1 Issue X: XXX to XXX 2014

Up to 20 residents, one aged 103, and four of their families join in singing a wide variety of songs at the Thursday afternoon sessions, from Edelweiss and You are my Sunshine to Waters of Tyne.

Degree student Cathryn Anderson who is studying Community Music at The Sage runs the sessions. “It’s fabulous,” she enthused. “Everyone joins in and they enjoy such a range of music. North East traditional songs are very popular, as are classical pieces and songs from the 1960s. It is a very uplifting experience and it is a joy to see the smiles on everyone’s faces.”

The sessions have not only been fun but they have also increased the wellbeing of residents. Home manager David Bell said: “Music can be a powerful means of communicating for people whose condition makes communicating thoughts and emotions difficult.

“Relatives have joined in with the singing and it is moving to see how the music can join them together when memory loss and frailty can often challenge every day communications and memories.”

On May 15th the choir took to the stage at The Sage in Gateshead for a half-hour performance which included ‘The Skye Boat Song’ and hits from the 1950s.

David said: "Everyone was very nervous but after the first song and seeing the crowds reaction we all relaxed and really enjoyed the applause. The Sage have since invited us back for another show and we have also been invited to perform at the local garden centre!"

Ponteland choir hit the high notes!

Residents at Care UK’s Ponteland Manor have been rediscovering the joy of music after a local student helped them to form a choir. After enjoying a number of singing sessions, the group from Ponteland Manor have taken to the stage at a major music venue, The Sage in Gateshead.

Summer 2014Our Voices

A message from Andrew

Let me start with a very big thank you to everybody in the organisation for making me feel so welcome

since joining in February, whether out and about in homes, or within support teams everybody has been so helpful and supportive. From my experience organisations are defined by their people and within our organisation we have fantastic caring people who are highly skilled and as somebody just joining you can certainly feel it.

Over the last few months I have been spending time getting to know the organisation, seeing as many homes as I can, hearing of and seeing the great things that happen every day for our residents and trying to understand why sometimes things aren’t as good as we would want them to be, and what we can do about it.

Whether we are more successful or not very much depends on the quality of the care that we provide, so for me enabling our teams to provide the best level of care remains our biggest priority. In this edition of Our Voices, you will read about the many things we are doing to support our teams, through development of skills, or through the new initiatives being introduced by the newly formed Quality and Governance Team. Congratulations and thank you to the many teams that have been recognised for providing high quality care, some of whom are featured in this edition.

Whether you are the first Care UK care home, Little Holland Hall, who are celebrating their Silver anniversary or one of our newest homes, the environment that we provide for our residents and teams is obviously extremely important. As a very large organisation with many homes this is always going to present

us with a big challenge, and we can’t do everything at once. We have though started to upgrade many of our homes spending over £2.7m with about another £3m planned to be spent in the second half of the year. Having seen the changes that have taken place, and heard from residents and relatives, I am sure this is something that we will continue to do over the next year.

Let me finish by mentioning our annual awards, the RCS Stars, which are all about recognising the hard work, commitment and achievements of our colleagues. I think it is really important that we recognise our great people, as I said our people define what we are all about as an organisation, so I hope that you have all got your nominations in and I look forward to meeting our many finalists at this year’s RCS Stars in November! Andrew

Dear Colleagues,

A GEM in every team

Who’s yours?Nominate someone who has Gone the Extra Mile todayWe have some great people in Care UK’s Residential Care Services division and the GEM award is your opportunity to recognise and reward those colleagues.

Anyone can nominate a colleague for a GEM so if you know someone who has gone the extra mile to help a colleague, resident or relative nominate them now!

Each home, day centre and support function can award a GEM every month. All the GEMs are then put forward for

the GEM of the Year award and the three finalists will attend a judging day along with an invitation to the RCS Stars Gala Dinner (find out more on page 14).

Nomination forms and a box for entries are available in the home or from your manager, or on Eureka.

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Helen Kinnaird, Care UK home manager at Cairdean House, said: “We were thrilled to hear we had been named as finalists in the Pinders Healthcare Design Awards, as this means the design of Cairdean House and its impact on the quality of care we provide have been

recognised at an industry level.“Living in a thoughtfully planned and well-designed environment can have a hugely positive impact on the lives of older people, particularly those living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.“

Judges visited Cairdean House and presented home manager, Helen, with a finalist’s award and a cheque for £500, which the home has donated to a local charity.

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Heather View team wins at NHS Proud to Care Awards

In RCS we are committed to providing development for all colleagues who are wishing to further their careers within Care UK. As a result we are working in partnership with the company T2 to provide access for diploma’s in Health and Social Care in both Level 2 and Level 3 for those colleagues who meet the government criteria.

We are thrilled that since we started our relationship with T2 over 300 of you have signed up for an apprenticeship which equates to over 1 million pounds worth of investment in development. This is a great achievement and something we want to keep building on, therefore, if anyone would like to enroll on a diploma please contact the RCS training Team on rcs.training@careuk.com

Additionally we are delighted that some nominated colleagues looking to develop further have been able to progress to complete their Level 5 qualification in Health and Social Care- well done.

The team at Care UK’s Heather View care home in Crowborough is celebrating after scooping a top award at the annual NHS Surrey and Sussex Proud to Care Public Choice Awards.

The winners were announced on Friday 28 March at a ceremony which recognised outstanding and exceptional individuals in the region’s care industry.

The Chelwood team at Heather View was awarded the Public Choice Award after being nominated by a resident’s relative who described them as ‘an excellent team’. The relative added that the team

are ‘thoroughly committed, hardworking and providing excellent care and support to all residents on their floor’. She also commented that each resident is treated ‘equally and with the utmost dignity, kindness and respect.’

Heather View’s home manager Trish Banks, commented: “We were thrilled to be shortlisted for the award, but to win is a real honour for every member of the Chelwood team at Heather View. Our ethos is to care for our residents as we would our own relatives, and it is fantastic the team’s hard work has been recognised and rewarded in this way.”

Apprenticeships – Over 1 million pounds invested in your future!

Cairdean reaches the final of national design awardsCairdean House has reached the finals of the ‘Care Homes for the Elderly’ category of the Pinders Healthcare Design Awards. It’s a national awards programme which recognises the very best care-related property developments and the difference design can make to the lives of those living in care homes.

Lean, green and caring – how we can all become Eco Ambassadors

Care home residents invited to meet Princess Royal

You may be surprised to know that leaving a single light on for a year will produce 30st or 200kg of carbon. Care UK is committed to minimising the environmental impact of our activities. So, we would like to encourage you and our residents to become Eco Ambassadors.

Eco Ambassadors work with the home’s management and maintenance team to find ways to reduce Care UK’s impact on the environment. They will be the environmental conscience of the home - identifying green ideas and spreading the word amongst colleagues and residents.

To help us all reduce, reuse and recycle, external consultant Andy Sutton will be visiting our homes to give us practical advice.

“I have already visited a number of homes and team members have said they will be using the ideas in their own homes too,” says Andy.

Residents at Cheviot Court care home had a wonderful time when they met HRH The Princess Royal on her visit to the neighbouring Marsden Road Health and Wellbeing Centre earlier this year.

Louise Damms, home manager at Cheviot Court, said: “The residents were delighted when they found out that they had been invited to the centre for Princess Anne’s visit. She is very popular with residents and the team alike and greatly admired for her charity work.”

Resident and former hospital matron Nancy Robinson presented the Princess with a bouquet on behalf of everyone at the home and she explained to Princess Anne that the residents visit the centre on Tuesday mornings for a regular coffee morning.Twelve residents, and activities coordinator James Moore, were at the event where they took part in chair-based arm exercises.

Resident Annie Porter said: “I really enjoyed meeting her. She was very sociable and spent time talking to us. I was very happy to be invited to join in the activities.”

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Silver anniversary for Little Holland Hall

In 1989 we proudly opened Little Holland Hall - our first nursing home. There on the first day was Julie Aldous, who currently oversees contract billing in the Colchester office.

Julie recalls: “It was a very exciting time, everything was so new. I worked in the old hall managing the finances. In the early days, we used to manage our own invoicing, payrolls and payments and it was mostly paper based.”

Care assistant Paula Lafferty joined the team not long after it opened and now runs the Lodge sheltered housing development in the home’s grounds.

“I was in the main house for 16 years and I saw many of our residents through their time with us. I think it is that continuity of care that Little Holland Hall offers that makes it so special and so loved by the residents and their relatives.”

The team celebrated their silver jubilee with a big garden party. Everyone had a great time and they welcomed some familiar faces from the past, including care assistant Sandra West who was at the home when the doors first opened and took retirement last year.

- Care UK’s first care home

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“Recycling one ton of paper will save 7,000 gallons of water, three cubic yards of landfill space, two barrels of oil, 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity and 17 full-grown trees. The teams have made a very positive start and we have set a target to recycle 50% of general waste.”

“People are really embracing this initiative and I’ve already been told that lights and extraction fans are already being turned off overnight.”

Andy also hopes residents will use recycling points in lounges, and that laundry will be dried outside in the summer months. To find out more about becoming an Eco Ambassador contact andrew.sutton@propelbusiness.com.

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Developing strong relationships with local communities is vital to our work. Being an active part of an area has many benefits. In this issue, Michael Krasser, customer adviser at Franklin House and The Burroughs, tells us how the teams have worked to develop strong links across the community.

Forging close community relationships

Team work is everything when forging relationships with diverse groups within the local community. At Franklin House and The Burroughs, the activity coordinators have been heavily involved, making new contacts as well as utilising existing ones to invite groups into the home as well as arranging activities outside.

Residents’ families have proved to be a very good source of ideas and connections for engaging with the community and cultivating a good relationship. It’s an easy way to make new contacts, relatives are very happy to support us and the results have been very positive.

We wanted to ensure that our relationship with our neighbours was strong and so we created a “Meet the Neighbours event” at Franklin House. This offered the opportunity to introduce myself, our home and our company to the neighbours we hadn’t met before. I hand delivered the invitations and spent quite a few hours chatting on doorsteps telling people about what we do for the community. On the day about 15 neighbours popped along to the event. We had some great discussions, myths were dispelled, new relationships were forged and many expressed appreciation for being invited along to the home.

Quite a few of the visitors had never been to a home before and this was quite a revelation to most with comments such as “this is like a posh hotel”, “the rooms are nice and airy”, “look at all the games

that are available to the residents”, “they even have a pub in Franklin House”.

We have also used events to change people’s minds about what older people can achieve. One of the most successful was an art exhibition which featured exhibits from residents at several Care UK homes. The mayor, local people and the press came along and praised the quality of the exhibits.

Like many homes, we try to support those caring for loved ones with dementia. We organise fee paying seminars and support National Dementia week by providing lots of practical advice and support. This has, in part, been made possible through building relationships with organisations such as Age UK Hillingdon.

We now have an excellent relationship with Age UK and have received an official endorsement from them, which we can feature on our website. It links through to their site and is a great opportunity to put our services in front of more people.

Developing strong relationships with local communities is vital to our work. Being an active part of an area has many benefits

Michael Krasser Customer adviser at Franklin House and The Burroughs

It is brilliant and very rewarding to see the wonderful comments inspectors, residents and their relatives made about our teams and we wanted to share some of them with you.

Haven Lodge

The inspectors heard first-hand how impressed relatives and residents were by the care given at Haven Lodge – one relative, talking about a resident, said they would fully recommend the home to anyone because their relative is looked after and they would not want them to live anywhere else. Residents also told them “I am happy, it is lovely”, “I am looked after very well” and “I have no complaints, it is very nice.”

Highbury New Park

Relatives were full of praise for the team – one said: “The staff are kind and always seem to have plenty of time for you. As you can see some people are

always grumbling but the staff are so patient.” While the local GP, who visits regularly, also vouched for the high standard of care offered, saying: “they (the staff) do an excellent job, I'm very pleased with the care provided and they keep me informed of any changes.”

Ventress Hall

The inspectors reported that “there was a choice in what people wanted to do and the privacy and dignity of residents was respected as we observed

care interventions being carried out. Staff spoke to people in a pleasant and respectful manner.” They also noted that: “We found staff were good-natured and reassuring, especially when supporting people who were anxious or requiring reassurance.”

Congratulations and well done to those homes who have been awarded five ticks by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors and who are now fully compliant with the standards of care and safeguarding set out by the government.

Teams across the country are working hard to get ticked off

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Caroline Roberts, Director of Quality & Governance, believes that empowering managers and teams will ensure we improve services and achieve a higher proportion of fully compliant homes.

She said: “I believe carers and nurses at all levels have the opportunity to make a real difference by focusing on person-centred care. A resident’s dignity and safety are paramount to us and we work hard to ensure that our managers fully understand the CQC requirements.

“We know that the regulators in England and Scotland are undertaking rigorous inspections and we need to work hard to be robust with our actions to ensure we can evidence full compliance.”

Caroline and the team are looking to achieve this in a number of ways. Caroline explained: “We have introduced regulatory visits which mirror either CQC or the Care inspectorate

and allow us to identify any areas of non compliance. The team work with home managers to help them make the necessary steps to meet the Regulator’s requirements.”

The team has also introduced a number of new initiatives to educate and support driving quality including roadshows, clinical excellence study days and induction sessions.

Caroline added: “There are a wide range of skill sets in the governance team. Some team members have worked for regulatory bodies, some are nutritional experts, safeguarding policy and law experts and all have worked in the care environment for many years, this helps us ensure we are best placed for the changing landscape in social care continuing to offer support, guidance and leadership.”

Here we look at the newly formed Quality and Governance team and some of the initiatives they are introducing to support quality improvement and to achieve full compliance with CQC requirements across the division.

Team Focus:Quality and Governance Team

Induction dayRunning quarterly through the year, the

Quality and Governance induction for new managers and regional directors covers

the key topics including clinical excellence, a regulatory overview, safeguarding, health and safety and dementia care.

Feedback has been so positive that the team are looking at running refresher days

for existing managers.

RoadshowsThe team are touring the regions running interactive study days.

Topics include preparation for the new regulatory reforms and Safeguarding Adults Policy & Law sessions on the

changes to compliance and law.

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Clinical excellence study daysThe team run themed audits which enable

them to identify which areas of care we need to focus and improve on. Aimed at clinical leads and nurses, the study days will look in detail at one of these areas, the first topic being wound care. Other study days will follow on topics such as

diabetes care and medication.

Kia shows the way to becoming a Dementia Friends Champion

“The trainer explained how, when taking Mum shopping, her reluctance to go into a shop, and subsequent anxiety, could have been down to a black door mat that she perceived as a hole. They also talked about how patterns in carpets and curtains can seem like faces. It is important to find out which decade of their life the person thinks they are in; for example, they could believe they are in their thirties and they worry they have not picked their children up from school.”

Since completing her training Kia has put it to good use. “I have done some training in the community, as well as at a health awareness day which we organised for the public, and I think it was a really useful event for everyone.

“I would really recommend that anyone take this course – you never know who you will be able to help in the future.”

For more details email dementia.training@careuk.com or visit the website www.dementiafriends.org.uk

Dementia Friends Champions encourage others to make a positive difference to people living with dementia in their community by delivering brief interactive training sessions.

Becoming a Dementia Friends Champion is a two-stage process – you take a brief initial training session to become a Dementia Friend and then a one-day course organised by the Alzheimer’s Society.

Kia explained: “We held a dementia seminar at Silversprings and I was lucky enough to speak with Rose Elliot, Care UK’s specialist dementia triage about becoming a Dementia Friends Champion. Rose then gave me the first part of the training and I decided to go ahead and book myself on to one of the second stage Alzheimer’s Society courses.”

Kia, who cared for her own mother through her seven years of vascular dementia, was very impressed with the course. “I wished something like this had been available in Scotland when I was looking after Mum. I felt such a huge lack of help and support and this course revealed so much.

Regional Sales Manager Kia Mathieson has taken on the challenge of becoming a Dementia Friends Champion. She’s loving her new role, but wishes the training had been available when she was caring for her mother.

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Dementia Friends, a new initiative from the Alzheimer’s Society, aims to raise awareness about dementia by inviting members of the public to learn a bit about what it's like to live with dementia. Dementia Friends are then asked to turn that understanding into action and make a personal commitment to do something different when they meet someone living with dementia – it might be something as simple as helping someone find the right bus, or being patient in a till queue if someone with dementia is taking longer to pay. Every action counts.

We are proud to announce that since March this year, the New Build Training Team have been delivering the Dementia Friends training session to all colleagues in our new build homes. Our new colleagues have enjoyed being part of a nationwide initiative , and of course the blue forget-me-not badges, a symbol that tells the world they are a Dementia Friend, are a welcome gift to all participants at the end of the training. Our colleagues tell us they are proud to wear them!

What is a Dementia Friend?

HR team introduces new e-learning systemThe Over to you! survey and feedback from the colleague voice meetings showed that colleagues found the elbox training system to be un-engaging, time-consuming and had inadequate reporting.

Following the survey it was decided that elbox needed replacing and in March this year a new and improved e-learning system was introduced. The new system offers shorter modules, cutting completion times for each module from an average of three hours to one hour. Other benefits include easier updating of personal training portfolios and a comprehensive training compliance reports for all homes.

Feedback has been positive with colleagues saying the new system offers a far higher quality of content as well as a more engaging approach.

Hadrian Park evening of fun brings the team togetherThe Hadrian Park Over to you! survey revealed that staff morale was at a low point due to the many changes at the home. Denise Findley and her senior management team decided to take action and organised an awards evening to show their appreciation for their colleagues.

The event was held at the home so that even those on shift didn’t miss out on the fun. Long service awards were presented to many colleagues as well as some more lighthearted awards such as the ‘refreshment maker’ and ‘Where’s Wally’ awards.

More than 50 colleagues joined in the fun which included a DJ, Karaoke and buffet. Deputy manager, Nicola Morgan, said: “The team really enjoyed the evening and it has really helped bring everyone together.”

It’s been a year since the last Over to you! survey was taken and many teams are well under way with their action plans. We asked some of our teams to tell us what they have been doing to make sure colleagues see and feel the difference from the Over to you! survey.

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What is a Dementia Friend?

It’s never too late to produce an action plan to ensure teams are feeling the difference from Over to you! If you’re a manager, champion or team member why don’t you include a review of your Over to you! actions in your next team meeting and take the opportunity to look at the difference it’s made.

It’s never too late to take action!

Winchcombe Place, Newbury

Michelle Sides, home manager, started her career in care 20 years ago as a support worker in the community before moving into the NHS as a nursing assistant and qualifying as a mental health nurse.

Michelle said: “I’m passionate about the work I do and I aim to instil this into my team. Managing a care home is a massive responsibility but having a good team is key and I’m very lucky to have a great team around me.

“Walking into the home every morning fills me with anticipation as no two days are the same. Before I do anything I walk around the whole home to say good morning to staff and residents and ensure everyone is ok.”

Field Lodge, St. Ives

Home manager Matthew Cox, who has a degree in mental health nursing as well as postgraduate qualifications in dementia care, started out as a care assistant. Matthew, speaking about the Field Lodge official opening said: We all had so much fun at our grand launch event and it was a joy to welcome so many people from the local community on the day. We took the opportunity to celebrate this very important milestone and we are now looking forward to continuing to make our new residents feel at home and to build on what has been a fantastic start for the team.”

New homes - new futuresSo far this year Care UK has opened six brand new care homes. Here we meet some of the new managers and hear what they have to say about their new homes.

Sandfields, Cheltenham

Ruth Baggs, an experienced care home manager, joined Care UK 6 months prior to Sandfields opening and so was fully involved in the recruitment of the Sandfields team and all the preparations involved in opening a new home.

Ruth said: “We’ve a fantastic team here at the home – everyone is here because they care. After an extensive period of training, preparations and planning, the team were delighted to welcome the first residents to their new home.”

“We are incredibly proud of Sandfields. Every last detail has been considered to create a high quality, luxury environment which will enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives.”

We arealways

recruiting for our new build homes so if you

are interested in joining an exciting team please contact the new builds recruitment hotline on

0333 999 2552.

Perry Manor, Worcester

Mike Dearn, from Birmingham, has taken on the role of Home Manager at our most recently opened home. Having started his working life as a chef, Mike has more than 8 years’ experience in the care industry. Speaking about his new position, Mike said: “I have enjoyed playing a part in getting the home up and running.”

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“I strongly believe our residents should be the focus of the home and at the centre of everything we do, and I will be leading the way in listening to our residents and getting to know them and their families as they make Perry Manor their home.”

By the end of March 2014 twelve homes had been completed with an investment totalling £2.7 million.

Jennie Azizi,Service Improvement Director attended the open evening at newly refurbished The Burroughs. Jennie said: “The ground floor looked excellent. Well done on delivering The Burroughs’ great transformation! Thank you.”

A friend of a resident, 73-year-old Maureen Carey, endorsed popular opinion: "The difference at The Burroughs is amazing” and “it’s somewhere I would be happy to be."

We’ve received some great feedback about the contractors who have been carrying out the recent work.

Alison Kennie, home manager at Paisley Court which has had its bathrooms replaced as part of the programme, said: “They were very flexible, accommodating the needs of the home and residents into their schedule and they were always very cheery. The residents loved having a chat about what they were up to.”

In Yorkshire, a major refurbishment has been completed at the beautiful Victorian Terrace home, where one unit has been transformed into a new specialist dementia unit.

Steve Appleton, Head of Projects, said: “We have invested a great deal in researching how the environment can positively affect people with dementia and we used many of those techniques in the redesign of the unit.”

The team has also created a secure outdoor area for people to enjoy the fresh air safely and they have also given the home’s salon a facelift.

Manager Nicola Wilkins said: “The refurbishment has been popular with the team and residents who had input into the colour scheme. Our residents enjoy a good pampering and the new-look salon is very busy.”

Mildenhall Lodge, Suffolk

Mildenhall Lodge care home and wellbeing centre are the first of 10 new facilities to open in Suffolk as part of a county-wide development plan. Care UK was selected as Suffolk County Council’s partner in 2012 and is investing £60 million in the Suffolk development plan to replace the Council’s existing homes, which were built in the 60s and 70s, with brand new facilities.

Home Manager, Sally Shadbolt and the team are focused on helping residents who have moved across from Wamil House to settle into their new home at Mildenhall Lodge.

The separate wellbeing centre is providing day care activities and clubs to help older people maintain their independence for longer in their own homes and give valuable respite services for family carers.

Priors House

Home Manager Julia Joy and her team opened the doors to Priors House near Leamington Spa in Warwickshire in June. The 80 bedroom care home is situated in a rural location surrounded by trees and fields with the River Avon running close by. The name Priors House comes from Leamington Priors – the town’s old name before it received its Royal title.

Many of our homes are benefiting from significant investment to refurbish and improve facilities giving residents a modern living environment fit for the future.

Refurbishment programme brings joy to homes

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To make this possible, we have looked at every aspect of our customers’ experience and have developed a series of standards which set out the ‘Care UK way’ of doing things - from answering the telephone – to the way we handle laundry- to setting up a bedroom ready for a new resident. These standards ensure that we provide the best possible service for our customers on every occasion.

Helping you to deliver the customer promise

All our people, whatever their job, have a role to play in providing the best possible experience for residents and their families and friends, every minute of every day.To support you we have developed an

icare e-learning programme. Drawing on your own experiences and the guidance within the procedures, the icare training will help you to develop the awareness and skills to provide the most professional care in our industry.

Every home should have an in-house icare trainer who will be able to answer any questions you might have about the procedures and support you through the e-learning modules. The trainers are also able to run short practical activities that will help you put the standards into place in your area of work. Please speak to your manager to find out who your in-house icare trainer is.

icare - Making a difference

Debbie De Beer, icare trainer, told us how the icare programme has made a difference at Colne View in Halstead.

Debbie said: “ icare has really made colleagues think about the service they provide from a customer perspective and has helped them recognise that there is more to their job than the practical day to day tasks. As a result visitors are always greeted in a professional and welcoming manner and we are starting to get positive feedback. For example, the ambulance crew that come to collect residents for hospital appointments have said they look forward to the warm welcome they receive at Colne View where they are always greeted with a smile and offered a cup of tea while they wait.”

- setting the standardsicare is our customer service training programme, designed to help everyone in Care UK play their part in making us ‘The UK’s favourite care provider’.

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Earlier this year, 156 people completed the icare Train the Trainer course

The British Institute of Learning & Development (BILD) accredited course was designed to give them the skills to deliver the icare training with confidence. On the first day of the course colleagues learned how to engage learners though a number of different training techniques such as using activities that get people involved, asking engaging questions which encourage interaction, and presentation skills.

On the second day of the course colleagues were ask to present a training session using the icare materials. Lynne Bell, Training Manager explained that for some people this really took them out of their comfort zone.

Lynne said: “Some colleagues were incredibly nervous about their presentation but they really stepped

up to the mark. I was really impressed with the thought and effort that they put into their presentations, some even developed their own training activities. It was great to see some real talent across our homes.”

Debbie De Beer who completed the course told us how she is making use of her new skills.

Debbie said: “The train the trainer course has given me the tools I need to pick up issues and arrange quick training sessions to deal with them – not three hours or an hour, but ten minutes. I can address issues straight away and see the results immediately – it’s very hands on.”

Congratulations and well done to all of you that completed the icare Train the Trainers course!

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We will be organising some more icare train the trainer courses over the coming months. The course is accredited by the British Institute of Learning and Development (BILD) and is a great opportunity to enhance your skills. If you are interested in becoming an icare trainer please contact Emily French on 01206 517 334 or email emily.french@careuk.com

More icare train the trainer sessions coming soon!

Debbie continued: “The standard operating procedures also provide structure to the way things should be done which has been really helpful particularly for walk-in enquiries. Before icare was introduced colleagues weren’t sure how to handle these enquiries but now that they have some steps to follow every team member is able to deal with walk-in enquiries professionally and with confidence which is really important at weekends and evenings when the manager is not on duty.”

To help us see the difference the icare programme is making across the company all homes carried out an audit in March to help them identify how they were doing against the standards and what areas they need to improve on. A further audit will be completed in September which will allow us to see the improvements the programme is delivering.

Hadrian Park, Best Environment

Denise Findley and the team at Hadrian Park took the Best Environment prize for creating three suites, each with its own special room. The reminiscence room, 1940s-style tea room and bistro are very popular and judges were impressed by the team’s energy and ingenuity. Denise said: “We were delighted with the award. The rooms are still very popular and used for all sorts of events including family parties. Hearing a room full of fun, laughter and smiles is also a great reward.”

So many individuals and teams across the division have inspiring stories to tell.

We have gone back to visit some of our 2013 winners to see what it was like to win the award and how their hard work has made a difference.

Jenni Rowan, GEM of the Year

For Jenni Rowan, lifting the Going the Extra Mile (GEM) trophy was a surprise. Jenni was working at the time on the recruitment of home managers and regional directors where her hard work and diligence was noticed by Jennie Azizi, who was then in the role of operations director. Jenni explained: “I made myself available to the new recruits 24/7, was supportive and provided them with a friendly ear as well as practical support. As a result, we retained our new managers and directors and they were delighted at the service they had received – so much so in fact that a number of them passed on their praise to Jennie and so she put me up for the award.”

Since receiving her GEM award, Jenni has also received a promotion and now she manages a team of five, recruiting clinical staff for all Care UK’s residential homes.

Marc Scott, Team Leader of the Year

In Lowestoft, winner of Team Leader of the Year, Marc Scott, has also received a promotion. Marc, now manager of Blyford Care Home recalls: “I was deeply touched when the team nominated me. I was even more surprised when they called my name at the awards. Being there was prize enough – I hadn’t given a thought to what I would say if I won, as I never expected to!”

Marc and the team are now preparing to move into their new home and wellbeing centre, which will open in November.

Lynn Legg, Carer of the Year

Carer of the Year, Lynn Legg, from the Poole care at home service, was stunned to get her award: “I was amazed and very proud,” she said. “Sadly the gentleman whose care I received the award for had a bad fall. He has no family so I now go to Swanage every Monday to visit him in hospital. I take in a newspaper and his fresh laundry and we have a good old chat. We are now trying to secure him a place in the beautiful new Potteries home in the town.”

RCS Stars

The RCS Annual Awards are all about recognising the hard work, commitment and achievements of our colleagues. They are a chance for us to celebrate success and to hear how colleagues are making a real difference to the lives of the people in our care.

where are they now?

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Nominations for the RCS Stars 2014 are now in and this year's finalists will be announced in September!

The finalists will be invited to attend an informal judging day on 7th October where they will meet the RCS Executive team and have the opportunity to tell them why they deserve to be an RCS Star.

Meanwhile the Chef of the Year finalists will demonstrate their culinary expertise at the masterchef style final taking place on 23rd October.

All finalists will be invited to the RCS Stars Gala Dinner and awards ceremony held on 20 November where the winners will be announced. Make sure you read the next edition of Our Voices to see the RCS Stars of 2014!

The countdown to the RCS Stars 2014 has begun!

Through our newly launched Wellbeing Foundation, Care UK is promoting wellbeing in the community, inspired by the work you already do.

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It’s well known that music, art and drama make people feel better and so the theme for this year is ‘wellbeing though the arts’. The foundation will donate to causes which use creative therapies to promote health and wellbeing, including community projects that are close to you.

Fundraising for Nordoff Robbins our charity partner

Our charity partner is Nordoff Robbins who work to transform the lives of vulnerable people across the UK through music therapy. Throughout the year we will be producing fundraising packs for several activities and events that you can run in your home or day centre to raise money for Nordoff Robbins. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to get involved.

Nominate a local good cause for funding

Care UK has also set up a fund to support small, local charities and community projects that use the arts (music, dance, drama, arts and crafts) to make people’s lives better. Up to £2,000 can be made to help with a group’s activities. So if you have a cause close to your heart that is promoting wellbeing through the arts, you can nominate it for funding.

To find out more or to apply online visit www.careukwellbeingfoundation.com/nominations

Nordoff Robbins visit the Orchard CentreThe Care UK Wellbeing Foundation was launched at a special event at The Orchard Centre in May. Mezzo soprano Laura Wright joined Mike Parish and other guests to celebrate the launch, and to announce Care UK’s partnership with music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.During the launch a Nordoff Robbins music therapist led an improvisatory music-making session for visitors to the Orchard Centre, all of whom have dementia. The visitors also helped create a ‘Wellbeing montage’, with the support of the care team at the Orchard Centre.

How can you get involved?

Carole Hunt recently joined Residential Care Services as chief operating officer. Here, in our 60 second interview, Carole reveals how she became a nurse, how she sees the future of the profession and why a little bit of her mum goes everywhere with her.

What was your first job?My very first job was washing hair in a local salon. For working Thursday afternoons and all day Saturday I received the princely sum of £1!

Why did you choose a career in care?When I left school I gained a place at teacher training college but, in those days, there were many unemployed young teachers and so I decided it was not the best career move. I joined the civil service while I thought through my options and I soon realised that a desk job was not for me. The more I researched and thought the more nursing seemed to be the perfect profession.

I qualified from Kings College Hospital just in time to be on the male trauma and orthopaedic ward in Camberwell during the Brixton riots. They were interesting times: we had police officers curtained-off on one side of the ward and rioters on the other.

What is the most memorable moment of your career?Receiving my MBA from City University. I hadn’t gone to university and hadn’t viewed myself as an academic but I was fortunate enough to work for a truly inspirational female CEO who pushed me to be the best I could. She encouraged me to take on the MBA and I am very grateful as it has opened many doors.

Opening Sunrise Senior Living’s first care home in 1999 was also another important moment for me. At Frognal House we created a real home where people laughed and had friendships – the antithesis of how many people view care homes. So often people dread the idea of going into a home. Our challenge is to create homes that are so welcoming that they improve a person’s life and wellbeing from the moment they move in. We can make a real difference to people’s lives and that is genuinely exciting and rewarding.

What are the major challenges facing care homes today and how will we gear up to face them?Attracting the right young people to the profession is a challenge while also valuing, training and encouraging our current teams. Caring is a profession that needs to be celebrated and valued. It also needs to be developed into a profession people want to join.

Do you have any hobbies?I love entertaining friends and cooking. I recently catered my niece’s wedding – 100 people in the garden. Challenging, fun, exhausting but worth every minute.

Who do you admire?The Queen. A strong lady and a strong leader. She has been through difficult times but she has had the wisdom to see that change had to come and she has the strength and determination to carry it out with dignity and grace.

What is your most prized possession and why?My mother’s wedding ring. She was an exceptional lady: warm, kind and everyone loved her and everyone went to her. She was always positive and never judgemental. We were very close and I always keep her ring with me.

Garland Road celebrate Valentine's Day with a Tea Party

Franklin House raise funds for Macmillan Cancer

Foxbridge House go bowling

Photo Diary

Elvis visits Mitchell House

Tall Trees litter picking in the

community

Meet Carole Hunt