Posted on

Partnership project centred on human dignity praised by senior health chief

A pilot initiative which has markedly improved the lives of people in some Lanarkshire care homes has been praised by a national health chief.  Last year The Care Home Continence Improvement project set out to improve approaches to continence care.

Professor Jason Leitch, National Clinical Director of Healthcare Quality and Strategy for The Scottish Government, recently met core members of the team during a visit to South Lanarkshire Council’s David Walker Gardens in Rutherglen, one of the care homes where the initiative had been tested.

Professor Leitch said:

“I was hugely impressed by the work piloted by the team. This is ground-breaking and innovative partnership working at its best – centred around human dignity.”

Research has identified incontinence as a risk factor that increases skin damage, infection and falls in older people.

During the visit, Professor Leitch learned how the initiative allowed care home staff to improve the quality of care through better recording of processes and introducing small changes including medication reviews and reducing caffeine intake.  The outcomes of the project – also piloted at Summerlee House in Coatbridge – have led to improvements including a reduction in falls by 65%, urinary infections being halved and skin damage reduced by one third. The project has also significantly reduced the amount of continence pads used at the homes.

Following the visit, Professor Leitch added:

“I’ve had a wonderful experience at David Walker Gardens. I’ve seen the care home, I’ve met the residents, I’ve met the staff. It’s a home- from-home for many people in the local area.  “The exemplary project that’s been piloted here has directly tackled an issue that can be often seen as a taboo. The improvement changes have saved money, markedly reduced the impact of incontinence, including reducing infections and falls.  “Crucially this has also improved people’s lives.” 

The pilot was developed by teams in and North and South Lanarkshire’s Health and Social Care Partnerships, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS National Services Scotland and work is underway to explore rolling the project out across Lanarkshire.

Val de Souza, Director of Health and Social Care, South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, said:

“This is yet another example of person-focussed, innovative care at the centre of our communities. The recognition this team are getting for their work is well-deserved and is a reflection of their commitment, dedication and unmitigated focus on improving people’s lives.”

Jean Donaldson, Associate Director of Nursing, South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, explained:

“This project was about small changes making a big difference. As we continue to explore the wider implementation in Lanarkshire, we were delighted to share the details of the approach.”

Alice Macleod, Nurse Advisor with NHS National Services Scotland, added:

“The expertise among all involved in this project has supported care home staff to implement this innovative, quality improvement initiative. We look forward to building on this work and sharing our experience, with the goal of supporting others to make positive changes.” 

You can see Professor Jason Leitch sum up his thoughts on the care home visit in the video below.

Posted on

General Data Protection Regulation – Guidelines

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Current Data Protection Legislation

Anyone who uses and stores information about people who use their services, suppliers or their workforce must ensure that the data is held in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA). This means to:

  • Only keep information for a specific purpose
  • Keep it secure
  • Make sure it is up-to-date
  • Only hold as much as you need for as long as you need it
  • Allow the person or subject that the information is about access on request

Changes to Legislation

The GDPR comes into effect from 25 May 2018 and it is likely that it will affect all of our members.
It follows the same principles as the DPA, but with additional requirements on consent, privacy and access. It includes the following rights:

  • The right to be informed
  • The right of access
  • The right to rectification
  • The right to erasure
  • The right to restrict processing
  • The right to data portability
  • The right to object
  • The right not to be subject to automated decision-making including profiling.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights. One of the things they do is to enforce data protection so happen to be the experts on compliance. They are very approachable and have easy-to-read materials available for free, as well as a handy helpline (number below).

They have produced a 12 step guide to preparing for GDPR:

https://storage.googleapis.com/scvo-cms/media/1624219/preparing-for-the-gdpr-12-steps.pdf

As well as more detailed guidelines which are available here:

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/

Information and support

For further information and support, please contact the ICO directly
https://ico.org.uk
ICO Helpline: 0303 123 1113

Posted on

Share your experiences of staffing in the social care sector

In recent weeks, you may have received an invitation from Ipsos MORI, to take part in a survey of social care providers.   Ipsos MORI is an independent research organisation that has been commissioned to undertake this exercise on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Why should I take part?

As you will be aware, there has been much recent discussion of the sustainability of the social care workforce. To this end, the Scottish Government has commissioned research to identify the scale and nature of the potential recruitment and retention challenges care providers may face now and in the future, including with respect to the UK’s decision to leave the EU. The aim of this project is to understand more about the current role and contribution of non-UK EU workers and related recruitment and retention challenges in the sector. The Scottish Government, and the partners and organisations who plan, commission and provide social care services will be able to use the findings from this survey to inform how they address potential challenges identified through the research.

It is important for you to complete the survey, even if you do not currently employ any non-UK EU workers, as it will help to inform national action to promote social care in Scotland as a career choice.

How do I take part and what is involved?

A representative sample of social care providers in Scotland have been asked to take part in the survey so please look out for the email invitation sent to you.

The survey opened on the 10th of January 2018. If you have not completed the online questionnaire, a member of the Ipsos MORI team will telephone you to give you the opportunity to take part over the phone instead. Please do try and make the time to participate – the more responses Ipsos MORI get, the more accurate and representative a picture they will get of the potential challenges faced by the sector. If you prefer to complete the survey online at your own convenience, the online survey will remain open during this time.

The survey will only take 5 minutes to complete. The questions will cover topics such as the numbers, and types of staff employed at your service, as well as the recruitment and retention of staff.

How will my answers be used?

Your responses will remain confidential. Individual responses will not be shared or published outside Ipsos MORI. It will not be possible to identify individual care services responses from any report or publication. Ipsos MORI will hold all data securely in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2018.

Any questions?

If you have any questions or would like any further information regarding the survey, please do not hesitate to contact the Ipsos MORI research team (Sanah Saeed Zubairi or Sara Davidson) on 0808 238 5376 or by email at [email protected].  You can also contact the Project Manager at the Scottish Government, Sasha Maguire on 0131 244 0563.

 

Thank you very much for your help with this important research.

Posted on

Highland Care Information & Recruitment Events

Scottish Care have been involved in the organisation of a number of events taking place in the Highlands from 22-26 Jan. The purpose of these events is to promote recruitment and provide information about care.

Recruitment Fayre organiser Julie Fraser, Care at Home Development Officer explains the aims:

“The idea is to provide information about what support and services are available for local residents and how they can be accessed. In addition, we want to show jobseekers that there are considerable opportunities for them to work in their own communities in a flexible way.

“From entry level to more senior positions, these opportunities will include caring jobs from care support workers for people of all ages to domiciliary care jobs caring for people in their own homes.

“Many of these jobs are flexible and can fit around childcare arrangements. In many instances, no qualifications are required and they are open to drivers and non-drivers, with many jobs allowing people to work close to home.

“And there are not just opportunities for jobseekers. There is also considerable scope for volunteers to help out in the care at home sector if people want to put something back into their community.”

To read the full news release on this initiative please click here.

Further details are set out in the leaflet below:

Posted on

Dementia Champions Programme – accepting applications now

The SSSC is now accepting applications for the ninth cohort of the national Dementia Champions programme.

The Scottish Government are supporting 100 people to take this 5 day professional development course, with 20 places available to social service workers in appropriate roles. It will support participants to achieve knowledge and skills at the Enhanced dementia practice level, as described in Promoting Excellence: a framework for all health and social service staff working with people with dementia, their families and carers (2011).  On completing the course, Dementia Champions have access to a support network to connect them to ongoing professional development opportunities.

Individuals are encouraged to apply if you are:

  • working in a senior role with organisational support to implement both small and large scale change;
  • working in a hospital setting (e.g. hospital based social worker) or at the interface between hospital and community-based support (e.g. member of the Allied Health Professions; professional in care home, care at home or other social care organisation).

The course will begin in March and end in August 2018. Applications from social service workers must reach the SSSC by Friday 16 February 2018.

Email [email protected] to request an application pack.

Posted on

Food for Life Better Care

Food for Life Better Care is a programme of Soil Association Scotland.  The Soil Association is testing a framework that supports the provision of nutritious, sustainable food and activities that benefit residents, staff and the wider community. 

The programme is exploring how good food can improve the health and wellbeing of older people in care homes.  The programme is focussing on how:

  • Good food can address residents complex nutritional needs and reduce the risk of malnutrition and dehydration
  • Food growing and therapeutic activities provide a more stimulating environment that supports physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Posted on

The Four R’s event: 15 March 2018

The Four R’s: Exploring recruitment, retention, regulation and representation in the Scottish social care sector

 Thursday 15th March 2018 – 10.00am – 3.30pm

The Hilton Hotel, 1 William Street, Glasgow, G3 8HT

Throughout 2017, recruitment and retention challenges have intensified for care homes and care at home organisations throughout Scotland.  With the demand for adult social services increasing - how can providers best achieve the requirements of the new National Health and Care Standards, meet regulatory and registration qualification requirements and attract and retain a dedicated, compassionate workforce?

This is a practical workshop designed for owners, managers and supervisors working in care homes and care at home organisations, as well as front line workers.  Attendees will learn about new national developments relating to ‘The Four R’s’ and the latest Scottish Care report will be launched. 

Due to the nature of this subject, this is shaping up to be an extremely popular event. We would therefore be very grateful if you could book your place by Wednesday 28th February.  If there is anyone else who you feel would like to attend (either within your organisation or external), please send their contact details to [email protected] and an invitation will be sent to them. 

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 £25.00.  If after you have booked you are unable to attend please inform us as soon as possible and at least 48 hours before the event.

Over the coming weeks we will be sharing updates and information about the event on the Scottish Care website www.scottishcare.org and Twitter @scottishcare using the hashtag #C4RE

Please do not hesitate to contact the Workforce Matters team or the Scottish Care office if you have any questions or would like additional information. 

Make sure you also take part in Scottish Care's 4R's survey by Wednesday 31 January

Take survey now
Posted on

Apprenticeship Levy & Modern Apprentices – Event

Apprenticeship Levy and Modern Apprentices

The Third Sector Employability Forum (TSEF) are funding a seminar on Thursday 18th January 2018 from 10am-3pm at The Prince’s Trust Wolfson Centre, 15 Carlton Place, Glasgow G5 9JP.

While the seminar is entitled Third Sector Workshop on Apprenticeship Levy it follows on from the event Scottish Care co-hosted in October alongside colleagues from CCPS and SCVO and we have had input to the day’s programme.

We would encourage members to come along, find out more about the Levy and Modern Apprenticeships, share experiences of both and help us to develop our approach as a sector.

Please follow the link to the Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/third-sector-workshop-on-apprenticeships-registration-41076572133