Take part in important EU Exit survey for care services by 12 July
The Scottish Government is working with a wide range of local and national organisations to help support contingency planning in the social care sector in response to the possibility of a No Deal EU exit. As part of this work they have commissioned Scottish Care to research the social care sector’s preparedness, levels of contingency planning and resilience factors. This will mean over the next few months as part of this work, they will be looking for sector leaders to share their concerns in 3 separate survey’s. These surveys will start by looking at clinical consumables.
The Scottish Government will use the results of these surveys to understand better how it can support the social care sector to minimise disruptions if the supply of clinical consumables was to be affected by shortages or failures in deliveries.
If you are a provider or a leader in the social care sector who is concerned about possible disruptions and you manage a care service, the Scottish Government would really like to hear from you and your support in completing this survey would be most appreciated.
Please see survey link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YL95SYN
Please complete the survey by 12 July 2019.
If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Elaine Rae – [email protected]
New Chair of Scottish Care announced
Rights Made Real in Care Homes: find out more about this exciting project
A new blog from our CEO for World Elder Abuse Day
Open our eyes and ears… Jean to all intents and purposes was a confident, articulate and outgoing individual. She put a good face to the world with a close group of friends whom she had known for years and who all still kept in touch with each other even if less frequently. Jean was in her late 80s and lived a quiet suburban life with her son and daughter-in-law. As her health declined over the years and particularly following a stroke she needed more and more support to manage the ordinariness of living. But she got there and often with a humour beyond her conviction and a positivity which was the object of much admiring comment. She went out as much as she could, attending a local lunch club for older people and was also consistent in her attendance at her local church. That was the Jean that the outside world saw. The real Jean was a woman whose life had been turned upside down since her son lost his job and came to stay with his mother, bringing along with him his wife who Jean had never really seen eye to eye with. After a brief honeymoon where everyone danced on the eggshells of shared living, being polite and sensitive to accommodating the rhythms and routines of others, things began to get first moody and then heated and angry. It started with small verbal barbs and putdowns and soon escalated into loud arguments and verbal challenges; open and subtle domination on the part of her son and snide, belittling asides from her daughter-in-law. Jean began to retreat into her own world, using silence as a weapon to create absence in her own home. She watched her words so much that she stopped conversing and just watched the television when she was at home. The domination reached a new level when her son, on the pretext that he thought Jean was developing dementia, persuaded her to allow him to be her Power of Attorney, and then took charge of her pension card. Jean was given pocket money whilst her son’s taste in fine wine developed literally at her expense. Jean is the victim of abuse and harm. She is hidden, in part by her own sense of shame and embarrassment, in part by the inability of people around her to think the unthinkable and to see the signs of abuse. Today (Sat 16thJune) is the United Nations World Elder Abuse Awareness Day – a day when we reflect on the harm which countless millions of older people experience across the world. Scotland has some fantastic legislation which protects and supports the victims of harm and abuse. But of course, legislation is not what ultimately safeguards individuals who for whatever reason might be vulnerable. What protects is a community which recognises the small signs that things might not be right. It is relatively easy to recognise the victims of physical harm, albeit that bruises and marks are often hidden. It is much harder to recognise the countless older women and men who are the victims of sexual abuse, psychological and financial harm or are the objects of hatred. But sadly they live in every community of Scotland. They live in homes with threadbare carpets and lace curtains, they live in streets of Georgian townhouses and Victorian tenements , behind quaint scenic village doors and in newly built housing estates. Abuse knows every village and town, every social standing and occupational group, every ethnic heritage and every sexual identity. Today look around you. Listen for the dropped remark and quiet word. Hear the fear in a trembling voice or a shed tear. Spot the furtive anxiety and desire to be invisible and small. Don’t dismiss your intuitive concerns but take a moment to think about whether you need to ask, to speak, to do. Jean and countless like her depend on our eyes, our voices and our actions. Thankfully in Jean’s case her home care worker spotted the signs and now Jean is free. Dr Donald Macaskill @DrDMacaskill
Celebrating John’s Campaign as part of Carers Week
Home Care Conference Resources
Professor Peter Gore - ADL Smartcare & Newcastle Institute for Ageing
Dr Donald Macaskill - Scottish Care CEO
Louise Kelly - CAPA
Peter Macleod - CEO, Care Inspectorate
Join us for Care Home Celebration Day – Wednesday 17 July
Herbert Protocol launched in Edinburgh
Launch of the Herbert Protocol in Edinburgh
The Herbert Protocol is an information gathering tool to assist the police to find a person living with dementia who has been reported missing as quickly as possible.
The Herbert Protocol was launched in Edinburgh on 4 June and we are encouraging people to find out more about the Herbert Protocol and pass the information on to anyone that it may be helpful for.
Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, Police Scotland, Scottish Care and Alzheimer Scotland have been working in partnership to increase awareness and promote use of the Herbert Protocol in Edinburgh.
The Herbert Protocol is a nationally recognised scheme supported and endorsed by Police Scotland. The initiative was first developed by Norfolk Police. It is named after George Herbert, a war veteran of the Normandy landings, who lived with dementia. George Herbert died whilst ‘missing’, trying to find his childhood home.
Who is it for?
The Protocol can be used for anyone who has a dementia diagnosis and may be at risk of going missing. People living with dementia often have loss of short term memory but can easily recall memories from decades earlier. Sometimes those who are reported missing are attempting to make their way to a place of previous significance to them.
What is it and how does it work?
The Herbert Protocol is an information gathering tool that encourages carers and families to record vital information on a form. This can be handed to police in the event of someone going missing.
It helps police to quickly access important information, avoiding unnecessary delays in gathering information at a time of crisis. The form records vital information such as where the person grew up, favourite places, former or current hobbies, GP contact details, medication, daily routine, a picture of the person with consent to share this on social media should it be required.
Once complete, the form can be retained by carers, or placed within the home or care setting in a safe but prominent position, so the information is easily available to police when required.
The Herbert Protocol form can be found on the Police Scotland Edinburgh webpage along with other information
Please pass on information on the Herbert Protocol to anyone it may be of use to. This can include colleagues, friends and family affected by dementia in Edinburgh. The completed form can be stored electronically as well as in paper form, but it is important that the family and friends of the person with dementia are the ones who keep the form.
If you require a large quantity of printed forms or wish to arrange for someone to come a speak to staff about this initiative, please contact Rachel Howe on [email protected] to arrange. You can also send her any questions you may have.
SSSC continuous learning consultation
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) has launched a consultation about proposed changes to the way SSSC registered workers record and submit their post registration training and learning (PRTL).
The consultation is open until 21 July 2019 and is particularly looking for responses from SSSC registered workers and supervisors/managers.
To find out more about the consultation, click this link: http://ssscnews.uk.com/2019/05/27/prtlconsultation/
