LATEST NEWS FROM CAREWATCH

GILL REYNOLDS TAKES OVER OUR POLICIES & PROCEDURES

Gill Reynolds has recently joined the Carewatch Head Office team in Brighton as our new Policies and Procedures Manager. Gill has extensive experience of working in the field of social care over the last 20 years, which makes her an ideal addition to our central staff team. Her work has included developing and delivering innovative services including service user involvement.

 

Initial priorities for Gill are to review all our current policies and procedures to monitor compliance with recent legislation and enhance their suitability for the care services we offer. This will in turn feed through to both our training team and our audit team who constantly monitor the quality performance of our internal and external franchise staff.

 

Gill also has managerial responsibility for Central Services Administration staff.

 

In addition Gill will be liaising with all relevant professionals in order to keep our processes absolutely on track and as a result we will be able to offer more detailed, sound advice in the future.

 

Gill is looking forward to meeting her industry peers and meeting the challenges involved in the legislative environment in which we in Carewatch operate.

NATIONAL TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT MANAGER APPOINTMENT

Jackie Brown Joins Carewatch

 

In keeping with the Carewatch drive for quality, Jackie Brown has joined our team as National Training & Development Manager to plan, develop and monitor the training of our care teams across our 130 locations. 

 

Jackie comes to us with 22 years experience working for the NHS in all aspects of mental health care and bringing with her valuable health and social care training experience for our business.

 

In the past Jackie has developed training in numerous fields covering the Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act 2005 for nursing staff and students, Supervision and Appraisal, Infection control, Risk Assessment and many other areas within health and social care. She is also an Assessor for NVQ.

 

We at Carewatch pride ourselves on our quality service and with Jackies  help to focus our resource planning, we will further enhance the development of our care and support services.

READING THE SIGNS

Scots care workers are showing great promise as sign language interpreters, after embarking on a course to understand British Sign Language.

Care Workers from the Renfrewshire office have completed a 10 week foundation course in British Sign Language and are now progressing onto Level 1. Their ability to communicate in sign language with service users will provide a valuable enhancement to our service offering.

The superb effort made by individual care workers during the course demonstrates the real dedication they have to providing the best possible interaction with service users - and the willingness they have to go the ‘extra mile'.

Showing the same commitment to excellence, the Renfrewshire office has recently been awarded Investors in People accreditation, together with ISO9001 certification in quality management and is now a member of Scottish Care at Home.

CARE PROMPTS

Carewatch is pioneering a new prompt card for all care workers across the network.
The cards have a simple Q&A format, prompting care workers towards the correct actions to take in challenging situations, whilst adhering to Carewatch policy and procedure.
Best used in conjunction with refresher training, the cards remind novice and experienced care workers alike about the importance of choice and how to manage potentially challenging situations.

AT HOME… AND IN CONTROL

A transformation is occurring in the way thatpeople engage health and social care services – empowering people who need support to maintain greater control over their own lives.
The incredible impact of this transformation is already being appreciated by many service users and care providers across the Carewatch network and is providing opportunities for our offices to work in exciting new ways with service users and local PCTs, which simply would not have been feasible a decade ago.
A great example of this is “Mrs A*” who is living with Huntingdon's Disease, an hereditary disorder of the central nervous system, which usually develops symptoms during adulthood, leading to gradual physical, mental and emotional changes.

Following hospital discharge, a person with Huntingdon's Disease would typically go into a long term nursing home. However, this time the local PCT approached Maria at a Carewatch office in the south of England with a care proposal as part of the  PCT's ‘Continuing Care' initiative.

The Carewatch team now provides live-in care to Mrs A in her own family home. The first challenge was for Maria to ensure that all her care workers were properly trained. Together, they embarked on training in PEG feeding and specialised caring for people with Huntingdon's Disease.

Now Mrs A is happy back in her family home where she can control her own support needs. By enabling Mrs A to have as normal a home life as possible, the strain on her and the rest of her family, has been greatly reduced. Together at home, they are best able to manage the challenges of Huntingdon's Disease.

Maria's care team is providing top quality specialised care, working to the fullest of their current capabilities, with the potential for those abilities to be expanded and improved. Meanwhile, Maria has vowed to ‘do whatever training it takes' to enable Mrs A to stay in her own home, for as long as she wishes.

And surely that's the level of independence, control and choice that all of us would wish for in the same situation.

*Name withheld for confidentiality reasons.

SAILABILITY IN CARDIFF

James Dwyer of Carewatch Cardiff is sailing into a new challenge as he aims to raise funds to construct a brand new boat for people with a physical or learning disability.

Sailing is one of the few sports where people with disabilities can participate on virtually equal terms with able-bodied sailors. It is also an enjoyable activity that can be shared with family and friends.  And thanks to the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Sailability scheme, boating opportunities for people with disabilities have never been greater.

James is already closely involved in the RYA ‘Sailability' scheme and is now fundraising for a project involving a boat builder who is blind, and who is making a large boat for use by people with physical or learning disabilities.

Sailing offers fantastic opportunities to learn a new skill, have a great social life and most importantly enjoy freedom. Getting out on the water can be a liberating experience. And through RYA Sailability, whatever disability, a whole new life can open up.  Many boats can readily be adapted to individual needs and the number of boats specially designed for disabled people continues to increase.


What's more the Disability Discrimination Act has encouraged many clubs to make their facilities more accessible. With more than 200 clubs around the UK, many have hoists, launching ramps and specially adapted changing rooms. 

To find out more about you can help raise funds for this exciting new project, please contact James Dwyer at Carewatch in Cardiff.

LEAMINGTON SPA OPENS

Carewatch (South Warwickshire) is the latest office to open in the Carewatch network. Operated by Fran Scott and Nikki de Soto, with support from partners, Emilio de Soto and Stephen Cooper, Fran and Nikki have been working hard to put into practice the years of care they have already contributed in their local community.

SERVICE USERS HELP SELECT STAFF

Service users our most important customers. That's why it is so important that service users are involved in the selection and training of our staff. After all, who is better placed to judge our teams' performance than our end customers?

Providing valuable input in the selection process, service users are getting increasingly involved in Carewatch recruitment and training programmes. Here are just some of the recent situations to which service users have contributed:

• Bedford:  a service user sat on the panel for the recent appointment of the new Care Coordinator
• Torbay:  a service user is sitting on the interview panel for the selection of a Training Manager at Torbay and will also participate in subsequent training and induction sessions for new care workers.
• Tamar: a service user within the Supporting People scheme sat on the interview panel for the recent appointment of the new Care Coordinator in Tamar and we hope a service user will also be involved in the training and induction for new staff members as well.
• C Norfolk/S Birmingham:  a service user was represented by their carer on the panel for the recent appointment of new Branch Mgrs
• S Birmingham:  a service user's carer has agreed to participate in the training and induction of new care workers, focusing on 'Communication and the other side of Care'
• York:  a service user sat on the interview panel for the appointments of two FCS vacancies. Two further service users will be participating in the orientation and induction of new care workers in this area in York 

CAREWATCH BROKERAGE PILOT

Carewatch is piloting a brokerage support approach project with Martin McHugh and his team in North Lancashire and Cumbria.
Together we are developing a partnership with Step By Step, a support brokerage company that facilitates services for people with disabilities who have a variety of support needs. We are working creatively with them to look at ways that enable people to be in control of planning, developing and organising any support they need.
A brokerage service facilitates the choices of the person with support needs and transfers the power in decision making to them. Brokerage is a critical component of helping people to be more in control of their futures and their role in the community that they live.

As a leading provider of care and support services, with a clear understanding of this person-centred approach, Carewatch is in an ideal position to develop an independent brokerage service. This would ensure that the brokers are able to:

• Develop support plans with people, enabling them to feel fully engaged in the process and committed to the plan
• Cost the plans within the resource allocation system
• Understand and develop the community network information
• Develop an awareness of the welfare benefits system
• Provide information, advice and guidance on what is available

Carewatch is developing a knowledge base built on our collective network experience about how Support Brokerage can contribute to people who want to direct their own services.

We will be linking in with Step by Step over the next three months to provide the Network with:

• A business plan to enable Franchisees to develop the Brokerage role
• Examples of good practice from Carewatch and other providers
• A tool kit to use to assist in developing the role.

NEW BENCHMARKS

Excellent progress has been made in the last month by two of our company owned offices in Sandwell and York.
Our Oldbury office, covering the Sandwell region of the Midlands has achieved an unprecedented 11 ‘4's' after their recent CSCI Inspection. This fantastic achievement is due to the hard work of the Sandwell team, headed up by Care Manager Pat Jones.
Congratulations go to all at Sandwell, who have now been awarded a ‘3 star' rating and also to Carewatch York, who will not need an inspection this year due to evidenced/continued quality, subsequent to AQAA 2007 and last inspection results. Keep up the good work!

EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR

In October, Carewatch Care Services hosted its own Educational Seminar, as part of its commitment to continuous improvement within the Carewatch network.

This annual event provides a valuable opportunity for all Carewatch offices to come together and find out more about the very latest developments in care services, debate current practices and learn about new ways of working, as well as to find out about all the exciting new achievements across the network.

The 3rd Educational Seminar was an all day event, bringing together key members of staff from around the UK, as well as experts in their specialist fields. Among others, Carewatch welcomed Alex MacNeil of Mencap to discuss ‘In-Control' - the strategy of self-directed support and individual budgets as the route to independent living - and Barry Hindson from Hanover Housing to introduce the concept of extra care housing.

Key issues of the day were working effectively with primary care trusts, winning contracts, the development of care brokerage services and the introduction of other new products within the network, plus the continued focus on quality throughout the organisation.

TALK OF THE INDUSTRY

Exhibitions provide important opportunities for Carewatch to meet and speak with people involved in all areas of the care industry.

In October, we attended two exhibitions:  the National Children's and Adult Services Conference, which was hosted by the Local Government Association, and Learning Disabilities Today.

A major topic of discussion at both events was the need to enable greater service user choice. This recurring theme reinforced Carewatch's already established commitment to providing a more versatile service framework that empowers people to be in-control of their own support requirements and individual budgets.

A WHEELY GOOD IDEA

Carewatch in Swindon has come up with a truly valuable way of giving to charity at Christmas. For the last couple of years, the Swindon team has saved the money they would have spent on Christmas cards, but has instead used the money to purchase something for a local charity. 

Rather than offering money, they prefer to purchase something with more mileage… And this year is no exception, when they bought three wheelchairs for the local Independent Living Centre. The wheel chairs will be hired out either for a minimal charge or free to people locally who need them for days out or on a temporary basis.

QUALITY UPDATE

Our Quality Team have been working hard with franchises to build and strengthen Quality, and full use of the Carewatch Policies & Procedures, and other supporting literature. As a direct result of our audits, which take place in addition to the Regulator inspections, the Quality Team has provided updates on:

• Car Crash safety for Care Workers
• "What if...?" cards

They will continue to work with offices to ensure uplift in quality across the network, going into the future.

CAREWATCH CARE SERVICES TEAM SET TO GROW

We are pleased to announce the expansion of our support team further to a Policy and Procedure Manager and an Operations Manager.

These vital posts will link in with Contracts and Tendering and Quality in the first instance, and provide support to franchisees and the Carewatch team alike.

We hope to have these positions filled as soon as possible so the new members of the team can be involved in the annual review of our policies and procedures.

ITS EXHIBITION SEASON!

The season for Carewatch exhibition attendance got underway at the beginning of October, with Michael Miles, Andrew Wilson, Janine Bouchet representing Carewatch at the National Franchise Exhibition.

On behalf of the Franchise network were Angie Mott, North Birmingham, and Fran Scott and Stephen Cooper from the South Warwickshire office.

Attracting new franchisees into the network benefits us all – some of our newest franchisees have an energy and enthusiasm which drives us forward and offers us all a great opportunity to work together and learn through new initiatives.

We look forward to introducing new franchisees in the new future.

Interested in a franchise? Click here to go to our Franchise Opportunities page.

Our second show of the season was the National Children"s and Adult Services Conference, which was hosted by the Local Government Association in mid October. Carewatch were the only independent domiciliary care providers present, and made great contact with leaders of adult care teams, PCT/NHS trust representatives and other key members of local government.

The last day of October hosted the not-to-be-missed exhibition for people working in Learning Disabilities.

With over 3500 delegates, ranging from service users to government ministers, Carewatch again made their mark as a unique provider of domiciliary care to people with learning disabilities.

Some of the key individuals we made contact with were keen to find out about the potential for working through Individual budgets and Brokerage – again the theme of Service User choice was prevalent throughout the day.

Click here to find out more about our work with Learning Disabilities, Individual Budgets or Direct Payments.

NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN FOR CAREWATCH

Carewatch Care Services is halfway through a ‘National ad campaign" highlighting our service, and recruiting new franchisees.

Editorials and adverts have so far appeared in The Daily Express, The Sunday Times, and industry press with more to follow in the following months.

As well as attracting new franchisees, the presence of our company at such a national level is a new step for us, and can only help to build on our profile as one the leading independent providers of domiciliary care in the UK.

CAREWATCH BUILDS ON DIVERSITY OF SERVICES

Carewatch"s Peter Joinson, Specialist Services Development Manager has been working with Deborah Klée to provide an insight into the new responsibilities of NHS Trusts, and the potential for social care providers assisting people on discharge from hospital, and any preventative role the by may have in their care.

NEW ERA FOR CAREWATCH TRAINING

Carewatch would like to welcome Jackie Brown our new National Training Manager. Jackie says: ‘I'm very excited to become part of the Carewatch team and look forward to meeting and working with our franchisees and Company Owned offices across the network.

Carewatch offers operational training to our franchisees and Company owned but, in order to provide training that is up to date, meets the demanding changes in legislation, the requirements of Local Authorities and PCT's and meets the needs of the staff across the network, we are looking to develop further training in Carewatch that is:

• appropriate to the growing demands of care services
• meets the needs of our service users
• brings training in line with current and new legislation

The training team aims to work closely with our Quality and Audit team and the Tenders and Contracts team. This will ensure quality and consistency when delivering our services.

Evaluating and developing the training strategy for Carewatch will ensure our service users get the best quality service we can provide."

If you"d like to find out more about our training, then contact us here.

IT NEWS

Organising care for the number of people we do, everyday, is a major job. We use specially designed software for our care coordinators and office staff to use; they arrange rotas, log information about our care workers, which is then used to ‘match" particular service users, and use, it to send out invoices and time sheets.

Improvements in recording this information, across the 127 sites, means that there are all sorts of developments that office staff need to know and the IT team have developed a new kind of online training called CBT, to make sure all of users of the system are doing so correctly.

IT have also developed our new look website (you ‘re on it!) which uses key words that people look for when searching for and choosing care providers. The new website allows us to paint a better picture of who and how we work, and most importantly, how people can contact us.

Other major projects include the development of an outcomes-based care monitoring system, and developments to retrieve national statistics from all Carewatch sites.