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Opportunities for Care Home Nurses from General Nursing Council

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: GENERAL NURSING COUNCIL FOR SCOTLAND (EDUCATION) FUND 1983 AND MARGARET CALLUM RODGER MIDWIFERY AWARD

NHS Education for Scotland has announced that applications are now being invited for the above award. The 2018-2019 scholarships are open to registered nurses and midwives resident and practising in Scotland. Applications from registered nurses across health and social care are welcomed.

Information on the funding opportunities available, a copy of the fund flyer, how to apply for funding, the application form and scholarship information for applicants can be accessed by going to the GNC webpage http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and-training/by-discipline/nursing-and-midwifery/information-for-practitioners/general-nursing-council.aspx

A learning resource to support application writing has also been developed and can be accessed here.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on Wednesday 17th January 2018.

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CMA care home provider survey

Scottish Care has agreed to facilitate a short survey of our care home members on behalf of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It should not take more than a few minutes to complete and the results will be fully anonymised.

The survey, which focusses on your business practices with residents (in particular self-funders), will help to inform the CMA’s market study – the study is considering whether the market for the provision of care home and nursing home services (to the over-65s in the UK) is working well for residents and for fairly competing businesses. Further information about the CMA and this work can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/care-homes-market-study

Please note that if you are a provider who operates more than one care home, you should only submit a single corporate response on behalf of all the care homes in your group.

Please be assured that the responses to this survey are anonymous at the point of submission . The CMA will not be able to identify which responses came from which provider, nor will Scottish Care.

We encourage you to answer the questions honestly as your feedback will help shape the CMA’s work in the care homes sector.  However, if there are any questions you prefer not to answer, then you can simply go to the next question, by clicking ‘Next’ at the bottom of the page.

For this survey, no personal information is being sought, and as previously stated, responses will be anonymous. Nevertheless, if you wish to know more about how the CMA handles the information it receives as part of its market study, then further details can be found at the Annex (Use of Information provided to the CMA) to this link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/58414134ed915d0b1200003b/carehomes-statement-of-scope.pdf

Clicking on the link below will take you to the CMA’s short questionnaire:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/CMAcarehomessurvey

We would be grateful if you would please submit your responses to the CMA by no later than midnight on Monday 30th October.

If you have any concerns or queries, you may contact the CMA at this generic e-mail address: [email protected]

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Courses on Sexuality from the Terrence Higgins Trust

Scottish Care has been undertaking work on sexuality and dementia with the Terrence Higgins Trust and Alzheimer Scotland and we are pleased to support the work of the trust in the sector.

Some of the courses running in the autumn and delivered by the Terrence Higgins Trust may be of interest to those delivering training and delivering care in the sector.

The Trust is offering a range of  informative and accessible courses on HIV, sexual health and related topics. For more information about any of the courses, just click on the links below. You can also visit Learning Centre Scotland, email [email protected] or call 014 1332 3838.

Understanding HIV & AIDS
The PDA in HIV is ideal for anyone who works in healthcare, social care, sexual health, or HIV. The course is also relevant to early childcare workers and anyone who supports at-risk populations or high prevalence communities. It is comprised of two units:
Unit one: HIV – An Introduction (Tuesday 17 October)
Unit two: HIV – Treatment & Lifestyle Management (Tuesday 14 November)
Cost £187.50 – £195 per unit (includes VAT, SQA fees and a light lunch)

‘I learned lots and this will definitely improve my support for individuals living with HIV’ (Participant attending Understanding HIV & AIDS)

Delivering Sexual Health Training
The PDA in Sexual Health Training is ideal for anyone who delivers Sexual Health Training. It is comprised of two units:
Unit 1: Sexual Health Training – An Introduction (Thursday 26 October)
Unit 2: Sexual Health Training – Experiential Learning (Thursday 23 November)
Cost £187.50 – £195 per unit (includes VAT, SQA fees and a light lunch)

“The trainer was excellent – very knowledgeable, supportive, approachable and encouraging.” (Participant attending Sexual Health Training)

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Care at Home services – Take part in Lifecurve™ research

We are encouraging care at home organisations to contribute to the largest piece of Scottish Care research ever to be conducted with a view to influencing future decisions and investment in a preventative approach to care:

  • It should take 5 minutes to complete

  • It will provide a national snapshot of current care provision

  • It will allow researchers to access information on the timing and effectiveness of intervention

  • Your organisation can complete as many as you like throughout the month of October

We are aiming to gather 3000+ responses by working with all of our Care at Home providers. Such a large sample should produce truly representative results and provide gravitas for the outcome to have influence. We request that each provider complete and return 3-4 forms, but you are welcome to complete more.

How do I take part?

Familiarise yourself and your staff with the Lifecurve™:

Throughout October, ask staff to undertake this short survey with the people they support (including completing the consent form):

Complete the survey itself, one per individual, with as many individuals as you like:

Please return all completed surveys and consent forms to:

FAO Professor Philip Rowe (AILIP)

Professor of Rehabilitation Science, Bioengineering Unit

University of Strathclyde, Wolfson Centre, 106 Rotten Row

Glasgow G4 ONW 

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Celebrating Older People’s Day – A message from our CEO

Today, Sunday 1st October, is Older People’s Day across the UK which coincides with the UN International Day of the Older Person

The theme of the International Day of Older Persons 2017 is

“Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society.”

The theme is about helping us all to recognise that older individuals in our community have a massive amount of untapped potential and contribution to make to our society.

For those of us who work in social care, in care homes or care at home, we daily recognise that the individuals who are supported are contributing a huge amount to their local communities, despite often living with limiting illness and conditions. Yet all too often they are a part of the community, which others choose to ignore or consider to have nothing to offer and give.

I have written many times in this blog about the creeping ageism, which limits potential and despoils our communities. Older People’s Day is an opportunity not just to celebrate what older individuals have contributed to our society, but to start to work to remove the barriers of attitude and behaviour which are preventing them from giving more, contributing greater and participating better.

There is a real truth in the acknowledgement that we are not a community unless we enable the full participation of every single member of our society.

Between 2015 and 2030 the number of older persons worldwide is set to increase by 56 per cent — from 901 million to more than 1.4 billion. By 2030, the number of people aged 60 and above in Scotland will exceed that of young people aged 15 to 24.

Stepping into the future with our older citizens, wherever they live in our communities, is making about making a commitment that no one will be left behind, no voice will be unheard because it has lost its strength, no contribution will be dismissed because it is articulated by age.

To be valued, to find a place, to be able to give, to contribute, to participate are fundamental to our health and well-being. So as we all grow older in Scotland I hope we can also tap the potential of all in order to maximise the health benefits which come from feeling you can still make a difference.

So in your place of home, in your place of work, in your place of relaxation, think today about how you can include all the generations, and value especially the gifts, abilities, capacities of those who are older.

Let us all therefore work together to step into a future where all can find their place to give, share and be.

Dr Donald Macaskill

@DrDMacaskill

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Registration Support events

In October, the SSSC will deliver two registration support events in partnership with Scottish Care. 

These are free events for employers and workers in housing support and care at home services. They will be held at the Renfield Centre, Bath Street, Glasgow, on the following dates:

  • Monday 9 October
  • Tuesday 17 October

If you are interested in attending please contact [email protected] 

Fort further details please see below:

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Final programme confirmed for Supporting Solace event – 12 October

‘Supporting Solace’

Exploring palliative and end of life care within the independent social care sector

Thursday 12 October 2017

9:30am – 3:30pm

The Renfield Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4JP

Following the publication of ‘Trees that bend in the wind: Exploring the experiences of front line support workers delivering palliative and end of life care’ in February this year, Scottish Care has been actively progressing the twelve recommendations made in the report.

‘Supporting Solace’ is a practical workshop designed to explore the realities of delivering palliative and end of life care in care homes and care at home organisations in more detail, and to also learn about new national and local developments in this area.  We will also be launching our latest Scottish Care PEOLC resources.

To view the event programme, click here.

Book your place here.

There is no charge to attend this event.   However for operational reasons we may charge those who have booked and do not attend a fee of £20.00.  If after you have booked you are unable to attend please inform us as soon as possible.

Over the coming weeks we will be sharing updates and information on our Scottish Care website https://scottishcare.org and Twitter @scottishcare using the hashtag #supportsolace

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like additional information.

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Action on Elder Abuse: Conference in association with Scottish Care

Scottish Care and Action on Elder Abuse are collaborating to host a conference on 27 October, 2017. 

The event, ‘Choice, Empowerment, Protection… Can we achieve them all?’ represents a human rights-based approach to supporting, empowering and protecting older people.

For further details on the day and how to register please visit the Action on Elder Abuse website. 

A programme for the event is below.

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Royal College of Nursing Scotland launch new intermediate care publications

RCN Scotland has launched two new publications on bed-based intermediate care in Scotland.

The first is a report exploring how intermediate care beds are being provided in Scotland today. It looks at the evidence that shows what works well for intermediate care, and identifies a gap between the Scottish Government’s vision and how intermediate care beds are being provided across Scotland.

Read the report

Alongside the report, RCN Scotland has also launched a decision-making tool for nursing staff involved in decision making about bed-based intermediate care. The tool is designed to be used to think through what needs to be considered to ensure intermediate care beds are delivered in a planned and integrated way to provide safe and effective care.

Download the tool

These resources were developed following extensive engagement with stakeholders, including Scottish Care and independent sector care providers.

RCN Scotland will be holding a Twitter chat on Thursday 28 September to discuss the report. The conversation can be followed at #BBICare