Scottish Care is delighted to launch its consultation for our ‘Ethical Commissioning and Procurement’ project.

Your insights will assist our reporting to the Scottish Government, as part of the design and implementation of commissioning procedures under a National Care Service. We aim to identify areas for improvement and develop a framework for ethical commissioning that truly meets the needs of the independent sector.

We want to hear of your experiences applying for commissioned services, in particular:

• • • The outcomes used by commissioning agencies in your locality, and their relevance to the care delivered by your service.
    • The commissioning process: its duration, ease, and the official mechanisms you have to engage in dialogue with commissioning agencies.
    • The details of the most recent terms of conditions offered to your service to deliver packages of care.
    • The key stakeholders within HSCP’s and other commissioning agencies, that you require strong relationships with to secure the best arrangements for your service.

Throughout the next two months, you can get involved in consultation through these options:

• • Our Workshops

Tickets are now available for the first two workshops of our three-part series entitled ‘Ethical Commissioning for the Independent Sector: Rights, Respect & Redistribution’. Join us to learn from, and share your experiences with, expert stakeholders involved in the commissioning of care services across Scotland.

Our first session in Aberdeen is on the 11^th of March, exploring the best practice of commissioning right-based care with a focus on involving people with lived experience and delivering person-led care.

Our second session in Edinburgh is on the 19^th of April, exploring the practice of achieving the cultural change required to commission co-produced social care, with a specific focus on fair working practices and innovation.

Complimentary spaces for both events are available through Eventbrite, please follow the link for further details.

• • Our questionnaires

Members can access questionnaires via the following link. There will be further additions to these as our consultation progresses, and we will keep you updated of these changes.

• • Our drop in sessions

I will be live on Teams during the following times, feel free to drop in via the provided links to provide any feedback:

• • • Wednesday 7^th February 10-11am
    • Wednesday 7^th February 4-5pm
    • Tuesday 27^th February 10-11am
    • Tuesday 27^th February 4-5pm
    • Tuesday 19^th March 10-11am
    • Tuesday 19^th March 4-5pm

We thank members in advance for their invaluable contributions, as we work to ensure the insights of the independent sector are included with any national commissioning procedures introduced through the NCS.

Should you wish to provide any feedback directly and discuss anything in further detail, please feel free to get in contact to arrange a meeting through [email protected] or 0739 850 3895.

Free energy-saving support and £30k cashback grant

We are delighted to invite you to a special energy-saving briefing with Business Energy Scotland

Business Energy Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government to provide free, impartial support and access to funding to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) save energy, carbon and money.

Previously known as the Energy Efficiency Business Support Service from Zero Waste Scotland, Business Energy Scotland launched in April 2022 and is managed by Energy Saving Trust.

To help you tackle rising energy costs, Scottish Care has arranged for staff from Business Energy Scotland to provide a special briefing on the energy-saving support and funding that is available right now.

Book your place at this briefing and you will:

• Learn how you can help your organisation minimise the impact of rising energy costs and reduce its carbon footprint.
• Find out about the interest-free loans currently available – now with up to £30k cashback grants.
• Learn about the fully funded, expert consultancy advice and support available to SMEs.
• Understand how you can grow a greener, more competitive organisation.
• Hear about care homes that have already acted, what they did and how they have benefited.

Business Energy Scotland’s advisors have already identified over £200 million worth of savings for Scottish businesses, with a massive 24% average energy saving per business. 9 out of 10 businesses that have had support would recommend it to others.

“We have saved on both gas and electricity with the building being more energy efficient.”
Gillian Martin, Clinical Director, Perth Physio

“I can’t recommend Business Energy Scotland enough. Approaching them for support was a game-changer.”
Colin Watt, Managing Director, Carrbridge Hotel

“Because of the interest-free loan and cashback we were able to invest more money back into the business to bring the store up to a 5-star standard.”
Richard Cook, Operations Manager, MC Stores

Who should attend?

This event is a must for managers, directors and owners who are responsible for business improvement, competitiveness and sustainability.

Further information

For further information, please email [email protected] or call 0808 808 2268.

Book your free place here

Calling all women members.

We are working with STV and their Expert Voices team to organise a free, in-person media training event, so please mark Monday 26th February, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm in your calendars.

The STV Expert Voices initiative is designed to increase diversity and representation in the media, providing media training to expert women, with the aim to improve gender equality in the news.

We are looking for around 50 members to attend this event which will be held at STV studios in Glasgow. The Expert Voices team will walk through the ins and outs of media training – from breaking down how an interview would work, how it is edited, and sharing some tips and dos and don’ts – this free event is open to all women members of Scottish Care but numbers are limited so save the date and register your interest on the Members Area of this website.

This year’s Winter Bulletin has now been published and is available to view online. It’s packed with insightful updates, valuable information, and heart-warming stories from the social care sector. We’ve dedicated a special section from pages 10 to 16 featuring festive activities and stories shared by our members. Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Your feedback and ideas are always welcomed. Feel free to share your thoughts or suggest topics for future bulletins by reaching out to us at [email protected].

Here’s to a joyous holiday season and a successful start to 2024!

Workshops on new guidance on offering vitamin D supplements to eligible residents in adult care homes 14 December and 23 January

Dear colleagues

We are writing to invite you attend one of the workshops arranged by the Scottish Government for care homes and professionals who support care homes which will be held on Thursday 14^th of December 2023 (3:00-4.30) and Tuesday 23^rd of January 2024 (11:00-12.30) following the publication of the new Vitamin D guidance on 7^th December. The joining links to the workshops are below.

Vitamin D is important for keeping bones and muscles healthy. Current advice is that everyone should consider taking a daily supplement of vitamin D, particularly during the winter months. However, groups at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, including people living in care homes, are advised to take a daily supplement all year round.

Guidance to support care home staff in offering vitamin D to residents has been developed by Short Life Working group (SLWG) following calls from the care home sector around the need for guidance on implementation. The guidance materials were piloted in some care homes Ayrshire and Arran who reported an overall positive experience in offering vitamin D supplements to eligible residents.

The workshops will provide information on vitamin D, the findings from the pilot in Ayrshire and Arran, how to use the guidance to support conversations around vitamin D and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. The content of both workshops will be the same, so there is no need to attend both.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Thursday 14^th December: 3:00-4:30pm

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 381 780 582 889
Passcode: zbMqkn

Or call in (audio only)

+44 131 376 2847,,122762797#   United Kingdom, Edinburgh

Phone Conference ID: 122 762 797#

Tuesday 23^rd January: 11:00-12:30pm

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 325 785 468 511
Passcode: evkMze

Or call in (audio only)

+44 131 376 2847,,1016923#   United Kingdom, Edinburgh

Phone Conference ID: 101 692 3#

The National Care Home Awards 2023 by Scottish Care took place on the evening of Friday 17 November 2023, hosted at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow. The event, hosted by Pop Idol Winner Michelle McManus and Scottish Care CEO Dr Donald Macaskill, was an eventful evening!

A big round of applause goes out to our well-deserving finalists and winners, and our heartfelt appreciation to all the Awards Sponsors. A special mention to The Nursing Partnership for generously sponsoring the Arrival Drinks and to the Hilton Glasgow for sponsoring the Hotel Stay Raffle Prize.

To discover more about our exceptional finalists, you can explore the details in our Awards Programme.