LGBT Health and Wellbeing has developed this toolkit to support health and social care staff to reflect on and develop their practice in working with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people with dementia.
We are delighted to help produce this toolkit along with a range of representatives from care providers working across Scotland, Alzheimer Scotland and the Care Inspectorate.
The Impact Report for this project can be found here.
Following the publication of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care report, Scottish Care has developed the following briefing for Members of Parliament from all political parties to inform the debate that took place today (Tuesday 16 February).
Scottish Care welcomes the Review report and believes it sets a positive and constructive approach to addressing the challenges social care faces, many of which Scottish Care has been raising for a number of years.
Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland - Briefing 15 Feb
Animal-loving pensioners at a city centre care home have been enjoying pet therapy sessions for more than a decade, thanks to dedicated staff and resident pup, Sophie.
Staff at Belleville Lodge in Edinburgh recognised how much joy and comfort the sessions brought to their elderly residents and made the decision to ensure they could continue throughout the pandemic.
During the sessions, residents reminisce about their pets over the years, cuddle up with Sophie, the resident west highland terrier, and look at pictures of animals and nature, while sharing stories in small groups.
The carers have found pet therapy has amazing benefits for residents with and without dementia, from increased mood and social interaction to improved nutrition and physical activity. It’s also a fun activity for residents who can share their pet histories and find out interesting facts about different animals.
Margaret Russell, Matron at the home operated by , said: “We find the sessions are excellent for our residents wellbeing and spirits. Before the pandemic we had two other dogs who visited regularly, a black lab called Orchid and a border terrier named Ruff, who residents are looking forward to reuniting with when it’s safe to do so.
“Anyone with a pet will know just how relaxing and calming spending time with an animal can be. As well as relieving the feelings of loneliness and isolation, pets can reduce stress, lower blood pressure and promote a sense of overall wellbeing.
“With such a powerful range of physical and mental benefits, it’s not surprising that pet therapy is being introduced into many care homes to improve the lives of elderly people and dementia patients across the UK.
“Even when a resident has advanced dementia, you can see the change in their face and the comfort they find when petting a dog – their faces completely light up as they stretch out their arms to welcome them.
“We’ve found it so important to keep activities that residents enjoy going throughout the pandemic, so we have made sure to incorporate pets and animals into our activity programme.
“When we couldn’t physically welcome any pets into our lounge area, we would download pictures of our residents favourite animals for our residents to talk about.
“Everyone thoroughly enjoys hearing one another’s stories and leaves the sessions feeling happy – which is the main reason why we have our extensive activity programme.”
Belleville Lodge offers space for up to 25 residents, including some twin rooms, in the heart of Edinburgh.
Mansfield Care operates 11 care homes across Edinburgh, Borders and the West of Scotland, specialising in small homes which offer bespoke, friendly care and boast state of the art facilities.
The care provider specialises in small, friendly, residential care homes across Edinburgh, Borders and West of Scotland, providing individualised care in state of the art facilities.
The Mansfield Care ethos is inspired by the kind of care many would wish for later in life – positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.
To find out more about Mansfield Care visit, https://www.mansfieldcare.co.uk/
We are delighted to welcome back Derek Feeley for another webinar following the publication of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care report.
This webinar will take place on Monday 1 March, 3:00 – 4:00 PM and is strictly for Scottish Care members only.
During this webinar session, Mr Feeley will present the findings from this report and members will get the opportunity to ask any questions they might have.
Please note that this webinar session will be in a meeting format, this is to allow members to interact and speak with Mr Feeley. The meeting format means that there are limited spaces, so please register for this session.
The registration link is available on the Members Area of this website. If you have any issues accessing this area, please contact [email protected].
We are pleased to be hosting a webinar on Pharmacy in Care with Catherine Aglen (Pharmacy & Medicines Division, Scottish Government) on Thursday 25th February at 2PM.
NHS Pharmacy First Scotland is an NHS service provided by your local community pharmacy. If you have a minor illness, a pharmacy is the first place you should go for advice. You do not usually need an appointment and you can go to any pharmacy.
NHS Pharmacy First Scotland was launched on 29th July 2020. It replaces the Minor Ailment Service which had been running since 2006 and has expanded the eligibility criteria to everyone who is registered with a GP in Scotland, or lives in Scotland – including those in care homes. It is a consultation based service designed to support patients with minor ailments and common clinical conditions, therefore reducing the need for appointments with GP practices, Out of Hours or Emergency Departments.
Patients (or their representative) will always be given advice, but also supplied with an appropriate treatment and / or referred to another healthcare professional where relevant.
Catherine is a community pharmacist, currently working for the Scottish Government, leading the development of the service including any training required for all areas of healthcare involved in using the service.
This webinar is for Scottish Care members only, details to join this session will be available shortly on the Members Area of this website.
We are pleased to let you know that the application deadline for the £500 thank you payment to social care staff working in the third, voluntary, charitable and private sector has been revised and is now midnight on 28 February 2021.
The claims are being administered by Scotland Excel. The claim form and all associated guidance is available at http://www.scotland-excel.org.uk/home/SocialCarePayments/SocialCarePayments.aspx
It would be helpful if providers could complete and submit their claim as soon as possible. Unfortunately, due to the volume of claims, the Scottish Government are unable to provide a timetable for payments. However, they endeavour to work with partners to make these as soon as is possible, and will keep providers informed of timings as well as updating the frequently asked questions regularly.
Scottish Care, in partnership with Life Changes Trust and My Home Life, is delighted to launch these reports from the Rights Made Real project.
The Rights Made Real in Care Homes was established in 2019, with the Life Changes Trust investment of £135,000 to support seven projects across Scotland to promote the inclusion and participation of care home residents with dementia in a meaningful way.
Each of the seven projects, which took place within care home settings across Scotland, demonstrated how human rights can be embedded in practice across all aspects of care home life and support whilst showcasing real examples of creativity, innovation and dedication in upholding and respecting human rights.
We are pleased to launch this report, entitled ‘Recognising, respecting and responding: promoting human rights for residents of care homes in Scotland’. Commissioned by Life Changes Trust, it brings together a collection of stories from across the project sites with the aim of informing and supporting rights-based practice in all care home support.
Dr Donald Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care, said:
“Human rights have always been critical to the support of individuals who live in Scotland’s care homes. That is why in 2019 Scottish Care was delighted to work with Life Changes Trust and My Home Life in the creation of the Rights Made Real project. This project was and is about making human rights more than just a set of warm statements. The project is about making sure that human rights speak to everything that happens in a care home, whether that be the way we care for and involve people or the right to the fulfilment of individual choice and freedoms.
“The horror of the pandemic, not least the enforced lockdown for many months, may have shone a light on human rights issues around access and choice, but what the Rights Made Real project makes clear is that there was before Covid-19 and continues to be a growing emphasis within our care homes which puts human rights at the heart of all practice and decision-making.
“I warmly commend these reports – written in a time before Covid-19 – as an example of what human rights practice can mean for care homes and in the hope that as we move into the second stage of this project, that human rights will remain the focus of work and life in Scotland’s care homes in the months and years to come.”
More information about the Rights Made Real project and this report can be found on the Life Changes Trust website: https://www.lifechangestrust.org.uk/rights-made-real-care-homes-evidence-and-learning
Whilst the Rights Made Real project work largely had to be paused in 2020 due to pandemic restrictions, we are delighted that Phase 2 of the project will be commencing in Spring 2021 including a series of workshops for care home services. Find out more and sign up for the workshops here: https://scottishcare.org/rights-made-real-phase-2/
In recognition of issues raised by members in relation to the Turas safety huddle tool, we are delighted to have a further webinar and Q & A with Nancy Burns from HIS (Health Improvement Scotland). This will be hosted by our Transforming Workforce Lead, Jacqui Neil and will take place on:
Thursday 18th February – 11:00am
The Safety Huddle tool was developed for the care home sector, by the care home sector. The information that is provided in the Safety Huddle Tool is now available on your own dashboard.
This session will explain the purpose of the dashboard, how you can use the dashboard to monitoring your own situation, trends, escalation and provide an opportunity for your own quality improvement opportunities.
Details to join this webinar session are now available on the Members Area of this website. If you have any issues accessing this area, please contact [email protected].
Please see below for letter from Ray de Souza (National Adviser, Workforce Wellbeing Leadership, Culture and Wellbeing, Health Workforce Directorate, Scottish Government) with new posters promoting the national wellbeing support provision, notably the National Wellbeing Hub and the National Helpline, for all Health and Social Care staff.
Circulation
With lockdown 3 putting even more pressure on care homes including staff resourcing, consistency and continuity of food supplies, leading food supplier, apetito, has looked to innovate and help support care homes across Scotland’s major conurbations as well as those situated in more outlying areas.
apetito are experts in providing excellent food and enhancing dining experience for the elderly. All meals can easily be cooked from frozen by care home teams on site. Throughout Covid-19, many care homes have turned to apetito for quick mobilisation of its services enabling them to retain their confidence in being able to guarantee the quality and safety of their meals, during these challenging and extraordinary times.
Over the past few months, apetito has looked to develop new working practices to support its care home customers. New ways of working include contactless deliveries and fast mobilisation of services. We also continue to offer free, remote tasting experiences so care homes can try our range of food in a safe and socially distant environment and ensure those homes looking for new options can be catered for.
apetito offer over 200 dishes including a great range of main meals and desserts that residents enjoy and love. apetito offer a wide range of meals for residents with specific dietary needs including a range of ‘free from’ meals, made without the 14 main allergens, and a world leading Texture Modified range for those living with swallowing difficulties.
Don’t take our word for it – try our meals for yourself and enjoy the quality first-hand…
apetito has launched ‘the apetiser’, an innovative mobile presentation suite which has been specially developed and fitted out to offer care homes the opportunity to enjoy socially distanced presentations and food tastings. This enables care homes to experience the quality of apetito’s meals first-hand without the need to admit any third party onto their site.
The apetiser will be travelling around Scotland in the coming weeks, allowing the apetito team to meet with care homes and communicate how the company can support them in maintaining the quality of their dining experience whilst reducing waste and labour costs. Please do not hesitate to contact us today to book your free care home tasting.
Neil Hargreaves, apetito’s Divisional Manager – Care Homes, commented:
“The apetiser means we can go to care homes who would like to discuss their catering requirements, invite them to join us in a socially distanced environment, and they can experience for themselves the great dining experience that apetito can help them deliver to their residents.
“Right now, we know that every penny counts for care homes and alongside delivering great food and nutrition, we can help care homes through reducing waste, labour and associated cost. Most importantly, we can mobilise new services quickly and safely, which right now is top of mind for many of the care homes that we are talking to”.
Ian Bell, Manager at Davidson House, Edinburgh run by The Salvation Army, said:
‘Looking back, the thought of introducing apetito might have looked challenging to some. However, given our catering situation at the time, it was essential that we quickly moved to a more manageable and qualitative meals system as quickly as we could.’
‘To be frank, all of my expectations were exceeded. The process went very smoothly with no hiccups or any other issues impacting on the operation or anyone’s safety. Freezers were put into place on time as was all other equipment. Food deliveries were also on time and menu’s planned well in advance. Training was delivered safely under the auspices of the homes infection control procedures and following all government guidance.
‘All in all, I couldn’t have been happier with the end result. The only real issue we had was communicating the change to residents families. We did this quickly and effectively through telephone contact and FaceTime. The decision to change during such testing times was completely justified. There was an immediate reduction in food waste and an increase in resident’s weights.’
To book your free tasting today, go to https://www.apetito.co.uk/trust-us/ or contact 01225 569403.
Learn more about our Care Home partnerships: apetito – Care Home Meals – YouTube
See The apetiser in action – The apetiser – YouTube
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