Today (Monday) marks the start of a week of celebration of Scotland’s care homes.
Care Home Week runs from 12-18 June 2017 and is the first event of its kind in Scotland. The week aims to bust some myths about care homes and tell their vast number of good news stories. Across the course of the week, a variety of events will take place and a range of stories will be shared, celebrating different elements of care home life.
In Scotland there are:
- Over 1,100 care homes
- Over 36,000 residents
- Nearly 54,000 staff employed
- Over 5,000 nurses
Care Home Week will be celebrating individuals who live and work in care homes, their role in local communities and the opportunities care homes offer to enhance lives and improve wellbeing for a wide range of people.
The week is being led by Scottish Care, the representative body for independent sector care services. CEO, Dr Donald Macaskill, said:
“We’re calling for people all over Scotland to join us in celebrating care homes and the vital role they play in our communities.
“All too often, the stories that people hear about care homes are the bad ones – when things have gone wrong. Whilst it is important that these failures are exposed, thankfully they are rare and are in no way representative of the amazing care provided by the vast majority of services.
“In reality, good news stories happen day in, day out in our care homes. These include examples of innovative care delivery, dedicated staff, partnerships with local communities and inspirational achievements of care home residents. These stories are what we want to highlight throughout Care Home Week, and we want other people to share their experiences with us.
“It’s time that we as a society value our care home services much more.”
As part of Care Home Week, Scotland will be celebrating Care Home Open Day 2017. Now in its fifth year, the Open Day takes place on Friday 16th June 2017. On this day, care homes across the UK will be opening their doors to their local communities and inviting people in to find out more about care homes and the amazing people who live and work in them. To find out which care homes are taking part in your area, simply visit www.carehomeopenday.org.uk and search via postcode, town or care home name.
More information about Care Home Week, Care Home Open Day and the other events planned for the week can be found at www.scottishcare.org/care-home-week/
Last Updated on 12th June 2017 by Scottish Care
