Springhill Care Newsletter March 2015

Residents’ praise for Springhill

Springhill Care Group received positive feedback from its residents for the standard of care it provides

in a nationwide survey.

Now in its third year, the Your Care Rating survey is the

country’s largest and most authoritative survey of care home residents, giving them a voice and putting their care at the heart of understanding more about how well

care homes perform.

Overall, the group scored an impressive 933 out of 1,000 as compared to the average 922 for its quality of life rating, and was higher than the national average

for home comforts, scoring 861 as opposed to 852.

The group achieved 100 per cent satisfaction across all homes when it came to having visitors and was above the national average for the quality and variety of its

food served for residents.

In total, Springhill Care Group scored 100 per cent in 23 of the categories in the

survey compared with 15 in the previous survey. More than 21,000 residents in 1,034 care homes across the UK took part. Each care

home was given an overall score based on resident feedback across four broad themes; Staff and Care, Home Comforts, Choice and Having a Say, and Quality of

Life.

The survey was compiled by leading research company Ipsos MORI with input from the care home operators taking part, plus the National Care Forum and Care

England. This means the survey is the most authoritative of its type, and is also the country’s largest, capturing more views of residents than any other.

All of this year’s results for every care home surveyed are displayed on the Your

Care Rating website www.yourcarerating.org.

Skelmersdale showcase

Birch Green went on the road recently as a couple of our staff and residents took off to Skelmersdale

Library for a showcase.

We put up a display board to show the sorts of things that go on in our home, to give people an idea of the activities

we do and the fun there is to be had.

It was a great opportunity to mix with other members of the community, and we also got to enjoy a display that

looked at Skelmersdale over the years, comparing what it was like then and now.

There was also an abundance of tasty refreshments, which is always a bonus.

It’s always great to get out and about into the community and explore issues that affect local people, as well as showcasing what a great place Birch Green is to live.

£200 presented

to Birch Green

Birch Green Care Home has now been presented with the £200 won

following a competition run by local supermarket Asda.

Asda agreed to support Birch Green by

offering shoppers the chance to donate shopping tokens.

A number of local organisations were

given the chance for shoppers to contribute, with the winner – the one with

the most tokens – scooping the cash donation.

Asda handed over the cheque to Birch

Green staff Carol, Bernie and Gill, along with residents Mildred Jonson and Kathy

McConnell, pictured.

The donation will go into the care home’s residents’ fund.

Toe-tapping tea dance

at cricket club

Our friends at Skelmersdale cricket club played host to an afternoon of

drinks and dancing for residents of Birch Green recently.

The lovely Sharon Roberts, a community worker from Asda, also came along for the

afternoon of fun. Sharon is a good friend of Birch Green and often joins us to help

out with activities and days out.

Everyone had a fantastic time, with

twinkle-toed residents even managing to get staff up on their feet dancing too.

There was plenty of tea, sandwiches and

cake to go around as always.

We’re all looking forward to putting our dancing shoes on for the next event.

Shannon qualifies

Riversway Nursing Home staff member Shannon has marked a

landmark in her training by completing her QCF3.

The qualification is a diploma in health and social care, and Shannon has spent around a year working towards it.

Shannon has been with us at Riversway since she was a girl, firstly on a work experience programme then from 16 when she started as a volunteer.

She now has plans to become a team leader and nurse practitioner to continue to develop her skills and knowledge.

She said: “I was very excited by the idea of doing my QCF3 and couldn’t wait to get started.

I really enjoyed doing the course and feel I have learnt a lot through doing it and developed as an individual.

“It has changed the way I view my job and the role I play at Riversway.”

An arty afternoon for Gordon and Betty

Riversway’s cultural residents Gordon

and Betty visited the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery recently to take in

some fine art.

Paintings, sculptures, artefacts and a

number of exhibitions are housed in the beautiful old building.

Betty found herself particularly enamoured with a collection of Egyptian art, while

Gordon, who used to be a keen photographer himself, really enjoyed the Wildlife Photography of the Year exhibition.

Activities and days out are an integral part

of the work we do at Riversway and it’s great to have such wonderful places to visit in the local area.

Spring is nearly sprung at Riversway

A spot of gardening was on the cards here at Riversway recently, as staff

and residents have decided it’s about time winter makes way for spring

once again.

We planted a selection of seeds which we

hope will grow into beautiful flowers over the coming months, to attract the bees and butterflies to our garden.

We’ll keep you posted on the results of our

green fingered efforts as everything starts to bloom.

P.S. Don’t forget to put your clock’s

forward on Sunday 29th March

Staff development a priority at Springhill Care Home

In order to ensure the highest standards of care and remain at the forefront of clinical

innovation, Springhill Care Home considers the development of its staff as high priority.

Eight members of our care team are beginning a 15-month training course which will lead to the

qualification of Assistant Practitioner.

The course will follow a curriculum which closely adheres to registered nurses in many areas, and will allow more flexibility, within their range of skills, to assist nurses

closely with their work.

Theresa Swan, Learning and Development Manager at Springhill, said: “This exciting

innovation will not only benefit the individual staff concerned in increasing their qualifications and experience, but will be a major contribution to the skills and

development of all our staff.

“All staff learning is focused on the quality standards of care we deliver, and everything we undertake is designed to assist us with the increasing challenges for

those who work in health and social care.

Deborah cooks up 15 years at Springhill

It’s time to celebrate the long-

service achievement of another member of staff here at Springhill

Care Home.

Deborah McDougall has worked as a chef in our kitchen for an incredible 15

years. Her efforts and loyalty were marked with a presentation of flowers

by support services manager Karen Fairclough, surrounded by her

colleagues.

Karen said: “Deborah is a very hard

working and reliable member of our team who keeps everything running

smoothly in the kitchen, which is

highly important given the role nutrition plays in a modern healthcare

environment.”

We are lucky to have a team full of

such dedicated staff in our home. Congratulations on reaching your

impressive milestone Deborah, from everyone at Springhill.

Emma leaves Springhill Care Home for maternity leave On Friday 20 February we said farewell to Emma who has left us just weeks before her first child is due.

Emma is an enthusiastic and dedicated worker in our lifestyle support team and will be missed by the residents who look forward to their

activities with her.

Staff gathered recently to enjoy a wonderful spread of cakes – one of

which was baked by a member of our care team especially for the occasion.

Emma enjoyed looking at the range of beautiful gifts which were presented to her for the baby and as we say goodbye for now and wish her well, we look forward to meeting her new

baby in a few short weeks’ time!

Cupid’s bow strikes William

Love was in the air recently for William, one of the gentlemen we support at Affinity Supporting People.

Getting into the spirit of Valentine’s Day, he decided to hand-make some cards for his own special loved ones.

Stocked up with plenty of paper, glitter and glue, William made

the heartfelt creations for the lucky recipients in time for the romantic day.

He had great fun getting creative.

Happy birthday Vici!

Many happy returns to Vici who celebrated her birthday last week.

We hope you had a lovely day and enjoyed your birthday cake!

Photos from around the group from our

social media pages

We value your feedback

Whether residents, their families and friends or our staff members, we like

to hear what you have to say about the way we work, and importantly, act

upon your comments or concerns.

Many people already provide us with valuable comments through letters, e-mails

and cards which we are proud to receive, and we have also been

encouraging people to add comments to

the www.carehome.co.uk website – a ‘Trip Advisor’ for the care

home sector or through NHS Choices.

We have also used regular one-off surveys, focus groups and meetings to gather

feedback on what is working well and what can be improved.

Recently The Care Quality Commission (CQC)

introduced a new inspection process which will

collect survey data from residents, relatives and

staff and social and healthcare professionals prior

to an inspection visit (Visit the CQC website for

further details).

Due to this new process being introduced, we are formalising the way we collect

information and have worked in partnership with an independent company to

develop surveys relating to each of our homes which will be available online.

There are a number of ways to access these surveys – on-line or by printing them

off, and our staff members will have a hand held tablet available to enable people

to fill in the questionnaire at their leisure.

We would appreciate your help and we will encourage people to fill these

surveys in at any point in time.

These surveys are not intended to replace a simple conversation, so don’t forget,

our managers also welcome comments and suggestions in person. Any concerns or

issues that require immediate attention, please raise with the general manager or a

senior team member.

Sign up for our next e-newsletter If you would like to receive this newsletter by email, please send your email

address to info@springhillcare.com or ask at reception for further information.

We need your help...

We need your help with stories for our social media pages, website’s and local press. If anyone has anything they would like to share, please contact Christine

Stevens on the details below.

Also we would like to ask all our staff and relatives, who engage in social media, to like & share our Facebook pages and to follow us on twitter, so you can see what’s

been happening / what’s going on in each of our homes – spread the word!! You will find all our social media details.

Thank you

Affinity Supporting People – www.facebook.com/affinitysupportingpeople

Birch Green Care Home – www.facebook.com/birchgreencarehome

Riversway Nursing Home – www.facebook.com/riverswaycarehome

Springhill Care Group – www.facebook.com/springhillcaregroup

Springhill Care Home – www.facebook.com/springhillcarehome

TWITTER - @Springhill_Care / @AffnitySupport

© Springhill Care

This newsletter is from Springhill Care Group Limited.

Registered Office:

11 Cannon Street

Accrington, Lancashire BB5 1NJ

T: 01254 304500 F: 01254 304531 E: info@springhillcare.com W: www.springhillcare.com