Analysis on care home provision and planning recently published by professional services firm JLL has been widely covered in the Scottish media. To read the organisation’s news release please see the following:

http://www.jll.co.uk/united-kingdom/en-gb/news/3164/scotland-facing-future-shortfall-in-care-home-provision

Scottish Care has been asked to comment on this analysis and has provided the below statement to media.

 

Scottish Care CEO Dr Donald Macaskill said:

“Scottish Care appreciates that as more and more individuals are living longer, we need to ensure that there are a sufficient range of services which will enable people to have real choice in their care.

“Even though more people are living in their own homes later into life, we recognise that there will always be a need for high quality residential and nursing home provision. This research shows that we not only require the existing volume of care beds but a substantial increase in beds over the next ten years. The investment to achieve this will not come about unless there is an equal substantial increase in what we are prepared at a national and local level to pay for care with dignity.

“At present, we do not have a significant shortage of care home places in Scotland but with a staffing crisis matched by insufficient funding, the risk of not having places for people to go when they leave hospital is a real one.

“Scottish Care is seeing an increase in the number of care homes having to close because they are no longer financially viable with rising staff and operational costs. Whether charitable or private, care homes cannot continue to deliver quality care on the rates currently offered by the public purse.”

Lippen Care Project Worker

Development of Angus Wide Palliative Care Strategy

15 hours per week – 12 months with possible extension to 18 months

An exciting opportunity has arisen for the right person to develop a fully integrated Palliative Care Strategy across Angus Health and Social Care Partnership. Join us and help improve how Angus deals with the hard times which can come with death, dying and bereavement.

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate leadership skills and the ability to communicate and engage with a range of partners/stakeholders. The post-holder will be educated to degree level or able to demonstrate experience of producing work at this level. You will be able to prioritise workloads and work unsupervised to meet outcomes and deadlines.

This is a new post and its purpose is to support palliative care in an integrated way across Angus to promote more open and supportive behaviours around death, dying and loss. This will be achieved by developing a strategy that integrates training, organisations and support across a range of partners and location types

This is a unique position which should be attractive to someone who wants to achieve change in an integrated manner. The post itself is funded through Lippen Care with the post holder employed through Scottish Care with line management held in Angus Health and Social Care Partnership.

It is essential that you have a current driving licence and skills in use of new technology

Salary – £41,000 per annum pro rata

Closing Date for applications – 18/8/17

Interviews to take place 11/9/17

Please contact Ivan Cornford [email protected] for an application pack and job specification.

 

 

Scottish Care, in association with the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, was delighted to host our inaugural and we hope annual Care Lecture. on the 31st August at the Banking Hall, 30 St Vincent Place, Glasgow.

The evening commenced with an informal drinks reception and participants were entertained ny the brilliant talents of some students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before the formal Lecture began.

We were honoured that Ms Judith Robertson, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission spoke to  the theme of ‘Human Rights in Social Care in Scotland.’

All proceeds from the evening went towards Cruse Bereavement Scotland.

The text of the Lecture will shortly be available in a Care Cameo.

Scottish Care is delighted to invite you to our Self Directed Support Day at which we will be launching two new publications.

Date: 3^rd August 2017.

Venue: Central Glasgow (to be confirmed)

The day comprises two workshops. You can attend just the one or come to both. Both are free of charge. If you attend both we will provide a light lunch. However although the events are free for operational reasons we will 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. Places are limited.

Morning workshop:          

Getting It Right for Older People: Self-directed Support and Human Rights

10.00-12.30

Over the last fifteen months Scottish Care’s has been running a project called Getting It Right for/with Older People. The project has been delivered in North Ayrshire and in the Highlands. At this morning workshop we will launch the Report of these projects which will explore how it is possible to embed a human-rights based approach to the support and care of older people through self-directed support. The author of the Report and project lead, Carlyn Miller will share her experiences, the insights of the report and together participants will be able to reflect on what works and what needs to change in order for older people to get the most out of self-directed support.

Afternoon workshop:          

Meaningful Days: Self-directed Support for older people during the day

1.00-3.30

Scottish Care delivered a project in Falkirk and most recently East Renfrewshire to explore the potential of self-directed support for older people and day opportunities. Following these short projects we commissioned Louise Close who has extensive experience with self-directed support across the United Kingdom to prepare a report on this subject. Louise’s paper launches the Scottish Care Care Cameos which is a series of thought-provoking papers which we will be publishing over the next few months.

This workshop will explore what Louise has discovered not only in Scotland but across the United Kingdom and her call for particular action to address this area of older people’s support. Louise will lead the session which will be participative and interactive in nature.

 

If you are interested in attending either of these free workshops or both then please email as soon as possible to [email protected]

 

 

The Third National Dementia Strategy has been published by the Scottish Government.

It sets out commitments and priorities for dementia care and support for the next three-year period.

Building on the work of the previous strategies the particular focus of this Third Strategy is on advanced dementia and the provision of high quality palliative and end of life care.

Scottish Care has been pleased to have been one of the key partners involved in the consultation upon and development of the Strategy. We consider it essential that individuals living with dementia are enabled to live as high a quality of life as they can.

We acknowledge and welcome the 21 commitments which are given in the Strategy. They are ambitious and we look forward to working together with partners to ensure that they can be achieved.

The recent work undertaken by Scottish Care on the role and contribution of frontline care staff in palliative and end of life situations, the ‘Trees that bend in the wind’ publication, highlights how important it is that we resource and adequately train the staff who support the women and men who live with dementia at the end of their life. We are therefore particularly pleased to see that Commitment 6 : We will support improvements in palliative and end of life care for people with dementia, lies at the heart of this Strategy.

In particular, as the representative body of the majority of care home providers in Scotland, we will work to ensure the success of Commitment 8:

We will continue the National Group on Dementia in Care Homes, to help ensure that the on-going modernisation of the care home sector takes account of the needs of this major client group; and to consider and help respond to the findings of the Care Inspectorate’s themed inspections

Care home, care at home and housing support providers are all committed to ensuring that we are not only dementia friendly but dementia confident, delivering supports and services which enable the women and men who live with dementia achieve the fullest possible life to the very end.