social care

ISSUE 6 October 2011
The Voice of Excellence in Social Care
Let's talk
social care!
October 2011
Focus on social enterprises
and informal carers
Social enterprises explained:
How do they fit in the sector?
Not too
old to care
Up close and personal
with Alison Hammond
People power at work
Sharing lives
Striking a chord with
dementia sufferers
To get your free copy of Care Talk, register online at www.caretalk.co.uk
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Wednesday 16 November 2011
Keynote speaker:
Andrew Dilnot, Chair of the
Commission on the Funding of
Care and Support.
£125 for ECCA members, £200 for non members.
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CONTENTS
Contributors
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this
magazine. Do keep your articles, news and views coming.
Andy Tilden
Head of standards and
qualifications
Skills for Care
Mike Padgham
Chair
Independent Care
Group (York & North
Yorkshire)
Sarah Bartlett
Press manager
United Response
Stephen Burke
Director
United for All Ages
Baroness Sally
Greengross
Chair
All-Party Parliamentary
Groups
Sarah Hillier
Personal trainer
Dr Helen Haugh
University senior
lecturer in community
enterprise
Cambridge Judge
Business School
Jonny Landau
Partner
Ridouts LLP
Janet Crampton
Consultant
Colin Peacock
Director and
healthcare specialist
Greenhalgh Chartered
Accountants and
Business Advisors
Dominic Potter
Interim director
Transition Institute
Dr Rhidian Hughes
Head of social care
Centre for Workforce
Intelligence
Simon Stevens
Independent disability
issues consultant,
trainer and activist
Imelda Redmond
Chief executive
Carers UK
Inside Issue 6
06
18
This month
36 Pillow talk
04 Editor’s note
04 Caught on camera
38 Mrs MacBlog
News
05
06
08
10
11
13
14
14
Wildlife in view
Social enterprises explained
Newsround
Local comment
Social care in the hot seat
Putting people before profit
Experts by experience
Opinion
Products and Services
16 Tagtronics Care
16 Essex Guardians
17 NAPA
Case studies
18
19
20
22
23
Dame Jo Williams
Chair
Care Quality
Commission
Carla White
Customer liaison
manager
Wates Living Space
Care Talk is a trading name
of Care Comm LLP.
21 Regent Street
Nottingham NG1 5BS
T: 0115 959 6134
F: 0115 959 6148
24
25
26
28
29
Shared Lives
Redefining social care
Lost Chord
Training on the box
Unpaid carer
Up close and personal
360 – Informal carers
Ask Jennifer
In my opinion
Voice over
Editorial: Lisa Carr editorial@caretalk.co.uk
Advertising: Rebecca Shaw advertising@caretalk.co.uk
Creative assistant: Anouska Ellison anouska.ellison@caretalk.co.uk
General: info@caretalk.co.uk
Journalists: Vicky Burman, Julie Griffiths, Debra Mehta, Katrina Rose
39 Planet Janet
Celebrate
40 Sevacare sponsors Great British
Care Awards
40 And the winner is...
Showcase
42 Care Talk on the road
Recruitment
43 Moving up
Learn
44 Induction works
45 It's never too late
46 Workforce watch
Business banter
49 Capital allowances relief
Social enterprise for social care
People power at work
United for all ages
Not too old to care
Carers UK
Care Talk contacts
38 Let's hear it
48 Business round-up
Chat
30
32
33
34
35
37 It takes two
39 Tabby Talk
Focus on
Sanjay Kava
Managing director
Cityworx
44
50 Company profile – Belong
52 Ridouts – Record keeping
Property
53 Whitebeck Court
Fun stuff
54 Vida the Beautiful
55 Tasty talk
55 The adventures of SID
55 Resident cat
Tell us your news,
views and
suggestions!
Email editorial@caretalk.co.uk
Follow us!
twitter.com/caretalkmag
facebook.com/pages/
Care-Talk
03
CAUGHT ON
note
Welcome to the October issue of Care Talk. Summer is well and truly
over and as the evenings draw in so do the viewing figures for prime
time television. Yes, it's that time of year again when even the most
determined anti-light entertainment brigade can hardly fail to notice
the X Factor and Strictly effect.
And for those of us of a more sporting persuasion it is of course
the start of the football season where the diehards face the
weekly pilgrimage to see 11 of their favourite overpaid sportsmen,
celebrating (hopefully) with a half-time Pukka pie as well as
watching Football Focus, Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2...
the list goes on.
And then there's the rugby world cup, of course. A great occasion
on the other side of the world, which, even for those unappreciative
of the game, may trigger some momentary pleasure from all those
athletic thighs (go up a few feet, however, and the cauliflower ears
and squashed noses can dampen the effect somewhat).
So whether you're in the X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing, footie
or rugby camp, there certainly seems to be something to suit
everyone's palate. For me, it's definitely X Factor, especially as this
year's Great British Care Awards will soon reveal our very own stars
of social care. The judging days are now upon us and finalists face
an interview with a panel of judges – who are hopefully more Louis
Walsh than Simon Cowell! For some regions there's still time to get
in those last minute nominations, so do visit the website
www.care-awards.co.uk for details.
The theme for this month’s issue is social enterprises. As the
boundaries between charities, public services and businesses
steadily become more blurred, our lead article on page 06 explores
how the social enterprise may fast be becoming the model for future
care. People power at work, an article by a national disability charity
on page 25, demonstrates that while social enterprises are affected
by recession in the same way as other businesses, the fact that they
aim to deliver real benefits to the local community and not just
profit could be their greatest strength, and one that sets them apart
from the rest.
We also focus on informal carers. Staggeringly, every six seconds
someone takes on the role of caring for a partner, family member
or friend. Page 29 features an insightful piece from the charity
Carers UK, which highlights the significance of raising awareness of
carers' needs across society. Page 23 features a wonderful example
of the selfless work of unpaid carers, a remarkable lady, Elisabeth
Johnstone, who cares for no fewer than three generations of her
family as well as holding down a role as a Methodist preacher.
We do hope you enjoy this issue and please do keep your news and
views coming in – we love to hear from you.
Lisa
04
The final episode of this series
of one-off dramas, repeated
on Sunday nights on BBC1,
tells the story of Darleen, a
young woman with learning
difficulties, coping with the
frustrations and stress of
creating an independent life
for herself, making decisions
and developing adult
relationships with people
around her.
She’s bored with life in her flat at
Langton Lane assisted living complex
and feels her ‘essential life skills’
training treats her as “stupid”.
According to Darleen, her support
worker Jen helps with shopping, filling
in forms and so on, but “there’s no time
for extra stuff”.
There’s a strained relationship between
Darleen and her mum Treena. At first
Treena seems not to care, ignoring
Darleen’s constant requests to come
‘home’ and irritated by her daughter’s
fascination with medical and police
TV dramas and the fact she regularly
makes false 999 calls about being
followed or having her things stolen.
Things change when Darleen makes
friends with Diane, a comfortably
off elderly woman living in sheltered
housing where Darleen’s friend James
is a cleaner.
In some ways Diane doesn’t
understand why it’s important for
Darleen to do things for herself,
asking Jen why Darleen isn’t getting
“professional help” and whether she
wouldn’t be “safer at home”.
But Diane also offers Darleen
opportunities for learning, like teaching
her to cook and make a tapestry for
Treena’s birthday – and Darleen realises
that if someone isn’t paid for helping
(BBC1)
her, it makes them a friend. It emerges
that Diane is estranged from her
grown-up daughter and has never
seen her grandchild, but when
Darleen asks why, they fall out.
Things come to a head when a man
forces his way into Darleen’s flat and
steals her treasured DVDs. Diane
encourages her to report it, and finally
meets Treena. A discussion between
the two women about Darleen’s
behaviour becomes heated – Diane’s
view is that no one has tried to get to
the bottom of her obsession with the
emergency services, which suggests a
need for reassurance and protection.
Treena points out that she’s spent years
fighting on her daughter’s behalf to get
the help she needs, but they also drive
each other mad – she loves Darleen,
but it’s hard.
Darleen overhears, speaks up for
her mum and attacks Diane for not
speaking to her own daughter.
Darleen is distraught when she
discovers Treena’s new boyfriend has
moved in and his little girl now has
her old room, and reacts badly to her
mum’s offer to help make the Langton
Lane flat a proper home for herself.
Leaving in tears, Darleen’s first
response is to call 999 – but then
she switches her mobile off, and tells
herself she’s “too clever” for that. She
also makes up with Diane, who has
been jolted into getting in touch with
her estranged daughter.
Darleen is ready to move on but
realises “it’s hard being a grown-up”.
She takes up her mum’s offer
to decorate the flat and asks
Diane to help put up her pictures.
The episode ends with Darleen
bringing James to Treena’s birthday
party as her boyfriend, and seemingly
becoming properly independent for the
first time. 
Vicky Burman
Social care occasionally makes an appearance on TV and in films – but is
that always a good thing? A chance to raise the profile of care and care
workers, or sending out the wrong messages?. If you saw this programme,
let us know what you think by emailing editorial@caretalk.co.uk
Academy Productions Ltd
Editor’s
Moving On: I am Darleen Fyles
▲ © Copyright Liverpool
CAMERA
NEWS Sector
Care home residents seek
close-up view of local wildlife
Residents in care homes
across the UK are on the
lookout for unwanted
binoculars as part of
their preparations for
Bupa’s Wildlife Week (26
September to 2 October),
a new Bupa Care Homes
initiative that hopes to turn
its grounds and gardens
into wildlife havens.
Teaming up with the Royal Society
for the Protection of Birds (RSPB),
staff and residents are receiving
expert advice from the charity
about the best ways to make their
surroundings more appealing to
nature and want help in spotting
any new wildlife visitors to the
homes.
The binoculars will be used
throughout the week to take
a closer look at wildlife and later
given to the RSPB to send on
to conservation and education
projects throughout the world.
Bupa’s community affairs
manager, Siobhan Drane, says:
“We’re looking for binoculars or
spotting scopes that may be
hiding away unused in drawers and
cupboards, so we can put them to
good use and really bring Wildlife
Week to life for our residents.
Whether used for spotting birds
or butterflies, hedgehogs or bees,
we’re hoping our care homes will
be hives of activity.”
RSPB research has shown that
access to nature and green spaces
is important for older people and
those recovering from illness, with
the benefits
of wildlife
1815-9x4-decotex
20/6/11
14:37gardening
Page 1
including increased physical
and mental activity as well as
developing a sense of purpose.
▲ Bupa resident Arthur Clark, 77, on the
look out for binoculars for Wildlife Week
The partnership between Bupa
and the RSPB has evolved from the
charity’s Homes for Wildlife project,
which offers gardening advice to
try and attract species that are
currently in decline in Britain.
Richard Bashford, the RSPB’s
senior project manager, says:
“This is a fantastic partnership
that will see over 300 Bupa care
homes taking really positive steps
to encourage more wildlife into
Britain’s grounds and gardens.
“Already there has been so much
enthusiasm from staff and
residents about the benefits of
the project, and we hope it will
make a real difference to wildlife
that may be struggling to find
the right habitats to thrive.”
To find a local Bupa care home
to donate some binoculars to,
call 0845 600 4622 or email
wildlife@bupa.com. For more
information about the RSPB’s
project, Bupa’s Wildlife Week and
advice on how to make your home
appealing to wildlife, visit
www.bupa.co.uk/wildlife 
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NEWS Lead story
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How do they fit in the sector?
As the boundaries between charities, public services and businesses
steadily become more blurred, is social enterprise fast becoming the
model for future care?
Social enterprises are basically organisations that
aim to fulfil a social goal. Profits are reinvested in
the company or used for the benefit of the wider
community.
One in 10 UK social enterprises is in health and
social care. In line with its Big Society vision
of greater community engagement and social
action for change, the Government has made a
commitment to support the creation and expansion
of social enterprises, reducing the red tape involved
and giving public sector workers the right to form
employee-owned cooperatives that can bid to take
over services they deliver.
The concept of ‘any qualified provider’ within
the Health and Social Care Bill opens up new
opportunities for social enterprises, while the
Public Services (Social Enterprise and Social Value)
Bill 2010-11 now going through Parliament aims
to increase the importance of 'social value' in the
provision of public services.
06
Recent events in the sector have raised the issue of
whether social enterprises are better suited to care
provision than purely financial business models, and
post-Southern Cross, if is right to make profit from
people’s wellbeing.
A key feature of social enterprise is the ‘social return
on investment’ they offer, which could mean getting
patients back on their feet sooner or keeping more
children in school. Analysts found that Whizz-Kids,
a social enterprise providing mobility equipment to
disabled children, generates £10-£65 of social return
for every pound invested. And seeing what good
comes from reinvestment of surpluses and profits
focuses staff on the benefits of operating efficiently.
Social Enterprise UK head of policy Ceri Jones
argues that social enterprise is ideal for delivering
care services. “On the whole, people get into care
because they want to make a difference, not
because they have the financial bottom line in
mind, and the social enterprise model builds on that
caring instinct.”
And she believes this new approach offers some
great advantages for providers, not least a strong
identity in a crowded market. “You’re able to
differentiate your organisation – it’s very powerful
to say you’re not in business to make a profit but to
improve people’s care.”
Social enterprises have shown themselves to be
resilient and adaptable, particularly in their ability to
create jobs quickly, reduce bureaucracy and speed up
processes, thereby opening up more opportunities
for expansion and collaboration. According to a 2009
survey by Social Enterprise UK, social enterprises
were twice as confident of future growth as SMEs
and increased their turnover during recession.
On the other hand, some argue that greater staff
involvement can slow down decision making and
generate a risk-averse culture. Social Enterprise UK
guidance points out that it’s particularly important
to involve staff in decisions when things are going
badly – while there is a risk that employees will
reject solutions, like reduced pay offers, often if
NEWS Lead story
people feel they ‘own’ the problem, they’re less
likely to resist change because they accept that it’s
necessary, and may be motivated to come up with
innovative alternatives.
Overall however, business is business, and whatever
the size or model of a social enterprise, the issues
are much the same as for traditional operators in
the care sector, says Ceri.
But start-up and sustainability can pose particular
concerns. It can be harder to use the same routes to
raise finance as traditionally run companies, where
the owner can offer up their business as collateral
with banks or a percentage of profits to investors
in return for funding. Most social enterprises
can’t or won’t want to do that, especially if they’re
employee-owned.
The good news is that there are now examples of
success to emulate, and a growing number of social
enterprise investors looking to bridge this gap in the
funding market, championed by the Government’s
Big Society Capital, a new financial institution
designed to encourage and support investment in
society.
So what does it take to run a social enterprise? The
basic skills are generally no different from what’s
required to operate any business, particularly a
good grip on finances in a sector where margins
are already tight, but the right attitude is crucial,
says Ceri. “This is not an easy option, so you need
determination, a real commitment to doing things
differently and feeling that it really matters will keep
you going when things get tough.”
Margaret Elliott, founder of Sunderland Home Care
Associates, originally a cooperative and now an
employee-owned provider, agrees. “Things don’t
happen overnight, you have to work at it. You need
staying power. And your personal beliefs and ways
of working can be the difference between whether
you sink or swim.”
Your choice of social enterprise model will depend
on what is most important to you, and to achieve
your aims. So if you plan to raise money through
donations, for instance, your enterprise should have
some sort of charitable status.
“Being clear about your mission is the starting
point,” says Ceri. “There is no right model, and
you’ll find there’s more flexibility within the various
structures than you might think.”
And the actual structure can be less important
than the culture you create within the organisation
– again, this is something to think about from
the outset. But the quality and commitment of
staff will always be crucial, so your organisational
culture needs to be based on trust and good
communication, whether social enterprises are
owned by employees or not, says Ceri. In turn this
will have beneficial impact on the cost base by
keeping absenteeism low and improving retention.
Margaret has certainly seen the benefits of
transparency and staff involvement in Sunderland
Home Care Associates, initially established in 1994
to secure a domiciliary care
contract with the local council
and steadily expanding into
different types of care support
and new markets. Since 2004,
the Sunderland model has been
successfully replicated across the
north east through Care and Share
Associates Ltd (CASA), a company
limited by guarantee that provides
‘social franchising’ support to
set up new organisations for a
small stake in the business and
percentage of future turnover.
there is little distance between roughly 200 frontline
staff and an executive team responsible for day-today management. An eight-strong board sets the
overall strategic direction for the organisation. All
staff are invited to a general meeting every other
month, which makes recommendations to the board
on issues like budgets and pay and conditions. As
shareholders they can also attend the AGM at which
the board is held to account.
Communication is paramount, in Margaret’s view.
“Let everyone know what’s going on all the time so
they can see where the organisation’s heading, and
ask them for their ideas.”
Staff confidence to speak up extends to keeping
each other on their toes. “We still sometimes
have to address individual poor performance but
there’s an element of self-regulation,” explains
Margaret. “Because it’s their company, people take
responsibility for standards of work and aren’t afraid
to tell colleagues if they aren’t doing a good job.” 
Vicky Burman
At Sunderland Home Care
Associates all shares are owned
by employees and allocated
according to length of service
and salary. A relatively flat
management structure means
07
Call on the Government to create a
dedicated minister for older people
Anchor, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of care and housing, is calling on the Government to provide
real leadership for the UK’s older people, to listen to their issues, give voice to them, and help all UK citizens
enjoy happy living in the years ahead.
Older people are fast becoming one of the largest groups in the UK and the country now has a greater number
of people aged 60 and over than it does people aged 16 and under.
Life expectancy will continue to increase, and the Government will face significant challenges as it prepares
to serve the ageing population, says Anchor. The UK has no choice but to ensure that older people can live
comfortably and enjoy dignity and respect in their later years.
Despite making up 40% of the electorate, there is no government minister dedicated to the wellbeing of older
people. Anchor points out that Theresa May is Minister for Women and Sarah Teather is Minister of State for
Children and Families, but older people’s issues are scattered throughout various government departments.
What is sorely lacking is a centralised government portfolio that prioritises the needs of older people and
ensures that their views and interests receive dedicated attention, says Anchor.
Many governments around the world, including those of Ireland and Canada, currently have a dedicated
minister for older people, and it is high time the UK followed suit, argues Anchor. Both Wales and Northern
Ireland have appointed an older people’s commissioner, but all older people living in the UK deserve a
centralised ministerial post that looks after their needs.
Travel concession
comes to an end
From October 2011 disabled people and
pensioners will no longer receive halfprice concessionary coach fares, saving
the Government around £20m. Coach
company National Express had three million
passengers using the scheme last year alone
– disabled and elderly people who are unable
to drive, or who cannot afford expensive
train fares.
Paying for long-term
care in England
A revised information leaflet on helping people pay
for long-term care is now available. The leaflet has
been developed by a group of public organisations
and charities to help people make better and more
informed decisions about paying for care. It can be
downloaded at http://www.thinklocalactpersonal.
org.uk/Latest/Resource/?cid =9049
08
Stress levels among
social workers reach
alarming new levels
Job cuts and impossible working conditions are
forcing more social workers to contact the British
Association of Social Workers (BASW) advice and
representation service because they are struggling
to cope with the stress. BASW revealed that nearly
two-thirds of calls to the service are now coming
from social workers struggling to cope with extreme
stress, with members reporting instances of clinical
depression, breakdowns and even self-harm.
Hilton Dawson, BASW chief executive and the
initial general secretary of the new Social Workers
Union until elections take place next year, said: “At
a time when jobs are at risk, conditions of service
are being eroded and caseloads are rising to ever
more dangerous levels, a strong and independent
trade union is vital to enable us to work with social
workers and employers from all sectors to ensure
the very best standards are being met and that
practice is safe and ethical.”
Living well with
dementia: a Design
Council challenge
The Design Council, in partnership with the
Department of Health, has launched a national
challenge to develop new design-led ideas for
products and services that make life simpler and
more enjoyable for those with dementia, and for
their carers.
Paul Burstow, Care Services Minister, commented
on the project: “Dementia is one of the biggest
challenges we face as the population ages. It
currently affects 750,000 people in the UK and that
number is set to double over the next 30 years.
“To make sure we continue to improve health
outcomes and manage the growing costs associated
with this, we need to think smart and do things
differently. If diagnosed early and given the right
support, people with dementia can continue to live
well for a number of years.
By engaging with businesses and the third sector I
hope we will stimulate some creative thinking about
how best to help people with dementia get the
most out of their lives, rather than just focusing
on symptoms.”
Few think charities
will benefit from
London Olympics,
survey finds
Research consultancy nfpSynergy polled 1,035
members of the public to find their views
on London 2012. Only 4% of respondents to
the survey believed the main legacy of the
London Olympics will be more volunteering
or that the event would lead to more funding
for charities, and only 12% believed that
national charities were likely to benefit from
the Olympics. Only 8% could name a charity
officially associated with the games.
Got a good story to tell? Email editorial@caretalk.co.uk
NEWS
Homecare staff face
worsening pay and
reduced safety
Homecare staff are facing reduced pay and
conditions and are being put at risk because
of council cuts to providers, a United Kingdom
Homecare Association survey has found.
The research, which covers decisions by
111 UK councils and health and social
care trusts, found 58% of commissioners
had cut the price they paid independent
providers, half had removed workers' unsocial
hours premium and a fifth were reducing
payments for workers' travel time between
appointments.
NHS reforms present
'huge opportunities'
for private companies,
says minister
Lord Howe, a junior health minister in the Lords,
has told an independent sector conference that it
should not matter “one jot” if patients are treated
in hospitals run by the public, private or voluntary
sector, and that the NHS is about to turn into “a very
different animal”.
He insisted that the NHS was not the place “to earn
a fast buck” and that private providers would not be
given preferential treatment.
John Healey, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary,
said: “This confirms what doctors, nurses, health
professionals, patients’ groups and Labour have
all warned – the Tories' NHS plans will fragment
our health service by placing competition ahead of
patient care.”
David Cameron claimed at Prime Minister’s
Questions that three leading medical organisations
are “all supporting our health reforms” – prompting
them to issue statements expressing their
continued concerns.
Free training on the
Mental Capacity Act
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE),
in partnership with care provider associations,
is offering training on the Mental Capacity Act.
The training sessions are free to staff working in
organisations registered with the Care Quality
Commission to provide adult social care.
Government puts
up £10m for use
of technology to
encourage giving
The Innovation in Giving Fund will be run by
independent body NESTA (National Endowment
for Science, Technology and the Arts) and fund
organisations with visionary ideas, according to Civil
Society Minister Nick Hurd.
The Office for Civil Society has opened a £10m
fund to support charities, companies and other
organisations that are developing new ways to
encourage charitable giving and volunteering.
New NHS could be more complex
and costly, warns nursing chief
Controversial reforms to the NHS that are being debated by MPs risk making the system more complicated and
harder for patients to navigate, health leaders warn. Dr Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College of
Nursing, has said the introduction of new levels of management and quangos could “tangle” the health service
in “more red tape and bureaucracy”.
His concerns are echoed by the leading public sector trade union, Unite, and the umbrella group for health
service managers, the NHS Confederation, which has raised concerns over "confusion and duplication" among
newly created quangos.
Their comments come in another wave of opposition to the Government’s biggest upheaval in the 63year history of England’s NHS, which aims to hand control of buying treatment to GPs while giving private
companies and voluntary groups more opportunity to run services.
Tell us your news and views! Email editorial@caretalk.co.uk
Memory test
'identifies
Alzheimer's early'
Doctors will be able to identify the initial
signs of Alzheimer's disease earlier thanks to
a new 10 minute, picture-based memory test.
The iPad-based test will enable GPs to test
patients in high street surgeries, rather than
having to refer them to specialist clinics,
which could drive up diagnosis rates.
Councils not consulting
adequately on services
for older people
Counsel and Care, the national charity working with
older people, their families and carers, is dismayed
at the investigation results published by Community
Care. An investigation revealed that one out of 10
councils could have increased their charges for adult
social care services before going through the full
consultation process, a legal obligation since 2006.
Counsel and Care head of services Elizabeth Lodge
said: “Given recent news about the lack of quality
services for older people, this blatant disregard for
their views by councils is appalling. We understand
that there is a squeeze on local authority budgets
but it is not the most vulnerable, those who receive
social care from their council, who should suffer
without due regard to their needs.
“Councils should be listening to the voices of older
people as it is their duty to meet the needs of
those who rely on them for care services. We are
deeply disappointed to hear that such decisions
are being made without true consideration of the
service users themselves and would urge councils to
rethink their care-charging practices in light of this
investigation.”
09
NEWS Local Comment
Support Wiltshire
Good practice and joint working between the voluntary, statutory and
private sectors are reaching out to and support unpaid, informal carers.
Carer Support Wiltshire (CSW) is an
independent charity that works to deliver a
wide range of local support services to meet
the needs of carers in their own communities.
It is one of 144 carers’ centres that are
network members of The Princess Royal Trust,
which works to reach carers and develop
services across the country.
The charity works closely with, and is funded
by, Wiltshire Council, and also receives
funding from NHS Wiltshire, the National
Lottery, Volunteering England and Westlea
Housing.
As with all the carers’ centres in the network,
CSW aim is to provide support to carers by
telephone, drop-ins and outreach groups.
Communications officer Fiona Hunter
explains: "CSW provides information and
advice about all issues affecting carers.
Emotional support is particularly important
and provides opportunities for carers to talk
through their concerns, both individually
and in group sessions. We also provide
community consultation by working with
other agencies and consulting carers.
“Carers' centres can have a strong influence
on local policy, planning procedures and
outcomes so it's essential that we raise
awareness and work in partnership with
other groups."
CSW's commitment to partnership working
was demonstrated recently when the
organisation delivered 12 training sessions
to domiciliary care agencies. The aim was to
raise staff awareness of the issues faced by
informal carers.
"This has been a tremendous opportunity
to raise the profile of CSW and the services
we provide, and the benefits to carers,"
says Fiona. "The aim is to reach out to all
carers but specifically to reach those who
are self-funding and may not have received
information and advice from the council.
"We hope that by improving these
relationships and links that carers are
well-informed so that, for example, they
are aware of the process of moving out of
Unpaid carers, who
are family or friends,
provide support that is
valued at £119bn a year.
self-funding and they claim relevant benefits
for themselves and the person they care for.
The emotional support lessens stress and
with the personalised information carers are
better able to navigate through the changes
in their caring role and stay well themselves.“
Chris Kay, a CSW support worker, is
a testament to the project's success.
“Having worked for CSW for many years,
I’ve experienced first-hand the potential
difference we can make via partnership
working with the statutory and private
sectors. It enables us to spread the message
of what we do in order to hopefully find any
‘hidden’ unpaid carers who may not have
realised the important role they play in
their relative or friend’s life and the support
available to them from their local carers’
support centre.” 
Chris Kay
Support worker
Carer Support Wiltshire
We want to hear from more local care associations. Send
your news, views and stories to editorial@caretalk.co.uk
10
NEWS Sector
Social care in the
hot seat
Social care, nationally and locally,
finds itself very much in the hot
seat. The demise of Southern
Cross and inadequacies exposed
at Winterbourne and others
have all pushed the sector
into the headlines, for all
the wrong reasons.
Recent events have served to dent the image
of a sector that relies on public confidence
to prosper.
Looking beyond the headline-grabbing issues,
the sector faces much deeper challenges. The
population is getting older and demand for
care is growing. There is increasing pressure
to move forward – improve quality, increase
personalisation, embrace extra care provision
and meet the Government’s Think Local, Act
Personal message.
But working almost in direct opposition
to this, is the increasingly dire financial
situation, with commissioners squeezing
fees and reducing the amount of care they
commission. No surprise that as I write this,
two people on the Isle of Wight are mounting
a legal challenge against their local council for
cutting back on social care.
At the same time, banks are cutting
investment opportunity and costs like fuel
and utilities, VAT, regulation and inspection
are going through the roof. Inevitably
providers are in dire straits and going
out of business.
At one point this year, it looked like social
care was going to dominate the media and
political spectrum for the right reasons and
that progress would be made on improving
its future.
When the Dilnot report was published it
thrust the difficult question of the future
funding of social care to the fore and it
seemed, just for a moment, that the longawaited debate would begin and we might
start to see some solutions.
But who remembers Dilnot now, and where
is it on the agenda within government?
Phone hacking and this summer’s riots very
quickly took Dilnot out of the spotlight and
one suspects that these, and certainly the
continuing state of the British economy and
events in Libya, are concentrating the minds
of our politicians, rather than the future care
of our older and vulnerable people.
It is up to everyone reading this magazine
to try to redress that balance and to lobby
for social care to climb back up the agenda
and for the Dilnot report not to become yet
another worthy effort, consigned to the
shelves at Whitehall, buried beneath other
pressing matters.
It could well be that events on the Isle of
Wight might be more significant than they
seem at first glance. Two severely disabled
people are bringing a high court challenge
against the Isle of Wight council over cuts
to adult social care services.
Solicitors acting on behalf of the two men
won the right for a full judicial review
hearing to contest the council's decision
to restrict support to those with only the
most critical care needs. The outcome of
that case could have repercussions
throughout the sector. 
Mike Padgham
Chair
Independent Care Group
(York and North Yorkshire)
11
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NEWS Sector
Putting people
before profit
The implications of the fact that
people in the UK are living longer
have been felt across the spectrum
of markets for social care services.
In addition, the fact that many of
the elderly also need medical care
has further increased demand
for combined health and social
care services.
Social enterprises are already delivering some
services for the care of the elderly; for example, the
award-winning social enterprise Sunderland Home
Care Associates has established a very successful
cooperative model for delivering domiciliary care
for people living in the Sunderland area. Other
opportunities for social enterprises include
providing equipment, such as aids to daily living
and consumables such as medical equipment and
other supplies, as well as adapting homes for the
needs of the elderly.
Charitable organisations such as Leonard Cheshire,
Abbeyfield and Age UK have a long history of
providing residential care for the elderly. However,
social and community organisations have found
it difficult to develop a financially sustainable
enterprise in the sector. For example, Eldonia House
residential care home was initially established by
the Eldonia community organisation in response
to demand from older, local people to stay in their
community. Although they retain ownership of the
asset, management of the home is the responsibility
of a private company.
“Social and community
organisations have found
it difficult to develop a
financially sustainable
enterprise in the sector.”
When compared to organisations in the public and
private sectors, social enterprises offer five potential
benefits to the residential care home service.
First, their focus on the triple bottom line of
economic, social and environmental performance
is associated with closer identification of employees
with the organisation and clients, leading to
improved employee morale and decreased
sickness and absenteeism.
of purchasing and equipping a care home, and the
associated management and quality control costs,
are very high, and research to identify financially
sustainable revenue models is urgently required.
Second, when care services are externalised from
public sector provision into social enterprises,
organisational autonomy can lead to improved
cost control and better financial management, and
unleash innovation in the types of service offered
and their mode of delivery.
For small social enterprises, the costs are likely to
be too high. Concerns that public funds invested in
residential care homes will be disbursed to investors
are also pertinent and might be allayed by adopting
the community interest company (CIC) legal form
that protects assets in perpetuity; however, we
need more information about how to establish
and manage a CIC in this sector.
Third, independence opens up opportunities for
generating new revenue streams and raising capital
to invest and expand the social enterprise.
Fourth, the involvement of clients, employees
and others in social enterprise ownership
and management structures ensures greater
accountability to the communities they serve.
Finally, following on from these closer community
ties, employee, client and community participation
can bring better engagement, cohesion and
responsiveness to needs arising from deeper
knowledge of client needs, as well as closer
relationships and stronger trust between employees
and clients. Resident, family and community
satisfaction with the quality of services provided
can be a route to increasing further volunteer
involvement as well as opening up opportunities
for philanthropy and giving.
To increase the participation of social enterprises in
the residential care for the elderly service, several
challenges will need to be overcome. The capital cost
Many successful community and voluntary and
charitable organisations use a combination of
employees and volunteers to deliver their goods
and services, and the residential care home sector
can learn from them how to increase and manage
volunteer and community involvement.
Bottom-up, community-based delivery models are
the future for responsive public services. Other
opportunities for social enterprises to become
involved in residential care for the elderly include
providing finance via social investment funds for
the establishment of care homes, as well as
the inspection, monitoring and quality control
of residential care homes using measures that
recognise a range of wider social and
environmental and community benefits. 
Dr Helen Haugh
University senior lecturer in community enterprise
Cambridge Judge Business School
13
NEWS Sector
Experts by experience
From the very first day of the Care Quality
Commission’s existence we have worked
hard to get the views, opinions and insights
of people who use care and have experience
of the way that care works, so that the way
we work is reflective of their needs.
We currently employ around 120 individuals who are
what we call experts by experience; these are people
who use services, or carers who have experience
of the health and care sector. Their knowledge and
experience of using care services help us improve the
way we inspect and give us a unique insight into the
way that care works. We are currently in the process
of recruiting more people, some further family carers
for those with high support needs, plus people with
experience of substance misuse. Eventually we hope
to have over 200 experts.
These experts by experience are people of all ages,
from diverse cultural backgrounds, who have used
a range of health and care services. An expert by
experience will take part in an inspection, observe
what’s going on and talk to the people who use that
service; their views and impressions will then be
added to, and form part of, the inspection reports
that we publish.
We are currently in the planning stages of a series
of 150 inspections of care homes and hospitals
providing care for people with learning disabilities.
Experts by experience will play a pivotal role in those
inspections, as they did in our recent series of 100
inspections in hospitals, looking at how well dignity
Opinion
and nutrition were being handled
in hospital wards catering for
older people.
I recently went on one of these
dignity and nutrition inspections,
which was led by one of our
inspectors accompanied by a
practicing nurse and an expert by
experience. Patrick, who I met on
this visit, is retired and has been the
main carer for both his parents and
his wife’s mother, who has been in
care homes for the past 14 years,
so he brings to an inspection a
wealth of real-world experiences of
the care system as well as being a
veteran of 14 inspections for both
care homes and hospitals.
While on the inspection, Patrick
and I were briefed by the inspector
on the areas that we were tasked with looking at. We
then spent the next hour walking around the wards
and observing the way that the nurses interacted
with patients to get a real feel for how care was
being delivered.
We then went on to talk to patients and staff about
the food they were given and observed the drugs
trolley doing its rounds. In so doing, we gained
invaluable insights about how care was being carried
out on the ward. Many patients felt more relaxed
talking to our expert as he was seen as less official
and so they felt more able to give honest feedback
about the care they were receiving.
Dame Jo Williams
Chair
Care Quality Commission
Really enterprising?
My first experience of a social enterprise
was over 10 years ago when I had lunch
in a café supposedly run by people with
learning difficulties. Watching the nondisabled staff managing the disabled
‘staff’ with a sense of fake optimism, I
realised this was far from a real enterprise
and more a new form of posh day care.
The term ‘profit’ only relates to a legal way the
balance of income over expenditure is seen. It is
the automatic aim of any organisation and, indeed,
individual to have more income than expenditure,
whatever it is called.
Over 10 years on, I am still unsure exactly what a
social enterprise is. It is not quite a profit-making
business and it is not a proper charity. It seems to
be a term used by different people for different
reasons, and this can be seen by the way the current
government is making the privatisation of public
local services sound acceptable.
For me, there is absolutely no problem about anyone
making a profit from anything, including supporting
disabled people. I am, however, wary when the
true motives are hidden in niceties. Sometimes
I also feel that, without realising it, social care
professionals have formed social enterprises as
supported employment for users as a step forward
to prevent three steps backward. By this I mean that,
as professionals still fear letting go of the control
and responsibility for users’ daytime activities, they
have formed opportunities where they have control
of the risks.
While most social enterprises regard themselves
as ‘not for profit’, it does not mean staff do not get
paid, and sometimes they get paid very well. I feel,
however, that the ‘not for profit’ tag is used to justify
why non-disabled staff get paid, while disabled
‘staff’ are often unpaid or regarded as volunteers.
The reality is that disabled people should either be
in full mainstream employment or run their own
enterprises on their own terms. The celebration of
social enterprises as a successful way of providing
employment opportunities is a hollow victory as it’s
simply rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. The
14
Talking to our experts, you get a real feeling of how
much they also get out of the experience and how
rewarding it is for them to help to give a voice to
people in all types of health and social care, who
in many cases may not be heard. From our point
of view, an inspector gets an insight into a service
and how it’s looking after people that we simply
wouldn’t be able to get without them. 
aim of social care, especially for working-age adults,
should be to enable and empower users not to need
constant involvement from professionals.
When you hear of a new ‘exciting’ social enterprise
to help users, my advice is to find out what it is
really about, and who is really profiting from it,
before opening that bottle of champagne. 
Simon Stevens
Television actor Alan Halsall,
better known as Coronation
Street’s hapless mechanic
Tyrone Dobbs, left the
cobbles of the Street on
Saturday 27 August to visit
residents at Halifax care
home, Savile Park and Wigan
care home, Montrose Hall.
d Lucy-Jo
▲ Alan an
Along with his real-life wife, British
actress Lucy-Jo Hudson – best
known for her role as Katy Harris in
Coronation Street – Alan sat down
to a Roy’s Rolls brunch with the
home’s residents at Savile Park
and a rugby-themed afternoon at
Montrose Hall to help celebrate the
Challenge Cup Final.
The actors mingled with residents
and their families, and signed
memorabilia and autographs.
Residents took part in a raffle to
win a signed copy of 50 Years of
Coronation Street, while Lucy-Jo
was presented with a bunch of
flowers by home managers Paula
Finn and Donna Norton.
Alan commented: “Lucy-Jo and I
were delighted to visit residents at
Savile Park and Montrose Hall.
The homes provide a valuable
service to their local communities
so it was an absolute pleasure for
us to be part of it, and to meet
the residents and staff who
rk work there.” 
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15
PRODUCTS SERVICES
ADVERTORIAL
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Michael Baines, Mediline’s managing director, says:
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the facility to schedule care visits and issue work
schedules from the same data.
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financial administrative functions for payroll and
invoicing from data that we can easily verify and
export from the system.
“The final recent development has enabled us to
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proactive, flexible software provider.”
Mediline contacted Tagtronics at an early stage of
their development. At that time they were already
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They had a software package in place but due to
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During the initial meeting, one of Tagtronics
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the next step was to then show how Tagtronics
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Mediline decided that they would move forward
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After a very successful implementation and training
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development, this has meant that they now have
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Features and benefits of TagtronicsCare
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ADVERTORIAL
Managing money matters so
that you can concentrate on caring
As a carer your time is better spent providing
the care your residents deserve, not in the office
handling their day-to-day finances. When care
home providers are acting as corporate appointees,
full responsibility for this role can be transferred
to Essex Guardians. Doing so can remove potential
conflict of interest, corporate liability and free up
workloads.
At Essex Guardians, we recognise that decisions
about the use of a person’s income and savings
may best be made by their relatives and friends, yet
as a care provider you’ll know that at times there
are no willing or suitable relatives or friends, or
those already involved in a person’s finances are no
longer able to formally assist. As one of the leading
corporate deputyship services in the country, Essex
Guardians can provide a practical solution. The
service provides a dedicated team of professionals
to expertly handle financial affairs for people when
they no longer have the mental capacity to do so on
their own.
The service includes collecting, maximising and
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EG brochure 210 carers_2print.indd 1
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When Essex Guardians act as deputy, all clients’
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For an informal chat, contact a member of our team on 01245 434 098, email
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16
administration systems that are fully auditable and
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the Court of Protection, providing full security for
all monies held. We provide a service that is open
and transparent and supervised by the Office of the
Public Guardian, so you can be sure we’ve always
got the client’s best interests in mind.
16/05/2011 15:49
Referrals to Essex Guardians are welcome from
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and financial wellbeing of an individual, such as
health practitioners, friends or family. As a care
provider, you may already be handling these
finances and may be looking for a better way.
PRODUCTS SERVICES
ADVERTORIAL
“Go out for a pub lunch? Will there be gin?
You don’t have to ask me twice!”
Elizabeth, 99 years old
NAPA hosts grand fifties
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Glorious Food successes
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including an East End lunch and a Mad Hatter’s tea party. They also organised
a retro ice cream parlour and involved local pre-school children in decorating
biscuits and collecting eggs from the home’s chickens. Special efforts were made
for two residents who were from Spain and Mauritius to enjoy the sights and
smells of foods from their birthplace, with the help of staff from those countries.
There was good feedback from the staff team, who realised the benefits of
spending time with residents at mealtimes to help create a relaxed family
atmosphere.
On Thursday 1 September, The National Association for Providers of Activities for
Older People (NAPA) hosted its annual challenge gala in central London.
This year’s theme of Food Glorious Food inspired 152 entrants from all over the
UK, who organised a range of fun, food-related activities throughout the month
of June. NAPA was pleased to encourage care homes to not let overly restrictive
health and safety policies get in the way of enabling older people to do more for
themselves. To quote one resident Margaret, who is 80 years old: “Why do you
need to watch me with a knife? … I’ve used one plenty of times before, you know.”
Prue Leith, celebrity chef, writer and judge of the BBC’s The Great British Menu,
gave out the prizes to the five lucky finalists.
At Dittons Prior, residents chopped leeks in their bedrooms for a soup supper
that was attended by family members. The home found that experimenting with
multicultural food, including a Thai meal prepared by two of the home’s domestic
staff, went really well.
Ferfoot Care Home demonstrated a great range of community involvement in
their challenge, including schoolchildren coming in for two mornings to make
popcorn and homemade lemonade, compare food past and present and to play
‘food bingo’. A visit from the Let Nature Feed Your Senses project was particularly
successful, with a 1940s picnic basket enjoyed by many residents – especially
Don, who liked the flask in it!
Heffle Court stood up for their particularly creative approach to themed activities,
“We’ve learnt to remember the value of the small
things. Something as simple as peeling an apple
does not always register as a task to us, but can be
a big achievement for one of our residents.”
The Old Vicarage reported that it was the small changes, not the big once-amonth events, which make a huge difference; for example, putting a fresh peapod
at everyone’s place setting produced a wave of conversation and laughter. They
have completed food questionnaires for all residents and now include favourite
individual recipes within the home’s weekly menu.
Woodleigh Christian Care Centre demonstrated that some homes with a strong
faith ethos are definitely not averse to alcohol, as pub visits featured a fair bit in
this application! Candyfloss brought smells and memories into resident rooms
and a bible study meeting was integrated into a breadmaking group. Edible
flowers for tabletop decorations and a visit to a museum with kitchen utensils
both prompted lively conversations.
For more information about joining NAPA or our new activity toolkit, including
the Living Life training DVD, please contact 020 7078 9375 or go to our web shop
at www.napa-activities.co.uk
17
CASE
▲
STUDY
Sharing
Lives
Shared Lives is the quiet
voice of independent living.
Across the UK, around 10,000
ordinary people share their
home and their family life
with vulnerable adults
needing support, enabling
them to live full lives,
within local communities.
Shared Lives offers its customers quality,
individually tailored support that successfully
meets current government objectives, and
represents excellent value for money.
‘Non-relatives’ sharing a family’s home and life
is not new. Formerly known as adult placements,
this type of support has fitted in with successive
social policies over many years. Yet research by
the National Association of Adult Placement
Schemes (NAAPS) and Improvement and
Efficiency South East (IESE) in 2009 found low
levels of awareness, with a perception that the
service was often not seen as a real alternative to
a supported-living model.
Yet thousands of vulnerable people live
‘ordinary’ but successful lives, embedded in their
communities, thanks to the skill and dedication
of their Shared Lives carers.
Margaret and Clifford Headlam are two such
providers. They have been supporting people
with learning disabilities in their home for 20
years. Both previously worked in social care,
18
but Clifford was inspired to open up his home
when working with a young man whose needs
could not be met by conventional services.
Others quickly followed, and the couple’s
daughters were born into a happy, busy
and unusual household.
Clifford and Margaret Headlam
Margaret and Clifford are unassuming people
who dismiss any praise for what they do. Yet
Shared Lives has been shown to increase physical
and emotional wellbeing, confidence, skills
and independence, challenge stereotypes and
strengthen communities.
In 2004 Margaret and Clifford became Shared
Lives carers with The Avalon Group, a leading UK
provider of these schemes. Since then a number
of vulnerable people have become part of this
household at some time in their lives. The young
man who originally inspired Margaret and Clifford
was with them until his death, 13 years later.
Three people live with them presently. One lady
has been diagnosed with dementia, and is no
longer able to undertake any tasks independently
within the home, nor access outside services.
Margaret and Clifford have reorganised their
house and established routines to reduce risk
and enable her to cope with the changes that her
condition has brought. They are fully committed
to caring for her till the end of her life.
Avalon Shared Lives schemes are part of The
Avalon Group, which is an established social
care charity. The organisation provides Margaret
and Clifford with a comprehensive package of
support, including support and monitoring visits
from their local Avalon representative, a 24-hour
on-call system, and in-house training.
This support ensures their customers continue to
receive a quality service, which is fully up to date
and compliant with all Care Quality Commission
(CQC) regulations. All Avalon’s schemes are rated
as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ by the Government’s
inspecting body.
▲ The Headlam family
Supported by The Avalon Group, Margaret and
Clifford and Avalon’s dedicated professional
Shared Lives team provide a lifeline of support to
vulnerable people and their families.
For them, and the many other vulnerable
people who benefit from Avalon’s Shared Lives
scheme across Yorkshire, Teesside and Cumbria,
the ordinary become the extraordinary in
everyday lives.. 
CASE
STUDY
Redefining
social care
When people think of social care,
many think of care homes and home
care, but there are alternatives, and
a number of them are quietly, but
surely, growing in use.
In Shared Lives, an approved Shared Lives carer
includes an older or disabled person in their family
life, either as a regular visitor or a long-term
member of their household. Shared Lives carers and
those they care for are matched for compatibility
and then develop real relationships, with the carer
acting as ‘extended family’.
Mr C’s wife used the break to visit her daughter for
a week. She says: “I didn’t feel anxious at all and
was able to switch off, knowing that he would be
enjoying himself.”
Shared Lives support is cheaper than alternatives
and outperforms them in care inspections. Around
10,000 people currently receive Shared Lives support
in England alone and there are 150 schemes
UK-wide, supporting people with a wide range of
disabilities and support needs.
Here is the daughter of a Shared Lives carer
reflecting upon her first experiences of Shared
Lives as a teenager: “When Michael took residence
in our family home, I was a young 14-year-old. I
wasn’t too sure what to expect of him but was told
by my parents that he was a lovely guy. They were
right: Michael was a fun-loving individual and soon
became part of the family and a lifelong friend.”
Sharing this ethos and Shared Lives’ small scale, a
growing number of ‘micro-enterprises’ have also
sprung up over recent years. Micro-enterprises
are small services, often set up by social care
professionals like Susan and her colleague, care
workers who became frustrated providing a limited
range of home care to older people, which felt
rushed and impersonal. They set up Companions
with a small team who are matched with one of
their 20 customers. They keep change to a minimum
and provide companionship, help with daily tasks
and support to use the community.
Mr C, an older person, recently stayed for the first
time with Shared Lives carer Fran and her family in
Shropshire. He says: “They are a lovely family and
I felt very welcome. I sat in the conservatory and
painted them a picture, something I used to do a
lot of. Fran has hung it on the wall in the room I am
using for respite. It felt like Christmas – I hope it
won’t be long before I can go again!”
Other micro-enterprises include Ace of Spades,
a gardening and personal support business, and
Pulp Friction, set up by a young woman with
learning disabilities and her mother, which now
works with a small group of people with learning
disabilities, running pedal-powered smoothie
bars at community events as a novel approach to
developing social, independent and work-readiness
▲ Pulp Friction co-founder
Jessie Carter-Kay
skills. Both have been supported by Community
Catalysts (www.communitycatalysts.co.uk), a social
enterprise that helps micro-enterprises to start up
and survive in a competitive and often regulationheavy world.
While the diversity of these enterprises is limitless,
they are all small scale and focus on tailoring their
work to a small group of people. Professionalism,
safety and effectiveness are just as important to
them as to any other care and support service, but
many look very different to most people’s idea of
social care. As traditional approaches start to look
increasingly unaffordable, they might just offer
alternatives with a real future.
More information about these and other members
of NAAPS, the UK network for family-based and
small-scale ways of supporting adults, can be found
at www.naaps.org.uk. 
19
CASE
STUDY
Striking a chord with
dementia sufferers
As I approached the day centre in Bassetlaw, I could
hear the lilting sounds of the Welsh hymn Cwm
Rhondda. Forgetting for a moment the reason for
my visit, I imagined a full musical ensemble, so on
entering I was surprised to see just two performers
– a soprano and a harpist – surrounded by a small
audience of around 20 people.
Looking around the room, it could have been a show
staged for a parish council or community group
meeting, but in fact the majority of people in the
room either suffered from early onset dementia or
were accompanying a sufferer.
The concert was arranged by Lost Chord, an
innovative charity dedicated to improving the
quality of life and wellbeing of those suffering
with dementia through interactive musical stimuli,
and to increasing their general awareness and
“Shirley Bassey’s Hey Big
Spender prompted one lady
to get up and give a series of
high kicks.”
20
self-esteem. Lost Chord is now a highly successful
award-winning charity, operating in more than 70
homes in South Yorkshire, North Nottinghamshire,
Derbyshire, London and Cardiff.
The charity’s founder, Helen Muller, explains the
philosophy. “Music can, in such a simple way, help
to overcome those feelings of frustration and
humiliation associated with dementia. Music is the
most effective, and often the only, way to stimulate
a response. It seems to reach into their very souls
and unlock that door behind which a frightened,
intimidated and humiliated person hides. Life at
times is just too awful to face for most of them.”
The duo at the concert were soprano Lois Davies,
a Welsh lovely with a captivating voice that could
easily match Lesley Garrett’s, and harpist Iona Jones,
whose seemingly magical fingers mesmerised the
audience, filling the room with lyrical harmonies.
It was clear to see that the music had a profound
effect on all those present. Audience participation
was the name of the game, all joining in with their
old favourites. One such favourite was Delilah,
which whipped the audience into an excited frenzy
and frankly put any Tom Jones audience to shame.
Another, Shirley Bassey’s Hey, Big Spender, prompted
one lady to get up from her seat and give a series of
high kicks.
The concert then took on a Name That Tune theme,
a quiz which prompted memories through fun. The
first song was The Green, Green Grass of Home – and
the answer, which stumped me but not the majority
of the audience, was Harry Secombe, of course!
“She has no recognition of
her family but recognises
songs.”
Looking around at the smiling faces all eager to
participate, it was unclear who were the dementia
sufferers and who were not. Life and laughter lay
behind everyone’s eyes and there was more energy
in that one small room that afternoon than a
Nottingham nightclub on a Saturday night.
Lois then proceeded to hand out brightly coloured
tambourines. We became the orchestra, using
instruments while singing at the same time; again
multi-tasking, subtle yet ingenious. This took me
right back to my school days and my starring role
on the triangle in the primary school orchestra; I’d
forgotten quite how much fun it was.
CASE
STUDY
The hour-long session finished with renditions of
Daisy, Daisy and We’ll Meet Again, which prompted
the audience to get up and hold hands in a circle,
much like the last dance at a wedding.
So, in such a contrast to their ‘day job’, what compels
professional singers and musicians, who normally
perform in front of thousands of people, to do this?
“It’s hard work but very rewarding,” says Lois.
“Our concerts just fly by and it’s great to see
immediate benefits. We try and include a bit
of everything – classical, musical theatre and
television. We like to warm up bodies as well as
brains, so we incorporate movements, dancing and
quizzes. Everyone, no matter how far progressed the
dementia is, can join in, even if it’s just singing ‘la
la la’.”
A couple at the centre who are regulars at the
concerts are Jeff and Joyce, who have been married
for 56 years. Sadly Joyce has suffered dementia for
the last eight years.
“Joyce used to be a singer and a dancer,” her
husband Jeff tells me.
“These performances really stimulate her. She
physically brightens up and memories are evoked.
▲
Iona and Lois
“She has no recognition of her family but recognises
songs. Caring for Joyce is hard work, so coming here
provides respite for me.”
“You ask someone to tell you
their name and they can’t
remember, then the next
minute you see someone sing
a line, and even a whole verse
of a song.”
Pauline Masheder, a volunteer at the centre, is
equally passionate about the scheme. “I saw an
advert in the local paper,” she says. “There was
something in the name Lost Chord and I was
intrigued. I had just retired and was looking for
something to do, so I answered the ad and have
never looked back.
“It’s a tremendous amount of fun, not just for the
elderly but also for the volunteers. Whatever the
level of dementia, and however challenging, people
always get something back. With people with
dementia the last thing that goes is
the music.
“You ask someone to tell you their name and they
can’t remember, then the next minute you see
someone sing a line, and even a whole verse of
a song.
“Sometimes people cry if they hear a certain song or
tune but I never tell them to stop. If they experience
an emotion through a memory then that’s good;
even a sad memory is a piece of who you are or were.
“When you’re a volunteer, if you don’t get something
back then you don’t do it. I couldn’t leave; I’d miss it
way too much.” 
Lisa Carr
Further information
There is no statutory funding for Lost Chord’s
work, which relies solely on supporters’ help.
To make a donation please visit
www.lost-chord.org.uk
21
CASE
STUDY
Stuck in a Tube tunnel, I’m running
very late for my meeting at Pacific
Television Centre. And no, it’s not
an audition for the next Big Brother,
but an interview with Dave Marsh,
the chief executive of the Aged Care
Channel (ACC-TV). It’s quite possible
you haven’t heard of them, but I
suspect that will change.
ACC-TV provides training, but not as you know it!
Gone are the lectures, flipcharts and PowerPoints
in favour of TV programmes presented by
experts in different fields, plus live phone-ins.
They’re shot in real care homes across the
country, not only focusing on key outcomes and
the performance indicators expected by the Care
Quality Commission (CQC), but also the issues
faced by most staff, every day.
“If you’re aiming to engage
carers, then the training, the
carer and the mindset is a
very important relationship.”
“Our motto is to ‘engage, inform and inspire’,”
says Dave, as we settle down next door to the
studio, “and it works because we understand
the psychology of the carer. We understand that
English may not be their first language, that
they may be under-confident when it comes to
reading and writing and perhaps in school they
were the ones hoping the questions weren’t
asked of them. So, when it comes to training –
22
which is a very good thing – they may prefer not
to be in a blackboard type environment. “
Dave explains that if you’re aiming to engage
carers, then the training, the carer and the
mindset is a very important relationship. With a
background as chief executive of Sunrise Senior
Living in Europe, he fully appreciates that carers
go into this work for a reason – something
pulling them to it – because there are certainly
other less physically and mentally challenging
environments to work in. Dealing with the care
of vulnerable adults in often very stressful
situations near the end of life is a lot to ask
of people.
So why television?
“The thing about television,” Dave says, “is
that it is omnipresent in all our lives. It’s our
storytelling device these days, and is therefore
non-threatening. In olden times we’d all be
sat round a campfire telling stories; well the
campfire’s gone but now we have television!”
I laugh at this but know instantly that he’s
right. ACC-TV could simply make and sell a lot of
specialist DVDs, but what seems to work – and
why they have gained 200 members in barely
two years in the UK – is the community created
by having a live television broadcast once a
month, followed by a period of time where calls
are taken and questions answered by a specialist.
In this way, the carer realises they’re not an
isolated person in a care home in Somerset or
Matlock, or the only one in the land with that
problem, or even the only one who has that
question. It’s a compelling outcome; the
training medium allows the carer to feel part
of a great swathe of people who are in the
same sort of boat.
I watch a bit of the live phone-in with cardiology
expert Dr Ali. It’s bright and accessible – like
daytime TV – but the questions on congestion
and heart failure are real and answered
sympathetically. Usefully, members can record
the live programmes for future reference and
use them to train new staff and others who may
have been unavailable at the time of the original
broadcast. The growing library of over 40 titles is
supplied to all members.
“The carer realises they’re
not an isolated person in a
care home, or the only one in
the land with that problem
or question.”
Broadcast and live link-up over, Dave shows me
the technical wizardry of the studios on my way
out. He asks if I have any other questions and I
reply that I very much like their motto. He smiles
as he opens the door: “Our belief is that if we can
inspire people through the medium of television,
to just make a slight change in their behaviours,
and can do that across a mass of people, then we
can make a difference. That’s our objective.”
My objective as I hit the road is a smooth-running
Tube home. No problems on the District Line; I
sit opposite a young woman circling programme
times in a popular guide.
Yes, we’re living in the TV Age.
For more information visit
www.agedcarechannel.co.uk 
Debra Mehta
Daughter,
wife, mother,
preacher...carer
The charity Carers UK estimates that
there are 6.4 million people in the UK
providing care for ill or disabled loved
ones. Few of them are likely to be
caring for three generations of their
family, as Elisabeth Johnstone, of
Haxby, York, does.
Lis, as she prefers to be called, is registered
carer for her husband and parents. She is also
parent/carer for two of her three children, who
have learning difficulties. Alongside her caring
duties, she holds down part-time jobs as a work
development training officer at North Yorkshire
County Council and as an adult education tutor.
Lis, 42, is also a volunteer Methodist preacher
and plays an active role in local carers’ groups.
Unsurprisingly, she says of her busy life: “I juggle
a lot!”
Lis began by caring for her mum, aged 73, who
is deaf, when fibromyalgia started to cause her
problems. About four years ago, Lis’s dad, 75, had
a rare reaction to medication and she began to
care for him too.
“For my parents, it’s form-filling and shopping
and offering them meals. It’s making sure that if
they are having a bad afternoon, they don’t need
to think about making a meal. I’ll pop over for a
cup of tea and do a bit of vacuuming or sort out a
letter or take their dog for a walk,” she says.
“Lis fears that the Big Society
may be used to cut funds.”
In 2005, Lis’s husband Ian, who was in the RAF,
returned from Iraq and began to experience poor
mental health. He has since had two breakdowns.
Now he is recovering but, in the early days, Lis
describes the care as “full on” because she had to
do everything for him.
In addition to her husband, Lis was caring for her
three children, aged 13 to 16. Her youngest two,
Stephen and Andrew, need particular support
since they have learning difficulties.
“The care for the boys tends to be around their
education and socialising. Stephen and Andrew
might be the only children in their class with
these issues and they can quickly become
targets, so there are also self-esteem and
confidence issues to consider,” she explains.
Alongside addressing her boys’ emotional needs,
Lis has to be organised on a scale that far exceeds
that of most mothers. For example, she has to
ensure there are three sets of sports gear ready
for use at any one time – one at home, another at
school and a third in the secretary’s room
at school.
“In addition to her husband,
Lis was caring for her three
children aged 13 to 16.”
CASE
STUDY
resting with politicians, Lis fears that the Big
Society may be used to cut funds.
She is not alone. A survey by Carers UK carried
out in June showed that 81 per cent of unpaid
carers are worried about cuts to services. Carers
UK chief executive Imelda Redmond says that
there needs to be a rethink in how unpaid carers
are supported. She points out that public services
would struggle to meet demand without the
efforts of unpaid carers: “This contribution is
something we can be proud of as a country,
and demonstrates how strong our families and
communities are.”
“It’s trying to anticipate problems before they
happen, because once the boys are panicking
then it’s difficult,” she says.
As a result of her caring role, Lis has become
involved in carers’ groups. She is involved with
parents’ forum CANDI and the Carers’ Forum and
has been developing a support group for families
in York who have members with dyslexia and
learning difficulties.
Lis describes the support she receives from the
various groups as invaluable. Meeting once a
month for a coffee and chat is a chance to swap
stories and share concerns with others. Such gettogethers have helped make her caring role much
easier, she says, because she no longer feels so
alone in meeting the challenges.
“A few years ago I was isolated. Even though
we’re members of a church, when my husband
was ill, it was hard. People didn’t know what to
say to me and I didn’t know what to say to them.
But once we learned to accept it, we were able
to reach out and that was the key thing because
it’s very hard for people to know how to behave,”
says Lis.
The support that various networks have given to
Lis makes her a supporter of Prime Minister David
Cameron’s Big Society – in theory, at least.
While she welcomes the idea of local
communities working together to provide
services and support, rather than the power
“Lis is a volunteer Methodist
preacher and plays an active
role in local carers’ groups.
She says of her busy life:
‘I juggle a lot!”
Lis says that she feels lucky to have support from
groups, church and her employer North Yorkshire
County Council – without their willingness to be
flexible, she would be unable to work.
“I have good days and bad days but, generally,
we’re OK. As a family, we are open and upfront
about the challenges that face us. It’s brought us
closer together.” 
Julie Griffiths
23
FOCUS ON Social enterprises
Social
enterprise
for social care
How public sector
spin-outs are changing
the face of social care
Public services in Britain are currently undergoing
a significant period of change. Social care is no
exception and is perhaps feeling these changes
more keenly than most parts of our public
services. The sector is facing tough times of
financial austerity, and with both the recent
Southern Cross scandal and the release of the
Dilnot Commission final report within the last
12 months, is also facing a great deal of scrutiny.
Despite this, however, there is a growing
opportunity for some care services and the
teams and leaders within them, an opportunity
to ‘spin out’ into an independent provider of
services, run in a way that removes constraints
and empowers staff and users to create the kind
of services that will push our assumptions of just
how good social care in Britain can be.
The Coalition Government is encouraging
the development of stakeholder-owned
social enterprises to deliver health and social
care, a model that has been supported by
all three main party political manifestos. At
present, approximately 9% of the 62,000 social
enterprises in the UK operate in the health and
social care sectors, a growing number of which
have been successfully ‘spun out’ of the public
sector in recent years1.
So what does a spin-out entail and how
do they benefit the social care sector?
A spin-out is an organisation led by a group
of public sector workers who act together to
establish themselves as independent service
providers, such as independently run care homes
or day centres. The core idea is that they provide
the same services as those publicly managed, but
act autonomously and use business solutions to
achieve a public good; in this case, better social
24
care. Spinning out therefore provides
an opportunity for the social care sector to
reinvest social value at the core of their public
service delivery.
That’s what the Transition Institute is all about.
We support and stimulate new models of public
services based upon maximising social value –
basically, ensuring that the organisation is set
up, run and governed in a way that provides
the very best care and positively, proactively
benefits the wider community in which the
organisation operates.
“Worthwhile things are often
hard won, but this has been
truly worthwhile and feels
more like serving the public
again than public service as it
has come to mean to some.”
An example of a successful social care focused
spin-out organisation is NAViGO, a not-for-profit
social enterprise that provides mental health
services in North East Lincolnshire. Launched as a
social enterprise in April 2011 as a transition from
North East Lincolnshire mental health services,
it works hard within its community to provide
innovative and trustworthy assistance
to those affected by mental health illnesses.
Chief executive Kevin Bond is quick to point
out the reality of the challenge. “It was awful,
tortuous and, quite frankly, one of the most
unpleasant and difficult things we have ever
done. But we would do it all again tomorrow
– the service is so much more efficient, less
bureaucratic and quicker to respond, and now
people who use it and the staff who work in it
have a much greater say.”
So while spinning out into a social enterprise is
by no means an easy transition to undertake, the
benefits are often worth the effort. Spin-outs
can be a platform for re-engaging staff with the
focus of providing even better public services and
can encourage an innovative and entrepreneurial
spirit among employees.
There is also the opportunity for the organisation
to train and invest in its staff, as surpluses can
be reinvested into frontline services rather than
purely taken as a profit or spread too thinly due
to managerial overheads. Such staff investment
has been very successful in health and social
care spin-outs; NAViGO and Living Well (a social
enterprise offering health-related services to
support vulnerable people from a young age) are
great examples.
While spinning out of the public sector is not an
overnight process for social care providers, under
the right conditions and with enough dedication
it can be the right path. NAViGO’s Kevin Bond
can best sum up the transition: “Worthwhile
things are often hard won, but this has been truly
worthwhile and feels more like serving the public
again than public service as it has come to mean
to some.”. 
Dom Potter
Transition Institute interim director
Jillian Oxenham
Network and communications intern
1 Social Enterprise Coalition 2009;
Williams and Cowling 2009
FOCUS ON Social enterprises
These are tough times for all businesses.
The economic downturn means that many are
having to look for that something extra that will
set them apart from the competition. While social
enterprises are affected by recession in the same
way as other businesses, their raison d’être – the
fact that they aim to deliver real benefits to the
local community and not just profit – could be their
greatest strength, and one that sets them apart
from the rest.
National disability charity United Response (UR)
has extensive experience in the field of social
enterprise. It runs social enterprises around the
country, staffed predominantly by people with
learning disabilities, many of whom face major
obstacles in finding work through other means.
The charity has also supported several people to
set up their own social enterprises, including a
successful gardening business.
“People are learning the
basic values and skills needed
for work, all very important
in terms of increasing
confidence and employability
for the future.”
The hub of United Response’s social enterprise
work is in Manchester, where the charity runs UR
Consultants, a disability awareness consultancy,
and UR Sorted, a bespoke mailing and fulfilment
service. Both share office space with United
Response’s Supported Employment Service. And
both share a USP (unique selling point) – providing
a quality service that traditional business would
struggle to deliver, and boosting the confidence and
employability of adults with learning disabilities in
the process.
Set up six years ago, UR Consultants and UR
Sorted currently employ a staff of 60, including
people with physical and learning disabilities,
people with autism and people with mental health
“Earlier this year successful
business woman and former
Apprentice hopeful Adele
Lock approached them with
a proposal.”
needs. Getting a job at one of the enterprises often
acts as a first rung on the career ladder: UR Sorted,
in particular, is often the first experience of paid
work that many of its employees have had, and
aims to prepare people for mainstream employment
while operating as an effective and efficient
business in its own right.
Laura Stott, who heads up the work of UR Sorted,
says: “Through UR Sorted people are learning the
basic values and skills needed for work, such as
punctuality, commitment, working with colleagues,
taking pride in your work, attention to detail and
the importance of completing your work on time.
These are all very important in terms of increasing
confidence and employability for the future.”
While some people have moved directly into open
employment after leaving UR Sorted, others have
gained work with UR Consultants, which delivers
disability awareness training to local schools and
companies. From there, many have secured paid
positions with shops and businesses in the area.
The nature of UR Sorted’s work means that because
demand for their services may fluctuate, the staff
and the business have to be flexible enough to turn
around a large mailout or collating project quickly
and to a high standard when required. Sharing
premises and costs with other United Response
services helps UR Sorted keep overheads down and
to be more responsive, two very valuable assets in
the current economy.
Earlier this year, the flexibility of the UR Sorted
team was really put to the test when successful
businesswoman and former Apprentice hopeful
Adele Lock approached them with a proposal. She
wanted them to put together high-spec gift packs
for her company in Manchester. The work, which
requires a consistent eye for detail, was completed
to such a high standard that UR Sorted now
regularly carries out work for the company.
The additional work has also enabled UR Sorted
to take on new staff and create job opportunities
for people with more complex needs. Clare and
Amanda started working for UR Sorted in June,
through SHIEC (Sustainable Hub for Innovative
Employment for people with Complex needs), which
aims to open up paid employment as an option
for people with profound and multiple learning
disabilities. For both women, this is the first time
that they have been involved in paid work.
Laura says: “When I went to visit Clare and Amanda
after their first shift at UR Sorted, their beaming
smiles and thumbs-up said it all! The change in their
confidence from the first time I had met them was
really noticeable. They were also asking about being
paid again, which was great to see as it meant that
they had already realised what work was all about.”
As with many other social enterprises, the staff
at UR Sorted are committed, hard-working,
conscientious and flexible. These attributes have
helped the service to gain new work during these
difficult times and will hopefully allow it to thrive
into the future.. 
Sarah Bartlett
Press manager
United Response
www.unitedresponse.org.uk
Photos courtesy of Mark Crick
25
From starting out
to changing Britain
Imagine a country where we
invest in the future, where
children get a good start in
life, where older people and
young people are valued
and respect each other,
where extended families
are supported to care for
each other and where
communities are designed
for everyone to live, work
and play together.
Imagine a Britain for all ages. That’s what United
for All Ages aims to make a reality, working with
councils, charities, universities and companies.
It’s a year since my wife Denise and I took the plunge
and set up United for All Ages. We gave up our jobs
and moved out of London to live on the north-east
Norfolk coast. In November 2010 we went public
with United for All Ages, a social enterprise bringing
generations together. The last year has flashed past
as we have moved from start-up to vibrant business.
Without going through all the mechanics of getting
started, a number of lessons have emerged over the
last year.
26
We have a vision (as set out above) of how Britain
could become a society for all ages. The challenge is
convincing national and local policymakers in these
difficult times that this ambition is achievable and a
better way of using scarce resources.
Of course we are not the only organisation promoting
inter-generational activities but we have been clear
that we don’t want to duplicate what others are
doing; rather we want to bring a new perspective
to the idea of bringing generations together.
Honing our USP (unique selling point) has taken
time and repeated efforts to express it clearly. We
are focusing on bringing generations together
through shared sites, shared caring and shared
interests, by advising a range of public, private
and third sector organisations.
We have focused on getting this message across
to local authorities and other potential clients
such as housing associations, children’s centres,
schools, libraries and health trusts. We sell
them consultancy – ideas, strategies, advice,
communications – all leading to action and change.
As always, relationships and contacts have been key
to generating new business.
Along with defining our USP, we have invested in
our corporate identity to distinguish it from others.
The identity has a lot of flexibility in the way it
can be used, from our website to publications
and exhibition materials. Our designer and web
developer have been critical to making it happen,
but we have also had to become competent at
maintaining and updating the website (and doing
lots of other e-things ourselves).
“Imagine a Britain for all
ages. That’s what United
for All Ages aims to make a
reality, working with councils,
charities, universities
and companies.”
We soft-launched at a relatively quiet time preChristmas and then had a number of PR activities
lined up for 2011 – a policy paper, new awards
for all ages, speaking at conferences and
commenting in the media on key issues. Timing
and nimbleness is crucial for a small organisation
competing with national PR machines as we
develop a distinctive voice.
One example is the United for All Ages response
to the Dilnot report on care funding. In contrast
to the almost universal acclaim for Dilnot’s
recommendations, we focused on how the
proposals add complexity to an already complex
care system and are regressive by setting the same
cap for someone who owns a terraced house in
Sheffield as the owner of a mansion in Surrey.
But another unfairness seems to bedevil our society;
yet again younger generations are being asked to
pick up the tab. Shifting the burden from richer
older people to the taxpayer, as proposed by Dilnot,
ignores where wealth rests in our society.
FOCUS ON Social enterprises
The vast majority of wealth is held in various assets
– property, investments and pensions – by people
aged 55-plus who have done very well from several
housing booms and from decent pensions. It's only fair that funding for a much needed better
care system comes from this wealth, in a way that
relates to individuals' wealth. A levy on estates over
a certain value would be fairer. It would also address
the growing polarity between the rich and the
rest in our country and its consequences for
social mobility.
Inter-generational fairness is the big issue this
decade. As younger and middle-aged people feel
the squeeze more and more, we need to restore the
balance in our society. That is also the focus of a new
United for All Ages paper, Investing in the future,
which looks at wealth, work and welfare in a multigenerational society.
A year after launching United for All Ages, we have
begun to be recognised as a key player in a range of
related areas, from childcare and children’s services
to family and care policy and older people’s support.
This autumn we will be attending the party
conferences to raise our profile and ideas with
policymakers but also to market our consultancy
with potential clients. In two weeks we hope to do a
year’s worth of networking! One of the challenges of
being based on the Norfolk coast is that so much is
still London-centric, so we have to make the most of
every minute when we do visit the capital.
Things always take longer than you want, so
patience is vital. But it’s important to remain
ambitious and optimistic about what could be.
We returned recently from Washington fired up by
the annual conference of our sister organisation,
Generations United.
Among the winners of the Generations
United awards was the Lutheran Home at
Kane, Pennsylvania, for its development of an
inter-generational shared site. When the care
home opened in 1966, no one imagined that one
day children would share its premises. Now the 120
older residents of the Lutheran Home, many with
dementia and other needs, share the facilities.
“A year after launching
United for All Ages, we have
begun to be recognised as
a key player in a range of
related areas, from childcare
and children’s services to
family and care policy and
older people’s support.”
In the afternoon, 20 school-aged children arrive at
KASP, the after-school programme. Here the older
residents help the children with school assignments
and take part in fun activities promoting wellness
and fitness.
The home also works with the local high school to
train and employ nursing assistants, as well as being
a clinical worksite for students considering careers
in health and care.
It may seem risky but it all works, benefiting older
and young people alike. It’s a great use of scarce
resources and a fantastic way to build lasting bonds
between generations. We need to see more care
homes doing similar things in the UK.
That’s the kind of inspiration that drives on United
for All Ages as we enter our second year.. 
Stephen Burke
Director of United for All Ages
www.unitedforallages.com
Each day local parents bring babies and toddlers to
KIDS, a day care service. While there, the children
can visit the older residents to make crafts, exercise,
read stories and enjoy each other’s company.
27
▲
FOCUS ON Informal carers
Keith and Alf
Not too old
e
r
a
c
to
A carer’s life can be a tough one,
especially when the carer faces the
challenges of their own old age,
but it can bring many rewards too.
That is certainly the case for Alf
Winter, now 90, who has looked
after his disabled son Keith, 57 , all
his life. In fact, Alf feels that caring
for Keith is what keeps him alive
and feeling young.
Alf part-owns a bungalow in the Western
Close housing complex run by Derwent Living
in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, which
offers ‘independent living in a sheltered
environment’. They moved there with Alf’s late
wife in 1999 when Alf began to find the stairs
in the family home too much for him.
The accommodation offers Alf all the dayto-day support he needs. When his wife,
who sadly died several years ago, developed
dementia, Alf was able to arrange higher levels
of support to help him care for both her and
Keith, including home adaptations to cope
with her wandering.
Keith has very limited mobility as well as
learning difficulties, and domiciliary care
workers visit in the morning to help him
shower and dress. He attends a day centre
from Monday to Friday, has a support worker
from learning disability charity Mencap and
goes into respite care for a week five times
a year.
28
With this support, Alf – officially Mencap’s
oldest carer – and his son enjoy independent
and full lives. Although he retired as a miner
in his early 60s due to illness, Alf is still fit
and healthy and able to drive. He does all
the household cleaning, shopping and
washing, and cooks full meals for himself
and Keith every day.
Western Close scheme manager Eileen
Wheeler has nothing but praise for the way Alf
not just gets on with his caring responsibilities
but enjoys his life. And she believes that
sheltered housing of this nature is particularly
suited to older carers like Alf who might
otherwise become isolated.
There’s a mix of ages among the residents
of the 29 purpose-built flats and bungalows,
from 60 to 92, including two who are still
working and another 90-year-old carer who’s
looking after her husband.
The laundry is the only communal facility, but
there are lots of opportunities for socialising,
and both Alf and Keith are regular guests at
BBQs and birthday parties.
Such activities are vital to people’s
emotional wellbeing, and Alf is a particularly
sociable person who also belongs to a local
carers group.
Eileen says: “I think Alf’s absolutely
phenomenal. He does what he’s got to do so
bravely and lovingly, and is always so happy
and laid-back, although he still misses his wife
and it has hurt him when ignorant people have
discriminated against his son. And Keith has an
amazing smile and is wonderful to talk to.”
Eileen visits everyone in Western Close daily
to check they’re OK and if there’s anything
they need. She regularly helps Alf with
paperwork like bills and benefit claims
that can be confusing.
Who cares for older carers?
There are 48,000 unpaid carers aged over
85 in the UK, according to Age UK. But
they may not view themselves in this role,
seeing looking after a loved one as part
and parcel of that relationship. But even
when they find caring rewarding, it can
be stressful and exhausting, especially if
they neglect their own declining health or
become socially isolated.
Age UK’s campaign, Invisible but
invaluable, wants health and care
professionals to do more to identify these
often ‘hidden carers’ and make sure they
get their own needs assessed, the right
practical and emotional support and
regular health checks.
Individual support plans identify where
additional help is required, such as aids and
adaptations. A central control system means
that an immediate response is activated at the
touch of an intercom button in an emergency.
But the informal networks among residents
are just as important. “They see each other
all the time, and everyone keeps an eye on
everyone else,” says Eileen. “The younger
ones have got great empathy with the
older ones.”. 
Vicky Burman
FOCUS ON Informal carers
Every six seconds, someone takes on the role
of caring for a partner, family member or friend.
We know that people who care can take
years to recognise themselves as a ‘carer’ and
access support. That is why it is so important
to raise awareness of carers’ needs across
society. We need everyone – colleagues at
work, neighbours, friends, GPs, pharmacists
– to recognise when the people around them
might need a bit of advice, information or
support because of caring responsibilities.
At Carers UK we want to celebrate the value
of what families do, both for their lovedones and for society as a whole – estimated
to be equivalent to £119bn. It is also crucial
that carers’ knowledge and expertise is
acknowledged.
The National Carers Strategy, recently updated
by the current Government, emphasises the
need for carers to be treated as ‘expert care
partners’ by NHS professionals and the social
care workforce. We know that health and
social care services that involve families in
treatment and decision-making, and consult
carers as a matter of course, deliver better
outcomes for older and disabled people, give
families peace of mind and also save time
for professionals.
Professionals are often on the frontlines
of identifying carers and guiding them to
support. Carers UK delivers ‘carer awareness’
training for staff involved in social care.
Receptionists, GP practice managers and admin staff, as well as care managers, can be
the ones who pick up in a conversation that
someone is providing care and hand them a
leaflet or offer a small bit of advice that can
help that person recognise themselves as
a carer and enable them to access support,
thereby minimising the potential impact on
their health, finances and work prospects.
“At Carers UK we want to
celebrate the value of what
families do, both for their
loved-ones and for society
as a whole – estimated to be
equivalent to £119bn.”
Growing issue
Over recent years the UK has seen a 50%
increase in the number of people providing
round-the-clock care. Without a significant
investment in social care, more families will
have to provide large amounts of care, often
falling out of work to do so.
How we support carers is a growing issue
due to the combined effect of a significant
increase in the number of people who need
care through frailty and disability and a
significant reduction in public spending.
Within the next three to four years the
number of people needing care will outstrip
the number of people able to provide that
care. An ageing population, smaller family sizes
and geographic mobility have all contributed
to what is a significant crisis for the national
and local government, the NHS and employers. We need to think differently about how care is
provided and about how we support families
who decide to provide that care, unpaid. Just
as increased participation by women in the
labour market led to more and better provision
of childcare, so care services must be seen
as an enabler as our population ages. Our
vision for social care is that it delivers early,
preventative, personalised support to families
to promote the independence of older and
disabled people. Indirectly, this will support
carers too.. 
Imelda Redmond
Chief executive
Carers UK
29
CHAT
…
h
t
i
w
l
a
n
o
s
r
e
p
d
n
a
Up close
Baroness
s
s
o
r
g
n
e
e
r
G
y
l
Sal
Baroness Sally Greengross
has been an independent crossbench member of the House of
Lords since 2000 and chairs three
all-party Parliamentary groups:
Corporate Social Responsibility,
Intergenerational Futures:
Old and Young Together, and
Continence Care.
She is the vice chair of the all-party Parliamentary
group on Dementia and Ageing and Older People.
In December 2006, she was announced as a
commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights
Commission and was also director general of Age
Concern England from 1987 until 2000.
Q How do you see dementia care fitting into the
Government's personalisation agenda?
Dementia is high on the government agenda at the
moment and will be for quite some time. Because
of the demographics, and because people are living
longer due to medical and social care advances,
there is an increase in dementia. We need to
acknowledge that it is different from many other
conditions, because with the right care people can
live with dementia and do a lot for themselves and
participate in society. The whole personalisation
agenda must include people with dementia as
they are such a large part of the population that
care workers serve. We have to maximise what
people with dementia can do in their lives and in
participating in society, so it's important that as
much control as possible remains with that person.
Dementia doesn't just affect the person with
dementia, but also the family carer – they are the
partner in care. The family carer must be as much
a part of the personalisation agenda as the person
with dementia.
Q How did you feel about the task of chairing
the all-party Parliamentary group on Dementia
enquiry?
It was an enormous privilege to be asked to do this.
It's a huge challenge but an extremely important
30
one to get members of Parliament in both houses
to become much more aware of what we are facing
in terms of dementia, with research, both for a cure
and maximising good care, and looking at the policy
and practice and implications of having a national
dementia strategy. It’s only if politicians are aware of
the challenge, are aware of the priorities, and above
all, are aware of what they need to do to leverage
support to prioritise the actions that need to be
taken for training that we can get the work that
goes on in dementia right.
Q How are you encouraging Parliamentarians to
share their views?
The all-party group brings in the members of
Parliament from both houses and they learn what's
going on in other parts of the country and what
might happen in their constituency. They learn
about what they need to do to get best practice on
a local level and also to develop the relationships
with key people in their constituency to improve
practice where it's not very good. It’s knowledge
spread, which is what we are about; getting the
right information across the country to members
of Parliament and their researchers and the people
that work with them. There is so little knowledge
about dementia and so much that isn't known. MPs
are critical because they have huge potential to
change and improve things but they don't always
know about things or recognise things. We have to
get past the lack of interest in old people, which is
a form of prejudice, not recognising what a critical
issue the whole ageing thing is and particularly
when looking at the area of dementia. If you don't
know, you can't change things. We spread the
information so they are better informed to do things
in their constituency, and indeed across the country,
to effect legislation and debate.
Q How will the enquiry give recommendations
about developing skills in the workplace for social
care?
There are so many people doing a very good job
in social care but not being very well qualified. So
we need to get people better qualified and better
recognised, which will mean their status will go up
and they will be better rewarded. To get this through
the all-party group we produce reports, we have
meetings and receptions and get people involved.
Most people in this country have either direct or
indirect knowledge about somebody with dementia.
We need to make people aware that they can get
involved and can make things happen nationally
and locally.
Q What do you think will be the main barriers to
implementing change?
Getting adequate funds for training. Everyone is
being squeezed very hard at the moment. There
are enormous barriers that we have to overcome.
Some of this we can do through organisations like
the Alzheimer's Society, the Alzheimer's Research
Trust and all the others that aim to raise the
profile of health and social care. We need to spread
knowledge and get a huge army of campaigners
to make sure everyone knows that this is a critical
issue. Social care is very important as it enables you
to maximise the potential of people at whatever
stage of dementia they are. We need more money
available to us, whether it be for drugs or good care.
A lot of it isn't about drugs, it's about understanding
how to enable people by using technology and
training – money has to be spent on these areas.
The other thing is keeping people at home as long
as possible doesn't cost more, it costs less because
they have less time in highly expensive hospitals
and care homes.
Q It’s a fine balance of saving money for
dementia care but still delivering better
outcomes. How will the enquiry address this?
Local authorities and the independent sector are
having a problem to get enough money to do
anything at the moment. There are issues about
understanding that if you can keep people as well
as possible for as long as possible, and encourage
them to remain as independent as possible, they
will not die of dementia, so it's in everybody's
interest to do this. We have to train staff and
care workers at all levels about what can be done
to maintain wellbeing and independence. Staff
have to be trained to deal with very challenging
behaviour. Without training we run the risk of
calming people down by inappropriate methods
like anti-psychotic drugs. It's vital that we get
highly trained staff trained and recognised in the
area of dementia.
“I want to be part of
something that will
be an instrumental
change for the better.”
Q Do you think the changes to the healthcare
sector and the new GP consortia* will have any
impact on dementia care?
It could work well. GPs are the people that everyone
is in touch with, and more commissioning done
at a local level would be good for people with
dementia. There is a shift of understanding that
health and social care, when properly integrated,
is beneficial. You cannot distinguish whether you
need health or social care, and it’s very important
that this change goes through. My worries are that
GPs are not themselves knowledgeable enough, so
we need to overcome that. GPs need to be much
better informed. In the area of dementia, the
consortia themselves have to be skilled in bringing
in specialists so that people are properly diagnosed
early. Early intervention means there is a whole lot
that can be done, whereas if the diagnosis is later
you lose a whole lot of opportunities for good care
and good treatment. Integrated care, early diagnosis,
involving the individual and the family in the care
plan and the use of technology are all essential.
Q What are your professional aspirations for
the future?
My whole professional life has been trying to
effect change for vulnerable people, so I just go
on wanting to see the time when we can guarantee
good care for vulnerable, older people. I just want
to be part of something that will be an instrumental
change for the better for those who really do need
that leg-up in our communities in order to lead a
fulfilling life. 
“Get a huge army
of campaigners to
make sure everyone
knows that this is a
critical issue.”
31
CHAT 360
Informal carers...
A lack of support for carers is costing this country
billions of pounds every year, according to a new
report from The Princess Royal Trust for Carers
and Crossroads Care. On the flipside, the value
of carers is estimated to be comparable to
£119bn. We ask a group of stakeholders, what
more can be done to support informal carers?
...what's
important
to you?
Imelda Redmond
Stephen Lowe
chief executive, Carers UK
policy adviser on social care, Age UK
We need to think completely differently about how care
is provided and about supporting families
who decide to provide care unpaid. We
need a new social contract between
individuals, families, care providers,
employers and government.
Political parties must work
together on reform of social
care, placing a stronger
emphasis on individually
tailored support, imaginative
use of technology – and,
crucially, making it possible
for carers to provide support
without suffering any penalty.
The majority of care that older people receive is
provided by family carers, and quite a lot of
those carers are themselves older people.
In many cases they face the immense
stress of caring for someone with
dementia. Respite care, advice and
information, and mutual support for
these carers are essential and should
not be seen as optional extras. The
aim of this support should be to
give carers a decent quality of
life, and not just to ensure
that they keep going.
Geoffrey Almond
carer for his wife Jean
I care for my wife Jean,
who has secondary
progressive multiple
sclerosis, out of a sense
of love and compassion.
Caring is reward
itself. Although, at present,
I am assisted with Jean's
care by paid care support
workers, the future looks
very uncertain. Despite Jean's
deteriorating condition, the amount
of Independent Living Fund we receive has
already been reduced. Clearly this is a worrying
trend for the future. Genuine recognition by
the Government and more support
would enable us to carry on with
Jean Almond
our happy lives together
cared for by her husband Geoffrey
in our home.
My life could not continue in the way it has done without my husband/carer
Geoff's support. Although we also use paid care support workers, there are many
gaps that my husband fills. My husband provides stability, comfort and love. He is my
soulmate and I take great strength from that. I would not like to face the future without him.
I cannot even think about residential care.
32
Beryl Cross
head of
operations,
The Princess
Royal Trust
It is vital that we
continue to support
carers in practical ways
through the development of
local carers’ centres and other
support networks. The Princess
Royal Trust is continuing to act
independently in the interests
of carers through research,
development and consultation
and influencing national,
regional and local policy.
Forging partnerships with
other national organisations
and disseminating information
through interactive websites
and providing advice and access
to support groups is key.
Ask Jennifer…
CHAT Ask Jennifer
Dear Jennifer,
Can you or any of your readers help
me to escape from a vicious circle
I find myself in? I work nightshifts, as a carer,
five nights a week. My problem is sleeping
during the day.
I find if there are other people in the house I can’t get to sleep. Noise from
the neighbours, even the postman delivering our letters, keeps me awake. I
end up getting up, doing housework, watching television or even going out
and doing some shopping.
But the end result is that I don’t get enough sleep to be able to stay awake
and do my shift overnight. My work is undoubtedly suffering because I can’t
give it my full concentration. Nobody has said anything yet, but it is only a
matter of time. I am also worried that I will forget something important or
have an accident because I am so tired.
Needless to say, this is also having a bad impact on my home life. By the time
the weekend arrives I am exhausted and seem to spend my free time either
asleep or slouched on the settee with no energy for my kids or husband.
Does anyone else have this same problem? If so, how do they manage? I
just don’t seem to be able to get any sort of work-life balance going at the
moment. 
Dear Erika,
Not getting quality sleep is very distressing.
A note on the front door saying ‘night worker
sleeping – quiet please’ might help. I rely on earplugs,
which can be bought very cheaply from any chemist.
You will need to try and establish a sleep routine again instead of an
awake routine. Techniques include: avoiding heavy meals, alcohol or too
much caffeine from tea or coffee before bedtime; having a routine as
you may have done when your children were small to signal ‘sleep time’
(you might even want to try a bedtime story for yourself); doing some
relaxation techniques (the simplest being to tense muscles one at a time
from your toes up, then relax them).
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has an excellent website with some
useful information on sleep at www.rcpcych.ac.uk.
Do let us know how you get on. 
Erika, Hemel Hempstead.
Have you a problem we can help you with? If so, send your letters to us at info@caretalk.co.uk
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Sexmentia
De
CHAT In My Opinion
O P I
N
I ON
This month In my opinion turns the spotlight
on the tricky subject of sex and dementia and
examines two sides of a common dilemma.
Consider this scenario.
Widower Jack goes into a care home when his advancing dementia means his family can no longer
provide him with the care he needs. He settles in quickly and happily and makes new friends. One
particular friendship is with Jean. The two of them spend a lot of time in each other’s company and
it becomes clear that they would like to progress the relationship to a sexual, intimate level.
The care home owner doesn’t know what to do. Fearing the disapproval of Jack and Jean’s families,
he orders his staff to do all they can to prevent the relationship from progressing and forbids them
to tell any of Jack or Jean’s relatives. Is he right?
YES
Jack and Jean clearly have
dementia and won’t really
know what they are doing and
so they should be stopped. A
care home is an inappropriate
place to strike up a sexual
relationship as the manager and staff have enough
to contend with without this activity. Jack and Jean’s
relatives trusted the care home to look after their
parents, not allow them to get into a situation like
this. Both had been married and should respect
the memories of their late husband and wife.
NO
Despite the emphasis on
person-centred care, there is a
danger that we are ignoring one
of the most personal aspects
of human life – our need for
affection and intimacy. While
dementia may impact on a person’s life in many ways,
including their sexual relationships, it would be wrong
to assume that their need and desire for intimacy is
destroyed. Sexual expression and intimacy enhance
the general health and wellbeing of older people. The
care home should make Jack and Jean’s respective
families aware. If the home and/or the families have
any doubts they should have Jack and Jean assessed
under the Mental Capacity Act and if it is clear that both
have the mental capacity to make such a decision for
themselves, the relationship should be encouraged.
Employers, staff and experts…what do you think?
Email us at editorial@caretalk.co.uk. Care Talk looks forward to receiving your views,
which will be considered for next month’s edition.
34
CHAT Voice Over
TOP TIPS FOR PROMOTING
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION
How do you promote the
relationship with relatives
and the wider community?
Traditionally, care homes have
been perceived as lonely places,
places that are institutionalised
and cut off from the community.
Of course, the reality is very
different, with the focus very
much being on promoting
partnerships and integration
with family, professionals and
the local community. We asked
five care home managers: How
do you promote the relationship
with relatives and the wider
community?  Debra Mehta
1
Have an open door policy; encourage
participation and communication
2
Organise charity and other events; involve
the local community
3
Give talks to different community groups;
inform and promote understanding
4
Organise ‘family and friends evenings’;
encourage people to come to you
Karen Brett – 3AB Care Ltd
Nike Ajewole – Tanglewoods
I think it’s about the home being a friendly home and
we involve relatives wherever we can in all activities
we do at the home – in outings and for shared meals,
for example. We also encourage a lot of the people
from the village to join in with whatever activities
we have on. We always promote the message that
Brook House has an open door policy.
We have a residents’ support group and we meet
every six weeks, when we also help with any issues
relatives might have, too. I also go out into the
community to give talks – most recently the Rotary
Club – about dementia and what we do. We rely on
feedback from the community for what we do.
Sue Grummett – Majesticare
Shaji Rajamony – Redcliffe House
Sean McCloskey – Regal Care
We get involved with everything! We’re the only
home in a bunch of villages and everybody knows
everybody. The GP surgeries are very closely linked
to us. Every three months we have a ‘family and
friends evening’ and we have a lot to do with The
Bramley newspaper, which is local. We put flyers
out for our events and basically, if you live in our
community and might one day need care, then we
want to get to know you.
Working with people with autism, we want to
promote independent living for them so we
organise activities to include relatives – it’s very
practical. Two or three times a year we organise
charity events, for example, Red Nose Day and
car wash days, and we do charity walks inviting
relatives and people from the community. To be
surrounded by the community is very important.
Home Ltd
By incorporating everyone I meet! Local churches,
local schools and the staff are vital because they
live in the community. We’re currently working
closely with people from St Barnabas Church, who
come in regularly. And we have monthly meetings
that all family members are invited to attend.
Incorporating relatives and the wider community is
vital to the job we do, to get the understanding and
the feeling that they’re still part of the community.
To get your free copy of Care Talk, register online at www.caretalk.co.uk
35
CHAT Pillow Talk
She’s big, bold and
beautiful! Alison
Hammond is larger
than life and has taken
This Morning by storm.
The ever-popular roving reporter has notched up nine years on our
screens as the people's favourite with the personality you never forget.
Her unforgettable charm and sense of fun rate her number one with the
celebrities too. She's tap-danced with Renee Zellwegger, rapped with Will
Smith, jammed with Russell Crowe and had Pierce Brosnan begging for more,
to name just a few.
Known for her quick wit, outrageous presenting style and big heart, nobody gets
a better interview than Alison. Her latest adventure away from This Morning filming
saw her enter the I’m A Celebrity jungle where she faced many fears, including eating
and drinking all types of bugs. Alison is the presenter at the Great West Midlands Care Awards on 15 October.
“I really appreciate
the time and energy
the social workers
put into their job;
they are amazing!”
Q What have your experiences with social care,
if any, been like?
Q What do you consider to be your greatest
achievement?
I used to work as a social worker; I had a temporary
job as a typist but unfortunately I was a bit too
slow! But they loved me anyway and kept me on.
It was very difficult because some of the case studies
I looked at were fairly harrowing and it was difficult
to do the job without getting emotional. I really
appreciate the time and energy the social workers
put into their job; they are amazing!
To date, my greatest achievement is having Aiden
and a successful career on This Morning.
Q What is your perception of social care today?
I think that social care workers do a lot more than we
would ever know or realise. It’s not a typical 9-5 job.
I have the biggest admiration for them.
Q How does life before Big Brother compare to
your life now?
It’s a lot more business now, juggling motherhood
and work. When I went into BB I was a kid – I didn’t
even wear make-up!
Q What was the most challenging, Big Brother or
I’m a Celebrity, and why?
I’m a Celeb because you’re outside – BB was luxury
in comparison!
36
Q What were the highs and lows of being in
the jungle?
Lows, being away from family. Highs, having a laugh
with everyone in camp.
Q Who has been the most nerve-racking person
to interview on This Morning?
So far, the most nerve-racking person has been
Simon Cowell.
Q And the nicest?
Will Smith.
Q If you were stranded on a desert island, what
would be your one luxury item?
Laptop with wireless.
Q If you had a magic wand, what is the one thing
you would change about social care today?
There would be more staff, more money and fewer
hours for the hard workers, and they would be
appreciated so much more. 
2
CHAT It Takes 2
It Takes
Home care worker Marion Harmer, from
Allcare in Shrewsbury, and service user
Shelia Roberts talk about their mutual
respect and friendship for one another.
Shelia
Marion and I have known each other for just over three years now, after the
district nurses first recommended Allcare to me. I had undergone major spinal
surgery and the future was looking pretty bleak; the doctors didn’t think I’d pull
through, let alone walk again. After the operation I spent a lot of time in hospital,
but once I was finally allowed home it was then that Marion began visiting and
our friendship was instant.
Marion comes to visit me twice a
week, one hour on a Monday and
one hour on a Thursday. She helps
me do jobs around the house that
my back prevents me from doing;
from making and changing my
bed to cleaning the windows. She
helps me get in and out the bath
and I’ll always ask her to dust the
top of the shelves, which I can
never reach. She jests that I ought
to buy a stepladder to join her and
dust the curtain poles!
"I look forward to
Marion’s visits as we
always get through
several pots of tea and
perhaps rather a few
too many teacakes!"
I try to do as much as I can by myself and like to get out of the house to socialise
with friends in the village; we all go for lunch on the first Monday of every month.
I think that, particularly at my age, it is very easy to cut oneself off from the rest
of the world. Solitude is perhaps one of the greatest threats to elderly people.
Going out for lunch and visiting neighbours helps to keep me active and retains
an element of independence.
I look forward to Marion’s visits as we always get through several pots of tea and
perhaps rather a few too many teacakes! We are never short of things to talk
about, and we just seem to have so much in common, whether that be our love of
Irish folk music or family weddings. We truly are like old friends; we gossip about
anything and everything. Her warm and caring nature makes the neighbours
extremely fond of her. They too find it difficult to see Marion as just my carer, but
rather a dear friend.
Marion
Shelia can be described as nothing more than an inspiration to us all. The
retention of her independence stands testament to her strong and individual
character. From sending party invitations to going for lunch with friends, Shelia
has defied the odds with her recovery from surgery and is in no hurry to slow
down.
She is very much in control of her own care plan in that she decides what she
wants to eat and when, or what she wants to wear in the mornings. It is such
decisions that give individuals a sense of independence and of being in control.
I help Shelia with the cooking, cleaning and her personal hygiene twice a week.
Anything from dusting to hovering – I’ll often do the more manual jobs. In a sense
I am like a second pair of hands for Shelia, just helping out when she needs it.
ia Roberts
rmer and Shel
▲ Marion Ha
Shelia can perhaps be described as a ‘gadget girl’; she seems to have all the
latest gadgets. I think her new vegetable steamer is her favourite (and perhaps
mine too).
Shelia and I have a unique relationship in that we get on so well as friends. It is as
if we’ve known each other for years. She knows when I’m coming round and will
always have the kettle on! We seem to have so much to talk about; Shelia will tell
me about where she’s been during the week and who she’s seen – such a sociable
person, it is hard to keep up with her. Earlier this year my son got married, as
did one of Shelia’s nephews, and we spent much of our time together wedding
planning and sharing photographs. We both also share fond memories of trips to
Ireland and our love of Irish folk music, so much so that we go to a country and
western club together.
Shelia truly is a remarkable individual, especially bearing in mind how much
surgery she has been through over the past few years. Her recovery has been
remarkable and her character remains fully intact. There is no way to describe
Shelia other than to say that she has an absolute
thirst for life and her independence is
certainly something to be
admired. We get on
so well together. It
is hard to explain,
but you often meet
people in life who you
immediately click with,
and for me, Shelia is one
of those people. 
Katrina Rose
37
CHAT Mrs MacBlog Let's Hear It
Mrs
MAC
LOG
My flat is on the ground floor.
I don’t always feel very safe.
I know there’s a security door, and a fence, and you
can’t actually open the windows fully, but I don’t like
sleeping when there’s just grass and a path outside.
I wish I was upstairs.
Sometimes I get a bit frightened in the night. The
carers say I should pull the alarm cord if I think I can
hear intruders but I don’t like to. They say there are
staff here all night but I’m not sure that’s true and,
if it is, they won’t want to be bothered by people like
me worrying them unnecessarily.
My George and I hardly ever had a night apart. We
were married in 1946 but since he died I’ve slept
alone. Actually, when I moved here I got rid of his
bed and his wardrobe. No need of them any more,
no George any more.
We used to have this bedtime routine. I’d make us
some warm drinks and he’d go round locking up and
switching all the electrics off. We used to switch
everything off at the socket and pull out the plugs.
We’d been told it was safer that way, and then we
read that if you leave things plugged in on standby,
it still uses electricity and it could start a fire. But
now, someone has put stickers on the sockets
saying, PLEASE DON’T REMOVE THIS PLUG. I think it’s
because everything has got a timer in it, and clocks
and things. But it doesn’t feel right to me.
Anyway, our routine was hot milky drinks and
everything unplugged. Occasionally I have to get up
to see if I’ve unplugged things I shouldn’t. That can’t
be helping me sleep either! I get a bit mixed up over
time too. Sometimes I get up feeling as if I’ve had a
good night’s sleep and I’m ready to start the day, and
then I look out and it’s pitch black outside. Middle of
the night.
And then again, sometimes I have such long naps in
the daytime, I miss half the day. I do a lot of napping.
No wonder I sometimes can’t sleep so well at night.
I think I’m turning night into day.
Mrs MacBlog
Verona MacIntosh is 88 years
old and has lived in extra care
accommodation for nearly three
years, after she had a stroke, and
gets three calls a day. She’s been
widowed for nine years.
Mrs M acBlog
“
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38
”
Let's
hear it!
This month Let’s Hear It addresses a dilemma faced by more
and more carers as the impact of personal budgets is felt.
Consider this scenario:
‘I have worked as a carer for a homecare agency now for seven years and am fond of my
employers and the clients I see every day. But one of my clients has now come to me and
asked me to care for them privately. They have their own care budget and want me to visit
them daily and do a lot more for them than I am currently able to do in my allotted time with
the agency. This private client arrangement would suit me much better, especially as another
client I visit is considering the same thing.
If I took on private clients I could earn as
“Personal budgets are the future
much, if not more, than I get through
and more and more clients are
minimum wage with the agency and
have much better working hours.’
going to be seeking carers to work
in this way..”
What should she do?
Go for it
Personal budgets are the future and
more and more clients are going to
be seeking carers to work in this way.
You should seize the opportunity to
get the experience of working with
private clients and set yourself up
for running a business in the
future. The extra money and
flexible working hours will help
you create a much better work-life
balance and enable you to give
better, longer and more specific
care to your private clients.
Stay where you are
While an escape from minimum
wage and the lengthy hours of the
agency might look tempting, the
grass isn’t always greener. Personal
budgets are very much a new animal
and no one is quite sure how they
are going to work long term. The
safety and job security you have at
the moment is probably worth more
than the immediate attractions of
a small number of private clients.
What happens if these clients
change their minds or pass away?
If you cannot find others to fill
their place, you could find yourself
without an income at all. 
Let us know what you think, please email us
at info@caretalk.co.uk and we will share your
thoughts in next month's Care Talk.
CHAT Planet Janet Tabby Talk
Tabby
TALK
s
y
a
hd
iB rt
years old and am an aspiring
My name is Tabitha. I am 13 years old I wanted to be one
journalist. Ever since I was 8 first job as a writer!
and look at me now doing my
Yey! I’m finally 13! It feels so weird being a whole
year older and a completely different age. I can
now officially say I’m a teenager, which feels kind
of amazing but also kind of bizarre.
Whenever I have a birthday, I always feel so-o-o
excited and just can’t wait for the big day. Each
morning I look at the calendar and count down the
days, hoping that it will come faster. My mum is
totally different. When she has a birthday she just
groans and goes on about getting older. I don’t
get it – why not celebrate getting older instead of
being embarrassed?
Maybe when you get to my mum’s age it’s like
you’ve had so many birthdays they are just not
special any more. Perhaps it’s something to dread
instead of something to look forward to – and yet
my mum was really excited about my birthday,
loads more than her own, which is only a few days
after mine.
So if that’s what happens when you’re my mum’s
age, what happens when you are really, really old?
Is it just another day in the year which will pass
by unnoticed? And what happens if you suffer
from dementia? So often, people with dementia
don’t know what day it is never mind when it’s
their birthday. But it’s still an important occasion
for the people who love and care for you – they
enjoy celebrating your birthday with you, and even
if you’re only aware of it just for a moment, it’s
definitely worth commemorating.
So having my birthday and becoming a ripe old
teenager has made me think; birthdays should be
special whatever your age. The problem now is that
I have to wait a whole year until the next one! 
Tabby X
Tabby – Aged 13
Sometimes I feel like Alice. I've drunk out of the bottle and fallen
down the rabbit hole. And it's all got curiouser and curiouser!
Government cuts - how
are they affecting us all?
In our immediate jobs, if we’re among the lucky
ones, we might not be feeling them directly, but all
around us there are changes and probably, by now,
everyone knows someone who has been affected or
is about to be.
It feels like the Sword of Damocles hanging over
our heads, making it difficult to plan ahead, not
knowing what the future holds.
This is a time when there may be more people on
the labour market and some of them might be
interested in joining the care sector. It’s important
that people with the right aptitude for caring (and
the right attitude in terms of dignity and respect)
are given the opportunity to join the sector. They will
need thorough training of course, and they need to
have some job security.
Local authorities (many of whom are paying for
the care you provide) are having to make dramatic
spending cuts. Some of that job security might
not be there any more, either for newcomers
to the sector or for the more established care
workforce. When contracts come up for renewal,
care providers are going to have to be competitive
in order to secure work for the future. Within the
overall contract, local authorities are also requiring
individuals’ care plans to be reviewed, shaving
hours off here, minutes off there. I’ve heard of some
going back to the ‘bad old days’ of 10-minute and
15-minute calls in order to reduce spending.
Older people living at home are getting a raw deal.
Your hard work is needed even more than ever,
to keep people feeling confident, safe and cared
for. Those who need nursing care, maybe with
frequent hospital visits, might just find themselves
on the shabby end of clinical services that are
themselves under threat of change, restructuring,
and reduction. NHS colleagues may be feeling
demoralised – which is bound to have a knock-on
effect on the quality of care given, which in turn
impacts on all of us trying to maintain people at
home, or rehabilitate them after a hospital stay.
It means that the needs of the people you care for
may become more extreme, and that funding will
only be available for those with the most acute
critical and substantial needs. At a time when care
staff are being pushed to the limit on tasks-andtime, people will be even more dependent on the
care you offer.
Your role has never been more necessary; you have
never been more needed. 
39
CELEBRATE
roud
"We are very p
ed
to be associat
with such a
ent."
prestigious ev
s
▲ Ravi Bain
▲ Roger Bo
oker
Sevacare sponsors Great British Care Awards
Sevacare is delighted to announce the recent sponsorship of
the Great British Care Awards. Sevacare has sponsored six key
operational regions in England, including the North West, East
Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire, North East and London.
Sevacare’s sponsorship of the awards
demonstrates the company’s commitment to
pay tribute to those who have demonstrated
excellence across the care sector. Working in
the care industry can be extremely challenging
and demanding; the Great British Care Awards
provide an excellent platform to showcase some
of the dedicated, hardworking and inspirational
people in the community, who are committed to
making a difference to vulnerable people.
Care workers provide more than just personal
and practical care. They provide companionship,
support and advocacy, and many are often
referred to as friends.
Care workers in the community prevent isolation
and loneliness, which unfortunately is becoming
a more common occurrence, especially for older
people. Sevacare often refers to care workers as
‘unsung heroes’ because of the devotion, loyalty
and compassion they give when making such a
valued difference to people’s lives.
Speaking about the sponsorship, Sevacare
chief executive Roger Booker commented: “The
domiciliary care market is a diverse industry,
with a large number of small employers, which
suggests the majority of people working in care
are employed by small businesses. The majority
of small businesses are not in a position to
sponsor the awards or to enable their staff
to participate because of the incidental cost
involved. As a large provider, we see it as our
moral responsibility to promote the work that
these people do, so by sponsoring the Great
British Care Awards, we can enable the work
done by these people to be recognised.”
Sevacare’s chairman, Ravi Bains, added:
“We are very proud to be associated with such
a prestigious event. Our significant investment
in sponsoring the awards highlights even further
the phenomenal work that our care workers
do. The recognition of being nominated for
one of the awards is an achievement in itself
and showcases how much we value our care
teams. The Great British Care Awards offer a very
positive event for the industry to be involved with
and, as a large corporate, we are obliged
to celebrate the success of all people in the
care community.” 
Monica Prosser, a manager at Acorn Court in Redhill, Surrey, part of the
Carebase group, is the proud winner of the Putting People First category
at the finals of the Great British National Care Home Awards.
I have been in the care arena for just over 20 years and
have worked in a wide variety of settings. Currently I’m the
manager of an 87-bed home that specialises in dementia
care and end of life care with a small acquired brain injury
unit for younger people. I have been at Acorn Court for
nearly two years now and the home continues to go from
strength to strength. We have a very dedicated staff team
and a waiting list for all floors.
When I heard Christopher Biggins announce that I was the
winner, it was a real surprise. I had not expected to hear
my name called out at the nationals, so I was shocked but
thrilled. Putting people first is what care is all about here
40
at Acorn Court. Winning the award is a huge
honour for the team at the home, and the staff and the
relatives were delighted that we had achieved such an
accolade.
After winning the award life has remained very busy. I do
have many additional calls week to week from headhunters
and I have had several really great offers, but I already work
for a great company and I have made a commitment to
the families of our 87 residents that I will ensure they will
remain the most important part of my business – I always
put them first. 
Monica Prosser
▲ Monica
is pictured with
Christopher
Biggins and sp
onsor Mark Gr
eaves
from Ideal Ca
re Homes
"These awards inspire
everyone involved in
the care arena to strive
to achieve the highest
levels of quality in care."
member in
e
r
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t
t
h
ig
n
a
for
winners of
Join us
e
celebrating th
rds
a
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A
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Great Br
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Principal sponsor
s now bein
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in
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l
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a
t
-
The search to find the winners of this
year’s regional Great British Care Awards
is almost complete. Entries are being
invited from categories representing
all areas of the social care sector from
throughout England. The awards,
sponsored by h.e.t software and
supported by the Department of Health,
take place in October and November
this year and are a celebration of
excellence across the care sector.
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Vanessa Feltz,
East Midlands
Sally Lindsay,
North West
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The purpose of the awards is to promote
best practice within both the home care and
care home sectors, and pay tribute to those
individuals who have demonstrated outstanding
excellence within their field of work.
Finalists have been invited to attend judging days
throughout the regions and represented areas
of social care. From local private care providers,
residential and nursing homes to local authority
adult social care departments, one thing they
all have in common is that they epitomise the
unsung heroes of our industry. Without such
people quality care for the vulnerable and elderly
members of our community would fail.
Lisa Carr, a director of the Great British Care
Awards says: “We were truly heartened to
receive such an overwhelming response to
the Great British Care Awards and the quality
of nominations has been extremely high.
The awards offer a unique opportunity to
celebrate the successes of individuals, teams
and businesses throughout the UK – people
who really do make a positive impact on other
people’s lives. The awards will really help to raise
the profile of social care in our regions and we
are looking forward to what promises to be a
series of superb awards evenings.”
All the finalists have been invited to attend a
spectacular gala dinner at one of nine regional
events throughout the UK, where the winners
will be announced. The gala awards evenings
will consist of a champagne reception and a
superb gourmet dinner followed by the awards
presentation with celebrity presenter and
dancing into the night.
The winners from all the regional awards will
then be invited to attend the national events for
either the home care or care homes sector at a
prestigious London venue in May and June 2012.
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Debra Stephenson
,
London
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Andrew Castle,
East of England
th
11 ov
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th
19 ov
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Jenny Eclair,
Yorkshire & Hum
be
rside
To book your table call 0115 959 6130
or email info@care-awards.co.uk
Places are limited so please book early to
avoid disappointment. 
Keith Chegwin,
South West
th
25 ov
N
Hardeep Singh Ko
hli,
North East
The awards support the Care Professionals
Benevolent Fund (CPBF), the registered charity
for the care sector, which supports current,
former and retired care professionals by
providing assistance to relieve financial
hardship or sickness.
Alison Hammond,
West Midlands
Jeff Brazier,
South East
Let’s celebrate social care
and help it get the
recognition it deserves
For more information on the Great British
Care Awards, please visit our website at
www.care-awards.co.uk
SHOWCASE
Care Talk on the road
Coming up!
Care Show London
Olympia
11 – 12 October
NCAS & ADASS conference
ICC London ExCel
19 – 21 October
Great British Care Awards
Nine regions throughout England
7 October - 25 November
See www.care-awards.co.uk
for venues and dates!
English Community
Care Awards Conference
Holiday Inn London, WC1
16 November
Care Roadshow Brighton
Hilton Metropole
23 November
care roadshows
BRIGHTON
23rd NOVEMBER 2011
care roadshows
GLASGOW
10th MAY 2011
bringing the suppliers to you
eractive
d and i nt
fast pacePA team
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respecte
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· Take P op by the highly
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worksh
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· G
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seminars
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· Netwo
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· Discov
HLIGHTS:
SHOW HIG
Hilton Brighton Metropole
10am – 4pm
For more information or to register for your FREE ticket
visit www.careroadshows.co.uk or call 01425 838393
42
RECRUITMENT
T
N
E
M
T
I
U
R
C
E
R
K
L
A
T
S
’
T
E
L
with Cityworx
in association
Moving up
You are now in your ‘ideal’ job, the one you were
searching for, so what next? You can either
stay in your comfort zone or you can raise your
head above the parapet and look for the next
challenge. If it’s the latter, then read on…
Not everyone wants promotion in
its true sense; many are happy with
what might be called a sideways
move. The following are examples
of both.
candidate, you know the company
and its culture so there is less
training involved, and, above all, it
shows other employees that there is
clear room for progression.
to move from a registered manager
to an operations or area manager,
one of the requirements is to have
multi-site management experience
(managing more than one branch).
However, there is a lot to be said for
‘buying in' talent. New employees
bring with them a wider view and
some good working practices
from their former employers
“Before you
and new and positive ways of
look ‘outside’,
working, plus energy to perform
the next
and do well in their new role.
A good way to gain this kind of
experience is on a voluntary basis
with your current employer. By this
I mean you could offer to take on
additional responsibility to gain the
necessary experience, and draw
on your current line manager for
guidance and support to help you
to better understand the additional
responsibilities of this new role.
A branch or registered manager is
promoted to area manager, which
brings with it more accountability
and pressure to perform.
A sideways move
could be a branch
manager moving
into either:
• a trainer’s role,
if you harbour
a passion to
train and enjoy
imparting
knowledge
• a quality
assurance role.
s Sanjay Kava,
managing director, Cityworx Ltd
logical step
would be
to establish
what options
are available
within your
current
employment.”
Both roles require you to draw on
past experiences but offer equally
different challenges.
One of the most important things
to be clear about is the direction you
want your career to head in, ‘up’ or
‘sideways’– neither is wrong, but it’s
something you must decide and be
very clear on.
Before you look ‘outside’, the next
logical step would be to establish
what options are available within
your current employment. Employers
in general like to promote from
within. There are a number of
benefits to this; they know the
What do you do if there just isn’t
anywhere to move within your
current employer?
Firstly, be clear on
what it is you really
want in the way of
career progression.
Next, make sure your
CV clearly reflects
your ability to perform
this enhanced role – the
worst mistake anyone
can make is to apply for
a job for which they have
no experience.
Be patient. This type
of career move will
not happen overnight.
Prospective employers
are reluctant to take on’
trainees’ – by this I mean
people who don’t have
direct experience of the
role. For example,
This will also benefit you in the long
term. Your new employer will want
Recruitment Specialists
to have a conversation with your
former line manager about your
skills and attributes – your former
line manager can then tell them
how you volunteered to take on
additional responsibility and how
you performed in the role.
So to summarise, if you feel you are
ready to take on the next challenge
in your career, make sure you plan
it well, be prepared to take on
additional responsibility without
necessarily being paid for it but
with a long-term view of gaining the
required skills and attributes in order
to help you secure a new role, and
be patient. 
Cityworx currently have the following
opportunities available:
Registered Manager Buckinghamshire £33k
Care Coordinators x2 Milton Keynes £17.5K
Registered Manager Bedfordshire £30K
Care Coordinator Bedfordshire £17.5K
Registered Manager West Yorkshire £25K
Care Coordinators Huddersfield £17K
Please visit our website to view the full list of
vacancies available.
T: 020 8901 7654 E: info@cityworx.co.uk
www.cityworx.co.uk
Putting You First
Reach more people and fill your job vacancy with Care Talk! To advertise email advertising@caretalk.co.uk
43
LEARN
n
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In
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There’s no doubt that the first few weeks of any adult social care
worker’s career is critical in keeping them in the industry, which is
why Skills for Care refreshed the Common Induction Standards.
The standards were revised in June 2010 after
extensive consultation across the sector to
make sure that people entering adult social
care have the maximum support and guidance
as they begin their careers.
Feedback from employers told Skills for Care
that effective implementation of the Common
Induction Standards is a significant step in the
delivery of high-quality care and support for
new starters.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has
essential standards of quality and safety that
highlight the importance and value of strong
and comprehensive induction, and the
CQC will need to be assured that staff have
undergone a thorough induction process.
If we are serious about developing people’s
skills and knowledge then it follows they
should develop a taste for learning from day
one of their careers, but it was also clear from
feedback that the induction standards needed
to count towards a qualification to avoid
duplication of learning.
Critically for employers, the refreshed
standards map to the underpinning knowledge
of the mandatory units of the Health and
Social Care Diploma at levels 2 and 3, which
came on stream this year, to make sure there is
a consistency of approach for the workforce.
There are now eight new standards, which will not take new staff
any longer to complete. These are:
In practice, when workers have successfully
completed the learning that meets the
Common Induction Standards, they will
have completed the first building blocks
of underpinning knowledge for the Health
and Social Care Diploma mandatory units at
each level. The worker will then be expected
to demonstrate competence based on this
knowledge to successfully achieve their
Diploma in Health and Social Care.
There is also a sound business case for highquality induction, as evidence shows that well
motivated workers tend to be more productive
and move around less. Skills for Care believes
that flexible qualifications have a real impact
in making sure businesses remain competitive
by providing high-quality services. We have
calculated that it costs around £3,000 to
Standard 1 - Role of the
health and social care worker
Standard 5 - Principles for
implementing duty of care
recruit and induct every new starter so
Standard 2 - Personal
development
Standard 6 - Principles of
safeguarding in health
and social care
Standard 7 - Person-centred
support
rates in any organisation.
Standard 3 - Communicate
effectively
Standard 4 - Equality
and inclusion
Standard 8 - Health and
safety in an adult social
care setting
effective induction can mean there are serious
savings to be made if we can reduce turnover
The industry has moved away from a ‘sink
or swim’ mentality to training, and the new
Common Induction Standards are a reflection
that training starts from the moment an
employee sets foot in their new workplace. 
Andy Tilden
Head of standards and qualifications
Skills for Care
44
LEARN Fitness
e
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r
e
v
It is ne
There is a common misconception among elderly people that exercise and
fitness are words consigned to the younger generation; but that shouldn't be
the case, explains fitness guru Sarah Hillier. Sarah's training tips are relevant
to both care workers and service users – so why not keep fit together?
You may not be training for a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics but, just as
Britain’s selected highly tuned athletes are daily slogging away to achieve
their aims and goals, all of us as individuals should and can do the same.
We can improve our health and fitness at any age by daily exercise.
By doing activities that are fun and enjoyable, and physically stretch us, we
can change our quality of life for the better.
It is important to start thinking about the key areas to ensure we improve and
maintain our fitness in our normal day-to-day activities.
How do I start?
First and foremost, exercise should be fun. Choose an activity that you enjoy,
an activity that will raise your heart rate and work through all parts of the
body. This could be walking in the garden, in the park or across the room, even
dancing in a chair (it can be done).
Where you choose to begin will obviously depend on what you have been
doing recently and what you have done in the past. If your activity has been
low for a while then you want to do just a few minutes a day and build this up
very gradually over a few months, getting to 30 minutes three times a week.
Secondly, set yourself targets, both short- and long-term goals. For example,
you would love to walk and get your daily paper from the newsagent down
the road (long-term goal) but you haven’t left the house for a long while. Start
by walking up and down the garden, increasing the distance, for a couple of
weeks and then break the distance from your house to the newsagent’s into
manageable chunks (short-term goals). What at first seemed a daunting task
can now become achievable.
Breathing
Focus on using your breathing more efficiently in
day-to-day movement, generally breathing out on
the effort. It is surprising how often we hold our
breath when a task is difficult.
Posture
As we get older structural changes happen to our
body, and the muscles shorten and weaken. By
doing simple daily postural exercises we can still
‘stand tall’.
Strength
Maintaining and building muscle mass and
increasing bone density so we can still lift a full
kettle, tighten a screw or get out of a chair easily.
A few final tips
Flexibility
Daily stretching of muscles to prevent muscles
shortening.
Stamina
Have more capacity to deal with life and increased
energy to cope with each day.
Exercise with a friend or
your carer. Sharing exercise
increases the enjoyment
and having someone there
to nudge you on an ‘off day’
and vice versa means you are
more likely to reach your goal.
Balance
Learn to evenly distribute weight around our
bodies, preventing falling.
There are specific exercises for each of the above points, but to generally think
of all of them on a day-to-day basis is a fantastic start.
Your goal is relative to you but whatever it is, even if you are chairbound, by
persevering you will start to feel refreshed, more alert and generally healthier.
Write every activity down so
you can see your progression.
Eat and drink healthily
and regularly to maintain
energy levels.
You CAN achieve your gold!
Sarah Hillier is a former
specialist nurse. Sarah has
15 years in the fitness
industry with 12 years in
personal training Fit 4 Life
company. Sarah specialises
in gym and home-based
training, from general to
specialist and rehabilitation.
45
Workforce viewpoint
from CfWI
Employee-led social enterprise – a look back, and a look to the future
The worker cooperative movement emerged during
the early 1800s. The best known is the Rochdale
Society of Equitable Pioneers (now the Co-operative
Group), which started out as a small shop in
Lancashire. These pioneers organised their work
around a distinct moral compass.
The ‘Rochdale rules’ emphasised open and
voluntary membership, including dividends
on purchases, members’ democratic control,
concern for communities and anti-discrimination,
and a commitment to educating workers and
communities alike. The principles governing the
early cooperative movement remain current
and characterise many of the features of social
enterprise today.
Fast forward nearly 200 years to the 1990s, and we
witness a resurgence of activity to promote social
enterprises in social care. The NHS and Community
Care Act 1990 led to the restructuring of councils
with the intention of separating commissioning
from service provision. This stimulated the social
care market and further developed not-for-profit
and social enterprise services.
And in 2011 we see renewed interest in employeeled social enterprise. The Government’s paper
A vision for adult social care: Capable communities
and active citizens wants to see greater plurality
within the social care market, including a broader
range of providers such as social enterprise and
mutual organisations.
Working in social enterprises can offer great benefits
to staff, especially at a time when opportunities
for staff to work collectively and create their own
employee-led organisations are gaining currency.
These organisations enable staff to fill niche
service areas creatively and imaginatively. We know
creativity fosters greater job satisfaction, which
could address retention problems facing some
services.
The social objectives at the heart of social
enterprises have great affinity to social care
outcomes – from enhancing quality of life and
ensuring people have a positive experience of
services through to safeguarding individuals.
There are parallels also to be drawn between the
objectives of social enterprise organisations and
user-led organisations.
Disability groups, for example, have long argued for
services to be organised around the social model
of disability. The social model looks to society to
remove barriers that are put in the way. User-led
organisations provide the opportunity for people
to exercise self-determination, and user-driven
social enterprise takes this one step further by
bringing together the lived experiences of people
using services with business-like, innovative and
cooperative care solutions.
And so from the 1800s to what the future might
look like. 2012 has been declared by the United
Nations as the Year of Co-operatives. The challenge
for social care is to ensure the sector features
strongly in these celebrations, recognising the
contribution thousands of social care workers make
to the not-for-profit movement each day. 
Rhidian Hughes
Head of social care
Centre for Workforce Intelligence (CfWI)
Movement for life
WALKER 37
Airogym™ is a portable, inflatable excerciser that provides
a resistance-based excercise to help encourage blood flow
in the lower legs.
Good blood circulation matters whether you are young or old
but particularly if you are elderly or recovering from an injury or
operation. If you are immobile for long periods of time your blood
flow decreases and your blood thickens. There is a risk of blood
clots and you may also develop swollen ankles and joints which can
be painful.
The Airogym™ is a pocket-sized inflatable exercise cushion that
is designed to help boost lower leg blood flow by providing a
resistance-based exercise to perform whilst seated. It is endorsed
by world-leading consultant vascular surgeon John Scurr and it
has previously won a Sunday Telegraph Best Product Award with a
5-star rating.
It is simple to use, gives no discomfort and can be operated at home
or wherever is convenient. The exercise is extremely gentle and
the more air you put into the Airogym™, the more strenuous the
workout becomes, so it can be tailored to individual ability
and circumstances.
For trade enquiries please contact us for more information
and pricing.
Movement for life
www.airogym.com
Telephone: 01488 73848
www.airogym.com
info@.airogym.com
Walker 37 Membury Logistics Centre,
Unit 3 Ramsbury Road, Berkshire RG17 7TJ
Ca
re
St Lon Sh
an d o
d on w
B4
7
ytmfurniture
design . manufacture . innovation
...
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You’
ed
t
i
v
In
ay
d
h
t
Bir ure
h
t
0
it
3
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YTM
t 01977 66 50 50
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Join the YTM party
as we celebrate our 30th
birthday in a 1930’s style
at The Care Show London,
including new innovations
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Developing the right solutions
so you can deliver the right care
- Extra Care design and build solutions
- Unlocking funds
- Working in partnership
For further information contact Paula Broadbent on 01709 766000 /
email paula.broadbent@bramall.com
www.bramall.com
Across England and Wales
BUSINESS BANTER
Business round-up
LNT Construction sells new care home to
independent operator
LNT Construction has successfully completed another care home in
Sutton-in-Ashfield. The home has been finished to LNT’s standard
specification and sold to Bank House Care Homes local operator
Kris Sooriah for £3.7m. This is the second turn-of-key care home
sold by LNT to independent operators this year. The company
primarily develops for its sister company Ideal Care Homes but
has also given property service Christie & Co a general mandate to
offer full turn-of-key packages to the market on an ongoing basis.
Karen Oliver takes over as NACC Chair
Current National Association of Care Catering
(NACC) deputy chair Karen Oliver will become
chairman of NACC when incumbent Derek Johnson
steps down at the end of the association’s national
event in September.
The NACC is a progressive organisation representing
professionals providing catering to the care industry,
says Derek Johnson, adding: “With Karen taking over
the chair’s role it ensures there will be continuity
in the NACC’s campaigning to raise the issue of
malnutrition through our No One Should Go
Hungry initiative.”
Central & Cecil Big Lottery success
Older people living at Central & Cecil’s Church Walk
House care home in Hendon are about to begin
a year-long gardening and reminiscence project,
thanks to a donation of £5,270 from the National
Lottery’s Awards for All programme.
Vikki Moorhouse, Central & Cecil’s arts and
education coordinator, says: “The project will start
with a harvest festival and I’m looking forward to
learning gardening skills from our more experienced
residents. We previously had a very successful
gardening project at our care home in Windsor
and we’re very grateful to the lottery for providing
funding so that a new group of people can share
skills and create their own gardens.”
The Big Lottery Fund distributes half of the National
Lottery good cause funding across the UK. The fund
aims to enable others to make real improvements to
communities and the lives of people most in need.
Southern Cross corporate update
As part of the financial restructuring of the Southern
Cross Group, its board anticipates that Jamie Buchan
will step down as director and chief executive once
the process of transitioning homes is well advanced.
48
A further deferral of rent worth £18m has been
granted by landlords to Southern Cross, and the
transition of care homes will begin at the end
of September.
The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
(ADASS) has compiled a list of individual Southern
Cross homes, outlining what has happened to each
one. For more details visit The Guardian newspaper
website at http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/
datablog/2011/aug/31/southern-cross-homes-list
Citizens advice bureaux funding 'cut by 10%
on average'
Funding for citizens advice bureaux has fallen by an
average of 10 per cent this year, according to Citizens
Advice, the service’s national organisation.
United for All Ages – welfare paper published
United for All Ages, a social enterprise developing
new approaches to key social and economic issues,
has published a paper titled Investing in the future. It
sets out how welfare and work could be reformed,
using tax funding raised from Britain’s wealthiest
people and companies. The paper proposes six ways
to tax wealth to give all children a good start in life,
reduce youth unemployment, support families with
childcare and eldercare, and enable older people to
play a full part in society. It can be downloaded from
www.unitedforallages.com
Vodafone and JustGiving extend their free text
donation service
JustTextGiving is now available to individual
fundraisers to direct donations to their chosen
charity. Mobile phone provider Vodafone and the
donation website have made their text donation
service available to individuals that want to raise
money for charity.
Morrisons in move to open GP surgeries
Supermarket Morrisons is considering installing GP
surgeries inside its stores. Sainsbury’s currently has
two and is planning a further six.
Bleak prospects for reforming Winterbourne-style
provision
The prospects for reducing the use of outmoded
learning disability hospitals such as Winterbourne
View are bleak because of a lack of incentives to
change from providers, commissioners and the
regulator. The warning comes in a report from the
National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi),
based on a Department of Health-funded project on
reforming private sector hospital provision in line
with government policy.
The report said the services were generally out of
step with personalisation policy and good practice
because they congregated people in large numbers,
offered little chance for service users to engage with
the community and were remote from their homes
and connections. However, providers were reluctant
to change and few engaged with the NDTi project.
The main reason for providers' aversion to change
was a reluctance, in economically difficult times,
to risk closing off a source of income "in favour of
a (largely untried) alternative approach that may
take a couple of years to show a comparable
financial return".
Sevacare contract wins
Sevacare has announced its latest contract award,
for two new extra care schemes in Hillingdon,
London. Following a comprehensive tendering
process, Sevacare becomes the lead provider in
delivering the 500 hours per week of core personal
care and support services to people living at
Cottesmore House and Triscott House.
Skills academy appoints dedicated policy manager
Caroline Bernard joined the National Skills Academy
for Social Care in July. Previously, Caroline was
deputy chief executive with responsibility for
policy and communications at Counsel and Care,
the national charity working with older people,
their families and carers to get the best care
and support. 
BUSINESS BANTER Financial
Is your care home
business missing out
on unclaimed capital
allowances relief?
The care sector is awash with
consultants selling the latest tax
schemes to owners. With so many
different schemes being offered,
operators can, understandably, find it
difficult to determine which schemes
are worthwhile pursuing. It may
often seem easier to dismiss them
all, assuming that any possible return
will not be worth the time, effort and
cost that making a claim entails.
However, if you have received information on
embedded capital allowances and dismissed it, you
may want to think again. This particular scheme
works extremely well for any business that trades
from a large property, and is therefore well suited to
the care sector.
Embedded capital allowances can be claimed on
assets acquired for use in a business, allowing
businesses to reduce their tax bill by deducting a
proportion of these costs from their taxable profits
year on year.
Where businesses have acquired, built, renovated or
extended commercial premises, claims can currently
be made retrospectively for items that, prior to 2009,
may have been ineligible for embedded capital
allowances. A claim may therefore be possible
even if you have already completed a project
but qualifying capital expenditure has not been
identified or quantified. It is also possible to make a
claim on a property you have acquired, providing the
previous owner has not already done so.
However, if you have not already made a claim, you
need to act quickly. The Government is currently
When talking to potential advisers,
you may wish to consider the
following points.
Make sure you understand the fee
structure. Fees should be charged on
a contingent basis, i.e. what you pay is
based on a percentage of embedded
capital allowances found.
Ask them to provide an explanation of
how the process works and when and
how tax is saved.
Find out how long they expect the project
to take.
Ask what documentation they will
produce and what will be submitted to
HM Revenue and Customs.
Request testimonials from satisfied
clients.
consulting on proposals aimed at restricting the
ability to claim previously unclaimed embedded
capital allowances relief, which could come into
effect in April 2012. These new proposals may
seek to impose a time limit on the making of
retrospective claims. This could prevent property
owners making a claim if they have not done so
within two years of the property being acquired or
building project being completed.
Many operators think that their accountant will
have picked up the relevant allowances as a matter
of course, but this is often not the case. So if you
decide to make a claim, how do you choose the best
partner to work with you from the myriad providers
out there?
In terms of the amount of tax you can expect to
save, amounts will vary considerably. A recent
project that we carried out on behalf of a client
who owns a 23-bed residential home resulted in a
tax saving of in excess of £30,000. What is more,
the project was carried out with little fuss and no
disruption to the day-to-day trading of the business.
If you think your care home business qualifies for an
embedded capital allowances claim, you must act
as soon as possible to take full advantage. Providing
you choose the right adviser, you should have
nothing to lose. 
Colin Peacock
Director and healthcare specialist
Greenhalgh Chartered Accountants
and Business Advisors
www.greenhalgh.co.uk
Email colin.peacock@greenhalgh.co.uk
49
y
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A com
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to be
Belong villages are attracting national
attention for their success in delivering
a radically different model of both
housing and care. For one, they have
been designed around the needs
of the very frail, typically 85-plus,
sector of the population and provide
everything from independent living to
complex nursing care. Operated by the
CLS Care Services Group – a not-forprofit organisation – the villages offer
a purpose-built environment, based
on leading-edge design, to meet the
needs of older people, particularly
those with dementia.
I decided to take a trip to Belong's village in Wigan
to see what all the fuss is about.
On arrival I'm met by manager Gill Menguy,
who explains the Belong concept. In a nutshell,
residents can choose to live independently in village
apartments, or enjoy a high level of support in
households. Even then, the level of support varies
according to residents’ needs, from residential
through nursing to high-dependency dementia care.
The idea behind this is that villages should offer a
home for life, with flexibility for residents to access
different services should their needs change.
We start our tour of the village in one of the small
households. The design of the buildings is led by
50
the needs of older people who live in them. Smaller
households of around a dozen residents mean
a family atmosphere is achievable, and that
residents are well understood and known to
their care workers.
On entering the household I can hear the radio
playing in the background and see people sitting
around in the living room looking relaxed and happy.
Just off the living room is a small open-plan kitchen
where one elderly lady is helping another lady to
make cakes. Looking around, I wonder for
a moment where the staff are.
"Staff don't wear uniforms," says Gill. "We
are looking to be all-inclusive and promote a
family environment."
“A ‘world café’ at recruitment
days ... like speed-dating with
service users and candidates.”
Gill explains that each household has three support
workers who will perform all tasks from practical
to personal care as well as preparing the meals.
Residents have secure access to the outdoors from
each household and can move freely in and out.
At the same time, security is maintained between
the households and village centre to ensure privacy
within people’s own ‘homes’.
"We have no dining rooms," says Gill. "Every
household has a kitchen so residents get involved
with the cooking, the cleaning and the making of
drinks. There are no set meal times – people eat
when they want to."
Support worker, Brenda Ashurst, a carer for 20 years
who has worked with Belong for the last two, is
busily preparing lunch.
"The culture here is much more informal,"
says Brenda.
"Previously the clients with dementia would have
been the 'forgotten ones'. They would have been
wondering around with no direction and not
knowing where they were going. Here, because it's
just small households, we know them much more
intimately so we can pre-empt what their needs
are. We get to know them as individuals and have
formed a strong bond; it's like a little family."
Assisting Brenda with lunch is Elsie Davies, a
dementia sufferer, who has been living at Belong
for two years.
"Elsie engages with everything with a bit of
prompting," says Brenda. "She loves to get involved
and because of her life plan we know Elsie loves
baking. She's always helping me.
"These people have cooked, cleaned and looked
after their families all their lives so it's nice that
they can still participate in everything that we do.
Because they are so involved there are none of
the usual behavioural problems associated
with dementia."
Our tour continues through the village's bistro. A
busy café with a 'Starbucks' atmosphere, it is just
preparing for the lunchtime rush.
BUSINESS BANTER Company Profile
"The idea of the bistro is that residents, staff and
members of the public can all sit together and be a
part of the same community," says Gill.
"School teachers will often pop in on their break
for lunch and we have a crèche so mums can sit
and chat. Older people from Wigan are also
regulars so it's difficult to see who is a member
of staff, a resident or a member of the public –
it's all-inclusive."
Up on the first floor we walk down ‘the street’, aptly
named due to the many different services available
here. There’s a salon, therapy room, gym, bar and
internet room as well as a multi-purpose function
room, which is used for church services for residents
on a Sunday as well as for weddings and other
events for the general public.
Away from the street and into the private village
apartments, we see the visitors’ room for relatives
who want to stay over. They really do seem to have
thought of everything here.
"Candidates will meet with service users and have
round-the-table discussions," says Tracey.
"They bring a personal object and have to talk
about it. We spend more time with people to assess
if they have the right attitude and approach, and
this seems to be working."
Leaving Belong, I think about the decisions people
face when they need home or residential care. It's
surely not just the loss of independence and good
mental or physical health that service users and
their families will grieve for, it will also be the sense
of belonging to a real community. Just because we
become old and vulnerable, we should not face
isolation from the real world, but be able to remain
part of a real community. At Belong this may just
be possible. 
Lisa Carr
“These people have cooked,
cleaned and looked after
their families all their lives,
and because they are so
involved there are none of the
usual behavioural problems
associated with dementia.”
John and Betty Joughlin live in one of the village
apartments. "We heard about Belong through a
relative," says John, "and although we've had to
move to a totally new area away from our friends,
we've settled in really well.
“We have a much better quality of life here and
already have new friends. It's a really friendly
community. Most of all we have peace of mind –
we no longer feel vulnerable."
Belong’s support services are not restricted to
those living within the village. Members of the
community can be supported in their own home
through the organisation’s registered domiciliary
service, Belong at Home. Care coordinator Michaela
Heaton, who has previously worked in traditional
care environments, is keen to stress the difference
in her new role.
"The culture and the values are different from
other homecare services. We have the same support
workers for each service user. Times are tailored to
suit them and not dictated by us. We provide onehour visits as a minimum, so we're not just popping
in and out, and there are no 15-minute calls. This
means we can provide a higher quality service
that is totally in line with the values of fully
supporting the individual.
"We hold monthly events and are always asking
customers what they want to do so we can
develop activities in the community. If a person
doesn't want to go out because of their hair, we
take them to hairdressers to get it done. We try
and overcome barriers to promote independence
and personalised care."
So with such an innovative and supportive culture
you would think it would be easy to retain staff. Not
so, says Belong's operation director Tracey Paine.
"We have lots of interest but, surprisingly, staff are
difficult to retain. We have a much higher turnover
than we first anticipated. Care workers traditionally
want to get people washed, dressed and go for their
break. Some people like to be regimented, but each
day is different at Belong."
Belong have now changed the way they recruit and
are looking for people who aren't too traditional.
The introduction of a ‘world café’ at recruitment
days (think speed-dating between service users and
candidates) allows people to move round and get a
feel for how each candidate interacts in interviews.
Some of the names of the service users have
been changed for reasons of confidentiality
51
BUSINESS BANTER Ridouts
Record-keeping
AND REPORT WRITING
It is difficult to overstate how important good
record-keeping is yet it is surprisingly rare.
Good record-keeping ensures that
relevant information is captured for use
by carers and other professionals. That
information may be needed for a variety
of reasons including, among other things:
identifying trends for use in
risk assessments

monitoring changes in medical
conditions such as diabetes
and hypertension

providing evidence that appropriate
care is being delivered.

All too often we see care records that use
shorthand terms such as ‘all care given’. A
rule of thumb that carers may find useful
is ‘if it isn’t recorded, it didn’t happen’. All
care, all responses to particular incidents,
all discussions with professionals and other
stakeholders – anything at all that is done or
said about a service user – must be recorded.
ndau
s Jonny La
“Seek and exploit
training opportunities.
Record-keeping is a
skill that is learned and
professional training
can be a great help.”
52
Poor record-keeping generates serious
risks. First, and most importantly, service
users are potentially at serious risk if
important information is not captured and
communicated effectively. That can lead
to anything from failing to identify service
users’ lifestyle preferences to mistreating
medical conditions in a life-threatening way.
There is, however, also a serious risk to
carers and other professionals from poor
record-keeping. In any investigation into the
treatment of a service user – for example, a
safeguarding investigation or a compliance
review by the Care Quality Commission –
the care plan is the first document that will
be looked at. Applying the rule of thumb
identified above, investigators will be very
slow to accept that appropriate action was
taken if it was not contemporaneously
recorded.
Those with professional registrations, such
as nurses, also risk disciplinary action if they
fail to meet professional standards about
record-keeping.
What, then, are the keys to good
record-keeping? The following are
some useful tips.
1. Assume that the person reading your notes
has no previous knowledge about you or
the service user in question. The more
detail the better.
2. If you find yourself too busy to make full
notes, then the service is understaffed.
Raise the issue with your manager and
if that doesn’t resolve matters, consider
using the whistle-blowing procedure.
Keep a record of your efforts. Ensure that
you don’t take the fall for a service being
under-resourced.
3. Seek and exploit training opportunities.
Record-keeping is a skill that is learned and
professional training can be a great help.
4. Seek support from managers and
colleagues if necessary. This is especially
important for new entrants to the care
sector, those who do not speak English as a
first language and anyone with dyslexia or
literacy difficulties.
Writing reports requires even more care as
they are bound to be scrutinised carefully.
Senior management or legal advice should be
sought in appropriate cases.
In a nutshell, when it comes to recordkeeping, be thorough and seek help if you
need it. 
Jonny Landau
partner
Next month – training and development
PROPERTY PROFILE
Whitebeck Court – Taking extra
care living to new heights
In 2009, Northwards Housing
and Manchester City Council
formed a partnership to
deliver a flagship extra care
development in Charlestown,
North Manchester, and brought
family-owned contractors
Wates Living Space on board.
Whitebeck Court, a 16-storey tower block, had
stood empty and unloved for more than three
years and was longing to be transformed.
Grant funding from the Department of Health
meant the £9.4m development could finally
become a reality this year.
The development has created 91 fantastic
extra care apartments, making use of the
stripped back external concrete shell to
provide a high-quality, well-specified and
modern residential apartment scheme.
Whitebeck Court boasts a spectacular
‘sky lounge’ on the 16th floor which has
breathtaking views, an area which residents
can use to socialise and enjoy activities with
friends and neighbours.
To bring local facilities into the area, Wates
Living Space built a ground floor extension
that incorporates the new Eric Hobin Centre.
The centre, now locally known as Eric’s, is a
fitting tribute to Eric Hobin, a much-loved
councillor in the area who sadly passed away
in 2007. Eric’s includes community facilities of
an ICT suite, a popular community café, shop,
beauty salon, treatment room and a relaxing
lounge, run by local volunteers. A private
external sensory garden, low-impact adult
exercise area and garden facilities have all
added to the overall living environment for the
Whitebeck Court residents, giving them pride
in their new homes.
Whitebeck Court has been a true example of
bringing together a ‘big society’.
Whitebeck ‘goes green’
Whitebeck always had the sustainability
agenda at its core, from its design and
construction to its end use. The building’s
energy efficiency has been dramatically
improved through a number of measures,
including the installation of photo voltaic
panels (PVs) on the south- facing elevation,
providing electricity for the communal areas
and reducing the service charge for Whitebeck
Court’s elderly residents, thereby improving
meaningful aspects of their quality of life.
in employment but to have been an integral
part of regenerating their own communities.
During the project, Wates created Whitebeck
World, a monthly community magazine
updating local residents on progress and
activities. The apprentices all enjoyed
‘spotlight’ appearances in the magazine.
Opportunities to gain new skills went
beyond the local jobs created through the
improvement works and those created in
the Eric Hobin Centre. Residents of the block
and surrounding area are encouraged to get
involved and actively volunteer to help out
in the shop and with the maintenance of
Extensive eco glazing was used to maximise
the gardens. Without these volunteers, the
natural light to the living areas, while also
shop would be unsustainable
helping to reflect and retain heat.
and there would be significant
All the lighting is energy efficient,
“Whitebeck
maintenance costs required to
with external lights controlled by
Court has been a
keep the gardens looking great.
daylight and movement sensors
true example of
With the help of Northwards
for communal corridors. All kitchen
bringing together
Housing, the green-fingered
appliances are A+ rated and
residents have managed to
a ‘big society’.”
outdoor rotary dryers have been
secure grant funding to pay for
provided to minimise the use of
the equipment necessary to
electrical dryers. The cumulative
maintain the gardens as well as new seeds
effects of these ‘green’ initiatives not only
and plants. Together, these contributions have
reduce energy consumption
really helped create a sense of community
and carbon emissions, but are significantly
along with ownership and intense pride in the
reducing residents’ fuel bills; fuel poverty is a
block and surrounding area, which feedback
significant issue facing low-income residents
has suggested makes the whole building more
across north Manchester.
personal and it quickly feels like ‘home’ for
new residents moving in.
Wates builds futures
As part of public consultation events, Wates
Living Space promoted local employment
opportunities and training through their
Building Futures programme. Altogether 15
long-term unemployed people completed
the two-week programme, gaining a Level 1
accreditation from educational charity AQA.
Six of them, all from the Charlestown area,
successfully gained employment with Wates,
completing their apprenticeships this year.
They are all very proud not only to be back
Welcome to Whitebeck
Whitebeck Court opened its doors in
celebratory fashion in March 2011, officially
launched by Manchester’s Lord Mayor,
Councillor Mark Hackett. The 68-week project
was a fantastic success and a true example of
collaborative working that has left worthwhile
legacies for the community and people in the
Charlestown area in terms of sustainability,
employment and pride. 
Carla White
53
Vida
FUN
STUFF
the Beautiful
Part Six:
ul,
In the final part of Vida the Beautif
d
Helena and fellow visitor Patrick fin
e
each other as the visits to the hom
finally come to an end.
We sit in silence, Vida’s past resting
upon her knees, until Miss Joyce
arrives to wheel her off to the
chapel. The supervisor agrees to
take the photographs and pass them
onto Vida’s solicitor; he may know of
an appropriate home for them.
Out in the garden I see Patrick reading against the
trunk of an oak in its fat round of shade. His shoes
are lying on the grass and he’s swigging from a
water bottle.
“Rose says I’m sitting on a black pancake,” he says
as I approach.
We smile for one another. He tells me how old
people eventually become poets, that they see
everything new again. He says he has a notebook
and writes it all down. He’s going to live in France
when Rose has gone.
I tell him about Vida and kick off my shoes. He lets
the book slide away to look at the photographs. His
hair falls forward and I can’t see his green eyes but
I feel warmed, rippled and complicit. He describes
her beauty and her body to me as though I’m blind
54
or have never seen them. I lean back against the
tree, close my eyes and listen to the chapel bells.
I tell him of her nightly visits, of how the handtinted carmine lips open and shut for me with a
shining promise. I tell him how her body makes
me love my body.
As the train nears home, I read the note:
In silence eloquent, pres
ent
in absence, ageless,
Young in the old, old in
the
new-born
Ever ywhere and nowher
e, is
fleet is gone,
Now as I write, is hear ttohear t, is mine.”
K. Raine
He traces a tear down my cheek with his thumb
and pulls me to him. My mouth is open from what
I think is surprise but turns out to be longing – a
greedy saturation. As we twine our hands through
hair, like vines, we take each other’s lips and
tongue in slow rounds. Vida the Beautiful drops
to the grass and the song of the chapel bells
finally ends.
Three months later a package arrives. There’s a
letter from the supervisor. In it she explains how
Vida died a few weeks after my visits ended. I
read the letter over and over. The solicitor found
a great-niece who had taken the photographs and
who knew that Vida’s husband Jack was killed two
years before she even came to live in my house.
We fall apart.
Tom peers into the box.
The service is over. Patrick doesn’t say goodbye but
places a page from his notebook in my pocket as
I wait. Vida spots me waiting on the terrace near
the doors, waving like an empress as the train of
wheelchairs processes back to the conservatory
corridor. Then she smiles her black hole smile.
“You’re not giving that thing to our baby,” he says,
cradling my small bump.
“Look what Vida left me.”
“It’s Betty!” I laugh, winding the little key. “Of
course I shall.”
“Mind you take care of Frank,” she calls out.
I cover the doll with layers of tissue paper and
seal the box – brief rest in a lifetime of forward
motion. 
Vida’s lost brilliants shining for me.
Debra Mehta
Tasty
talk
FUN STUFF
Poached Cod Fillet
Thanks to Asvinta Thakkar from
Queen Elizabeth House in Bromley,
Kent, for this quick and nutritious recipe.
Serves: 1
Method
140-170g cod fillet
Separately cook the vegetables,
either boil or steam them.
To poach the fish, you will need
a large pan in which you will
add the fish stock and chives
together and bring them to
the boil. Reduce the heat so
it is barely simmering.
1 carrot (medium size)
1 broccoli (medium size)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp butter
1 pint fish stock
Chives
If you would like to share any
quick and easy recipes please
email info@caretalk.co.uk
Now slowly lower the fish
into the poaching liquid.
Poach the fish until it is just
cooked through. After about
6 minutes, remove and serve
with drizzling melted butter
and hot vegetables.
the adventures of sid the social inclusion dog
Resident cat
Mrs Jean Brown and her cat Gus
This month's resident cat is
Augustus (Gus for short!) with
resident Mrs Jean Brown from
Richmond Village Painswick,
in Gloucestershire.
55
•
•
•
•
Increaseyouroccupancy
ProfessionalpromotionalDVDstopromoteyourcarehome.
Promotestaffretention
Raisethepositiveprofileofsocialcare
Tellothersaboutyouraward
winninghome
Awards footage, interviews with staff, residents and their family, fresh and innovative style
‘
‘
These great quality videos have allowed us
to promote our facilities and shows that Ideal
Care Homes is a great place to live. Best of
all this message is delivered from those who
receive the care – our residents.
TonyUpward,IdealCareHomes
For more information call 01159596133
or email info@caretalk.co.uk