for the exhibi-tion, which was officially opened by thetown’s mayor Sue Armitage.

Activities coordinator Jean Pearce said:“The residents find doing art and craftsactivities very enjoyable and relaxing,they get great pleasure from the creativeprocess as well as the end results.”All of the pieces were sold at the end,raising more than £200 for the residents’activities fundPicture: Mayor coun Sue Armitage withBridgewater Park care centre managerJulie Moult and mayoress JoyceArmitage.

07 15/12/09 16:44 Page 1

CARINGNEWS8

A CENTENARIAN has beenrecruited by the North Yorkshirecare home where she lives to helpspread the word about a career incare.

Winnie Hudson, 103, who lives atThe Millings in Bedale, hasbecome the oldest person tobecome a care ambassador.

The programme is run by theCare Alliance for WorkforceDevelopment (CAWD) – a newpartnership covering public,private and voluntary sector careproviders and other interestedparties who wish to helpemployers with recruitment andretention of staff.

Manager Sandra Anderson saidWinnie is keen to spread the wordthat working in the care sector is aworthwhile job.

She added: “Her key worker firstcame up with the idea as Winnie isalways keen to try new things, andwhen we suggested it to her sheimmediately said she would do it.

“Winnie felt it would be good forher to do because she can tell

people from her own experienceabout the care she has received,and it was something she says shewould have loved to have donewhen she was younger.

“There is no formal traininginvolved for those wishing to signup to the scheme - you just have tobe enthusiastic, committed to thejob and be interested in peopleand enjoy their company. You alsoneed to be a good listener.

It is hoped that Winnie willshortly be joining three membersof staff from the home and attendevents such as careers fairs andvisiting local schools and collegesto explain what a job in the caresector entails.

Sandra added: “We hope to takeWinnie with us to the local schoolto talk to the year nine and 10pupils there are about a career incare.

“We want to make them awarethat it is not just like stackingshelves, and that you have to be aspecial person to work in this sortof environment.”

The Care AmbassadorProgramme, supported by CAWD,is managed by North YorkshireCounty Council on behalf of thewhole care sector.

Winnie Hudson with key workerNicola Griffiths and manager SandraAnderson

Winnie, 103, spreads theword about careers in care

RESIDENTS at a Cardiff care homedonned their best dresses and suitsfor an evening of fine dining.

The celebration was arranged bythe care team at Ty Enfys aftertalking to the residents to find outwhat treat they would most enjoy.

After coming up with the idea of anevening of fine dining, invitationswere sent to residents along withmenu cards.

Home manager Sujjata Singh said:“Most people love to dress up andenjoy a nice meal and our residentsare no exception.

“While not all our residents may beable to manage an evening out at arestaurant, there’s no reason why wecan’t bring fine dining to the home”.

The care team dressed up aswaitresses for the occasion, andserved a three-course meal while thedining room was decorated withcandles and background music wasplayed throughout to create theambiance of a five-star restaurant.

Sujjata said the residents enjoyedthe evening so much they are alreadyplanning another.

Kitchen assistant Craig McAdorey and resident Heather Williams

Care team serves up anevening of fine dining

08 15/12/09 16:44 Page 1

09 15/12/09 14:37 Page 1

CARINGNEWS10

THE new £2m development atHoar Cross Nursing Home in EastStaffordshire will house 18 closecare units, along with enhancedcommunal facilities for the entirehome.

It will be built using localmaterials, and all aspects of thebuilding from its orientation andfenestration have been designed tomaximise natural light. Watersaving devices, provision for waterre-use and a ground source heatpump for thermal energy will alsobe installed.

Director Ashraf Patel told CaringUK that it is all part of the home’scommitment to sustainability,which has also led to theintroduction of a travel plan tominimise journeys to and from thehome by staff and visitors, thepurchase of an 11-seater minicoach and the introduction of anon-site salon and shop.

He added: “We want to be asenvironmentally friendly aspossible, so will use rain water toflush the toilets and are looking atusing a ground source heat pump

because the existing building isold and takes up a lot of electricity.

“The new building will help tomeet the demand for bed spacesin East Staffordshire. The home isin a rural area and, having spokenwith a local domiciliary careagency, they have told us theystruggle to get carers out here,particularly in winter, so we wantto create units for the elderly toretain their own independence ina care setting.

“Because we already have thenursing home it made sense to godown the extra care route

The units will cater for differentlevels of independence from thosewho, although frail, wish tomaintain some independencewhile remaining in a care setting,to others who are in need of carebut require a lower level ofassistance.

Each of the new one bedroomunits will comprise a self-contained living room andkitchenette, bedroom andbathroom.

The extension, which has beendesigned to complement thecurrent building and landscaping,will be linked to the existing homeby a walkway, will also provide anew kitchen plus a second diningrestaurant, two day rooms, a salon,library and computer room for allresidents.

Work is scheduled to begin onsite in Summer 2010 and, oncecomplete, it is expected to createup to 10 new jobs.

A Staffordshirenursinghome’s newwing willinclude severalsustainabilityfeatures.DominicMusgravefound outmore.

£2m nursing home goesenvironmentally-friendly

‘We want to be asenvironmentally friendlyas possible, so will userain water to flush thetoilets and are looking atusing a ground sourceheat pump because theexisting build is old andtakes up a lot ofelectricity’

Prized itemsplay part inreminiscingA 100-YEAR-OLD christening gownand a 50-year-old wedding dresswere some of the prized possessionsdisplayed at a Teesside care home aspart of a reminiscence week.

Poplars Care Home in Thornabyheld the events with residents alsoshowing off a wide range of photos,clothing, handbags, hats andkitchenware spanning the 30s, 40s,50s and 60s.

Some of the items on show were onloan from the Dorman Museum inMiddlesbrough and the reminiscencearea of the local library.

Organiser Brenda Smith, activitiesco-ordinator at the home, said theevent was so successful that it willbecome an annual event on thecalendar.

She added: “We started off bygetting a few things from the kitchensuch as utensils and a washingmachine, but it proved such a hitwith residents that we decided toextend it to all over the home.

“One of the residents’ husbandbrought in his wife’s wedding dresswhich was still in its original box.Another brought in the christeninggown that he and a lot of his familywere christened in, and their relativesalso brought in a lot of photos.

“It was interesting to see thechanges in fashion over the years,and every wedding picture had itsown story that went with it, withsome taking just a week to organisebecause of the war.”

Hobby boost

A SOUTH west care group haslaunched its own calendar, with allmoney raised from sales going toresidents’ funds.

The calendar includes personalstories from some of Cornwall Care’sclients as well as photos and theirpersonal artwork, which has beenused to illustrate the months of theyear.

The company’s sensorydevelopment manager Ray Liles said:“People throughout the companyhave contributed towards thecalendar and it is our intention thatthey will benefit from the sales of it.

“All of the money from every salewill be reinvested into our Active Lifefund, which supports activities and

outings for all of our clients.”3,000 copies of the calendar, priced

£3, are available to buy from any ofthe group’s 18 care homes.

Care group launches calendar

HENLEY mayor Elizabeth Hodgkinopened a new hobbies room at acare home paid for by the localrotary club.

The building at Chilterns Endincludes a covered seating areaaccessed by a ramp and is fitted withwork benches so residents can enjoyactivities including painting, potteryand planting seedlings.

The home’s administrator MarianFnook said: “The new building fits inreally well in the large grounds wehave here, and saves the residentsfrom being within the four walls allthe time.”

10 15/12/09 16:30 Page 1

07 Curve 17/11/09 17:13 Page 1

CARINGNEWS12

Pat launchespen pal appealto other homesAN Essex manager is looking to setup a pen pal scheme for her residentswith other care homes across thecountry.

Pat Langstaff, who runs Brenalwoodin Walton on the Naze, says fourresidents at the specialist dementiahome have expressed an interest inwriting letters.

She told Caring UK that a plea forother Regal Care Homes facilities toget involved earlier in the year fell ondeaf ears. Pat added: “I tried to getthe managers of the other 17 homesin the group to set something up, butunfortunately that didn’t get anyfurther than me sending out arequest.

“I think pen pals for the residents isa really good idea because when theymove into a home they rarely receiveany post, especially if they haven’t gotany family. The post is part ofeverybody’s life and even if theresident can no longer writethemselves, they can ask a carer towrite down things for them.”

She says she is putting togethersome information about theinterested residents in the hope that

other homes across the country mayalso set up a scheme.

Pat added: “It would be nice for theresidents to get to know other people,maybe not in person, but if theyreceived a letter once in a while or aChristmas card it would make themhappy.”

She is also hopeful of gettinginvolved with a similar scheme inGloucestershire, which was featuredin the December issue of Caring UK.

The Plume Project was thebrainchild of Anita Miles in a bid tohelp combat the feeling of lonelinessin people living in their own homesas well as residential settings.

She added: “The project is in itsinfancy but is growing fast. One ladyhad lost a much loved pen pal fromthe USA and this offered her theopportunity to fill the gap she hadfelt to some degree when she lost herfriend. In the case of nationwideexposure there has also been a needfor this, as some people who appliedhad hoped for people further afieldto take part so they could hear whatwas going on in other parts of thecountry.

A bright red telephone box is ringing abell with residents at a Bidford on Avoncare home.The authentic, old-fashioned phone boothwas custom-made for Waterloo House tobring back memories for residents, manyof whom have dementia.The home’s manager Laura Coles said:“We are always looking at ways of

providing activities and props to help ourresidents to reminisce as part of theirtherapy.“They are thrilled with the new phonebox, which takes pride of place in thehome’s memory garden.”Picture: Care assistant Ann Collier andresident Pam Weale try out the newtelephone box at Waterloo House

Art activity proves a hit withnursing home residentsA GLOUCESTERSHIRE nursing homeis holding fortnightly art classes forresidents organised by a localcommunity arts project.

The classes for small groups atKingswood Lodge Care Centre havebeen set up by Under the Edge Artsafter they became aware of a regularattendee to their Wotton paintingclasses who was a resident of thehome. Art teacher Cornelie Morrisbrings a selection of books to thehome for each class to give theresidents an ideas of what they wouldlike to draw and paint.

Activities coordinator Sue Collinssaid art has numerous benefits for

the residents.She added: “The residents always

look forward to the classes, andbecause they are fortnightly I have tokeep reminding them of the date.

“Because this is a nursing home it issometimes difficult to get theresidents out of their rooms, but theyalways look forward to the class.

"It is an activity they can dotogether and they are rewarded witha sense of pride with what they haveachieved at the end of it.”

The classes are funded jointly bythe home and the project. Theresidents plan to exhibit their workin the home and the village next year.

12 15/12/09 16:31 Page 1

13CARINGNEWS

Inspectorate receives freedom ofinformation request over issuesTHE shadow minister for healthand social care has called theinspectorate to account over issuesin the inspection regime.

Stephen O’Brien MP, who is alsoMP for Eddisbury in Cheshire, hassent a freedom of informationrequest to the CQC to get moreinformation about how the inspec-tions are working, and how criteriaare being applied.

Caring UK got in touch with MrO’Brien’s office in the summer, ask-ing him to back our call for a meet-ing between care home operatorsand a senior official at the inspec-torate.

In his letter to the CQC he hasasked for a list of all the homes thathave been inspected since the newregulator took over from CSCI atthe beginning of April, includinghow many hours inspectors spentat each home, whether they spokewith residents and what the ratingwas before and after the inspection.

Mr O’Brien has also asked for alist of the homes which got thesame grades in the seven areas ofinspection, but were given differentstar ratings.

He said: “If care homes are gettingthe same inspection results, but dif-ferent star ratings, there is clearly

something wrong with the system.“Furthermore, in a competitive

market, and one that depends onquality, it is concerning that infor-mation on star ratings seems to betaking its time to reach the publicdomain.

“It is in the interests of residentsand providers alike that the star rat-ings are published in a timely man-ner.”

Further information that he hasasked for includes how long it tookfor the new rating for care homesthat have either been upgraded ordowngraded to appear on the CQCwebsite. Stephen O’Brien

Day trips planned with lotto cashA HERTFORDSHIRE care group willbe able to take its residents out onday trips thanks to a lottery grant.

Quantum Care plan to use the£31,988 they received from the BigLottery Fund to launch theGreenacres Minibus Project, whichaims to reduce isolation and increasewell-being and social interactionamong residents living in four of itscare homes.

Chief executive Maria Ball said: “We

are absolutely delighted. These arepeople who in many cases are veryfrail and unable to get out by them-selves. It will make a huge differenceto their well-being, and it’s about try-ing to help get people back into theirlocal community.”

The money will pay for a speciallyadapted 12-seater minibus that willtransport residents from Greenacresin Hatfield and three homes in StAlbans to various places of interest.

Residents at a Wigan care home areclucking with happiness after helping aclutch of hens into the world.Farmers Neil and Irene Smith, who have afarm in Southport, brought 10 eggs to thehome as well as everything the residentswould need to care for the chicks as partof a nationwide initiative called LivingEggs.After two days the eggs hatched, and

home services manager Sue Grimes saidthe residents have enjoyed having themaround so much that they have decided tokeep threeShe added: “Our residents love animals,and we’re a very animal-friendly home.When we heard about Living Eggs wejumped at the chance.“It’s wonderful having the chicks here –everyone loves them.”

New home expects to bring 100 jobsWORK has begun on a new 88-bedcare home in a Lincolnshire townwhich once built is expected to cre-ate around 100 jobs.

The home which is being built byFE Peacock on behalf of UnitedHealth, will provide personal and nursing care 24 hours a day forpeople who are bedridden,very frail or have a medical condition or illness that means they

need regular attention.

Philip Pearson, chief executive ofUnited Health Ltd, said: “There is anincreasing requirement for facilitiessuch as these which is not currentlymet in the area.

This new centre will provide inde-pendence for people in Bourne whoneed nursing care as well as peace ofmind for their families.”

13 17/12/09 12:55 Page 1

CARINGNEWS14

A business tycoon looked at the state of dementia care homes for hislatest television programme. Dominic Musgrave found out more.

Sir Gerry tackles dementia SIR Gerry Robinson visited a numberof struggling homes across thecountry for the two-part BBC2documentary ‘Can Gerry RobinsonFix Dementia Care Homes?’

The 61-year-old, who in 2007presented a similar programmelooking at the state of the NHS, hasfirst-hand experience of thecondition as his father had thedisease when he died several yearsago.

He said he was keen to do thedocumentary to look at the state ofcare in British homes.

Gerry added: “The sense I got afterjust 10 minutes of stepping foot in mythe first home was of the peopleliving there being ignored and staffworking around them, which wasterrible.

“These people cannot look afterthemselves, and as a country we areletting them down badly. I thoughtfor a moment that maybe it had to belike this, but after five minutes Irealised that it really doesn’t.

“When people living in these homesare angry and frustrated they shout,and sometimes strike out, but that isnot the dementia. That is thefrustration that goes with not beingheard, and it really doesn’t have to bethis way.”

He says he hopes the programmes

will make people realise that indementia care homes it is not thequality of the curtains, the colour ofthe carpets or the fact it does notsmell that are important, but thatloving care is given.

Gerry added: “I think that when wecould no longer look after my fatherand had to put him in a home hepretty much switched off and wasn’tup for it, and in many ways I don’tblame him.

“If you run a home very successfullythen the economics also work for youbecause people want to leave theirloved ones there. I have a problemwith the profit motive only when theprofit is earned as a result ofskimping and cutting back.

“The industry is heavily inspected,but I think the home ownersthemselves should also be regulatedto show themselves to be capable ofrunning one well.”

Sir Gerry Robinson

Editor’scommentIT has been a busy month forthe inspectorate.

And unfortunately theresignation of Baroness BarbaraYoung as the head of the CQCand the launch of its first reportinto the state of care homes inEngland means we have beenunable to find time to meet withCynthia Bower.

You may recall from ourDecember issue that the chiefexecutive of the care regulatorhad agreed to meet with a groupof operators who were unhappywith the service they receive.

We hope to have better newsfor you in our next issue, fingerscrossed.

On a different note you cannow follow the the Caring UKteam on Twitter at caringuk.

We will update the site dailywith information of stories weare working on, and will invitereaders to get involved withfeatures.

Any comments or ideas youmay have for the magazinewould also be welcome, soplease follow us.

Alternatively you can write tome at the adddress on pagethree, call me on 01226 734407or email dm@whpl.net

14 17/12/09 13:03 Page 1

15CARINGNEWS

The head of a Midlands-based care group says they plan to increase their dementia servicesover the next 18 months. Dominic Musgrave found out more.

WHEN Zsara Thomas and PatriciaHodgkinson took over the runningof Alpha Care Homes two yearsago, the majority of the 13 homeswere rated ‘adequate’.

Since then they have turned thefacilities, most of which are smallhistoric buildings, around, with allapart from one now having twostars.

Zsara, the company’s businessdevelopment director, said thegroup is now working on makingits homes, which are located in theWest Midlands and the South East,‘excellent’.

She added: “The homes lacked abit of investment before we tookover, but Patricia, with her nursingbackground, first wanted to look atthe care being provided at thehomes.

“The first thing we did to improvethis was to increase the number of

staff, but we then spent £2m on theinfrastructure within the carehomes to bring them up to stan-dard.

“The relatives and residentshelped to choose the decor andfurnishings at the homes, and wealso upgraded a lot of the equip-ment at them such as the hoistsand bathrooms.”

Zsara said the group is now turn-ing its attention to its dementiaoffering, having opened a specialistdementia unit at its Hounslowhome Cloisters earlier in the year.

She added: “We would like toexpand in dementia even moreover the next 18 months, and pro-vide more specialised services inthat field.

“I think nursing homes maychange over the next few years and,though there will still be a propor-tion of residential beds required, I

think we need to develop our focusmore on dementia.

“At Cloisters we worked closelywith clinical experts within the sec-tor, the PCT and the local authorityto find out what the units neededto look like and the training thatwas required to make sure the staffwere prepared to care for thatgroup of people.”

Zsara says the group, which hasmore than 800 staff, is looking toexpand in future, but is consolidat-ing in the current economic cli-mate. She added: “The care homemarket is quite challenging at themoment in terms of fee structureand pressure on PCTs and localauthorities to squeeze fees.

“We are looking at potential areaswhere we could expand, and wehope to carefully meet the needs ofthe community, particularly intough economic times.”

Care home operatorsstriving for excellence

Zsara Thomas

15 15/12/09 16:34 Page 1

16 15/12/09 15:36 Page 1

17CARINGHOMECALL

THE charity-owned Donisthorpe Hallis home to more than 160 residents,many of whom are from the localJewish community.

The home offers a variety of care inindividual wings, and a wide and var-ied programme to cater for allrequirements.

The home’s operations managerJohn Smith said activities are vital toensure the residents are stimulated.

He added: “We have a huge activi-ties programme going on, and overthe years have made some reallygood contacts so have lots of peoplevisiting us to entertain the residents.

“The cinema shows films six days aweek, and is also a nice room for usto hold concerts and other events.

“We also hold computer classes forthose residents who are interested,and because a large proportion ofour residents are Jewish it is a goodway for them to keep in touch withtheir relatives and friends who livethere or in other parts of the world.”

The home has an ongoing refur-bishment programme, and recentwork by local firm TolentConstruction worth almost £1.5mincluded the development of a newfour-storey wing featuring 21 specialneeds bedrooms, three lounges, din-ing room, two hydrobaths, a kitchen,

two sluice rooms, three residentialcare units, top-floor offices andlandscaped gardens.

An existing two-storey residentialcare facility was also refurbished toprovide a new lounge, dining room,kitchen, sluice rooms, and 12 bed-rooms, each with assisted bathroom.

John said that trying to ensure thehome does not feel like an institutionis one of the hardest challenges hefaces.

He added: “It is a large home thatwe have broken up into smaller areasto create a home within a home.Each has its own dining room so theyhave their own little social groups.

“Being so big does have its ownbenefits because it gives us the spaceto have facilities such as the cafe andshop.

“Some of the residents treat it a bitlike an outing and arrange to meetthere, whereas others, particularlythe residents with dementia, like itquieter so prefer to stay in their ownwings.”

The next phase of the home’s rede-velopment programme, which willinclude a day services area, is cur-rently out to tender.

It is hoped that work will begin nextspring.

Lord lieutenant of West Yorkshire Dr Ingrid Roscoe officially opens the new WoodlandsUnit at Donisthorpe Hall along with Leeds Jewish Representative Council president SueDorsey and architect Michael Marks.

A Leeds care home which boasts its own cinema, cafe, shop, bowling alley and synagogue has undergone a major facelift.Dominic Musgrave paid a visit.

£1.5m faceliftadds to home’sextensivefacilities

17 17/12/09 13:25 Page 1

CARINGPEOPLE18

An Ipswich activities co-ordinator says hehas no plans to retire despite approaching65. Dominic Musgrave found out more.

KEN Poole joined the staff at TheLodge Residential Home inIpswich nine years after go, havingspent the previous 35 in retail.

He moved into the care sectorafter nursing his father who hadcancer, and told Caring UK thathe has never looked back.

Ken, who is also now the home’sassistant manager, added: “WhenI joined here the home didn’t havea particularly good reputation inthe local area, and a lot of theresidents spent all of the dayasleep, which I couldn’t accept.

“That has all changed, and wehave a really good manager inMichael Bailey, who hassupported me in everything that Ihave done.”

Ken says he is always devisingnew games and activities for the43 residents to do, many of whomhave some form of dementia.

He added: “There are a lot ofgames that they can get involvedin and enjoy than just bingo. Imake up silly games involvingHula-Hoops and clowns, bowlinggames with targets and differentcolours. I also have got a lot ofmagnetic games that I have made.

“I am always coming up withnew ideas. We do a lot ofreminiscence work here, such ascooking and gardening. I pretendthat I know nothing about aparticular subject, such as how tobake a cake, and the residents tellme all about it.

“They also enjoy watchingslideshows of old Ipswich, and Irecently brought in mine from mytrip to Canada.”

Ken also arranges for a variety ofentertainers to come into thehome, as many of the residentscannot get out.

He added: “Last year I wrote tothe local theatre and the wholecast of the Christmas pantomimecame and did a performance here.

“We also have the local 30-pieceorchestra at Christmas performingcarols, and in the summer hadbagpipers here as well.”

The home is owned by GeminiCare, who also run another one inKings Lynn. Plans are in place toextend The Lodge further nextyear, although the number of bedswill not increase.

Why Ken’s notready to giveup on caringand games ...

Ken Poole

French officials dress in kilts to show Bill the wooden model of the statue they created

A BAGPIPER hailed a D-Day hero hasmet French officials to see a model ofa statue they plan to build in hishonour.

Bill Millin, who lives at Palm CourtNursing Home in Dawlish, is to havea 10ft life-sized bronze statue erectedin his honour close to the spot where,65 years ago, he played the bagpipesas allied troops launched theirassault to free Nazi-occupied Europe.

The 86-year-old, who has lived atthe home for the last six years, is tobe immortalised in bronze, completewith pipes and kilt, by the people ofColleville Montgomery, which hehelped to liberate in 1944.

A group of French officials,including the sculptor, presentedhim with a wooden model of the

statue during a recent visit. Thehome’s manager Nigel Morris saidthe French artist has been regularlyemailing the care home to ask ques-tions about how he looked on D-Day.

He added: “For the French he hasbecome an iconic figure, and theywant to know everything from howhe wore his kilt to which arm did hehad his pipes under. They want to getevery detail right. He was just aprivate, he was the common soldier,so this statue is not just for Bill, it isfor all the non-commissionedsoldiers. He really does live life to thefullest that he can and I think thathas always been his motto.”

It is hoped that the statue will beready to be unveiled on June 6 nextyear, the 66th anniversary of D-Day.

French pay tribute to bagpiper Bill

18 15/12/09 16:36 Page 1

19CARINGNEWS

CEO David Davies and matron Suzanne Marsh

By Louise Cordell

A PLYMOUTH operator is plan-ning to build a specialist demen-tia nursing unit in the grounds ofhis care home in a bid to offer thecomplete package.

Torr Home was originally estab-lished in 1860 as a charity caringfor the visually impaired, buttoday offers residential and nurs-ing care, respite, convalescenceand day care.

Funding for the project, which itis hoped will be completed byearly 2011 at the latest, will behelped by the completion of 18new retirement apartments, con-verted from disused farm build-ings in the grounds.

Matron Suzanne Marsh toldCaring UK the new unit will beable to cater for 15 residents.

She added: “I did some researchwhich found there was an over-whelming requirement for adementia facility in the local com-munity, so we plan to build a highquality facility here.

“The advantages of a new designand build is that we can drawupon collective knowledge to pro-vide a op class, state-of-the-art

facility which will match the realneeds of individuals and theirfamilies.

“Providing we get planning con-sent, we hope to start work on thenew unit early next year. As wellas the bedrooms, it will alsoinclude specially designed walk-ways, sensory areas and a musicroom.

Finance for the 19 one and twobedroom apartments, which cost£1m to develop, and includes onefor residents’ guests, was helpedby Clydesdale bank.

Suzanne added: “They are avail-able either on a long or short termlease agreement, and three ofthem have already been let outdespite them all not being com-plete yet. They complement allthat we offer here. We alreadyhave nursing and residential carehere so with the dementia unitand independent living apart-ments it means we can cater forall, and that when a person movesin here they shouldn’t have tomove away from the site for care.”

The developments are expectedto create between 10 and 15 newjobs.

Plymouth operatorplanning to offercomplete package

Care home chef alwayslooking for new ideasBy Dominic MusgraveA CHEF at a Devon care home regu-larly walks around the residents andasks them if there is anything differ-ent they would like to see on themenu.

And the quality of food cooked atThe Sidmouth nursing home hashelped it to jump from one star tothree following its latest inspectionfrom the inspectorate.

Manager Julie Casely told CaringUK that all of the dishes at the home,which provides day as well as resi-dential care, are prepared fresh bythe chef.

She added: “Alison has been at thehome nearly 15 years. She doesn’tstick to mundane dishes and doeseverything home made.

“But she is much more than just acook.

“Although the residents have neverbeen too bothered about having resi-dents’ meetings to discuss the menu,Alison regularly walks around andtalks to them to see if there is any-thing they would like to have.”

The 29-bed home was given thenew grade by the CQC following aninspection in August, with the reportalso particularly praising the qualityof the care, saying residents are treat-ed with “the utmost dignity andrespect”.

Julie added: “The main reason for

the success is the people we employhere are here for the right reasons.You cannot do it without a good teamof staff.

“The owner Samantha Bevan hasinvested a lot of money into thebuilding and staff training since shebought it two-and-a-half years ago.When we came here the home was ina pretty poor state, but we now have14 new bedrooms, seven in the exist-ing building and seven in a newextension.

“Samantha has owned care homesfor the last 23 years, and we run itlike a large family.

“We are very into holistic care andprovide a bespoke service to the resi-dents, who can get up and eat whenit suits them.”

The home also has a packed activi-ties programme, which as well astrips out to garden centres, theseafront and local National Trustsites, also includes regular visits froma drama therapist.

“He comes in and takes a group ofresidents out of themselves to placeslike Greece, she added. “He brings infeta and olive branches and readstraditional poetry from that particu-lar country.

“We try to promote the fact that lifedoesn’t stop when you move into acare home, and will work as hard aswe can to ensure that we maintainour three-star rating.”

19 16/12/09 11:25 Page 1

CARINGNEWS20

Music-lovinghome to builda concert hallBy Dominic Musgrave

ENTERTAINMENT at a Lancashirecare home is proving so popular thatthe owners have decided to build aconcert hall in the grounds.

Herman’s Hermits, The Searchersand Broadway artist Jeri Sager arejust some of the big names to haveplayed at Springfield Court inAughton.

And the events, which over theyears have raised money for variouscharities, have proved so successfulwith the 52 residents and theirrelatives that a new extension is to bebuilt which will incorporate a facilityto host the concerts.

The concerts, which are held onaverage six times a year, usually takeplace in a marquee in the grounds,and attract audiences of between 100and 140.

But manager Linda Burrows saidthis year there have been more asColin and Wendy Wilkinson andMargaret and Robert Pollitt celebrate20 years of owning the home.

She added: “The owners have somegood contacts and they just pick upthe phone and ask people to comeand perform here. It is free toresidents but the relatives pay a smallfee.

“When they first started holdingthese concerts they used to getbetween 60 and 70 coming, but inrecent years they have become morepopular, and we have had to get abigger marquee.

“On each evening we have acomedian who gets things going, thein-house catering team do a buffet-style meal which is served at thetable so we don’t have to worry aboutresidents getting up, and then wehave the main act play.”

The owners have extended thehome over the years from 30residents when they originallybought it to 52 today, and the newextension will include a further fourrooms as well as the activities room.

Linda added: “The new room willbe used by the residents during theday, but will also double up for thecinema nights that we regularly havein the lounges here and the concerts.

“It will probably hold around 100people and will feature all theequipment you need to put on anevent.

“Work is due to start on thebuilding very soon, and the hope isthat it will be complete by the spring.We have Ken Dodd and Martin Bellcoming here in April so it would benice to have them in the new room,but if not we will have to hold it in amarquee.”

Residents at the home have alsobeen putting their knitting skills togood use by making blankets for acharity in Africa.

The home’s activities co-ordinatorLiz Wynne travelled to Bukaynivillage western Kenya to deliver themafter starting up a charity calledMalaika, which is Swahili for angel,two years ago.

An Elvis impersonator serenaded theresidents at a Balcombe care home aspart of a Las Vegas themed day. Acasino was also set up at RussettingsCare Home, with residents gamblingwith chips on games includingroulette, black jack and craps.Activities coordinator MargaretPickering said: “The Las Vegas daywas a great event for everyone at the

home to get involved in.“We decided to organise the event assomething a bit different for ourresidents, who could not wait to seethe Elvis impersonator in action. A lotof them really enjoy listening to thatstyle of music and being able toreminisce.”Picture: Resident Pamela Knight isserenaded by the Elvis impersonator

STAFF at a Marlborough care homehave turned back time to helpresidents recall their younger days.

The 60-bed home Coombe EndCourt has created a memory laneroom decorated in the style of the1950s, complete with an originalbakelite telephone and a periodcoach-built pram of the kind thatsome of the residents would havewheeled their children around in.

The time slip has been achieved ona small budget by manager SueLinsley and her staff, who have scou-red car boots sales and charity shopsto find furniture and ornaments.

Sue told Caring UK that the

residents enjoy listening to ‘TheArchers’ in the room on an originalFerranti valve radio.

She added: “The room has provedto be very popular with all who livehere, and it is an area we areextremely proud of.This reflects anera which many of them recognisefrom their young days and feelcomfortable with.Many of theresidents suffer from short termmemory loss but when they walk intothis room they can recall having verysimilar rooms at their homes whenthey were younger.

“They like coming in here becauseit makes them feel at home.”

Residents take a walkdown memory lane

A TORQUAY care home has created anew sensory activity wall for itsresidents who suffer from dementia.

The staff at Eclipse Lodge, which isowned by Crocus Care and has 27beds, have developed the new wallafter the idea was put to them by oneof the residents’ relatives.

The residents themselves chosewhat they would like to go on thewall, with objects including records,door bells, a mirror and doorhandles.

Deputy manager Dawn Palmer said:

“The residents we have here havesome form of dementia, and quiteoften they move things around.

“The residents chose what went onthe wall, with some saying theywould like to see records and otherseveryday things to remind them ofyears gone by. We have already seenits benefits because it is a corridor wewalk down all of the time, and it is adiscussion point that gives us thingsto chat about as we past becausesome times it can be difficult to comeup with ideas.”

Care home creates activity wall

Advertiser’s announcement

SPEEDYPRESS has beenmanufacturing and supplying highquality pressing and finishingequipment for more than 45 years.

Part of the Jerry Fried Group, whichis based in Tyne and Wear, the equip-ment is hand built to specificationand can often be tailored to suit acustomer’s needs. We supply systemsto some well-known nursing and carehomes that have told us that theywere previously unaware of the type

of equipment we supply.They were using hopelessly

inadequate equipment under beliefthat professional systems needspecialist installation, electricity andplumbing supplies, as well as beingprohibitively expensive.

Our expert engineers assemble allour products, which means you havethe added advantage of an excellentbackup service.

We also have one of the fastestturnaround on repairs and spares inour field.

Pressing and finishing for over 45 years

20 15/12/09 16:38 Page 1

STEROPLAST Healthcare isleading the fight againstsuperbugs as the masterdistributor for Clinell infectioncontrol products in all UK non-NHS markets.

Containing a patentedvirucidal formulation developedby two doctors andmanufactured by GamaHealthcare, Clinell is clinicallyproven to kill 99.999 per cent ofgerms including MRSA, HepatitisB and C, E-Coli, Salmonella andInfluenza viruses and the H1N1swine influenza virus.

The range comprises universalsanitising wipes, hand andsurface sanitiser/disinfectant sprays, sporicidal wipes, chlorhexidine body wash cloths, chlorhexidine washcloths and bed bath patient bathing wipes, along with continence care wipes.

The wipes can be used on clean or dirty hands and last for up to 24 hours, while the spray givesprotection for 72 hours on a variety of surfaces and equipment.

Enquiries: Email sales@steroplast.co.uk or telephone 0161 902 3030.

21CARINGPRODUCT NEWS

SINCE 1982, Colne (Lancs)based, Richards ResidentialSupplies have concentratedupon supplying simple solutionsto common nursing homeproblems.

The new WACMAT® adheresstrongly to this tradition.

With its ultra absorbentcotton pile and 100 per centwaterproof backing, theremarkable WACMAT® is anideal accessory where spills mayoccur.

Used as a commode mat, inbedrooms or bathrooms, theWACMAT® ensures full carpetprotection. Then, after use,simply machine wash and tumble dry! It’s that simple...

The WACMAT® will then be clean and odour-free, ready to perform time and time again. Alternativelythe flat-laying WACMAT® can be used as an entrance mat, saving you hundreds of pounds in rental costsalone.

Enquiries: Telephone 0800 074 3749.

Simple solutions

Clinell helps NHS fight superbugs

AID Call has launched the new Touchsafe®two-way wireless system which couldrevolutionise the way nurse call communicationsare managed.

The new ATX4000 and ATX5000 bedheaddevices use unique two-way wireless radiotechnology to ensure that all calls transmitted aresuccessfully received by the central display panels.

An acknowledgment that the call has beenreceived is given at the bedside, providing truereassurance to the caller.

The wireless system is compliant with the EN300 220 Class1 requirements and designed toprovide maximum safety and security.

It is the only system to use the dedicated869MHz alarm frequency.

It can also help in the battle against the spreadof infection, as all elements which are likely to betouched or handled are embedded with powerfulanti-microbial additives.

This provides lifelong protection against thespread of infection.

Enquiries: Telephone 0800 052 3616.

Aid Call launches new nurse call system

WHEN the Bakers’ BenevolentSociety’s sheltered housing projectneeded new washer-extractors,selecting Primus from ArmstrongCommercial Laundry Systems was theobvious choice.

The Epping charity selected two 7kgwasher-extractors and two 5kgmachines. The laundry serves over 50residents and 15 staff, handling allclothing, bed linen and towels.

Manager Suzanne Pitts said: “Ourprevious Armstrong equipment wasstill running after 13 years’ very hardwork.

“The decision to replace it wasbased on looking at the running costsof new machines against our existingones.

“Our Huebsch tumble dryers fromArmstrong are still performing well. Armstrong have always given us very good after sales service, andwhen it is time to replace the dryers we shall know where to go.”

Enquiries: Telephone 01635 263410 or email enquiries@armstrong-laundry.co.uk

Armstrong again for housing project

IN a climate where care home operators are still sufferingrising costs, reduced placements and great uncertainty abouttheir future, the opportunity to recover up to nine years of VATis greatly needed.

Cost reduction specialists Salmon Business Group look athow care home operators can reclaim retrospective VAT fornursing and residential homes.

Despite the ruling taking place back in 2002, many operatorshave failed to avail themselves of the opportunity, thinking thatthey could not make a claim.

You may not have all the records, but this does not matter asthey can work with minimal information to secure a successfuloutcome.

They can also assess your claim free of charge and advise asto what the next step should be, taking this through tocompletion and funds in your bank account.

If they are not successful there is no charge to you thecustomer so you have nothing to lose.

Enquiries: Telephone 01246 293011or visit www.salmon-business.com

VAT reclaims continue to be a lifeline forcare operators...

BRITISH Uniforms Direct has announced a new range ofuniform clothing.

The company set itself the task for 2010 of improving its rangeand increasing the value for money it offers its customers, and ispleased to have exceeded its expectations.

Being a UK based manufacturer since 1861, British UniformsDirect has had to constantly adapt to changing economic andtrading conditions to survive, and the current economic situationis no exception.

All garments are manufactured and styled to the higheststandards, offer excellent value for money and are supplied with afull money back guarantee.

Most are manufactured at the company’s Lancashire factory,which enables them to maintain a high quality and flexible promptservice.

Styles can quickly be designed or modified to meet customer’sexact requirements.

Enquiries: For a free copy of the latest brochure telephone 01243 585388.

New range of uniforms launched

Congratulations goes to Donna Booth, manager of Pendlebury Court in Glossop, Derbyshire (picturedwith her staff).

For the second year running they have achieved a Four Star Interface Quality Assurance Accreditationfor delivering Quality Care.

The certificate was presented by High Peak Care Management Ltd. Enquiries: Email info@highpeakcon.co.uk

Pendlebury Court does it again

TWO new hospitals in Scotland weresupplied with nearly 2,000 chairs byKnightsbridge Furniture.

The development of the New StobhillHospital in Springburn, North Glasgow,and the New Victoria Infirmary to thesouth of the city are part of the NHSGreater Glasgow and Clyde’s AcuteServices Strategy for the area.

In New Stobhill all 902 KnightsbridgeMalham chairs were specified in cool bluevinyl upholstery which, contrasted withnatural beech timber, gives a stylishimpression in keeping with the hospital’slight and airy central atrium.

In New Victoria a colour-codedenvironment was created, with all 972Knightsbridge chairs upholstered in eitheryellow, green or hyacinth blue according to location – a different colourway for each floor was selected toreflect the coloured glass panels which are a feature of the architecture.

Both used vinyl upholstery fabrics from the Cadet range, enabling the company to provide seating withanti-microbial and anti-fungal properties.

Enquiries: Telephone 01274 731900 or email enquiries@knightsbridge-furniture.co.uk

Furniture of choice for two new hospitals

21 17/12/09 13:05 Page 1

CARINGNEWS22

A SOUTH Buckinghamshire familybusiness has had more reasonsthan most to celebrate recently.

The Bronocks are set to open anextension to Burnham LodgeNursing Home, which has recentlybeen awarded the highest ratingby the inspectorate.

Director Brian Bonock hasowned the home, which will have52 beds with the opening of thenew 11 bedroom development, forthe last 14 years, eight withpartners and six on his own.

He told Caring UK he is trying tocreate a new boutique hotel-stylefeel at the facility, which is aformer country house.

Brian added: “Work is coming toan end and we are now at thestage where we are trying to get ridof the builders.

“The new development alsoincludes a conservatory for theresidents, which fits in with thetype of facility we are trying tocreate here.

“We want to create a boutiquefeel here, and have put in goodquality furniture and plasmascreens on the wall. Next year wewill probably do a bit of work onthe gardens because we havearound 10 acres of groundssurrounding the home.”

Almost £3m was provided byNatWest for refinancing the

business and developing theextension, and Brian says he maybe interested in purchasing asecond home in future.

He added: “When I first ownedthe home with the partners we didhave another site, which they wenton to buy before retiring.

“I have always concentrated ondeveloping this home but, after 14months of having the buildersaround, and years spent trying tomake this home one of the best inthe area, I do think we have the

expertise here to perhaps look atbuying another home lookingahead. We must be doingsomething right to receive thethree stars from the inspectorate.That is something we are reallypleased about and hope tocontinue building on in future. Wehave a good team of staff whoensure the day to day running isup to scratch.”

Brian’s daughter Aimee alsoworks as the financial director atthe home.

Aimee and Brian Bronock with Andrew Marsh from NatWest.

Home to have boutiquehotel-style atmosphere

By Lisa Melinda BarryWHEN it comes to people’s health,value for money is a coreconsideration that local authoritiesand NHS Trusts have to manage ona regular basis.

Invariably, prevention is better than cure and certainly sowhen the problem is pressuresores.

Once a pressure sore hasdeveloped the amount of personaldiscomfort it causes can be horrid;some can be healed but some cannot.

In every case, however, thefinancial costs are entirelydisproportionate to the cost ofpreventing them from occurring inthe first place.

Where pressure sores are treatedsuccess rates are discouraginglylow, while data sourced directlyfrom the NHS indicates that thetreatment itself costs an average of£80,000.

This is a high, yet credible figure,comprising as it does the cost ofpain management, medical stafftime and drug regimes.

In this context, preventing bedsores before they take hold is an

issue that local and national healthauthorities are obliged to look atclosely.

It has been long understood thatmoving bed ridden patientsregularly prevents pressure soresfrom developing and that liftingequipment and mechanical hoistsregularly play a vital role insafeguarding their health.

This equipment not only playsthat important role in hospitals,but also helps patients with serious mobility issues who are being cared for in thecommunity.

Indeed, for these patients, it islifting equipment that enablescarers and nurses to look afterthem in situ, and often preventsthem becoming hospitalised orhaving to take up residency in acare home.

But despite the critical role thatlifting equipment plays both inpreventing pressure sores andimproving the quality of life ofthose who are living at home butare functionally immobile, it mustbe recognised that patients need tobe lifted in a highly sensitivemanner.

Where a sling is incorrectly

positioned it can cause abrasivepressure to already fragile skinwhich can itself lead to pressuresores, with all of the undesirablecomplications they bring.

To get the best from investmentsmade in installing hoists, localauthorities and NHS Trusts shouldevaluate the long term prognosisfor the patient and theenvironment in which it is to befitted.

Will the patient’s needs change?

Is the setting likely to change?

Will demands on the hoistchange?

Getting the correct answers tothese questions will help the hoistdo the best possible job for thepatient.

More importantly, it will ensurethat the installed equipment willprevent pressure sores rather thanhelp create them.

When each pressure soreprevented could save up to£80,000, this is surely aconsideration that should haveenhanced priority.

� Lisa is a director of SSL Scotlandand SSL Access.

What cost pressure sores?

Lisa Melinda Barry

Boost foraircraftmuseumA KENT care home has raised £530for a local aircraft museum byholding a special auction.

The staff at Sundridge Court raisedthe money for Shoreham AircraftMuseum by selling off memorabilia,including a signed photograph offormer spitfire pilot and homeresident William Sanders with ‘TheSpirit of Kent’ plane.

Further items included a case, andbottle, of Shepherd Neame SpitfireAle, also signed by William.

Home manager Maggie Candy said:“The museum is a cause that is heldparticularly close to our heartsbecause of our treasured residentWilliam, who has sadly now passedaway. However, I know that he wouldbe very proud to see this moneybeing given to the museum.”

Worker jailedA CARE home worker who stole £900from an elderly resident has beenjailed for 10 months.

Alana Cullen, who was acting man-ager at Ashfield House in Barnsley,stole the money from Ivy Mosley, 75,using a bank card which was kept inthe care home's office. Suspicionswere first raised in November 2006when a social services officer went tothe home to carry out an assessmentof her finances to see if she waseligible for financial help.

22 15/12/09 16:46 Page 1

23

Caring UK Commercesection brings you all the latest property,business and trainingnews every month.

In this issue:

� Couple want tomake a difference

page 24

� Family firmexpands with Skettypurchase

page 26

� Manor Farm is firstbuy for three years

page 27

Lack of placements createstwo-tier care home market By Dominic Musgrave

A TWO-TIER care home market isbeing created because local authori-ties are not making placements topoor and excellent care homes, it hasbeen claimed.

Advisory firm Healthcare PropertyConsultants Ltd found that morethan three-quarters of placementsmade by the 43 local authorities cho-sen at random for the study were to‘adequate’ or ‘good’ homes.

Zero star and three star homesattracted less than two per cent and16 per cent respectively.

The report’s author Nigel NewtonTaylor told Caring UK the reasoncould be that authorities pay a flatfee for elderly care, whatever the rat-ing.

He added: “I believe we are begin-ning to see a two-tier market evolve.The natural conclusion to draw isthat the three-star beds are not beingmade freely available to local author-ity funded service users, but becom-ing the domain of private pay clientswilling to pay higher fee levels.

“Care provision is, after all, a busi-ness. Care providers investing bothtime and money in high quality careprovision expect to be duly reward-ed.

“Basic economic principles confirmthat, with a relatively fixed supply, anincrease in demand will lead to anenhanced fee expectation. Three-star

accommodation is clearly becomingthe domain of the privately fundedservices user or the authority fundeduser with the ability to pay a ‘top-up’.”

Nigel added that he expects thetrend to continue in the future andpotentially grow as operators see thepositive marketing impact of an‘excellent’ rating.

“Pressure will increase on manylocal authorities to re-assess their feelevels,” he said. “Questions will alsobe asked as to the morality of apotential two-tier system, with three-star rated care service provisionbecoming increasingly unavailable tothose in a society dependent uponfinancial support.”

The company also studied whetherlocal authorities which had intro-duced a performance related paysystem based on the inspectorate’sgrades were purposely placing tolower standard homes to savemoney.

Nigel added: “Our research of 14local authorities who linked their feeto the CQC rating found that place-ments were more significantlyskewed towards two and three starhomes than those which paid a flatfee.

“This means they are using theconcept in a positive way to rewardand encourage quality care provi-sion.”

Nigel Newton Taylor

SLADE guitarist Dave Hill officially unveiled the new name of a Wolverhampton carehome’s new dementia unit.During his visit to the Priory Group owned Bentley Court Care Home, which openedin August, he met residents and staff to celebrate the opening of ‘Slade Avenue’.Manager Debbie Rowley said: “The residents and staff really enjoyed meeting DaveHill. He’s a local legend, and we are delighted to name the dementia unit SladeAvenue as the band have such strong links to the local community.”To mark the occasion the home held an autumn bazaar, which included familygames, food, music, face painting, bric-a-brac stalls, a tombola, charity raffle and acompetition to guess the number of balloons in a limousine.

23 15/12/09 16:58 Page 1

CARINGCOMMERCE24

Joint venture considered on unencumbered landwithin M1, M62 and A1 area (Leeds) 0.7 acres.

Ideal position for brain injury or care assisted units.

• Detailed planning permission granted.• Historic planning gains.• Change of use available.

• Will accommodate up to 30 individual units.

DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY

Tel:07949 060 346 - 07944 125 505

A FORMER policeman andteacher, Rob and Sue entered theindustry so they could make adirect difference to people.

And after viewing more than 20homes, the couple settled onMelbury House, a former vicaragein the mining town of Dawdon,which was turned into a carehome 15 years ago.

Rob, who retired in April after 31years, told Caring UK that thecouple plan to instill their lifeexperiences into the running ofthe home.

He added: “One of Sue’sdaughters, who works as a clinicalpsychologist, said she wasinterested in doing some work incare homes to try and improve thelives of the residents.

“She told us it would be a goodinvestment opportunity for us,and when we looked around someof the big care homes in the areawe found they were veryimpersonal and clinical.

“What attracted us about thishome was that the residents werehappy, and both they and the staffwere all local, which meant theyhad an interest in the day-to-dayrunning of the home.”

The home is registered for 24residents in 22 single and one

twin room, and Rob said theyhave already bought a televisionand chairs for the lounge, andplan to install a new IT system.

He added: “We plan to run astraw poll with the staff, residentsand their families to find out theirlikes and dislikes around thehome.

“There are areas which look a bittired, but we will look to build onthe strengths and develop theweaknesses to create a personalapproach around the home.

“We have a manager in placewho has been at the home formany years, and it is crucial for usthat we keep her and draw on herexpertise as well as putting ourown stamp on the business.”

The home was sold on behalf ofMoorland Care Limited throughGLP Taylors, with Lloydsproviding the funding.

Rob added: “We are taking acommon sense approach to thenew venture, and it is very muchabout us walking before we canrun.

“Obtaining the money was veryhard because the banks aregenerally not lending money, butthey could see that the businesswas viable and, after severalmeetings agreed to it.”

Rob Roney and Sue Patel have taken on a newproject with the purchase of their first care home inDurham. Dominic Musgrave found out more.

Couple want tomake a difference

DFE Commercial has completed the sale of Glencairn Residential Care Home inDorchester. The property is a substantial building constructed around 1895, and ascheme has been submitted to add six new en-suite rooms to the home, increasing theaccommodation to 21 singles and two twin rooms.

A FAMILY run care business hasdoubled the size of one of its homeswith the opening of a new extension.

The new development at HomecroftFour Oaks Group’s Wyndley Grange inSutton Coldfield has seen the numberof rooms increase from 15 to 30, withthe number of staff also almostdoubling to 40.

Geoff and Joan Murch have ownedthe home which overlooks SuttonPark and Wyndley Pool since 2005,and have made a number ofimprovements to it since.

Joan said a number of ‘green’measures have been included in thenew extension.

She added: “What attracted us tothis home was its location, and wereally thought we could do somethinghere.

“The original Victorian houseneeded a lot of work doing to it,which we have done over the past fewyears.

“The next stage for us was theextension, and within it we haveincluded superior insulation and inthe link with the main building wehave used special glass which retainsheat. As well as the extra bedrooms,we have also been able to create anumber of extra communal areas forthe residents as well.”

Two years ago the couple developeda log cabin in the grounds of thehome, which dates back to 1872, sothe residents could enjoy the gardensand lake.

Prior to the purchase of WyndleyGrange, they built their own purpose-built home called Homecroft, also inSutton Coldfield, which has 23residents.

Funding for the extension, whichcost in the region of £875,000, wasprovided by Barclays CommercialBank. It was officially opened by localMP Andrew Mitchell.

Home doubles in size with‘green’ extension opening

Bramall to build £7m NorthYorkshire housing schemeBRAMALL Construction has beenappointed to build a £7millionolder people’s housing scheme inNorth Yorkshire.

Hanover Housing is developingthe site of The Beeches Care Homein Tadcaster, turning the 33-bedfacility into 50 modern, accessibleapartments.

Over the next 18 months Bramallwill work around the existing carehome while the current residentscontinue to live there.

The facility will be the largest

development in Tadcaster for morethan 12 years and will combinespecialist housing with access toround-the-clock personal care andsupport for the over 55s.

It will also provide facilities,which include an accessiblerestaurant, social club, sun terrace,shop, hair and beauty salon,assisted bathing and laundryservices for the whole community.

The new building is due tocomplete by March 2011.

Taylor National has completed the sale of Waldernheath Residential Hotel for the elderlyin Harrogate. The home, which is registered for 85, has been acquired by the NorthLondon based Esteem Care.

24 15/12/09 16:47 Page 1

25 DC Care 15/12/09 15:28 Page 1

CARINGCOMMERCE26

By Dominic Musgrave

A FAMILY care business hasexpanded with the purchase of ahome in Swansea.

Since purchasing her first homemore than 20 years ago, MargaretJenkins has gradually expanded thecompany since with the help morerecently of her two sons and herniece.

She told Caring UK that her mostrecent purchase Sketty House, whichis dual registered for 35, has a specialplace in her heart.

Margaret added: “The late husbandof Christine Adams who owned thehome, Peter, was the chairman of theRegistered Nursing HomesAssociation when I bought me myfirst home, and he advised me alongthe way.

“I met Christine at a conference 18months ago and she told me that sheplanned to retire. It is a lovely homewith a good reputation in a nice areaof the city, and it fits in with what wehave in our portfolio.

“It is not too far from our otherhomes and also has large grounds sothere is potential to expand on thesite in future.”

The home was sold by the Bristoloffice of Christie’s for an undisclosedsum, and Margaret says plans are inplace to extend her two otherbusinesses, Jenkins Health Care andCherish Care Homes, in future, withher family’s help.

She added: “We have extensiveplans in place to build bothextensions and new homes at ourcurrent sites.

“We are also buying a plot inSwansea to build a purpose-builthome on. We are not sure what wewill build yet, but will work closelywith the local health boards to seewhat sort of service they needproviding.

“It is nice to have the support of myfamily with the business. My twosons help with the management sideof things and my niece looks after thesupport services.”

Family firm expandswith Sketty purchase

Sketty House

SHADOW health minister StephenO’Brien and broadcaster, journalistand author Oliver James are two ofthe names lined up to speak at aconference in London in February.

The Ageing Population conferencewill bring together key partners fromthe public, private and third sectorsresponsible for the delivery ofsupport services for and thoseresponsible for implementing thePersonal Care at Home Bill, whichwas outlined in the Queen’s speech.

Caring UK are the media sponsorfor the event, which takes place at theQEII Conference Centre inWestminster, and you can save 20 percent off your place by quoting ‘CaringUK’ to attend for just £199 plus VATwhen booking.

This offer is exclusive to publicsector members only and subject toavailability.

To find out more emailamy.green@govnet.co.uk or ring 0800542 9585.

Shadow minister among speakers

WOODGATE Healthcare haspurchased Anchorstone NursingHome in Farnham to take thenumber of homes it runs to five.

The business was founded byDhiren and Nilu Badiani 21 yearsago with the purchase of its firsthome, Old Village School NursingHome in Bedford, in 1988, whichwas extended 10 years later toinclude a purpose-built 40 bed unitspecialising in brain and spinalinjuries.

Since then the family have builtShivam Nursing Home in Wembleyto care for elderly Asian residentsand have purchased KingfishersNursing Home in Buckinghamshireand Nightingales Residential Homein Berkshire, with son Amanjoining three years ago.

He told Caring UK that the familyplans to refurbish the Anchorstone,which is already rated as ‘excellent’by the CQC, to bring it into linewith the quality of care.

He added: “We have been lookingat quite a large number of homesfor the last couple of years, but forthe first year or so we couldn’t seeany value in what was out therebecause asking prices were toohigh and hadn’t dropped to a morerealistic level.

“For the past year nothing really

stood out for what we were lookingfor in terms of quality of building,location and management team inplace until we visited Anchorstone.

“Work has started on refurbishingthe home, and next spring we wantto improve the grounds becausewe don’t think they are being fullyexploited and we want to get theresidents out into the gardensmore. We also have a rollingproject in place for decorating thebedrooms.”

Funding for the home wasprovided by NatWest, and Amansays the family are looking atfurther purchases in future.

He added: “We are still looking atexpanding further over the nextcouple of years if the rightopportunities come around.

“We are also looking quiteaggressively at development sitesto build a purpose-built propertyon from scratch, and are speakingwith a couple of companies aboutthis.

“Once we have found a suitabledevelopment we will work closelywith the local authority and PCT tofind out what they need and willwork with them from day one, butit is more than likely that it will bedementia related with the waythings are going at the moment.”

A South East family care home operator has added aspecialist dementia facility to its company. DominicMusgrave found out more.

Latest home takesportfolio to five

The Badianis with Jillian Bailey, healthcare manager for NatWest in Farnborough.

Taylor National has expanded its teamwith the appointment of Hayley Bullock.

A MIDLANDS law firm hasstrengthened its healthcare teamwith two new appointments.

Solicitor Amanda Gale andformer operations director atMajesticare care home groupLinda Richardson have joinedBerryman Healthcare.

John Roddy, former regionaldirector of RBS Healthcare, hasalso recently joined the team.

Appointments

26 16/12/09 10:33 Page 1

27CARINGCOMMERCE

Managers required for two nursing homes, one in Barry and theother in Gower, Swansea. The homes’ provide nursing andpersonal care support services for older people age 65 and over.

We are seeking to recruit managers who will set high standardsin care practice, and someone who will also provide positiveleadership to over 90 dedicated and committed workforce.

The ideal candidate will have experience of working as amanager or deputy in a nursing home, who also have or isworking towards NVQ Level 4 in Leadership and Management.However, candidates with relevant management experience andqualification in health and social care will also be considered.

In return we offer a competitive salary, practical support andmentoring from other managers in the group, and support withdeveloping managerial and professional skills, knowledge andpractice.

Financial Package subject to experience

For more information, pleasecontact Abin Shrestha on 0208 385 4949.To apply for the job, please sendyour CV by email toabinshr@yahoo.co.uk by15 January 2010.

ManagersRequired:

Foredore Nursing Home is situated in the rural andscenic village of Trebetherick in Cornwall not far fromthe resort of Polzeath with its beaches and surfing. Thehome is registered with the Care Quality Commissionfor 32 nursing and residential clients and has a 2 starrating.

If you have:• The Registered nurse's qualification and a current

Pin number• The Registered Managers Award• Provided nursing care for older adults requiring care

due to old age, physical disabilities or terminal illness.• A successful track record as a manager and be able to

deputise as manager at a high level of competence.

You can expect to:• Negotiate a salary circa £26,000 P.A.• Be offered a flat within the home as part of your

employment.

If you are interested in joining our friendly team pleasesend your C.V. together with a supporting letter to:

Marshall Orr, M&M Consultants, Penrowan, Meadway,East Looe, Cornwall PL13 1JT

or email: mandm.orr@btinternet.com

Tel: 01503 263 983

DEPUTY MANAGER/POSSIBLE FUTURE NURSING HOME MANAGER

The post is full time and subject to disclosure.

By Mary Ferguson

AN established Norfolk family busi-ness has acquired its fourth carehome with the purchase of ManorFarm Residential Home nearNorwich.

Cygnet Care has bought the home,which is registered for 21, throughChristies, from Paul Bridgeman, whohas run it since 2002.

The home is the group’s first pur-chase for three years, and directorRobert Blackham said the family arelooking forward to putting their markon it.

He added: “When we looked atManor Farm it had a lovely atmos-phere to it and the staff team seemeda really nice bunch of people.

“We are looking to refresh the homein pretty much all areas as it needsremedial work doing to it to bring itup to date. We may extend the homein future, but there are no plans atthis stage.

“Our theory is that we are continu-ing to provide a service that peopleare needing in this area, and thatrequirement will not go away over thenext 15-20 years.”

The group’s homes, two of whichspecialise in dementia, are all withina 10-minute drive of each other, andRobert said any potential future pur-chase would have to be in close prox-imity.

He added: “We don’t want to run ahome from a very long arm, and thatis why our homes are all within ashort drive of each other.

“We want to be there daily to sup-port the managers, and Manor Farmwas exactly the sort of thing we werelooking for.

“You get a gut instinct when youlook at a home, and it is a similarfeeling to what a relative would haveif they were visiting a home for anelderly family member.”

Robert’s father bought the group’sfirst home Chevington Lodge, 30years ago, and he still works part timein the business.

His sister Sally Crawford, who hasworked for several other care compa-nies, runs regular audits of the homeon a monthly basis, and does a thor-ough one lasting several days everyquarter.

Manor Farm is firstbuy for three years

Manor Farm

A NEW specialist dementia carehome has been completed inGuernsey for Methodist Homes.

Maison de Quetteville was designedby architects Lovell Ozanne Ltd andbuilt by RG Falla Ltd, with specialistadvice from Chapplow WilsonAssociates.

Architect Andrew Male, whoworked closely with Bob Wilson of

Chapplow Wilson, said: ‘Bob had alot of knowledge of designing fordementia and is the co-author of abook on the subject.

“He is also a civil engineer, whoknows the building trade, so wespoke the same language. He knewwhat the residents needed andunderstood what was technicallyachievable.”

New dementia home for Guernsey

Linda Murray Care Sales has completed the sale of Marsden Rock in South Shields foran undisclosed sum. Existing operators Ravi Dhugga and Tom Chopra have purchasedthe facility, which has been operating as a 44 bed residential care home for more than20 years.

Work begins on extra care schemeWORK is underway on a state-of-the-art extra care housing developmentin Torquay which will boast severalenvironmentally friendly features.

Working in partnership with TorbayCouncil and Torbay Care Trust,Sanctuary is building a 45-apartmentcomplex on the site of the former

Dunboyne Care Home, which closedin 2007.

The new building will feature solarpanels, while a ground heat pumpwill provide 10 per cent of the energyrequirements.

Work should be complete inDecember 2010.

27 15/12/09 16:49 Page 1

CARINGPRODUCT NEWS28

DP ASSOCIATES is bringing itssuccessful meetings formula to theprivate care sector with the CareIndustry Forum held at theMillennium Gloucester Hotel inLondon.

It will see senior purchasingdecision makers from some of theUK’s largest and most active privatehospitals, care homes and treatmentcentres meet face-to-face withexciting suppliers to the industry.

The event on February 23 and 24gives suppliers an exclusive

opportunity to network, socialise anddiscuss their products and servicesdirectly with key decision makers,who are uniquely located in oneplace at one time.

The event promises to deliver somehigh level opportunities and themajority of the industry’s leadingplayers will be attending.

Industry leaders to attend forum

HAIGH’S highly efficient and userfriendly Incomaster deliversoutstanding performance for thesimple and hygienic disposal ofincontinence pads and nappies.

The Incomaster disintegratespads and nappies into a suitablyfine pulp and flushes the materialto a standard drainage system.

Designed for simplicity, it is easyto install, low maintenance andfast – processing four small or twolarge pads in less than twominutes.

Saving you money, there are nocostly collection services and lowrunning costs – only mains coldwater is required with a minimal

amount ofelectricity.

With fullservice andwarrantypackagesavailable, thewear itemshave beendesigned forquick andsimplereplacement.

One spareset is suppliedwith eachmachine, and the necessary toolsto change them.

Incomaster disposes of pads

FIRE safety retailer and wholesalerSafelincs has developed an innovativefree service to remind householdersto regularly test their smoke alarms.

By going to the company’s websiteanybody with a smoke alarm canregister to receive a regular reminderto test their alarm by email or SMStext message.

Safelincs is one of the partners ofthe Government’s Fire Killscampaign, whose latest advertisingcampaign focuses on the dangers ofsmoke in a household fire.

Many householders have now takenthe important step of installingsmoke alarms in their homes, but it isequally important to ensure that they

Free service gives alarm reminder

ECONO-CARE is offering theopportunity to receive free giftvouchers with any order placed inJanuary 2010 subject to a minimumspend of £50.

They can be redeemed at manyleading high street stores, food anddrink retailers and leisure attractions,so why not collect as many aspossible to treat residents, staff oryourself.

Over the past 12 years the companyhas become the preferred supplier tothousands of leading medical and

beauty professions throughout theUK, gaining an invaluable reputationfor high quality products andproviding a first class service.

Econo-care is committed to offeringa fast and efficient service, enablingcustomers to purchase from onereliable source.

Whether an order is placed onlineor on the telephone delivery will befree of charge nationwide, with nominimum order value and deliveredto you within 48 hours (next daydelivery option available).

Gift voucher incentive

By Dominic Musgrave

RESIDENTS at a Brighton care homeare creating modern pieces of art tobe displayed around rooms andcorridors and for the new extension.

Volunteer Maireadh Knight, who ismore affectionately known asMarmalade, is working with the 15residents at the family run ValerieManor on masterpieces that areinspired by American artist JacksonPollock.

She told Caring UK that theresidents are using acrylic paint oncanvas to create their works of art.

Maireadh added: “The idea is thatthis will be a layered painting. Eachweek that I spend

time with the residents I will takethe painting and we will drop paintand create splashes and movement ofpaint on the canvas.

“I then take the canvas home andlet it dry flat in readiness for the nextlayer. I have a plan that these willthen be displayed around the roomsand corridors for all to enjoy.”

Their first work has yet to benamed, but the residents are nowworking on the second piece‘Poppies’.

Funding is also in place for an

extension to the 17th century formermanor, which was once visited byboth Winston Churchill and CharlesII.

Owner/manager Zoe Bates washoping to start building thedevelopment in October, which willincrease the registration to 23, butsaid things had not progressed asquickly as she had hoped in thecurrent financial climate.

She added: “We are now working onthe detailed project plan. Theresidents and relatives will be gettinginvolved in this stage, and thearchitects are developing sketches ofthe grounds outside so that they canplan where they would like things likevegetable patches and plants.

“We hope to go out to tender on theplans in January, and hope thatbuilding work will start around April.”

Residents brighten corridors

A LINCOLN care home wasnamed overall winner of agroup’s ‘Changing Rooms’ stylecompetition to enhance theirfacilities.

The residents at Willow Courtasked for their own hair salonand, with the help of staff andrelatives, their wish came true.

The ‘Pamper Parlour’ is nowhome to a beautician,chiropodist and hair stylist.

Each of Southern Cross’homes in Norfolk,Cambridgeshire andLincolnshire took part in thecompetition, which was thebrainchild of operationsmanager Linda Knowles, toenhance their facilities for thebenefit of the residents usingonly resources within the home.

The winning entry from eachhome won £25 towards theirresidents’ fund, with the overallwinner receiving a £100 prize.

Home a cutabove withnew salon

Maireadh Knight with the painting

New purpose-built home planned for MidlothianA NEW 60-bed care home has beenplanned for Midlothian.

Midlothian council’s cabinet hasapproved the decision to develop asite at Eastfield in Penicuik to providea purpose-built new care home aswell as extra care housing for olderpeople.

The new facility would replace the

existing Pentland House care home,and will be run by council inpartnership with an independentprovider.

Cabinet member for social work andhealth Jack Aitchison said: “Thismuch-needed new facility will be ableto meet the needs of older people incare today, and will be of a similar

standard to our award-winningNewbyres Village Care Home inGorebridge.

“This new purpose-built site willensure that older people inMidlothian get the highly specialisedand targeted care when they mostneed it.”

Once built, the council plans to

purchase two-thirds of the 60 beds at

the home, with the remaining 20 beds

run independently.

Existing staff from Pentland House

would transfer to the new home to

ensure minimal disruption to

residents.

28 15/12/09 16:39 Page 1

29CARINGNEWS

A County Armagh carehome is one of thefirst in NorthernIreland to successfullyimplement anationwide project.Dominic Musgravefound out more.

Programme gives residents choiceALLOWING the residents to choosehow they want the home to be runis the main principle behind the MyHome Life Project.

It was developed by the Universityof London and Help the Aged, andat Sunnymead the residents havevoted to have a shop and their ownnewspaper.

Manager Amanda Leitch said theaim is to improve the quality of lifefor people who live, work and visitthe home.

She added: “I would encourage allhomes to get involved if they can.The project encourages person-centred care and is about improv-ing the quality of life for people liv-ing in the home.

“We encourage the residents toget involved with the running of thehome, and we have a rota in placefor them to help out with the laun-dry and laying the tables in the din-ing room. It gives them a sense ofpurpose and something to get outof bed for in a morning.

“Just because a person is 90 does-n’t mean they cannot contribute tothe community, and we always pro-mote an open dialogue with theresidents when it comes to carebecause what we do not provide is aconveyer-belt style of service.”

The programme is based on reallife testimonies from people livingin care homes and a set of eight keycare themes which look at how a

person’s life is affected, from thefear and often the trauma of admis-sion to long-term care, through todying with dignity.

Amanda says she has noticed a bigdifference in the atmospherearound the home since the pro-gramme was first implemented.

She added: “Everybody seemsmuch happier than they did, andusing the project has helped us tocreate a much more democratichome.

“At one of our recent meetings theresidents said they would like a full-time activities co-ordinator, so wegot them involved in the recruit-ment process.

“Four of them volunteered to put

together a list of qualities this per-son would need. We then workedtogether to draw up a list of ques-tions, and used them when we heldthe interviews.”

Amanda said the residents havegrown so much in confidence sincethe project was introduced thatthey called a meeting with thehome’s management because theywere unhappy with some of thedishes on the menu.

“They can see their opinion is val-ued so because they were nothappy with what was being servedthey asked to meet with us,” sheadded. “We were happy to listen tothem and make the changes theyhad asked for.”

Resident Bella Bovington and Sunnymead manager Amanda Leitch show the first copy of the home’s newspaper to JohnMoore, project manager for My Home Life in Wales.

29 15/12/09 17:20 Page 1

CARINGCARE AWARDS30

Mandy Derrick receives her cook of the year award from Richard Digance and TinaGriffiths from category sponsor IPA.

BROOKDALE House scooped fourawards at the Hampshire CareAssociation’s annual ceremony.

Mandy Derrick was named cook ofthe year, with Jackie Shobbrooketaking the newcomer prize and ChrisBlake the activities co-ordinator.

The Chandlers Ford home also tookthe bronze medal in the team of theyear category at the ceremony, whichwas presented by entertainer andtelevision personality RichardDigance, and attracted nominationsfrom across the county.

Other winners were: CareNewcomer – Jackie Shobbrooke(Brookdale House), silver medal –Elizabeth Donnely (Purbeck House,Waterloovile), bronze medal – StaceyWinncott (Millway House, Andover);Cleaner – Linda Bampton (BrookvaleHouse, Southampton), Lesley Light

(Woodley Grange, Romsey), StellaAnnetts (Westlands, Alton); Cook –Mandy Derrick (Brookdale House,Chandlers Ford), Sue Hay (St Ronans,Southsea), Lorraine Eaves (Hill Brow,Farnham); Manager – FrancesHudson (Beechwood House, Havant),Julie Frances (St Margarets,Southampton), Collette Willis(Ashlett Dale, Southampton);Activities – Chris Blake (BrookdaleHouse, Chandlers Ford), Wendy Rees(Woodlands, Fleet), Kathy Marsh(Greenbanks, Liphook); Carer – KerryColborne (Brookvale House,Southampton), Vanessa Warehame(Oakmount, Ringwood), Laylia Gisby(St Ronans, Southsea); Team –Saltmarsh House (Hayling Island),Valley Lodge (Chandlers Ford),Brookdale House (Chandlers Ford).

Home takes four awardsat annual ceremony

LEADING compere Steve Walls wasthe guest presenter at the inauguralGreat North East Care Awards.

The event was the last in theseries of five which formed theGreat British Care Awards – aseries of regional care awards heldthroughout the UK.

The winners from all the regionalawards will be invited to attend thenational events for either homecareor care homes sectors at theprestigious London’s Guildhall inMay and June next year.

The winners were: Care employer– Denise Blewitt and Jane Worsley(Community Integrated Care); carehome worker – Melanie Turnbull

(Lansbury); homecare worker –Marie Smith (Direct Health); carenewcomer – Paul Manning(Careforce); care home registeredmanager – Jill Carr (LothianHouse); homecare registeredmanager – Diane Hagan (SupportaCare); dignity carer – Karen Craggs(Hallgarth Care Home); dementiacarer – Lynn Day (Anchor Trust);care team – Priory Court (Housing21); care home activity organiser –Pat Cox (Redworth House); caretrainer – Steve Morgan (GatesheadCouncil); care innovator – CarolineBairstow (Step up to Life Scheme,Community Integrated Care);outstanding contribution – RonBainbridge (Housing 21).

A winning cheer Steve Walls

North east winners unveiled

Steve Wallscelebrates withaward winners,organisers andevent sponsors.

30 15/12/09 16:51 Page 1

THE Government plans, whichwere contained in the PersonalCare at Home Bill, were unveiled inthe Queen’s speech and are aimedat keeping approximately 280,000people out of residential care.

If it becomes law, it would see theelderly being offered professionalhelp to carry out essential basictasks such as dressing, getting outof bed and making breakfast in thecomfort of their own homes.

Simon Dalziel, director ofBluebird Care, which providesapproximately 45,000 visits amonth, welcomed the plan.

He said: “Care is about choiceand most people prefer to stay intheir own home for as long as pos-sible, rather than being moved into

a residential home. Their familiesoften prefer this option as well.”

And Doug Umbers, managingdirector of social care at Care UK,also welcomed the proposals, butsaid the Government needs tothink how it is going to fund it.

He added: “The initiative willrequire significant new funding toensure the training and skillsinvestment gap is addressed suchthat the high quality care that vul-nerable people deserve can be pro-vided.

“Much can be achieved by takinga more holistic and joined upapproach to health and social care,particularly with funding. Forexample, costly acute care can beavoided and real savings made by

earlier intervention and by shiftingcare to lower cost, more appropri-ate settings.”

But Nick Bruce, owner ofNightingales Retirement Care,which runs Priors MeadRetirement Home in Reigate, wascritical of the idea, saying it is “lit-tle more than a political stunt”.

He told Caring UK the plans donot go far enough. “While home-care is a great solution for manypeople, it should not be the onlyoption,” Nick said. “Around the UKthere are a large number of coun-cil-run homes being shut downand replaced by homecare, but formany, that means a life of loneli-ness.

“Residential care is slightly more

expensive, but it can mean a muchimproved quality of life.”

And Leon Smith, chief executiveof Nightingale care home inClapham, London, said proposalsfor free home care translates to afew hours’ help a day for just a fewpeople.

He added: “Personalisation – thelatest Government buzz word –seems to suggest an element ofchoice, but the new announce-ment does nothing to facilitatethis.

“A vast number of older peoplewant to enter a care home in orderto surround themselves with likeminded individuals and opportu-nities for intellectual and physicalstimulation.”

Proposals to keep people in their own homes for as long as possible have been met with amixed response from providers.

Mixed response to Care Bill

AN East Anglian domiciliary careprovider is celebrating its 10thanniversary.

Manorcourt Homecare, which wasfounded from a small office inMundford in 1999, now employsnearly 400 staff and has branches inSwaffham, Downham Market,Thetford, Newmarket, SaffronWalden and Lowestoft.

The company, which is part ofHealthcare Homes, provides practicalhelp as well as companionship andadvice to customers living in theirown homes.

General manager Janice King toldCaring UK that as well as providing

assistance with personal care rou-tines, domestic tasks and transport,carers also try to ensure customerslive fulfilling lives. She added: “Whenwe started we were offering just 400hours of care a week and we are nowproviding over 8,000 hours each weekto over 1,400 customers in Norfolk,Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

“Our carers do many differentthings to make life enjoyable for ourcustomers, anything from takingthem out to lunch or going on bustrips. One of our carers even took acustomer to a wedding in Scotland.”

The company recently achieved a‘good’ rating from the CQC.

Celebrating a decade of care

Janice King with a cake to celebrate the 10th anniversary

31 15/12/09 16:53 Page 1

HOMECARENEWS32

An entrepreneur has used the poor care hisgrandparents received as the catalyst to setup his own homecare business. DominicMusgrave found out more.

Visits to the UShelp Rob setup businessROB Gready set up Eclipse Care inWorcestershire having visitednumerous services both in the UKand the US.

The new company will providein-home care services includingpersonal care, companionshipand live-in care covering dutiessuch as meal preparation, lighthousekeeping and post hospitaldischarge care.

Rob said it has been granted fullmembership of the UKHCA, andapproval from the CQC.

He added: “I truly believe thecare my grandparents receivedcould have been better, and that itwas something I could do. Caringfor people in their own homes ismuch more than just brushinghair and changing a bed, anddoing just that is simply not goodenough.

“I genuinely believe that peopledo want to stay at home ratherthan move into care, and theGovernment can only afford tokeep people there. But thechallenge is how to value toperson and make a difference totheir lives, rather than just theirneeds from what is said on thebottom of a care plan.

“In the six months leading up tothe launch of the company I sawsome excellent examples of care,both in the UK and abroad, andthat is what we are striving for.”

Rob says he hopes the company

will employ 40 staff and beproviding between 400 and 500hours of care per week by the endof its first year.

He added: “We will provide amodern service, but with goodold-fashioned values, and I have apassion for excellence which willrun throughout the business.

“In my previous positions I haveemployed relatively large numbersof people, and here we have a firstclass training programme inplace.

“The care profession is all aboutpeople, and what is key to this isbeing able to inspire, motivateand skill people really well to dothis job.”

If successful, he says he plans toexpand the company further toother parts of the country.

“Although we have the supportof the county council, our mainfocus will be on the privateclient,” Rob added. “Partlybecause the margins are so tight,but also because if you aredependent on your local authoritythen I think it it will be tough.

“If we are successful, and I haveno reason to doubt that we won’tbe, we have systems in place thatcould be replicated elsewhere. Ihaven’t considered how yet, but itis something we would look atdoing in future.”

Eclipse Care managing director Rob Gready receives his UKHCA membershipfrom president Lucianne Sawyer.

Group turnover of £12mannounced at conference

Bluebird MD Paul Tarsey with franchise owners at the company’s annual conferenceheld at the Marriott Hotel and Country Club at the Forest of Arden in Warwickshire.

ONE of the country’s fastest growingproviders of care at home announceda group turnover of approximately£12m at its annual conference.

At the event entitled ‘Ahead andStaying Ahead’, Hampshire-basedBluebird Care reported a massiveincrease in growth from £600,000 inMarch 2007.

Managing director Paul Tarsey toldCaring UK that the company was ontarget to recruit 25 franchise ownersin the UK and eight in the Republic ofIreland during 2009.

He added: “We have retained ourcommitment to ‘good old-fashionedservice’ while at the same time

becoming a modern, forward-thinking organisation of the 21stCentury – always trying to stay one-step ahead. We have also continuedto invest in staff development andtraining, which means our customersget the very best service at all times.”

Paul also presented several awardsto celebrate the achievements ofsome franchise owners.

Winners were: Franchise of the year– John Prendergast and Phil Miles(West Berkshire and Basingstoke;Spirit of Bluebird – Joy Grant (Rugbyand South Leicestershire); Bestnewcomer – Ian Barnes (Shropshire).

ANTHEA Call has taken the helmas branch manager of RV Care, anewly relaunched domiciliary careservice covering west Cornwall.

Based in the village of Tregony,near Truro, Anthea hasresponsibility for the servicewhich provides care and supportto residents of Roseland Parcretirement village and to clients inthe surrounding area.

Her first priority has been tointroduce herself to all theagency’s clients, and she is nowworking on building up her client

and staff base.Anthea said: “Cornwall is one of

the poorest counties in England inrelation to adult care and I want toplay my part in redressing thebalance.

“I am passionate about theelderly and giving them the helpthey need to enjoy as full andindependent a life as possible.

“I shall be building on the strongteam we already have to build RVCare into the best domiciliary careagency in the county.”

Anthea takes the helm

MIKE Padgham has been re-electedchairman of the UKHCA for a fourthtime.

The North Yorkshire care provider,who is managing director ofTwentyFour7 Care Services, toldCaring UK that being elected in theassociation’s 20th anniversary yearwas especially pleasing.

He added: “Years of relentlesslobbying and campaigning has

brought us to a point where theGovernment listens carefully whenUKHCA speaks.

“We know a population explosion iscoming with an increasingly olderpopulation, many of whom will needcare. Whatever that future holds, Ican say with pride and optimism thatwe will be at the forefront of socialcare with a voice that is stronger thanever.”

Mike appointed for fourth time

32 17/12/09 12:54 Page 1

33 15/12/09 15:44 Page 1

CARINGCLASSIFIED AND NEWS34

Care alarms

TowelsBusiness solutions

Uniforms

Radiator covers

Signs

Toadvertiseplease call

01226734479

Permission grantedfor extra care schemePLANNING permission hasbeen granted for a new buildextra care residential scheme inDukinfield.

The approved development inRavensfield by New CharterHousing Trust Group willreplace an existing four-storeybed sit development with acontemporary 31 extra careapartment scheme withcommunal spaces andlandscaped gardens.

Altrincham-based architectsPozzoni have designed abuilding that complements theexisting surroundings, and alsocaters for the changing needs ofthe proposed residents.

The design creates a safe andsecure environment whereindividuals and the widercommunity can enjoycommunal facilities. Residentswill benefit from the privacy oftheir own flat entrance whilehaving the security of 24 hourstaff support.

Partner Tim Whiting said:“The design of Ravensfield

incorporates the features of amodern home and communitywhile providing the facilitiesthat are required to help peopleremain in their own home astheir needs change.”

The development has beendesigned on a site withconsiderable level changes andwill consist of a three-storeybuilding with one and twobedroom units, which arewheelchair accessible.

In addition is a communalwing with a lounge, bistro, akitchen, staff offices, a hair

salon and a wellbeing centre.The building has been

designed in a curving formwhich caters for the shape ofthe site and the slope of thehill.

This creates a level gardenspace which facing south,maximises the sun pathensuring that all apartmentsbenefit from sunshine at somepart of the day.

A green, sedum roof isincorporated to the front of thecommunal area and thecourtyard colonnade.

Museum visits villageRESIDENTS at a New Forest retirement village tooka trip back in time when they were visited by a localmuseum.

Staff from St Barbe’s Museum in Lymingtonencouraged The Shelbourne at Sway residents totalk about a variety of old objects, which included adriving licence and postcards.

Operations manager Maggie Tomlin added: “Itreminds people of things that they remember fromthe past and gives them a talking point.”

An artist’s impression of the new development

34 Classi 17/12/09 12:59 Page 1

35 15/12/09 15:45 Page 1

36 15/12/09 15:51 Page 1