- dire warnings from new report Four Seasons under fire How to … · 2015. 12. 16. · Leyton...

January 2016 The management magazine for the social care sector

The Care Collapse- dire warnings from new report

Osborne's 2%- recipe for postcode lottery?

Four Seasonsunder fire

How to survive awage inspection

BUSINESS

National Care Awards 2015:a galaxy of winners!

A happy NewYear to ourreaders andadvertisers

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3Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn January 2016

Inside this issue...RegularsNews ...................................................................4-8

Diary ......................................................................10

Letters ..................................................................14

Product News ....................................................33

Building with Care....................................34-36

Business & property ...............................38-45

SOCIAL CARE PRECEPT THREATENS A ‘POSTCODE LOTTERY’:Full report on George Osborne’s spending review .........4

CQC’s RATING: REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT?:NEIL GRANT reports from the recent CQC Board meeting...10

REGULATION AT A CROSSROADS:Could regulation be set for new directions? By BOB FERGUSON ....12

HOW CARE HOME OWNERS CAN MANAGE DEBT:DAVID EDWARDS looks at how to contain a potential crisis...........39

A LIFETIME PASSION FOR CARE:Healthcare leadership profile: Paul Marriner, Lifeways Group ......40

HOW TO SURVIVE A MINIMUM WAGE INSPECTION:HANNAH MACKECHNIE shares her insights on the HMRC process....44

Anchor Care Homes .....................................4Avery Healthcare Group............................38Blackwood ......................................................8Care UK ........................................................34Country Court Care..............................38.42Four Seasons Health Care ........................38Hadrian Healthcare Group........................34Hartford Care ..............................................34Hutchinson Care Homes............................38Kingsley Healthcare...................................38Leyton Healthcare......................................38LifeCare Residences ..................................34Lifeways Group ...........................................40LNT Group (Ideal Carehomes)..................38Melrose Care.................................................16Only Care......................................................36Orchard Care Homes..................................38Orders of St John Care Trust ...................34Parklands Group .........................................36Radfield Home Care...................................44Spa Nursing Home Group .........................38Townfield Care.............................................45

FIRE SAFETYNATALIE PATRICK explains howto make compliance easy .......18 MEET

THE WINNERS:National Care Awards 2015 in pictures .......................24

COVERSTORY

COMPANY INDEX

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January 2016 www.careinfo.org4

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Caring Times is published eleven times a year byHawker Publications. ISSN 0953-4873Printed by Garnett Dickinson Print Ltd,Manvers, Wat-upon-DearneAverage net circulation of 16,483(July 2014 – June 2015)© Hawker Publications 2015Deadlines for February issue:Display advert. space booking: 6 JanuaryDisplay advertising copy: 8 JanuaryProduct news copy: 8 January Editorial copy: 8 JanuaryThe views expressed in Caring Times are not necessarilythose of the editor or publishers.

The social care sector has responded with onevoice to George Osborne’s Autumn Statementabout the Comprehensive Spending review at theend of November: it’s not enough.The key announcement the Chancellor of the

Exchequer made was a ‘social care precept’allowing local authorities to raise new fundingexclusively for adult social care. Mr Osborne said:“The precept will work by giving local authoritiesthe flexibility to raise council tax in their area byup to 2% above the existing threshold. If all localauthorities use this to its maximum effect it couldhelp raise nearly £2 billion a year by 2019-20.”Furthermore, he said that further funds would

be available from 2017, rising to £1.5 billion by2019-20, for the Better Care Fund, intended toshift resources in England into social care andcommunity services away from the NHS.Mr Osborne said these policies “mean local

government has access to the funding it needs toincrease social care spending” and enablecouncils to cover the costs of the National LivingWage, expected to benefit up to 900,000 careworkers. His view was that “the Spending Reviewsets out an ambitious plan so that by 2020 healthand social care are integrated across thecountry”.While the social care sector is not against the

2% council tax precept in principle, the generalreaction was that it may be too little, too late.

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of thecare providers’ body Care England, said the extramoney “will not deliver enough money, and it willcertainly not be in time to avert a crisis in somecare services”. He also warned that there was noguarantee that every local authority would takeup the opportunity to add the precept, and thepolicy risked creating an inconsistent approach tofunding care across the country. He further calledfor a review of the Better Care Fund to ensure itgoes to front-line care.His views were echoed by the National Care

Association, which said “the current rates forsocial care, paid from local authority budgets, arewell below the 2.4 per cent annual increaseneeded to keep pace with the costs of today’scare home placements”.Mike Padgham, Chair of the Independent Care

Group (York and North Yorkshire), described thespending review as a “huge disappointment”.“We will see a situation where the Governmentthinks it has solved the problem by pushingresponsibility onto local authorities who simplymay not react,” he said.The UK Homecare Association said the review

was “disheartening” and renewed its call for achange in the VAT status of ‘welfare services’away from being zero-rated to enable careproviders to reclaim VAT on the costs they incur,as well as tax incentives for private individualsfunding their own social care. “It also risks apostcode lottery of care,” she said.Jane Ashcroft, the CEO of non-profit care

home provider Anchor, welcomed Mr Osborne’sannouncement of more money for specialisthousing but again agreed the 2% precept is“woefully short of what's needed”.

Des Kelly, the out-going executive director ofthe National Care Forum, disputed Mr Osborne’sclaim that his plans would help closer integrationof health and social care, and that they “will nothelp with the additional costs that providers arefacing with the National Living Wage, or pensionauto-enrolment or the rising costs associatedwith recruitment and retention”.Some commentators also questioned whether

the numbers would even add up as much as MrOsborne claimed. Phil Hall, Director ofHealthcare, Alternatives at investmentmanagement firm JLL, observed: “If all localauthorities take advantage of their new-foundability to raise council tax by up to 2% above theexisting threshold it could raise a further £2bn by2019/20. However, there are some big ifs and butswhich lie in the way of delivering this extra sum tothe patients and residents who need it. The newmoney may be ring fenced but presumablyexisting spending is not. The devil as always willbe in the detail and that may take some time toemerge, but in short the 2016/17 financial year islikely to be a very tough challenge for thosesocial care operators focused on providingelderly care to local authority funded residents.”Mr Hall warned that “more defaults andrestructurings are likely in the lowest fee areas”.Frank Ursell, chief executive officer of the

Registered Nursing Home Association, agreed:“Many councils will think twice about putting uplocal taxes. So for the Chancellor to bandy aboutpredictions of apossible £2 billion ayear extra is a bit pie inthe sky. We’ll believe itwhen we see it.”

Social care precept threatens a ‘postcode lottery’Sector responds to the Comprehensive Spending Review

In addition to the council tax precept and extra resources for the Better Care Fund, otherannouncements in the Autumn Statement which may affect businesses, care staff and service users include:• Planned changed to tax credits for lower-income working families were scrapped – this was widely received as the best news

from the Chancellor• Further tightening to Housing Benefit rules, with implications for those living in social housing as well as for housing providers• The basic State Pension will be increased to £119.30 a week from April 2016 (the rate for the new single tier pension coming in

from April 2016 was set at £155.65 a week)• £600m additional funding into mental health services• £500m more for the Disabled Facilities Grant by 2019-20, which will fund around 85,000 home adaptations that year• An increase in the Minimum Income Floor earnings threshold, the level of earnings that a self-employed person has to earn in

order to be entitled to Universal Credit, which may affect some self-employed carers• Widened eligibility for free childcare to working parents of three and four year olds from 2017• The rates of stamp duty land tax will be increased by 3% for the purchasers of second homes and buy-to-let properties• Small business rates relief was extended for another year• Pensions tax relief proposals were deferred until next yearMr Osborne also announced a 25% cut in the Whitehall budget of the Department of Health. This is intended to cut administrationcosts, although Nigel Edwards, chief executive of health care policy analysts The Nuffield Trust, warned “the Treasury’s figuresshow it actually represents a £1.5 billion cut in a single year to budgets that include training for doctors and nurses”.

Also in the Autumn Statement...

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UKDEMENTIAC O N G R E S S

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1-3 November 2016, BrightonFor sponsorship and exhibition opportunities please

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The independent think-tank ResPublica haspublished initial results of its research into thefuture financial viability of the residential careindustry. The think-tank maintains that Britain’s

residential care sector is in crisis: “Providersare being faced with an unsustainablecombination of declining real terms funding,rising demand for their services, and increasingfinancial liabilities. Our research projects afunding gap of over £1 billion for older people’sresidential care alone by 2020/21, which couldresult in the loss of around 37,000 beds. Giventhe perilous state of the industry, there is noprivate sector provider with the capacity to takein the residents who would be affected by theloss of other providers’ beds.”ResPublica declared the worst outcome is

most likely: namely that the vast majority ofcare home residents will end up on generalhospital wards. It projects that if all these lostcare home beds were to flow through tohospitals in this way, the annual cost to theNHS would total £3 billion.It summarised further key factors in the

crisis:• An ageing population: over 65s make upabout 18% of the population, is set to rise to25% by 2050

• Acute conditions: 70% of the total health andcare spend in England, is on long-termconditions, faced by only 30% of the overallpopulation

• Spending cuts: 90% of local authorities nowonly provide funding for older people with‘substantial’ or ‘critical’ needs. The result ofthis has been that the number of over 65sgetting public money for social care hasfallen by 27%.The Director of ResPublica, Phillip Blond,

said: “When Southern Cross failed the privatesector stepped in and cared for those lefthomeless. Now, however, with the sector losingmoney for every funded resident there is noprovider of last resort. We fear the worst casescenario is the most likely, that these residentswill flood our local general hospitals costing £3billion per year by 2020.”The report’s author Emily Crawford added:

“The National Living Wage is a great stepforward. It is estimated it could help more than6 million low paid workers. But for the caresector, which is heavily reliant on its labourforce, it could be catastrophic.” George McNamara, Head of Policy at

Alzheimer’s Society, responded to ResPublica’sresearch: “We already know from localgovernment that the social care funding gap is

growing by £700m each year, so this reportonly serves to highlight further thedevastating impact that these relentlessfinancial cuts are having.”We need a new settlement for residential

care and one that crucially meets the careneeds of an ageing population. This needsreform in the way we fund care, as well as howit is delivered. The forthcoming spendingreview provides a prime opportunity toaddress this urgent need.“By 2021 there will be over one million

people in the UK living with dementia, yetsignificantly fewer options for care available tothem. Two-thirds of the cost of dementia isalready paid for by people with dementia andtheir families or carers. Government-fundedsupport is a life line to many families and thepressure will only increase if social care is cutfurther and ultimately, pushed to the point ofcollapse.”ResPublica’s full report will be published in

early 2016. The research was conducted inpartnership with Four Seasons Health Care,HC-One and the care workers’ union GMB. The interim report is available at

www.respublica.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ResPublica-The-Care-Collapse.pdf.

Report warns of the ‘Care Collapse’

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has published its complaints statistics for adult social care 2014/15. In thatperiod, it received 2803 complaints and enquiries about adult social care, 18% more than received the previous year. In those complaints where it carried out a detailed investigation, the LGO upheld 55% of cases by finding some

form of fault with the council or care provider. The areas most complained about within adult social care are:assessment and care planning; residential care; homecare; charging and safeguarding.The LGO continues to see a year-on-year increase in the number of complaints it receives about independent care

providers, where there has been no involvement from a council, but this remains only 10% of its entire adult socialcare caseload.Professor Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England, welcomed the report. He said: “We agree that the best

care is carried out in an open culture where complaints can be dealt with between staff, service users and families.”The report is available from www.lgo.org.uk/downloads/special%20reports/2260-ASC-report-final.pdf

Social care complaints to the Ombudsman on the rise

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in a nutshell... nuggets of news

For more news, go to:

www.careinfo.org– Caring Times’ official website

A pioneering new smart caresystem has been trialledsuccessfully at Broom Court, acare home in Stirling run byBlackwood.Clever Cogs technology, which

can be installed in variouscompatible touch screendevices, influences everythingfrom the ability to open curtainsand switch on TVs, to ordering shopping and ensuring a constantconnection with family, friends and carers.It also provides extra security with features that allow users to see

who it is at their door before they open it, as well as ‘alert’ and ‘help’buttons which can connect residents to members of staff in seconds viathe video link system.Blackwood is now trialling the system further in Dundee.

Capital Allowances for CareHomes is a newly updatedguide for care homeproprietors. It is designedto help owners tounderstand the issues,and to avoid gettingstung by choosing thewrong professionaladvisers.

The book is publishedby Claritax Books for£25, plus £4 p&p. Caring Times readers can order it with free p&p (worth £4) viawww.claritaxbooks.com using the codeCXFREEPOST.

New tax guide published

Blackwood trials new smart systemA snapshot survey of 55 care home owners in the West Country hasrevealed that 82% of respondents believe the Living Wage will increasetheir payroll costs.Almost as many (80%) also reported that the new rules on auto-

enrolment pensions will be complex for care homes, which have a highlevel of part-time and short-term employees.Asked whether they were concerned about government plans to

restrict migrant labour, 46% said ‘we are not reliant on migrant labourand have no problem in recruiting staff’. However, 42% said thatincreased immigration controls were of concern.The survey was conducted by the care homes team at the

accountancy firm Bishop Fleming. Meanwhile the Five Nations Care Forum, which represents the sector in

the UK and Ireland, has written to the Chancellor, George Osborne,expressing is concern over the potentially “catastrophic” consequencesof introducing the Living Wage. “It is vitally important that the Chancelloraddresses this looming crisis as a matter of urgency,” the group said.

Survey confirms Living Wage impact

Another announcement in George Osborne’sAutumn Statement gave details of theApprenticeship Levy, which is set to helpgenerate a £3 billion training fund to drivemuch-needed skills development across allsectors, including health and social care.The levy, which is due to come into effect in

April 2017, will be 0.5% of an employer’s wagebill, and will be paid by organisations withannual wage bills in excess of £3 million. Everyemployer will receive a £15,000 allowance tooffset against the levy and spend onapprenticeship training.For smaller social care organisations, which

will not have to contribute to the apprenticelevy but will still have access to funding, thenew plan represents a training budget boost.Jill Whittaker, Managing Director of

Connect2Care, an apprenticeship supplier forthe health and social care industry,commented: “The levy couldn’t have come at amore opportune time for the sector, which iscrying out for skilled workers. It will supportthe entire sector to develop and grow, andensure that all care operators – private andpublic – are able to provide a high standard oftraining to staff. It is key that care sectormanagers make the most of the new levy.”Further details on the levy proposals can be

found at www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/482049/apprenticeship_levy_response_25112015.pdf.

Apprenticeship levy offershappier news from Osborne

The social care sector is heading for abudgetary and skills shortage if it fails toaddress current demand for older, experiencedand more costly workers over younger and lessqualified hires, according to labour supplymanagement specialist Comensura, whichrecently launched its Social Care Index 2015.Between the year ending March 2014 and

year ending March 2015, the Social Care Indexshows that the percentage of temporary socialcare worker hires aged between 45 and 54 hadrisen by 9.3%, to account for 32.8% of thetotal temporary social care workforce. Incomparison the numbers aged 16 to 24 and 25to 34 decreased by 21.8% and 6.1%respectively in the same period.The marked reduction of temporary

assignments offered to the under 34s meansthose who have just entered the profession orare developing a career are finding it harder toadequately develop their skills in theworkplace. Comensura warned this could causea “skills shortage time bomb”, as older workerswill eventually retire from the profession andleave it with an unskilled workforce.Other findings from Comensura’s Social Care

Index show that around three quarters of thetemporary social care workforce is female, butthe number of people taking a TSCW role hasincreased for both genders. There has alsobeen a 13.5% year-on-year rise in such workerschanging their employment status by movingfrom PAYE to a ‘limited’ status, such asbecoming a limited company contractor.

Herefordshire is the best county for care andnursing services, according to a newinteractive map and league table of carequality across England.The data, derived from CQC's inspections of

care services, suggests the top three counties forservices including care and nursing homes andhomecare, are Herefordshire (97%), Warwick -shire (94%) and Rutland (93%), while the lowestranked counties are Oxfordshire (81%), WestYorkshire (81%) and the Isle of Wight (79%). However, the research, compiled by

TrustedCare.co.uk, an online directory forreviewing care providers, shows that qualityand price often bear no relation. For example:Oxfordshire has the most expensive nursinghomes (average cost of £998 per week) andfourth most expensive care homes (£754pw).The data reveals that there are 13,209

providers still waiting to be inspected underCQC’s new inspection process launched in 2014.

Ageing social care worker pool could cause talent time bomb

Care quality map and leaguetable for England unveiled

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inspection & regulation/diary

At Ridouts we advise care providers onCQC inspection reports and ratings on adaily basis. While there have been some

positive developments over the last two years atCQC in terms of the exercise of its inspectionfunctions, there is still considerable room forimprovement. What is apparent is that CQC is struggling to

meet its performance target to complete all AdultSocial Care (ASC) inspections by September2016. At the CQC Board Meeting on 18 November2015, brave statements were uttered about goodprogress being made but, as Sir Robert FrancisQC pointed out, the underlying completedinspection figures had deteriorated since theSeptember board meeting. The year-to-date gapas at November stood at 25%, equating to 1505comprehensive inspections that had not beencarried out. Furthermore, only 29% of ASClocations had had published ratings by November2015. It seems highly unlikely that the overalltarget to inspect all ASC locations by September2016 will be met although the true positionshould be clearer by March or April 2016. In the longer term, CQC will have to move to a

more risk-based model given the pressures ofhaving to inspect over 25,000 ASC locationswithin a reduced state allocated budget. The CQCconsultation on the future of regulation due inJanuary 2016 will have to deal with the reality ofwhat is achievable in relation to inspectionfrequency. That of course will not help providersrated as ‘requires improvement’ who desperatelywant a re-inspection. CQC should considerreverting to desktop reviews rather than placingits entire emphasis on site inspections. There hasto be greater flexibility on the part of CQC inreceiving information from providers afterinspections to ensure the public is given up-to-date assurance on the quality of care services. CQC also requires improvement in relation to

the publication of inspection reports in a timely

fashion. As at November 2015, 59% of finalreports were published within 50 working days.However, it should be remembered that thecurrent target of 50 working days is double thatwhich prevailed before ratings were introduced.While the situation appears to be improving thereremain a significant proportion of reports thatare taking more than 50 working days to publishwith some taking more than 100 working days.This is in the context of providers being given 10working days to submit factual accuracycomments. Even a delay of two and a half monthsundermines the reliability of CQC’s reportingfunction.

Time consumingWhat is clear is that inspections are taking longerthan anticipated, with inspectors being requiredto undertake time-consuming enforcementaction work alongside the day job. In quarter 2 of2015/16, 136 providers entered special measuresbringing the total to 155 since special measureswere introduced in April 2015. A significantamount of enforcement activity is also inprogress. As at October 2015, there were 343enforcement actions in progress comprising 104warning notices, 18 urgent cancellations, 104 civilactions (undefined) and 117 non-urgentcancellations. It was also noted at the Novemberboard meeting that a number of prosecutionswere coming to fruition and would be reported onin due course. One can expect more enforcementaction given the Board’s concern that there were

an increased number of locations that had notmet one or more standards compared to theprevious quarter. Figures presented to the November 2015

Board showed that 51.9% of providers eitherstrongly agreed (12.4%) or agreed (39.4%) thattheir inspection judgements were fair. However asubstantial minority either disagreed (16.6%) orstrongly disagreed (8.5%). In part this is to beexpected given the measure is of the percentageof providers who are in breach of a fundamentalstandard, or rated as inadequate or requiringimprovement. However the fact that 25% do notconsider their judgements to be fair makes theneed for an effective rating review process all themore important. No information was presentedto the November 2015 Board about ratingreviews. At Ridouts we have been waiting manymonths for decisions on rating reviews with noupdates on progress. There is a lack oftransparency around the statistics and outcomesof rating reviews which is most concerning.

Improved ratingsOn a more optimistic note some 44% of ASCreinspections result in an improved rating. Thepicture is even better for services ratedinadequate overall where reinspections of 155services led to 75 (48%) improving to requiresimprovement and 27 (17%) to good. That left 53(34%) remaining as inadequate. CQC will nodoubt interpret these figures as showing theeffectiveness of its actions. By way of conclusion, if one were to apply an

equivalent overall rating to CQC’s performance, itwould almost certainly be requires improvement.The challenge for the CQC Board will be toimprove performance to a good. It is telling thatin their most recent staff survey only 33% feltthat morale at CQC was good, an improvementon earlier surveys but hardly a resoundingendorsement of the organisation. CT

CQC’s rating: requires improvement?NEIL GRANT, partner at

Ridouts solicitors, reports

from the November CQC

Board meeting and finds

there’s much to be done

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12 January 2016 www.careinfo.org

inspection & regulation

It was one of those watch-my-lips moments.“WE. ARE. NOT. AN. IMPROVEMENT.AGENCY.” As is often the way with dogmatic

declarations, the stockade David Behan erectedaround CQC’s duty roster didn’t hold. Althoughan improvement role was imposed, the regulatorhas since embraced it with all the passion of aconvert – “offering almost all the leadership...about quality improvement,” according to onesage. And it’s had its critics.Not that it’s a novel experience. While much of

the criticism is constructive, CQC must alsoendure sporadic volleys of sniping from thecrackpot fringe. If it can treat that with contempt,as it should, it cannot so easily dismiss objectionsfrom the likes of the Professional StandardsAuthority (PSA), the overseer of regulators ofhealth and social care professionals.This authoritative voice has spoken out about

the downsides of embedding improvement inCQC operations. It detracts from the primaryduty of maintaining standards; it blurs the linebetween regulator and regulated, when the latteris legally accountable for the quality of care; andit puts the Commission at risk of being blamedfor failure.In any case, PSA argues, it hasn’t done what it

says on the tin: “If regulation was going to

improve care, it would have done it by now. So it’stime to improve regulation.” Its solution –replacing quality improvement with thepreventive force of quality control – is beguilinglysimple. But would Whitehall really countenancesuch a turnaround?The authorities of the Greater Manchester

decentralisation project are equally unhappy withthe status quo. Their original ambition to takeover regulation having been rebuffed, NHSpartners remain impatient for fundamentalchange, specifically, shifting the focus ofregulation from “the statutory health ofindividual organisations” to “the effectiveoperation of the system”. A prospect that isunlikely to get a ministerial thumbs-up, thoughoperating both in tandem might just appeal.As seems to be the case with CQC’s pilot

scheme, “Quality of care in a place”, which relieson published assessments of the quality of healthand social care services within designated areasto drive improvement locally. So far so good, butthis holistic focus will be like making brickswithout straw unless essential context isroutinely provided by extending scrutiny tocommissioning. From which, of course, CQC isdisqualified, having had that oversight scratchedfrom its dance-card.

When David Behan was asked how, therefore,his organisation could possibly take a trulywhole-system approach, he explained that itwould be able to “reflect” the quality ofcommissioning even though it couldn’t “review”it. In the absence of a Bletchley code-breaker todecipher this doublespeak, it’s difficult to tell if hewas trying to keep his options open withoutdiscombobulating his political masters or simplyrunning up the white flag. Enough ducking anddiving, David, it’s time to speak truth to power.Providers probably feel conflicted about these

developments. Happy that regulation should beimproved, particularly if it brings commissioninginto play by joining the dots between care quality,council prices and the impact of austerity’sgastric band, but terrified that quality ratingsmight fall casualty were improvement to bedecoupled from regulation. CT

The recent ‘State of Care report’ fromthe Care Quality Commission (CQC)highlighted a varying picture of

health and adult social care in England.Whilst more than 80% of GP practices, six

out of 10 adult social care services, 38% ofhospitals and just under half (46%) of nursinghomes inspected by CQC were rated good oroutstanding, the report found that “thereremains significant variation in quality and anunacceptable level of poor care”.

It highlighted that 7% of acute, primarymedical and adult care services were ratedinadequate, with care standards consideredso poor that urgent improvements areneeded. Within adult care services, it wasnursing homes that were found to provide thepoorest quality of care than other services inthis sector, suggesting a great need forimprovement.

One of the biggest concerns from thereport relates to the safety of services in careand nursing homes, with 10% ratedinadequate, and 33% requiring improvement.The quality of leadership in nursing homeswas also brought into question with 8% ofservices rated inadequate.

The report pointed to examples of thisinadequate care including a nursing home

where there was “an overpowering smell ofurine and mould on the walls” and“medication not being administered properlyat a care home and that some patients hadtheir medicine delayed while others showedoverdose symptoms”.

Demand for social care is increasing, withthe numbers of people aged over 85 (thosemost likely to need care) and older peoplewith a disability are projected to rise sharplyin the coming years. This is at a time whenfinancial pressures are immense. According tothe National Audit Office, statutory funding forsocial care decreased by £4.6bn over the pastfive years, a 31% real-term reduction in netbudgets.

One of the major problems in the caresector is staff shortages and high staffturnover rates. The report highlighted thatnurse vacancy rates can be as high as 20% indomiciliary care and 11% in residential care. Italso reported that adult social care provider’sagree that vacancy and turnover rates are toohigh, and that there is an urgent need to shareand use best recruitment and retentionpractices throughout the sector.

Whilst staff shortages can impact servicelevels, there is no excuse for staff on the jobnot being trained in the basics, or for

disregarding critical processes such as notadministering medicine properly, havingout-of-date medicine or not storingmedicines correctly; or essential checks ofequipment and the safety of the livingenvironment either not carried out or actedon, or they are treated as a tick-boxexercise. Failing to adhere to systems or notcarrying out duties properly iscompromising patient safety.

A drive for more consistent standards ofcare from health chiefs is needed and bestpractice from care homes that areperforming outstandingly must be shared.Indeed the report suggests a need to“develop a culture of continuousimprovement – seeking to recognise,celebrate and share good practice”.

In some cases it can be understood why aback-to-basics approach is attractive in orderto prioritise staff training and developmentand reinforce simple processes such as safetychecks, and completing records properly.

However, theease of accessto relevantmaterial, thereview of the internal culture and mostimportantly, decision-making by staff incritical situations are also key areas that needaddressing.

The competence and confidence of all staffmust also be assessed regularly to ensurethere are consistent standards of caredelivered to patients and that staff areapplying their knowledge in the right way onthe job.

Whilst the CQC report makes fordepressing reading for some, it is also anopportunity for the care sector to address theissues that have been uncovered and drive upstandards of care and safety. Providing a safe,caring and compassionate service forpatients is critical and to do this, care homeproviders must fully understand thecompetency and confidence of their staff. CT

Regulation at a crossroads? Amid rumbles ofcriticism and theemergence ofalternativeapproaches,could regulation

be set for new directions,asks BOB FERGUSON

CQC report is an opportunity to improve standards of careBy MARY CLARKE,

Chief executive, Cognisco,www.cognisco.com, tel: 01234 757520

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inspection & regulation/letters

Statistics disclosed by CQC show that whilstthere were only seven completedcancellations (plus four urgent

enforcement actions) in Q2 2015/16, there are 117cancellations in the pipeline. CQC is clearlyramping up its high-end enforcement.Providers have 28 days within which to make

representations on Notices of Proposal. In ourexperience, by far the best chance for providersis to make representations that show how theshortcomings will be remedied. Ideally, thoseactions should be well underway before therepresentations are even submitted. Providerswhich face Notices of Proposal, either to canceltheir registration or remove a location, shouldseek legal advice quickly. There is every chanceto persuade CQC, but prompt action is essential.

CQC as parrotA particular area for frustration for providers iswhen CQC inspection reports include quotesfrom others, without investigating the matter forthemselves. A typical example might be: “Amember of staff told us that there weren’tenough staff.”In some cases, providers have told us that

inspectors have asked the staff leading questionsto generate the quotes. A reply of yes to thequestion “Do you think more staff would behelpful?” becomes the quote set out above.When challenged about such comments in the

factual accuracy comments (for example in thecase above, the provider shows that staffinglevels were perfectly adequate), CQC oftenreplies that the inspector had accuratelyreported what it had been told, so there was nofactual error.

The problem is that when CQC parrots what ithas been told in this way, those who read thequotes are likely to consider that CQC agreeswith them. After all, why else would a responsibleregulator publish the quotes?In the law of defamation, repeating a

defamatory comment constitutes publication andis so actionable. Indeed, as one judge astutelyobserved in a case in 1829, “the person whorepeats it gives greater weight to the slander”.That is all the more the case when the repeater isa public body tasked with dispassionately judgingservices.Plainly, inspectors should seek relevant

evidence from a variety of sources. Of coursethey should speak to residents, relatives andstaff. However, what the inspectors are toldshould be the start of the inquiry, not the end ofit. CQC as a statutory body has a responsibility tomake its own judgments based on all relevantevidence. That process includes considering the

weight to be attached to particular eachpiece of evidence. For example, staff willalways want there to be more staff availableas that means less demand on currentstaff members. A member of staff

commenting that they would like there to bemore staff should, alone, not carry too muchweight.How can providers challenge such parroting

when they encounter it in their draft reports?CQC’s procedures suggest that the factualaccuracy process can include representationsabout judgments, not just factual corrections.You should therefore seek that opportunity tomeet the implied criticism head on. If thecomment is about staffing, for example, you maywant to provide copies of the tools used todetermine staffing levels, show that there hadbeen few complaints about delayed delivery ofcare and provide records of the response times tocall bells. You can also ask CQC to supply theinspection notes, which may show that CQC hasnot made its own enquiries about the matter.The factual accuracy letter can be used to

remind CQC that it (not others) is responsible foreverything it states in the report and that itsjudgments must be reliable and proportionate.It is also worth checking whether the report

includes a fair reflection of what it was told on theday. CQC often uses the phrase “people told us”.Sometimes that may only be a couple of people,and the majority of people may have givencontrary views. The inspector’s notes may helphere, as will taking notes about what happenedduring the inspection and what was said in the

verbal feedback. It is important that providers do raise this

issue with CQC whenever it arises. CQC ischarged with an important and

responsible role and should bereminded that it cannot abrogate thatand play parrot. CT

By JONNYLANDAU, partner,Radcliffe LeBrasseur [email protected], tel: 020 7227 6704

Letters

Hybrid roles can give nurses more timeOn page 8 of the December issue of Caring Times, under the heading ‘Moratorium on overseas nurses ban applauded’ it saysthat Care England is pursuing a hybrid staff role sitting somewhere between a carer and a nurse.

Well, here at Palm Court we have devised what we call an ‘assistant practitioner’ role. Basically this person is a carer thathas received training so that they can undertake a number of tasks that traditionally have been carried out by nurses innursing homes. So, giving out medication, doing minor dressings, taking blood glucose readings and caring for a range ofpumps (PEGs, PEJs and apomorphine pumps etc) are some of the things that our APs are doing.

We took the decision to go down this route because in our 35-bed home it was taking a nurse several hours to adminsterdrugs in the morning; not quite so long at lunchtime, but again a couple of hours at tea wasn’t unusual, and then there werethe night time drugs. Initially we thought that the way to cope with this extra burden on nurses was to try and employ moreof them. But that’s easy to say but then you face the reality of trying to find these extra nurses. And then there is theadditional cost, because nurses do not come cheap. And anyway, we need our nurses to be care planning and to get involvedin staff training and to liaise with GPs and the increasing number of other outside professionals that come to see the moreand more complex people we take in the home. Just doing drugs and dressings doesn’t cut it in today’s nursing homes.

So, we have done what many hospitals do, namely we take some of our talented carers, give them the appropriate trainingand let them ‘fly’ – and what a difference it has made to our Home. Carers can see that they can develop themselves, thepeople in the assistant practitioner role feel much more fulfilled and they give our nurses that really important commodity ofTIME – time to spend with residents and their families, time to plan, time to think. We are planning to write up what we aredoing in more details, should others be interested.– Nigel Morris, Manager, Palm Court, Dawlish

Caring Times welcomes your letters.

Please keep them brief

and email them to: [email protected]

Do the numbers work?I have been looking at December’s Caring Times and on Page 4 youquote Jeremy Hunt as telling a fringe meeting that “we would need37,000 more care home beds by 2020… That would mean 100 carehomes opening every single month between now and the end ofparliament in 2020”.

If we do the maths based on 54 months until the end ofParliament in 2020 this would be 5400 care homes opening whichwould surely provide more than 37,000 beds – are the figuresquoted correct? If we assumed a new home had 50 beds this wouldprovide 270,000 more places based on 100 per month, many morethan Mr Hunt thinks we need. Of course he might be assuming thatwe are going to lose 233,000 beds in the same period as providersleave the sector and sell their land for development which isobviously more important to the Government than caring for theelderly and vulnerable.– Dan Gorvin, Wenham Holt Nursing Home, Liss

CQC watch: Notices of Proposal to Cancel

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end-of-life care

With three times more beds thanhospitals and 80% of their residentsexpected to die within a year, care

homes should be at the forefront of high qualityend-of-life care provision. Many are providingtheir residents with compassionate, person-centred care right up until the end of life. But carehome residents make up a disproportionatenumber of A&E admissions (40-50% more thanfor the wider population aged 75+) and almosthalf of these are people in the last months of life. What care home residents want is coordinated,

individualised care, particularly as they approachthe end of life. The Gold Standards Framework(GSF) Care Homes programme developed in2004 from grass-roots experience into a nationalprogramme to provide homes with the tools andstructure to deliver quality care for all of theirresidents until the end of life. It has led to a step-change in the quality of care for many thousandsof older people as well as recognition of theimportance of end-of-life care in care homes andsignificant NHS cost-savings through reducedhospitalisation. In the last 11 years, almost 3000 homes have

completed the GSF training of which about 500have been accredited. CQC recognises theachievements of GSF accredited care homes, theprogramme is accredited by the Royal College ofNursing and the awards are endorsed by all majorcare homes’ organisations and the SkillsAcademy for Social Care.GSF training programmes help all those

providing end-of-life care to ensure better livesfor people and recognised standards of care. It isthe largest national programme to help improvecare for patients approaching the end of life,helping health and social care professionalsprovide coordinated, personalised care forpatients and their families, and it reduces hospitaladmissions.Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England,

describes GSF as, “delivering the essence of theCare Act: training and educating the workforce toimprove the quality and integration of end of lifecare”.

Flexible approachThe GSF Centre recognises that not all homes areready to take on the full programme, so it hasdeveloped other options. They include theFoundation Level, which is already being used bya number of homes as a stepping stone to the fullprogramme and accreditation; the BlendedLearning approach, which includes interactiveworkshops and in-house sessions; the Fast Trackto Accreditation tailored programme for thosewho have already undertaken some training (toassess progress and support them to achievingthe quality hallmark award); and RefresherWorkshops and a filmed programme for homes

that have completed the training but require anupdate to help ready them prepare foraccreditation.

Best practiceMelrose, a 26-bed home in Worthing, with a 70-strong workforce, was named GSF Care Home ofthe Year in September, after it was reaccreditedfor a second time and scored 100%.Manager Liz Seymour, who has worked at

Melrose for more than 20 years, says involving allthe staff was a key selling point of theprogramme for her when she attended an initialtaster session. “I could see that even if you didn’thave a nursing background, GSF wasstraightforward to follow,” says Liz. “I was alsoimpressed by the emphasis on listening topeople’s wishes and preferences and on livingand dying well. It wasn’t that we weren’t alreadydoing this, but I could see it would give us a safeframework on which to hang it.”Now, Liz says, the impact of GSF is plain to see

in all aspects of the operation of the home. “Ithink it has influenced everything we do. It’s keyto the make-up of who we are – even though noteveryone is in the dying phase. We now providethe right care to the right person, in the rightplace, at the right time.”

What’s involved?The idea of the programmes is that they areexperiential, action based and peer supported.Many of the homes are already providing highquality care for their residents as they approachthe end of life. However, it is less common forthem to have a systematic and coherentstructure in place to ensure that the right personis receiving the right care in the right place, at theright time every time.Among the key elements covered in the

training is needs-based coding to identify thestage of life of all residents. Identifying people asthey approach the final stage of life with anyconditions in any setting is the crucial first stepand lays the foundations for the two subsequent

steps of assessing needs and planning care.These form the basis of the Gold StandardsFramework.Communication skills form another critical

part of the training. Initiating Advance CarePlanning conversations about what is importantto residents, and their wishes and preferences,can be difficult at times. But it is important tonormalise and integrate the process as standardpractice to better listen to the needs of peopleand provide care in alignment with their wishes.The Advance Care Plan then forms the basis ofthe care the resident receives right up until theydie.Other areas covered by the programme

include collaboration with GPs, care in the finaldays, care for people with dementia, dignityenhancing care, ways to reduce hospitalisationand spiritual care.The step-by-step modular approach, with

learning outcomes related to 20 accreditationstandards, is interactive and work-based, withaction planning between each workshop.Following the workshops, it is up to the home’s

GSF lead to share the learning with theircolleagues and over the course of the nextmonths embed it into all aspects of the care theyprovide before being assessed for accreditationagainst those 20 standards.

Positive impactAccredited homes have demonstrated significantquantified and qualitative benefit. They havehalved the number of inappropriate hospitaladmissions and doubled the number of peopledying in their preferred place. The most recentcohort of homes to be accredited submitted datafor over 2000 beds and 1047 resident deaths.Many achieved a 100% home death rate, theaverage for all of these homes being 85% ofresidents dying in their care home.In terms of qualitative benefits, staff in

accredited homes also report improvedconfidence to complement their newfoundcompetence in providing good quality care. Thisin turn has helped their communication with theGPs, district nurses, palliative care teams andlocal hospitals with whom they work. End-of-life care is everyone’s business and,

because all members of staff in a home areinvolved in the wellbeing of the residents, GSF isfully inclusive. Homes report that it may well be adomestic or care assistant who spots signs ofdecline which helps their nursing colleaguesidentify a significant change in condition.

� For more information contact: Sophie Caine 01743 291898 or via [email protected] or go towww.goldstandardsframework.org.uk/care-homes-training-programme

CT

The Gold Standards Framework in care homes

Louise Bruce of Melrose care home receives the GoldStandards Framework Care Home of the Year award

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end-of-life care

17Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn January 2016

This year’s annual conference on dementiaand end of life organised by the NationalCouncil for Palliative Care had as its title

‘See the ‘ME’ in deMEntia’. Half way through theday I had the thought that that ME was actuallywrong: it should have been ‘See the ‘I’ inDementIa’. People do things to ‘me’, but ‘I’ takeinitiatives. Each of the sessions was headed by a

statement from the Prime Minister’s Challengeon Dementia – such as ‘I know that services aredesigned around me’, ‘I have a sense ofbelonging’ and, most crucially in this context, ‘Ican expect a good death’. Dementia is clawing its way up the slippery

pole of political priorities –more research (from aludicrously low base), more diagnoses (ratesdoubled in five years), more communityawareness (hundreds of dementia-awarecommunities, thousands of dementia friends),and more public understanding (‘death’ and‘dementia’ are no longer no-go words, even usedin the same sentence). The sad and inexcusableabsence from this list is residential care, wherethe trend is much more ambiguous. Graham Stokes of BUPA gave us some key

statistics: 300,000 people live in care homes;80% of people in homes have dementia or

severe memory problems; 60% of deaths fromdementia occur in homes. The truth is that manypeople with dementia – however timely theirdiagnoses, however caring their carers, howeveraccepting their communities – eventuallygravitate to a home because in the end that’s theonly place where their disruptive behaviour canbe contained.Is that too bleak a view of what homes are

charged to do with dementia sufferersapproaching death? Providing humane palliativecare to people who have severely damagedcognitive faculties is a skilled and time-consuming business, and in many homes suchskills and sufficient time are in short supply. The conference keynote speaker, Colm

Cunningham of HammondCare, told somehorrific stories of the failure of staff to pick upwhat residents were telling them. Dorothy wassaid to be ‘wandering’ and ‘physically aggressive’;the wandering turned out to be her attempts toescape high noise levels and the so-calledaggression arose from her grabbing at people forsupport when she stood up because she wasexperiencing acute – but treatable – foot pain.Mary kept her mouth clamped shut and narrowlyescaped anaesthetic to explore a suspected ulcer,but she happily opened wide when played

soothing music. To interpretwhat Dorothy and Mary weretrying to communicate tookan expensively flown-inexpert – literally flown in, as this was Australia –but shouldn’t care workers be trained to pick upsuch messages? There was much talk at the conference about

the importance of ‘early conversations’; peoplewith dementia need to have the chance toexpress views about the sort of care they wantbefore ‘the capacity to communicate is lost’. Myquarrel with this is that it could discourage careworkers and others from making the effort tounderstand what people in the late stages of thedisease are still trying to tell them. Do I reallyknow now what I’m going to need when I’m closeto death? Services develop and circumstancesalter. Might I not have changed my mind andindeed myself changed? Like most others, forexample, I would in principle like to die at home,but if I’m in excruciating pain I might at the timeprefer to be in a hospital with ready access topain control. My plea, as a potential dementiasufferer, is this: don’t just listen to me now – go onlistening, to the very end. CT

Hearing the voices of people with dementiaBy JEF SMITH

PROMOTION: QualityCompliance Systems (QCS)has appointed EdWatkinson as their newHead of Care Quality andCompliance. Ed hasexperience across a varietyof roles in the care sector. He hasbeen a registered manager, areamanager, care manager, andsenior commissioner. He has mostrecently worked as a RegulationManager for BarchesterHealthcare.Ed was central to the

development of the Care QualityCommission’s new inspectionmethodology and thefundamental standards whilstworking on secondment as part oftheir Policy Team last year. Ed has also served as a

Planning and CommissioningManager for BuckinghamshireCounty Council and asMethodology Developer andRegulatory Inspector for theCommission for Social CareInspection.

Alan Rosenbach, chair ofthe QCS Quality andCompliance panel had thisto say about Ed’sappointment: “We arefortunate to have Ed onthe team at QCS. He has an

extensive knowledge of regulationas well as a deep commitment tosupporting high quality, safe careand support for people usingservices and their families.”Sheila Scott OBE, Chair of the

Care Providers Alliance and CareStrategy Consultant for QCS, said:“I am delighted that Ed is joiningus at QCS. He brings a wealth ofexperience and insight into thefundamental standards which willbenefit all of us including theusers of the system.”Ed will serve as part of the

Senior Management team at QCS.He will lead the development ofnew quality assurance,compliance and care managementpolicies and procedures. � For more information, pleasevisit: www.ukqcs.co.uk

New head of compliance at QCS

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Inquests are undertaken by the coronerwhenever a person dies of unexplained orunnatural causes or whenever a person

dies in state detention. With inquestsbecoming more and more common in the caresector, following the Chief Coroner’s guidancethat any person subject to a deprivation ofliberty (DoL) dies in state detention, it is nowmore important than ever that appropriateadvice is sought before an inquest takes place. During the inquest it is the coroner’s job to

ascertain who the deceased was and where,when and how the person died. Although thecoroner is limited to only considering thesefour discrete questions, the inquiry is rarelythat simple and it can be full of potentialhazards for the unwary.If, during the inquiry, information comes to

the coroner’s attention (which may havenothing to do with the four questions above),which gives rise to a concern there is a riskthat other deaths will occur, the coroner has aduty to make a ‘report on action to preventother deaths’. In order to comply with thisduty, the coroner will issue a report to anyonethat has the power to take action to prevent orreduce the risk of further deaths occurring.These reports can therefore be issued to anynumber of bodies including the CQC and theprovider itself. These reports can also bepublished by the Chief Coroner and so canhave far reaching consequences if a providerhas breached its duties or has somehowcaused or contributed to the death.

David Behan, CQC’s chief executive, hasconfirmed CQC’s commitment to improve itsengagement with Coroners, which is reinforcedby a proposed Memorandum of Understandingbetween CQC and the Coroners’ Society inorder to ensure that CQC receives all coroners’reports from inquests relating to the provisionof health and social care. With CQC’s increasedcommitment to analyse and respond toCoroners’ reports and the ability for them to bepublicly shared, providers should do all theycan to avoid them being issued at all.Further pitfalls can arise when conclusions

are issued and, without the right facts,coroners can make adverse findings whichcould otherwise have been prevented if theright information had been brought to light.One finding that can be reached is that

neglect contributed to the death and this canbe particularly damaging for care providers.Although the meaning of neglect in thecontext of an inquest is very different and farnarrower than the ordinary meaning of

neglect, its connotations can be harmful and afinding such as this can have a detrimentaleffect, not least on the care workers affected.Care workers who may be called as witnessescan find the process particularly difficult but itis important to remember that an inquest is afact-finding exercise and coroners are notallowed to make findings of civil or criminalliability. However, a coroner’s findings can havea significant part to play in a subsequent civilor criminal case.If an inquest has been listed and there are

concerns over poor care, it is important thatappropriate specialist legal advice is soughtearly in order to minimise the effect it mayhave on the provider. In these circumstances,providers should always seek ‘interestedperson’ status to allow them to address thecoroner on the law and to ask questions at theinquest ensuring that all the relevantinformation is drawn out at the hearing.Advance disclosure should also be sought inorder that a provider can be fully prepared. CT

legal matters


Inquests: a brief guide for care providersBy PETER GROSE & ALISON WOODsolicitors,Lester Aldridgewww.lesteraldridge.comtel: 01202 786135

fire safety

Do you know what to do whenthere is a fire? Research showsthat 14% of people would see

what everyone else was doing and ‘go withthe flow,’ with one in 20 saying they wouldignore the alarm unless told otherwise.

Those responsible for fire safety in theirplace of work were also asked if they wereaware of their legal and safety obligations.46.5% stated they either did not knowwhat they were or were unclear.

Fire safety can be seen as acomplicated issue. There is a lot to thinkabout with laws, regulations and measuresthat need to be put in place. It can baffleanyone. But it doesn’t have to be, it can besimpler.

The most common fire safety hazardsinclude:� Poor evacuation procedures

� Exposed wires� Blocked fire exits� Faulty fire doors, and� Fire doors being wedged open.

Hazards like wedged open fire doors areoccurrences we come across frequently.Fire doors are one of the most neglectedcomponents in fire safety and most of uswouldn’t consider how much we rely onthem. In the event of a fire, they are thefirst line of defence in preventing the rapidspread of flames, heat and smoke. But tosave lives, they must work.

Fire doors are meant to be kept closedto provide protection in the event of a fire.Failing to meet this requirement can result

in loss of business, big fines and even aprison sentence.

In 2013/14 there was 527 fires in carehomes and sheltered accommodation inLondon, resulting in two deaths and 34injuries. One of the main issues was firedoors being wedged open.

For many, being able to keep fire doorsopen makes daily life easier by enablingfreedom of movement through busybuildings. It also improves ventilation andreduces the risk of injury from handling aheavy fire door. The need to hold fire doorsopen is recognised by fire inspectorsacross the UK, who recommend solutionssuch as door retainers which can keep fire

doors open safely and legally, withoutcompromising on safety.

Compliance with fire safety regulationsdoesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. Make sure exits are clear, firedoors aren't wedged open and evacuationplans are up-to-date. These help provide asafer environment. CT

Fire safety - making compliance easyBy NATALIE PATRICK, marketing administrator,

Fireco, www.fireco.uk, tel: 01273 320650

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We would like to extend our thanks to all our amazing sponsors

Category sponsors

If you are interested in getting involved in sponsorship for the next Care Awards – which willtake place on FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2016 – please email [email protected]

#careawards

Main Sponsor

Drinks ReceptionSponsor

Photobooth Sponsor

Twitter Wall Sponsor

EntertainmentSponsor

ProgrammeSponsor

02-23CT0116edit_Layout 1 09/12/2015 14:08

legal matters


PROMOTION: On 1st April 2015,Skills for Care launched the CareCertificate, and it is now theexpected evidence of competencyfor new support workers acrossEngland.The Care Certificate introduces

new staff to the responsibilities oftheir role as a social care worker,and aims to benefit all workers aswell as care users. The standardsfor the certificate cover a widerange of knowledge, skills,behaviours and attitudes whichare essential for all staff to ensurea competent and confidentworkforce.Care Certificate by Laser

Learning delivers the CareCertificate course online using thehighly praised Laser® learningprogramme, which blends highquality filmed tutorials, reading,and quizzes for each standard andlearning outcome of the course.

Learners can access their learningon multiple devices and organisetheir learning around their ownschedule or commitments. Managers and business owners

can also use their own account onthe Laser® learning programmeto track the progress of staffenrolled on the Care Certificateby Laser Learning, giving them abreakdown of information foreach member of staff, as well asan overview of learners acrossmultiple sites or locations.

� To find out more about Care Certificate by LaserLearning, please visitwww.lasercarecertificate.co.uk, or [email protected] for afree demo login to see theLaser® learning programmein action. @LaserLearningUK,01753 584 112

Laser Learning’s CareCertificate launched

The care sector is under pressure as never beforeand the financial demands on councils andproviders continue to intensify. Figures published

last year showed that, in the last three years, two carehomes have closed for each one that had opened.Theaverage size of the care homes that have closed is 27 beds,while newly opened homes have approximately 58 beds.Anecdotally it appears that these smaller homes, run bysmall private providers and charitable organisations, arebeing squeezed out of the market, as they are not able tobenefit from the economies of scale that can be deliveredin larger ‘factory-style’ care homes.

For any provider, faced with the current economicpressures and the looming increase in national living wage,the decision to close a home will be a difficult one and willliterally be life-changing for your residents. There havebeen some helpful studies produced by ADASS and otherswhich are essential reading for any board of trusteescontemplating closure. There is no doubt that a plannedand controlled closure is in the long term a better outcomefor residents and families than a forced closure.

For charitable providers, however, they not only need tohave regard to the requirements of the CQC, their duties asemployers and liaise carefully with their local authorities.They also need to be aware of their overriding duties ascharity trustees and ensure that they meet the standardsexpected by the Charity Commission.

Charity trustees were reminded of the role of the CharityCommission in this process, through the recently publishedCase Report into Scope, the national cerebral palsy charity.Following its decision to exit 11 of its 35 care homes, theCharity Commission received a flurry of complaints. GivenScope’s high profile and the significant impact that theclosure would have on disabled residents and their families,the Charity Commission wrote to the trustees. TheCommission asked the Board to explain the steps that theyhad taken to ensure that they had consulted with theirbeneficiaries and asked for evidence to show that theirdecision making process was robust.

In response the Board of Scope was able to show theCharity Commission that they had put in place a properconsultation process. This included full consultation withbeneficiaries, facilitated by an independent advocacyservice to enable people with disabilities to express theirviews and increased levels of support for staff andresidents at each home. They were able to point to acomprehensive plan that demonstrated how they wouldcommunicate with all stakeholders and external partners.They had also worked with an external agency to evaluatetheir communications strategy so that they could makeimprovements as things moved forwards. Importantly, allof this, together with regular updates was communicatedto trustees, and the minutes of meetings recordeddiscussions and the key decisions taken.

Good decision making in this type of situation is not justabout taking the decision in the right way, although ofcourse that is critical. Charity Commission guide CC27provides helpful guidance on how to take a good decisionwithin your powers, with all relevant information,appropriate advice and discounting irrelevant factors. It isalso just as important to record those decisions properly.

The Charity Commission is becoming increasingly robust inits regulation. Unfortunately, it also appears to be concerningitself too often with publicly unpopular decisions, no matterhow appropriate, sensible or lawful they may be. Since homeclosures so often prompt a wave of criticism and occasionallycampaigning from local residents, families and residents,charitable providers need to be prepared for the worst, and beclear that if they were called on by their Regulator to explainthemselves, they would be able to do so as Scope has done. Itis also generally a good idea to notify the Charity Commissionof your decision. Ultimately it is for the Board of a charity todetermine how a charity carries out its objects but they musthave followed a proper decision-making process. CT

To close or not to close? The decision is yours, butmake it well or the CharityCommission could becomeinvolved, says JO COLEMAN,Partner, Charities Team, IBB Solicitors

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promotions

January 2016 21Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn

CARE HOME MANAGERAnglesey Ynys Môn

We are a well established private Care Home, registered for 45 elderly residents.

Our home is situated in a beautiful part of Anglesey,overlooking Red Wharf Bay.

We are looking for a Manager with a professional, but friendly attitude & the ability to commit

themselves in attaining the same high standard andamazing atmosphere at present achieved.

Candidates should have a Registered Managers qualification. Other Nursing qualifications would be

advantageous but not essential.

There is a modern 3-bedded bungalow available forthe successful applicant.

Salary to be discussed, dependent on qualifications & experience.

Apply with C.V. to :

Angela & Robert CorbouldDirector, Springholme Care(Anglesey)Ltd

Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey. LL75 8EXOr telephone 01248 450665

Specsavers Healthcall has introduced a cuttingedge new way of selecting and fitting customers’glasses, using imaging software on tablet devices.The mobile opticians, who conduct home care

and care home call-out services, now offer DigitalPrecision Eyecare, which ensures everyonereceives the very best professional care andadvice in frame selection and dispensing for theirprescription, vision and lifestyle needs.Maurice Livesey, director of Specsavers

Healthcall says: ‘This is very clever kit and has areal wow factor for customers. It’s a quick andeasy process which ensures a perfect fit everytime.’Following an eye examination, the optical

assistant will help customers to select theirpreferred glasses. Imaging software on a tablet isthen used to take an image of them wearing theglasses, which in turn captures a range ofessential dispensing measurements. These areunique to the customer and their chosen glasses.Maurice adds: ‘The tablet can also be used to

show you what you look like wearing a range ofdifferent glasses to help you make your choice.The intelligent software also helps you choose byany lens options you might want, bydemonstrating what they do in real time.’

Digital Precision Eyecare is also available in allSpecsavers stores in the UK and Ireland. Maurice adds: ‘Digital Precision Eyecare is all

about providing a highly professional service inas convenient a way as possible for ourcustomers. All our staff are fully qualified andtrained in using this new equipment, and theirexpertise remains a pivotal part of the service. ‘So far the feedback we have received from

customers has been very positive. Put simply,everyone that wants glasses can be confident in

being provided with a pair that looks fantasticand fits perfectly.’Specsavers Healthcall consultants have over

180 pairs of glasses for customers to choosefrom, starting from just £25 to the latest designerstyles from £99 to £169. All glasses come withPENTAX single vision lenses and a scratch-resistant treatment.

� Log onto www.specsavers.co.uk/home-eye-tests or call 0800 198 1132 to find out more

Bringing the future of eyecare home

On the 27 November 2015 at the Hilton LondonMetropole, Santall Horn, an Excelcare Care Home Manager atEtheldred House in Cambridge, was judged Best Care Manager.

This prestigious event was supported by Christie & Co; asthe main sponsor and marked by a gala dinner to accompanythe celebration of the very best talented care managers in thecare sector. Judging took place before the event and judgescommented that contestants deserved high acclaim for thephenomenal standards achieved to reach the final selectionevent. The host for the National Care Awards 2015 was Hugh Dennis, who appears in the TVseries, Mock The Week, and stars as Pete Brockman, in Outnumbered.

The shortlisted finalists were announced before the event but the winners were onlyrevealed at the Gala Night. Santall was overwhelmed with happiness when her name wasannounced as the Care Manager Winner for 2015!

Excelcare Chief Executive Osman Ertosun praised Santall and her team at Etheldred Houseon this very special award and said that Santall richly deserved to have her skills and talentrecognised as she is an inspiring and caring manager to her team and is always prepared to gothe extra caring mile for the 82 people who receive care services at her home.

Ozzie went on to say that everyone involved in the care industry recognised the challengesthat faced care providers over the last few years and he was very lucky to have a great teamworking for him, who really did put Excelcare services before their own personal interests.

Ozzie added that Santall has a great ambassador in her Regional Director, Louise Jones.The Cambridge region staff work exceptionally well as a team and would all be feeling be veryproud of Santall’s award.

Well done Santall, a proud moment for everyone as you gain public recognition of yourqualities as an exceptional care home manager, able to provide exceptional quality care,giving attention to the satisfaction of people living at Etheldred, the morale of staff andpromotion of excellent service standards.

Santall Horn, Excelcare Home Managerat the 17th Annual National Care Awards

02-23CT0116edit_Layout 1 09/12/2015 14:08

activities


“Twelve years ago, when I started workingin the healthcare industry, activity co-ordinator were a rarity,” says Chris

Harding. “Now they are in more than 90% ofcare homes. Person-centred care was not thenorm but now it is the standard to which thecare industry aspires, and to which it is makinggreat strides.”In 2009 Chris Harding launched The Daily

Sparkle – a daily reminiscence newspaperdesigned to stimulate and engage care homeresidents.The 68-year-old father of four had worked

as a psychotherapist for 22 years, specialisingin helping healthy, normal individuals to behappier. He began thinking about thepsychological wellbeing of elderly people whena fellow therapist and friend was placed in anursing home with a muscle-wastagecondition.“His mentality was perfectly normal and he

was always a bright, vibrant and intelligentman,” said Chris.“Over three months I witnessed his mental

functioning deteriorate dramatically, to thepoint of being semi-comatose. Observing himand other residents I came to a clearconclusion that a high level of the residents’deterioration was caused by a lack ofstimulation. I gave up my psychotherapypractice soon after this and committed todoing whatever I could to bring regularstimulation, interest, enjoyment and fun toolder people and people living with dementiawho lived in care settings.”Over the following year and a half, Chris

worked to develop the concept of The DailySparkle and did a lot of market testing withcare homes in his local area.“From my work as a positive psychology

therapist I had learned that one of humanbeings’ greatest needs is for humanconnection – a feeling of relatedness andbelonging. I also observed that a reliable andpowerful trigger for self-esteem was recallinghappy and/or fond memories.The Sparkles were formulated to 1) facilitate

conversation – getting people connecting withone another, building relationships, 2) triggerhappy and/or fond memories, as theseinvariably result in people being happier, and3) be easily useable by residents and carestaff. Chris also wanted The Daily Sparkle to

provide regular (daily) stimulation, interest,enjoyment and fun.”“Since the launch of The Daily Sparkle the

goals have stayed pretty constant but we havegot clearer about some elements that bearupon the effectiveness of the Sparkles toachieve their goals:� We need to find ways to maximise theamount of time activity co-ordinators spendwith residents (the human connectionelement), and

� We need to find ways of having non-activitystaff engage with residents (likewiseenhancing human connection).”

Ready to useEnsuring that all the Sparkle resources wereready to use has addressed the first point withindependent research showing that activityco-ordinators saved an average of 4.5 hourseach week by using Sparkle resources).“Getting non-activity staff engaging with

residents has proven more challenging,” saidChris.“There is clearly an established culture

within a great many care homes that holdsthat everyone should stick with whatever is intheir traditional job description – care staffonly attend to care duties, catering staff onlyattend to kitchen duties and so on.“The next ‘revolution’, I predict, will be

instilling the ‘Whole Home’ ethos across theindustry. No one single action can bring aboutanything like the qualitative change that theWhole Home approach can achieve. Havinglone activity co-ordinators expected to providemeaningful human connections and activitiesto 40-plus residents, by themselves, is nevergoing to work.“Attempts to force the Whole Home ethos

onto such cultures is doomed to failure. Peopleresist having the home’s culture changed. It isfraught with worries and anxieties as theculture of ‘this is how we do things roundhere’, is the bedrock of the home’s existence.”Entrenched cultures notwithstanding, Chris

believes things are beginning to change.“We have just got the results back from an

independent market research company whichshow that The Daily Sparkle is succeeding ingetting care home non-activity staff engagingwith residents,” he said.“The average number of care home staff

using the Sparkles to engage with residents is9.3 per home. The average of the 10 bestperforming homes is 39 staff, with somereporting that 95% of staff are using them. Ivisit a lot of care homes myself, around 100 sofar this year, and I can verify from personalobservation that I have seen huge levels ofengagement from non-activity staff. However,to have this confirmed by independentresearch has been wonderful.”Chris made the point that the independent

research company, Marketing Means, weremembers of the Market Research Society.“They work to very strict guidelines toguarantee the quality of objective research,”he said.

Trojan horse“I think the Sparkles are a bit like the TrojanHorse – they make their way into a care home’sculture in a very unobtrusive way. They aresimple, and interesting, so many non-activitystaff read them like they would a regular dailynewspaper. Then in their normal duties theyeasily and naturally talk about the articles withresidents. The activity staff themselves neednot do anything to make this happen, althoughI have seen that where they do support theWhole Home ethos, the results are quicker andmore comprehensive.“The average levels of non-activity staff

engagement is very encouraging. When youlook at the results from the top 10 performinghomes though, the real potential is there to beseen. The Sparkles are phenomenally effective,and with the right sort of support, every homecan achieve the figures that those top 10 get.”Chris and his team are now drawing up plans

to support all Daily Sparkle subscribers to gainoptimum results and are engaging a leadingdementia specialist to design a light-touchsupport programme which does not run foul ofa home’s existing culture but subtly makesengagement easy, personally rewarding, andenjoyable. � For more information, go to:www.dailysparkle.co.uk

CT

CHRIS HARDING, founder and managing director ofThe Daily Sparkle, talks to Caring Times about theactivities culture in care homes and the move towards a‘Whole Home’ ethos.

Adding sparkle to person-centred care

02-23CT0116edit_Layout 1 09/12/2015 14:08

promotion


Prior’s Court is an independent specialschool for young people with autism.They accommodate students aged

between five and 19 and also provide supportfor families of the children. Their primaryfocus is to build independence and social skillsin their students.Before the recent laundry installation,

Prior’s Court already had a good relationshipwith the esteemed German brand, having usedMiele Professional machines on site for over 15years. Colin Seatter from Prior’s Courtexplains that they ‘invest in Miele Professionalmachines because they are so good. Theyreally are the best that money can buy!’ Having previously had two small laundries

installed with Miele Professional Little Giants,the team at Prior’s Court decided that theywanted to upgrade the laundry facilities. Afterconsidering the various options that MieleProfessional offers when it comes to on-premise laundry solutions, they decided toinvest in barrier washer-extractors. This wasthe best option as they were particularlyconcerned with infection control, an issue ofparamount importance when dealing withchildren with special needs. An old unusedchanging room on site was repurposed tobecome a brand new laundry room and was

fitted with three barrier washer-extractormachines (2 x 16kg and 1 x 20 kg) and threecommercial tumble dryers.

InstallationHaving decided to investin a whole new onpremise laundry, Prior’sCourt turned to Gillman’sto conduct theinstallation of the MieleProfessional barrierwasher-extractormachines. Gillman’sspent a year planningand executing theproject and were able tocarry out the wholeprocess from design toinstallation and service.They also gave thecleaning team at Prior’sCourt advice on allaspects of a bestpractice laundry.Gillman’s were delightedto be involved in aproject with Prior’sCourt School. Speaking about how

the recent installationhas benefited the school,

Colin Seatter explained: “The new machineshave been fully operational for 4 months nowand the whole laundry process runs 100%better than it did before – there is no doubtabout it! We are very happy with the servicewe received from Gillmans, and the cleaningstaff absolutely love the new laundry. Now wehave so much more space which makes such adifference. The barrier washer-extractormachines provide us with peace of mind andwe now have optimal infection control.

Improved efficiency“The new installation has also meant that wehave been able to improve efficiency. Thelaundry is staffed between 7am and 3pm.Laundry is collected in the evenings and isreturned back to the children the next day. Wenow have plans to use the old laundry as atraining site for the children; the machines willremain operational so they will be able to learnhow to use them which helps teach essentiallife skills.”When asked if he would recommend the

German brand, Colin commented: “Of coursewe would recommend Miele Professional. Oursite has always used Miele machines and wewould never change that.”

� For more information on Miele Professional’s products please call 0844 8936907

Prior’s Court School for young people with autisminvests in Miele Professional for laundry upgrade

02-23CT0116edit_Layout 1 09/12/2015 14:08

national care awards 2015


The National Care Awards Gala Presentation Night washeld on 27th November 2015 and was the biggest yet.The awards, now in their 17th year continue tohighlight excellence in all parts of the sector andreward those who work tirelessly to provide consistently outstanding care.

The fabulous evening was sponsored by Christie +Co, who have been sponsors for 17 consecutive years,and held at the prestigious London Hilton Metropole,the same venue for the last 17 years. Head ofHealthcare for Christies, Richard Lunn welcomed theguests and reminisced about how much he enjoyedbeing involved with the awards.

The champagne reception was sponsored byFowler UK and almost 800 guests flocked to theKings Suite to enjoy a glass! There was a Twitter wallfeatured for the first time, sponsored by SkyBusiness, and it went down a storm with guests

posting pictures of themselves to be in with a chanceto win two wonderful prizes for best dressed man andbest dressed woman!

The evening’s host was the fantastic Hugh Denniswho entertained the room famously. Hugh made hisname as one half of Punt & Dennis. He and Steve Puntstill appear together on Radio 4’s The Now Show,while Hugh also captains his team on Mock The Week,and stars as Pete Brockman, the father in thewonderfully inventive semi-improvised sitcomOutnumbered. Hugh made the winners feel verywelcome as they collected their trophies to thesound of rapturous applause.

The evening closed with two light-hearted gamesof heads or tails which raised thousands of poundsfor the Care Workers Charity which helps carers whohave fallen on hard times through no fault of theirown. This year the charity is also donating money to

a little girl called Georgie, daughter of an employeeof Shaw Healthcare, in need of an operation.

The party continued with entertainmentsponsored by Pinders including music from the well-known band ‘Co-Stars’ who entertained the guestsuntil the early hours! The photo booth made anotherappearance this year thanks to sponsors CompassAssociates and was a huge success with queues outthe door!

The National Care Awards is the longestestablished and biggest Care Awards by a significantmargin. Its vigorous and personalised judgingprocess, along with its glamour, make it the Awardsmost people want to win. Look out for the start ofnext year’s National Care Awards when nominationsstart in June. The winners, once again, will berevealed in November 2016 at another exciting nightof celebrating the best people in the sector!

#careawards

Meet this year’s winners!

Main Sponsor

Drinks ReceptionSponsor

Photobooth Sponsor

Twitter Wall Sponsor

EntertainmentSponsor

ProgrammeSponsor

24-30CT0116awds_Layout 1 09/12/2015 17:03



Carer

Nicola Davis, Milford Care GroupPresented by Avnish Goyal, Hallmark Care Homes

Care Team

3L Care LimitedPresented by Caroline Heath, SpecsaversHealthcall

Care Registered Nurse

Susan Povey, Hallmark Care Homes. Presented byJeremy Nixey, Shaw Healthcare Susan was unableto attend so her award was picked up on her behalf

Care Operations Manager

Angela Boxall, MajesticarePresented by Compass Associates, Sam Leighton-Smith

Care Housekeeper

Carol Martin, Colten CarePresented by Simon Hart, Miele Professional

Care Activities Co-ordinator

Gemma Jones, MajesticarePresented by Ed Watkinson, Quality ComplianceSystems

Care Manager

Santall Horn, Excelcare Presented by Lisa Soper, Avery Healthcare

Dementia Care Manager

Donna-Louise Cobban, EMDASSPresented by Pete Calveley, BarchesterHealthcare

Special Needs Manager

Eileen Champion, Hesley GroupPresented by Peter Hill, Caring Homes

24-30CT0116awds_Layout 1 09/12/2015 17:04



Care Chef

Judith Powell, Avery HealthcarePresented by Carol Schofield, Purchasing SupportServices

Dignity & Respect Care Home of the Year

St Leonards Residential Home, B&M CarePresented by Paula Keys, HC-One

Care Home of the Year

Galanos House, The Royal British LegionPresented by James Misselbrook, The ConsortiumCare

Care Home Group

Anchor Presented by James Tweddle, Sky Business

Care Personality

Avnish Goyal, Hallmark Care HomesPresented by Tim Hammond, Four Seasons HealthCare

Lifetime Achievement in Care

Helena Jeffery, Caring Homes GroupPresented by Bobby Kalar, Yü Energy

Care Apprentice

Jade Facey, The Old VicarageAlison Simpson, Lifetime Training

Care Leadership

Cath Murray-Howard, Community Integrated CarePresented by Richard Lunn, Christie + Co

Resident Engagement

Kelly Henderson, Community Integrated CarePresented by Mel Knight, Your Care Rating

24-30CT0116awds_Layout 1 09/12/2015 17:05



Scenes of celebration

24-30CT0116awds_Layout 1 09/12/2015 17:05

national care awards 2015 guest list


Acock, Barry ...................................Rosebank Care HomeAcock, Mandie.................................Rosebank Care HomeAdams, Mandy..........................................Riversway CareAdams, Richard ........................................................BupaAdams, Sharon .............................Porthaven Care HomesAdan, Grace....................................................Forest CareAggarwal, Mala...............................Hallmark Care HomesAggarwal, Khsbhu...........................Hallmark Care HomesAggarwal, Ameet ............................Hallmark Care HomesAhmed, Nassir ...............................Specsavers HealthcallAitchison, Kerry .............................................Colten CareAitchison, Mark ..............................................Colten CareAldridge, Jeanette ..........................Sunrise Senior LivingAldridge, Erika ...................................Alzheimers SocietyAlexopoulos, Spyros ....................Pearl Healthcare GroupAlexopoulos, Elefdheria...............Pearl Healthcare GroupAllen, James...............................................Caring HomesAllen, Anita .................................................Bespoke CareAllen, Ben.......................................Hallmark Care HomesAlston, Paul .............................................The Jawa GroupAmir, Muhammad ...........................................Colten CareAmor, Joyce ..........................Leonard Cheshire DisabilityArkinstall, Andrew .........................................Colten CareAshbrook, Sharon ...................Greensleeves Homes TrustAtherton, Chloe .............................................Amore Care

Backhouse, Anna.........................................Hesley GroupBagurske, Ieva...................................Sonnet Care HomesBaigrie, Elaine ............................................Downing CareBailey, Geraldine ..........................Porthaven Care HomesBailey, Kelly..........................................................3L CareBainbridge, Paul ............................................Mentaur LtdBales, Nicola ..................................................Amore CareBallantine, Sharon ................Community Integrated CareBalmaceda, Flora ...........................................Forest CareBancroft, Diane ..............................Hallmark Care HomesBang, Phil .................................Four Seasons Health CareBarcial, Josie ...........................................Sanctuary CareBarker, Caroline ...................................................RidoutsBarratt, Libby..................................Sunrise Senior LivingBeaney, Micheala..................................................PJ CareBeany, Julie ..........................................................PJ CareBeaumont, Louise........................................Hesley GroupBeecham, David..........................................Caring HomesBegum, Dela ....................SweetTree Home Care ServicesBell, Dianne...................................................Vishomil LtdBell, Aaron ....................................................Vishomil LtdBell, John......................................................Vishomil LtdBelmonte Hibell, Silvana .......................................AnchorBerry, Matthew ............................Porthaven Care HomesBiggane, Siobhan ..................Community Integrated CareBiggs, Mike .................................................Caring HomesBiodun, Tijani ...........................Four Seasons Health CareBird, Michael............................National Care AssociationBird, Mark .............................................Avery HealthcareBirley, Paul .........................................................BarclaysBirley, Sandra .....................................................BarclaysBishai, Neil .....................Quality Compliance Systems LtdBoughanmi, Mabrouk .....................Specsavers HealthcallBowern, Caroline .........................................Caring TimesBowman, Jane.................................Sunrise Senior LivingBoxall, Angela................................................MajesticareBoyle, Mike ............................................Shaw HealthcareBraithwaite, Daniel ..................................Pinsent MasonsBreton, Marc..................................Specsavers HealthcallBrett, Kate .............................................Lifetime TrainingBrewer, Jordan...............................Hallmark Care HomesBrewer, Maureen ............................Whiteoaks Rest HomeBrewin, Elaine..................................................B & M CareBriens, Helen .....................Eastview Healthcare ServicesBritton, Karen ..........................................Riversway CareBromley, Josh .......................................................AnchorBrown, Ellen .........................................................ApetitoBrown, Pamela...............................................MajesticareBrowne, Debbie.....................................................AnchorBrownlie, Linda ..............................................Colten CareBrownlie, William ...........................................Colten CareBrunsdon, Nick ......................................Shaw Healthcare

Bruton, Trinna..................................................B & M CareBruton, Paul ....................................................B & M CareBuckland, Kim ..............................Porthaven Care HomesBuczkowska, Dorota ..........Eastview Healthcare ServicesBurke, Michael ................................Sunrise Senior LivingBurmingham, Vince.............................Hendra HealthcareBurmingham, Gill ................................Hendra HealthcareBurton, Keith.........................................................RegardBurton, Una...........................................................RegardBurton, Keith.........................................................RegardBurton, Laura........................................................RegardBurton, Keith Paul .................................................RegardButler, Yvonne ......................................................PJ CareButler, Mark..........................................................PJ CareButler, Andrea........................................Shaw HealthcareButton, Jason.................................Hallmark Care HomesBuxton, Susan................................................MajesticareBuxton, Clive .................................................Majesticare

Cagnasso, Teresa ...........................Whiteoaks Rest HomeCahill, John......................................................B & M CareCahill, Nicky.....................................................B & M CareCalveley, Pete...............................Barchester HealthcareCalveley, Jo ..................................Barchester HealthcareCanavan, Shaun............................Porthaven Care HomesCandy, Maggie..........................Four Seasons Health CareCarpenter, Christine..............................................AnchorCarpenter, Sarah....................................Shaw HealthcareCarrigan, Amy .......................................................AnchorCarrington, Annette.................National Care AssociationCarter, Ann ..............................National Care AssociationCarter, Adam...........................................Carter SchwartzCartmell, Ian .........................................................RegardCarver, Rosie............................Four Seasons Health CareCashmore, Jeremy.........................................Chistie + CoCastro, Herculano .............................................MenataurCatchpole, Catherine .................Stowlangtoft HealthcareCaton, Celia ...................................................Amore CareCavan, Michael ............................................Hesley GroupChampion, Phil ............................................Hesley GroupChampion, Eileen.........................................Hesley GroupChan, Danielle.......................Community Integrated CareChapman, Jon ......................................................PindersCharlton, Ann.................................Specsavers HealthcallCharlton, Jayne..........................The Royal British LegionChellan, Saranya .....................................The Jawa GroupChristie, Gemma..................................Miele ProfessionalCleave, Anne..................................................Amore CareClews, Anna .......................Eastview Healthcare ServicesClinton, Julia .....................................Sonnet Care HomesCobban, Donna Louise........................Alzheimers SocietyCochram, Alan ............................................Caring HomesCollins, Jayne ...........................The Care Workers CharityCollins, Rachel.....................................Miele ProfessionalCollins, Jordan .............................Porthaven Care HomesColocott, Gill.........................................................ApetitoConstable, Ian .......................Leonard Cheshire DisabilityConway, Janet.....................................Somerset Care LtdCook, Paula......................................................B & M CareCooper, Rose ..................................................Forest CareCooper, Karen.........................Greensleeves Homes TrustCooper, Julie ............................................Sanctuary CareCooper, Thea .......................................Miele ProfessionalCooper, Stephen.........................The Royal British LegionCoppard, Mark ......................................................ApetitoCorbiere, Jenny.....................Leonard Cheshire DisabilityCormack, Derek..........................................Caring HomesCorrigan, Jason ............................Barchester HealthcareCoulter, Graham ...................................................PindersCowap, Vicky....................................................NorsecareCraig, Jackie ............................Four Seasons Health CareCrawford, Neil ................Quality Compliance Systems LtdCrisford, John ............................The Royal British LegionCrosby, Jo .........................................Sonnet Care HomesCross, Stuart ..........................Greensleeves Homes TrustCrossley, Jen...................................The Consortium CareCulley, Mark..................................Barchester HealthcareCullis, Karen .............................Four Seasons Health Care

Cundy, David ..................Quality Compliance Systems LtdCunningham, Anita................................................AnchorCurd, Alison ................................................Caring HomesCurrie, Craig .....................................................CastleoakCurtin, Mike .....................................................YU Energy

Daniel, Sohail .................................................Colten CareDaniel, Samia .................................................Colten CareDavey, Jackie ......................................Somerset Care LtdDavies, Sheilla..........................Four Seasons Health CareDavies, Natasha ...........................Porthaven Care HomesDavies, Russ...................................................Colten CareDavis, Nicola .................................................Milford CareDavis, Deondera....................................................AnchorDavy, Mark ....................................................Vishomil LtdDavy, Gillian ..................................................Vishomil LtdDaw, Martin ...................................................Chistie + CoDawson, Mike...................................................B & M CareDawson, Ham...................................................B & M CareDawson, Sarah.....................................Miele ProfessionalDe Silva, Maria ...............................................Colten CareDebourne, Theresa .......................Porthaven Care HomesDelaney, Lisa ........................................................ApetitoDennis, Hugh.............................................................HostDenny, Caroline..............................................Amore CareDensley, Stephanie ...................................Impact FuturesDesmond, Kate......................................................AnchorDixon, Daphne.................................Rosebank Care HomeD'mello, Martin.....................................................ApetitoDomingues, Ana ................................................MenataurDonescu, Elena................................Sunrise Senior LivingDontoh, Gladys.........................Four Seasons Health CareDouglass, Angie .....................................Shaw HealthcareDownie, Kerrie..............................Porthaven Care HomesDrain, Helen ..........................................Christies Care ltdDrake, Marian ........................................Shaw HealthcareDrewett, Zahra......................................................RegardDuffey, Claire .......................................................PindersDuffy, Yvonne.....................Eastview Healthcare ServicesDun, Durga Maya ............................................Forest CareDunlop, Eileen ..........................Four Seasons Health CareDurant, Mr............................................................e-foodsDurant, Mrs ..........................................................e-foodsDutton, Carl......................................Compass AssociatesDwight, Greg ................................................Caring Times

Earrey, Sue .....................................Hallmark Care HomesEbbage, Mick ...............................Pearl Healthcare GroupEbbage, Sue.................................Pearl Healthcare GroupEdmondson, Helen ..............Purchasing Support ServicesEdwards, Paul ...........................................................BupaEdwards, Louise .............................Whiteoaks Rest HomeElford, Daryn..........................................The Old VicarageElford, Rebecca......................................The Old VicarageElliott, Graham............................................Downing CareElliott-Pears, Rosemary..............................Downing CareEllis, Anne..........................................Winash Rest HomesElmer, Linda...............................Stowlangtoft HealthcareElton, Jane .....................................Hallmark Care HomesEmmott, Julie ....................Eastview Healthcare ServicesErpelo, Mavic..................................................Forest CareEvans, Bryony......................................Miele ProfessionalEvans, Sam ..........................................................Abacare

Facey, Jade ............................................The Old VicarageFairhurst, Michael .......................Redwoods Dowling KerrFardon, Richard ..........................The Royal British LegionFarnell, Patricia............................Porthaven Care HomesFarrer, Elaine..................................................Colten CareFarrer, Julia....................................................Colten CareFerguson, Myles..................................Hendra HealthcareFinn, Mr................................................................e-foodsFinn, Mrs ..............................................................e-foodsFlack, Harry.................................Pearl Healthcare GroupFlanaghan, Rita .....................................Avery HealthcareFlawn, Jan ............................................................PJ CareFogarty, Frank ................................................Forest CareForbes, Jade.....................................Compass Associates

24-30CT0116awds_Layout 1 09/12/2015 17:05



Forrester, Marie ............................Barchester HealthcareForsyth, Matthew......................Elizabeth Finn Homes LtdForsyth, Gillian..........................Elizabeth Finn Homes LtdFowler, David ....................................................Fowler UKFoxall-Smith, Sandie .............................................RegardFrankum, Maggie ..........................Porthaven Care HomesFransen, Mindy ...............Quality Compliance Systems LtdFreeth, Sue.................................The Royal British LegionFrench, Ruth ..............................Stowlangtoft HealthcareFurniss, Tim .....................................The Consortium Care

Gardiner, Marion...................................................HC-OneGardiner, James....................................................RegardGardner, Peter ......................................................PJ CareGaskell, Hannah.............................................Chistie + CoGaskell, Cathe .................................The Results CompantGibbons, Lorraine ..................................Shaw HealthcareGibbs, Claire .............................The Care Workers CharityGibbs, Carl ................................The Care Workers CharityGillespie, Angela ...................................Ontex HealthcatrGilliland, John..........................National Care AssociationGilroy, Kathleen...............................................B & M CareGodfrey, Kym ......................................Rushcliffe Care LtdGodfrey, Karen................................Rosebank Care HomeGoldsby, Beth ...............................Porthaven Care HomesGoodard, Caroline .............................................ExcelcareGoodwin, Becky....................................................3L CareGoodwin, Denise.........................The Royal British LegionGould, Martin.................................................Chistie + CoGoyal, Anita....................................Hallmark Care HomesGoyal, Avnish..................................Hallmark Care HomesGoyal, Ashish..................................Hallmark Care HomesGoyal, Ram .....................................Hallmark Care HomesGoyle, Nathan ..............................................Caring TimesGrace, Joni .......................................................ExcelcareGrange, Kate ....................................................NorsecareGranger, Brent.......................Leonard Cheshire DisabilityGranger, Sarah ......................Leonard Cheshire DisabilityGreen, James......................Purchasing Support ServicesGrenger, Hayley...................................Miele ProfessionalGriffith, Pete ....................................Compass AssociatesGriggiths, Dan................................................Chistie + CoGue, Paula ...........................................Somerset Care Ltd

Hadley, Barbara .....................................Shaw HealthcareHall, Karen.......................................................B & M CareHammond, Jodie ...................................Ontex HealthcatrHammond, Joan.....................................Shaw HealthcareHammond, Tim .........................Four Seasons Health CareHancock, David ...........................Redwoods Dowling KerrHand, Mike...................................ACH Woodbridge HouseHand, Mike ............................................................RegardHanwell, Christine ................................................ApetitoHarding, Chris..............................................Daily SparkleHardman, Fiona .............................Specsavers HealthcallHardwick, Matthew...............................................ApetitoHare, Sophie..............................................................CMGHarman, Jessica ..........................................Caring TimesHarper, Diane...........................National Care AssociationHarriman, Georgina..................................Riversway CareHarris, Jane...........................................Shaw HealthcareHarris, Charlie.......................................Avery HealthcareHarris, Jermaine ............................Hallmark Care HomesHarrison, Jayne .....................................Shaw HealthcareHarrison, Nikki ..........................................................CMGHart, Derek ....................................................MajesticareHart, Simon .........................................Miele ProfessionalHart, Erica .....................................................MajesticareHartigan, Jeremy....................................Tersus Equip LtdHassan, Yul..............................................The Jawa GroupHatwood, Victoria...............................Rushcliffe Care LtdHawkins, Lois ...............................................Caring TimesHawkins, Kit .................................................Caring TimesHawkins, Alison.....................................Christies Care ltdHawkins, Rosie ...................................Hendra HealthcareHawkins, Richard .........................................Caring TimesHeaney, Deena..............................Barchester HealthcareHeath, Caroline..............................Specsavers Healthcall

Helman, Guy .............................................Impact FuturesHenderson, Kelly...................Community Integrated CareHendon, Philippa ........................The Royal British LegionHenry, Shelly........................................................e-foodsHenry, Rob ...........................................................e-foodsHepall, Paul............................................Lifetime TrainingHew Jones, Victoria ..................................Somerset CareHewat, Emma...................................Support in DementiaHewit, Holly................................The Royal British LegionHeywood, Rachel .....................................Riversway CareHickman, Melody...........................................Milford CareHill, Julie .........................................Bidvest Food ServiceHill, Eve ......................................................Caring HomesHill, Shaun......................................Bidvest Food ServicesHill, Peter ...................................................Caring HomesHill, Martin................................The Care Workers CharityHodgson, Tim.................................................MajesticareHolloway, Amanda ................................................3L CareHorn, Santall.....................................................ExcelcareHouse, Heather..................................Winash Rest HomesHouseman, Donna ...............................Miele ProfessionalHouseman, Victoria .............................................Care UKHow, Alistair.............................Four Seasons Health CareHubbard, Chris.................................The Consortium CareHughes, Lynn ..................................Rosebank Care HomeHughes, Bill .....................................................B & M CareHughes, Brendan .............................................B & M CareHughes, Suzanne ...................................Shaw HealthcareHunt, Andy.............................................Shaw HealthcareHunter, Tony...................Quality Compliance Systems LtdHurley, Shaun......................Purchasing Support ServicesHurley, Stewart ...................Purchasing Support Services

Inch, Caroline ..................................................B & M Care

Jackson, Richard ..................................................RegardJackson, Jane....................................Winash Rest HomesJackson, Karen...................SCA Hygiene Products UK LtdJackson, Andy..............................................Caring TimesJackson, Trish..............................................Hartwig CareJackson, Charlie ............................................Chistie + CoJaco, Lynda ................................The Royal British LegionJarvis, Val ..........................Eastview Healthcare ServicesJawaheer, Sonia ......................................The Jawa GroupJawaheer, Rishi .......................................The Jawa GroupJawaheer, Sherine...................................The Jawa GroupJawaheer, Roy.........................................The Jawa GroupJeffery, Robert...........................................Caring HomesJeffrey, Paul ...............................................Caring HomesJeffreys, Mike...................................Compass AssociatesJenkinson, Darren ...........................................B & M CareJenner, Steve .............................................Chandler & CoJenner, Gill ...........................................Broomfield LodgeJohnson, Irene.............................................Caring TimesJohnson, Donna .......................Four Seasons Health CareJones, Gemma ...............................................MajesticareJones, Nicola ...............................................Caring TimesJones, Anthony..............................................MajesticareJones, Gemma ......................................................RegardJones, Wendy ..................................Sunrise Senior LivingJones, Louise....................................................Excelcare

Kaggawa, Derrick...............Eastview Healthcare ServicesKalar, Bobby.....................................................YU EnergyKalar, Jinny ......................................................YU EnergyKeating, Pat ...................................Whiteoaks Rest HomeKelly, Grace..................................................Caring TimesKelly, Amanda ................................................MajesticareKemp, Jodie .....................................Compass AssociatesKennett, Janet.................................................B & M CareKenny, Nicky ..........................................Lifetime TrainingKeys, Paula ...........................................................HC-OneKidd, Nyree...............................Elizabeth Finn Homes LtdKillingback, Mandela........................................B & M CareKing, Tracey....................................................Forest CareKingsley, Tracey.....................................Lifetime TrainingKingston Minnis, Wendy..................Whiteoaks Rest HomeKirkpatrick, Angela..........................................B & M Care

Kitson, Julie ..................................................Chistie + CoKnight, Melville.................................................CastleoakKnowles, Steven...........................................Caring TimesKuczkowski, Lojciech ........................................ExcelcareKurvieva, Vaska ...............................................B & M Care

Lache, Mariana .........................Elizabeth Finn Homes LtdLampard, Annie ............................Porthaven Care HomesLanceley, Debbie .........................................Hesley GroupLatreille, Claire .....................................................AnchorLavender, Vanessa ..........................Rosebank Care HomeLawrence, Simon...................................Avery HealthcareLe Mesurier, Paige Rose ........................................RegardLe Mesurier, Lena..................................................RegardLe Mesurier, Beth..................................................RegardLeach, Jackie ..................................................B & M CareLeighton-Smith, Sam ........................Compass AssociatesLewin, Keith ...................................................BrunswicksLewin, Judith..................................................BrunswicksLewis, Lee......................................................Amore CareLewis, Scott ................................Redwoods Dowling KerrLinao, Anrica.....................................................ExcelcareLivermore, Helena......................................Caring HomesLivermore, Clive .........................................Caring HomesLovelace, Susan ........................Elizabeth Finn Homes LtdLovelace, Keith .........................Elizabeth Finn Homes LtdLudlow, Davina ........................................carehome.co.ukLumley, Marin .......................................................HC-OneLumley, Philip .......................................................HC-OneLunn, Richard ................................................Chistie + Co

Macaulay, Anthony .....................The Royal British LegionMacDougall, Marlyn......................Porthaven Care HomesMacKay, Laird .............................................Caring HomesMackay, Lesley...........................................................SCAManka, Marianna ....................Greensleeves Homes TrustManton, Jane ...........................................Lifeways GroupMarlborough, Nadene ......SweetTree Home Care ServicesMarston, Lynn....................................Sonnet Care HomesMartin, Katie ..................................................Colten CareMartin, Carol ..................................................Colten CareMartisikova, Eliska .........................Whiteoaks Rest HomeMason, Glen..........................................................HC-OneMason, Julie ...............................................Caring HomesMassie, Tom ...........................................Shaw HealthcareMasters, Karen.........................National Care AssociationMboko, Godwin .....................................................PJ CareMcCole, Mark..................................Hallmark Care HomesMcfall, Steve ........................................................e-foodsMcGrath, Carol...................Eastview Healthcare ServicesMcKenzie, Verna ..........................................Caring TimesMcLean, Sue ................................................Hesley GroupMcNamara, Ron ...................Purchasing Support ServicesMcNamara, Michael .............Purchasing Support ServicesMcPhee, Sarah ............................................City & CountyMcSharry, Sally ...........................................Hesley GroupMcSharry, Chris ...........................................Hesley GroupMcTeir, Shirley ......................Community Integrated CareMellor, Kevin........................................Somerset Care LtdMiller, Mathew.............................Redwoods Dowling KerrMiller, Paul ..................................Redwoods Dowling KerrMiller, Dean...........................................................ApetitoMiller, Carolynne.......................Elizabeth Finn Homes LtdMillward, Jan .........................................The Old VicarageMillward, Colin .......................................The Old VicarageMilne, Michelle .....................................................3L CareMisselbrook, James.........................The Consortium CareMiteva, Sylvia ..................................................B & M CareMizen, Janet ........................................................e-foodsMizen, Paul...........................................................e-foodsMolly, Romey..............................The Royal British LegionMoore, David ..................................Hallmark Care HomesMoore, Jo ..........................................Sonnet Care HomesMoore, Glenn ...............................Pearl Healthcare GroupMoore, Tina..................................Pearl Healthcare GroupMorton, Laura.............................The Royal British LegionMorton, Brian...................................................YU EnergyMorton, Janet ..................................................YU Energy

24-30CT0116awds_Layout 1 09/12/2015 17:05



Morton-Carr, Jill ...................................................HC-OneMuchingaguyo, Clemence...........Nightingale HammersonMukherji, Shekar ...........................................Mentaur LtdMurphy, Allison.....................................................3L CareMurray-Howard, Cath............Community Integrated CareMusgrave, Paul .....................................................ApetitoMynes, Liam ...............................................................SCA

Nandagopan, Maddie......................Whiteoaks Rest HomeNandagopan, Givon ........................Whiteoaks Rest HomeNash, Andrew ...........................Elizabeth Finn Homes LtdNavarro, Elieza........................................The Jawa GroupNeil, Jennifer ......................................Gateshead CouncilNew, Pat.........................................Whiteoaks Rest HomeNewton, Steve..........................................Riversway CareNicholson, Dawn ...........................Barchester HealthcareNightingale, Katie...........................Hallmark Care HomesNilne, Craig...........................................................3L CareNixey, Jeremy........................................Shaw HealthcareNjenga, Veronica................Eastview Healthcare ServicesNoble, Margaret .............................Whiteoaks Rest HomeNoon, Robert ......................................Rushcliffe Care LtdNotton, Sarah...........................................Riversway Care

Oakes, Emma..............................................Caring HomesOakes, Steve ..................................................MajesticareO'Connor, Eddie...................Purchasing Support ServicesO'Hare-Connolly, Gavin ..................................Amore CareO'Reilly, Mike ...........................Four Seasons Health CareOsborne, Luke ..................................Compass AssociatesOtterman, Tracey ...............Olivia Josephine Care LimitedOwens, Natalie ............................Redwoods Dowling Kerr

Pace, Louis .......................................Compass AssociatesPage, Christine................................Sunrise Senior LivingPallett, Rachel...............................................Mentaur LtdPancott, Adrian..............................................Amore CareParker, Imogen.................................................YU EnergyParker, Nick .....................................................YU EnergyParnell, Shanice ....................................................RegardPask, June...................................Pearl Healthcare GroupPask, Ged.....................................Pearl Healthcare GroupPatel, Davesh ........................................Avery HealthcarePatel, Mahesh .................................Pathways Care GroupPaxman, Eunice .......................National Care AssociationPearman, Janie..............................................Colten CarePearson, Kate ....................Eastview Healthcare ServicesPenfold, Simon..........................Elizabeth Finn Homes LtdPerez, Jonathan ...........................Porthaven Care HomesPewa, Mary ..............................Four Seasons Health CarePickering, Tony...........................................Caring HomesPickernell, Andy ..............................The Consortium CarePike, Terri ..........................................Sonnet Care HomesPincott, Sara .........................Leonard Cheshire DisabilityPinfield, Joyce .........................National Care AssociationPink, Marva ..................................Porthaven Care HomesPintelli, Lonella ............................Porthaven Care HomesPitkin, Jeremy ..................................................Fowler UKPlayer, James ...................................................CastleoakPointer, Sarah.........................Greensleeves Homes TrustPopham, Claire ..................................Sonnet Care HomesPotter, Janet ........................................................3L CarePoulain, Janet .............................................Hesley GroupPoundall, Lorraine.........................................Milford CarePovey, Sue......................................Hallmark Care HomesPowell, Nigel .........................................Avery HealthcarePowell, Judith .......................................Avery HealthcarePratap, Roger ................................................MajesticarePrentice, Verity ..............................Hallmark Care HomesPreston, Jackie ..........................................Caring Homes

Quantrill, Marie................................................NorsecareQuill, Sue ........................................Hallmark Care Homes

Radoicovici, Magda.........................Hallmark Care HomesRaja, Asif .................................National Care AssociationRankin, Katie.........................................................AnchorRanson, Mike ..............................................Caring Homes

Rashid, Sam......................................................Fowler UKRavula, Raj ..............................................The Jawa GroupRayner, Sarah ...........................Elizabeth Finn Homes LtdRea, Jayne.......................................................B & M CareRees, Alex ......................................................Colten CareRees, Lindsay.................................................Colten CareReid, Eileen ...................................Specsavers HealthcallRen, Natasha........................................................3L CareRhodes, Simon .................................................YU EnergyRichards, Stephen..................................Shaw HealthcareRichardson, James...................................................BupaRobb, Fiona..................................................Caring TimesRobinson, David ....................Leonard Cheshire DisabilityRobinson, Paul ......................................Ontex HealthcatrRogers, Barry ..................................................B & M CareRogers, Rachel ................................................B & M CareRolls, Grace .....................................................B & M CareRolph, Laura...................................................Colten CareRolt, Cheryl .....................................Sunrise Senior LivingRoman, Anca.....................................................ExcelcareRosenbach, Alan.............Quality Compliance Systems LtdRouke, Martin............................................................CMGRullamas, Rose...............................................Forest CareRussell, Neil..........................................................PJ Care

Sadowski, Jane..................................Sonnet Care HomesSalawi, Omotolani ....................Four Seasons Health CareSalt, Kayleigh........................................................AnchorSalt, Tracey ...........................................................AnchorSalt, Nigel .............................................................AnchorSantos Melo, Isabel ...........................................MenataurSchofield, Nigel ..........................................Caring HomesSchofield, Daniel .................Purchasing Support ServicesSchofield, Carol...................Purchasing Support ServicesScott, Sheila...................Quality Compliance Systems LtdSeal, Tim.......................................Barchester HealthcareSevenoaks, Gerry .......................................Downing CareShah, Vishal....................................Hallmark Care HomesSharp, Amanada ........................................................CMGShell, Theresa...............................Barchester HealthcareSheperd, Viv...................Quality Compliance Systems LtdSherriff, Mark .............................................Caring HomesSherwood, Nikki ..........................Pearl Healthcare GroupSherwood, Sally .......................................Riversway CareSherwood, Gary...........................Pearl Healthcare GroupShittu, Hadjai ...........................Four Seasons Health CareSibanda, Norah ..................Eastview Healthcare ServicesSibanda, Albert ..................Eastview Healthcare ServicesSimpkins, Chris...........................The Royal British LegionSimpson, Alison .....................................Lifetime TrainingSingh, Sujjata .................................Hallmark Care HomesSinnott, Ian ............................................The Old VicarageSinnott, Annie ........................................The Old VicarageSkelcey, Tracy.............................The Royal British LegionSmart, Louise .............................The Royal British LegionSmith, Chris ........................Purchasing Support ServicesSmith, Carol ...............................The Royal British LegionSmith, Richard .................................................NorsecareSmith, Anne .................................Brilliant Care SolutionsSmith, Mr .....................................Brilliant Care SolutionsSmith, Frank..........................................................RegardSmy, Iris ................................................................AnchorSokolnik, Maria ..............................................Colten CareSoper, Lisa ............................................Avery HealthcareSouthall, Jessica ..........................Porthaven Care HomesSpencer, Megan-Riley.......................Compass AssociatesSromousley, Lubo...........................................Forest CareSt Pierre, Louise ..........................................Caring TimesStaines, Gayl ......................................Alzheimers SocietySteen, Andrew.............................Redwoods Dowling KerrStephanescu, Tanta .........................Sunrise Senior LivingStephenson, Shirley.......................................MajesticareStevens, Bob ..............................The Royal British LegionStevens, Gail.........................................................PJ CareStewart, Lesley........................National Care AssociationStobbs, Marie ...........................Four Seasons Health CareStollery, Michael...........................Barchester HealthcareStone, Lesley ........................................................Anchor

Storey, Rob..............................................The Jawa GroupStutt, Jayne...................................................Amore CareStutter, Emma ..................................Compass AssociatesSwarbrick, Lindsey ................Leonard Cheshire DisabilitySwithenbank, Paul .............Olivia Josephine Care Limited

Tarrant, Juliette ...................................................3L CareTasker, Mary...........................................Shaw HealthcareTasker, David..........................................Shaw HealthcareTayag, Louie .............................................Sanctuary CareTaylor, Holly .........................................................3L CareTaylor, Jane...................................................Milford CareTembo, George ................................................B & M CareThomas, Alun .........................................Shaw HealthcareThompson, Louise .................................Avery HealthcareThompson, Laura ..............................................Fowler UKThorn, Mark ................................................Marches CareThorn, Mandy ..............................................Marches CareThorne, Toni ....................................Sunrise Senior LivingThorpe, Elaine .................................................B & M CareToop, Danny..................................Porthaven Care HomesTorres, Teresa .......................................Avery HealthcareTothne, Aniko...................................................B & M CareTrow, Kevin .......................................................CastleoakTuck, Jane ..................................The Royal British LegionTucker, Terry...................................Hallmark Care Homes

Vadana, Raxvan............................Porthaven Care HomesValentine, David.......................National Care AssociationValerio-Tayag, Raisa .................................Sanctuary CareVan Zyl, Johann ....................................................PJ CareVasey, Jo..................................Four Seasons Health CareVickery, David ........................................The Old VicarageVickery, Kelly .........................................The Old VicarageVickery, Mark .................................................Forest CareVickery, Jacqui...............................................Forest Care

Walding, Jeremy.........................................Inox Equip LtdWalker, Steve........................................................e-foodsWalsh, Bernadette ................................Mears Care GroupWalsh, Kieron..................................Hallmark Care HomesWalvin, Gina...................................................Milford CareWard, Martyn ..................................Hallmark Care HomesWard, Kingston.......................................The Old VicarageWarren, Teresa.................................................B & M CareWatkins, Nigel ...................................................CastleoakWatkinson, Ed.................Quality Compliance Systems LtdWatson, Karen ....................................Rushcliffe Care LtdWatson, JP ...............................Four Seasons Health CareWebster, Tina .............................Stowlangtoft HealthcareWeeks, Sue ............................Leonard Cheshire DisabilityWeidl, Max .....................................................Chistie + CoWellsby, Mark ........................................................RegardWestall, Paul ......................................Sonnet Care HomesWheat, Paula ..................................................MajesticareWheat, Phil.....................................................MajesticareWhitehead, Jakki......................................Riversway CareWhittingham, Mat ...........Quality Compliance Systems LtdWilkins, Bernie ...............................................Colten CareWilkins, Jan..............................................Riversway CareWilliams, Roda ................................Hallmark Care HomesWilliams, Kay..........................................Shaw HealthcareWilliams, Beverly ........................The Royal British LegionWilmington, Julie................................Rushcliffe Care LtdWilson, Jo-anne..........................The Royal British LegionWinstanley, Andrew ..............................................ApetitoWoodhead, Hilary.............................Support in DementiaWoods, Peter...............................Redwoods Dowling KerrWooller, Maria..................................................B & M CareWright, Kevin........................................................RidoutsWright, Claire ...................................................YU EnergyWynne, Bernard .............................................Chistie + Co

Yapp, Amy .................................................Somerset CareYork, Richard....................................Compass AssociatesYoung, Craig..........................................................Anchor

24-30CT0116awds_Layout 1 09/12/2015 17:05

EIGHTH Murrayfield Stadium

Edinburgh20 April 2016

Organised by

FOR EXHIBITION AND SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES CONTACT [email protected]

FIND THE LATEST DETAILS AT CAREINFO.ORG/EVENTS or email [email protected]

Keynote speakers:• Preventing Dementia: A stepped approachtowards 2020, Professor Craig Ritchie, Professorof the Psychiatry of Ageing, Centre for ClinicalBrain Sciences, University of Edinburgh

• How Scotland can lead the way in dementia care:transforming the lives of people with dementiaand those who care for them in Scotland, HenrySimmons, Chief Executive, Alzheimer Scotland

• The Scottish Dementia Working Group – peopleliving with dementia and family carers

Sessions include:• Finding your way: symposium on design, signageand the environment for dementia care

• Person-centred care in the acute hospital setting– new research and guidance

• Transforming the traditional care home:

achieving personalisation and modernisation

• Risk and resilience in dementia: new research andguidance

• Dementia Palliare: positive practice developmentin advanced dementia and at the end of life

• Music and the arts in dementia care, includingPlaylist for Life

• Knowledge and skills of the dementia careworkforce

• Tensions and dilemmas in carer assessment

• Improving dementia care: update on thedeveloping role of the Care Inspectorate inScotland, including the SOFI system of inspectionand the King’s Fund environment audit tool

• Personalised activities in care homes: arts,music, poetry, individual interests

• Responding to stress and distress in dementia

• Personal outcome planning for people living withdementia and their families

In association with:

31-33CT0116ads_Layout 1 09/12/2015 16:45

31-33CT0116ads_Layout 1 09/12/2015 16:45


product news

Falcon’s latest product offering is the gas-poweredF900 four burner Range. Part of the new F900series, and available with a choice of burner sizes, itcombines rugged performance with good looks,making it ideal for busy catering kitchens, whetherback or front of house.

The standard unit’s hob has four 9.5kW twinflame burners, ensuring fast heat up times. Falconalso offers 4.2kW burners as an alternative. TheRange can be configured with a mix of the twoburners, to suit customer requirements. All burnersfeature individually protected pilots to minimise energy wastage.

Falcon’s heavy duty construction means that the Range is both practical and tough.Examples include the one-piece pressed hob with sealed burner wells, which mean the unitis easy to keep clean and that spills are contained. The individual cast iron pan supportseasily cope with the knocks of a busy kitchen environment.

The Range’s oven is 2/1 gastronorm and has five shelf positions, with two shelvessupplied as standard. A metal to metal door seal delivers the best possible closure,minimising energy wastage by keeping the heat where it’s needed, inside the ovenchamber. The piezo ignition is reliable and efficient while the oven’s 7.5kW burner ensuresit quickly reaches temperature, to a maximum of 280°C.

The Dynamic Link System (DLS), developed by Falcon for the F900 series, means theRange can be tightly joined to other F900 units quickly and easily, giving all the flexibilityand cost-effectiveness of a modular line with the looks and hygiene benefits of a one-piecetop.

The Range measures 900mm deep by 900mm high and 800mm wide. It can beconverted quickly and easily on-site for use with natural, propane or butane gas. All Falconproducts are available through dealers nationwide. List price for the F900 four burnerrange starts at £3750.� www.falconfoodservice.com

The fast, forceful, four-burner Falcon F900

The Wrapmaster Compact – perfect for smaller kitchens

The Matrix Angle is an elegant,curved corner basin, designed byPressalit Care to offer ease ofmovement in a bathroom whereaccessibility for less-abled users is apre-requisite.

Its sweeping curved front edgeand configuration that allows forfitting in a right or left facingcorner, means that the full sizebasin can be accommodated in asmaller bathroom without losingvaluable manoeuvring space for wheelchairs.

Even when a WC is situated on an adjoining wall, the curved front and shallow bowl ofthe Matrix Angle provides maximum space for access.

The Matrix Angle’s shallow bowl provides wheelchair room beneath, while the extra-long integrated grip handles make it possible for users to move around securely and riseto a standing position from a chair with maximum safety and support.

Clear space at the front and sides of the basin surface provides an ideal area foradditional leaning support, with the tap in easy reach. Even more flexibility can be gainedwith the installation with a rise/fall height adjustable Pressalit Care bracket.

Produced from the highest quality crushed marble, and with the design flair andexpertise of Pressalit Care who have been providing specialist, top end sanitary ware forover forty years, every aspect of the Matrix Angle has been considered and tested frommaterial, surface, design and function.

The Pressalit Care Angle Matrix basin is available with a range of accessories, includingtaps, modular shelves and baskets, and can be used alongside Pressalit Care’s extensiverange of grab rails and support arms. � For more information and stockists for Pressalit Care’s range of Matrix

washbasins, visit www.pressalit.com or email [email protected]

The elegant curves of the Matrix Angle Basin

Introducing a ground breaking development in the fight against pressure ulcers,healthcare specialists Sidhil have launched the Monitor, Alert, Protect (M.A.P™) system,the UK's first continuous bedside pressure monitoring system. M.A.P™ can be used inconjunction with almost any mattress system to provide 24/7 data on pressure levelsdeveloping between the patient and the support surface.

Reducing the prevalence of pressure ulcers plays a vital role in improving patientoutcomes and reducing the costs associated with treatment - estimated at between£1.4 and £2.1 billion per year for the NHS. Whilst developing dynamic therapy mattresssystems have already made an important contribution here, nursing staff do notcurrently have a tool capable of distinguishing accurately between high and lowpressures, or assessing the effectiveness of their interventions.

M.A.P™ changes all that. This intelligent pressure distribution monitoring systemuses a pressure sensing mat to identify high and low pressure areas between thepatient and the support surface. The outer layer of this mat consists of a medicalgrade biocompatible material which houses thousands of sensing points capable ofaccurately imaging the body of the patient lying on the support surface.

This information is sent to a monitor attached to the mat, where it is displayed as areal time, colour coded high resolution image, with areas of high pressure clearlydelineated in red and orange, and lower pressure areas showing as green and blue.

This real time visual ‘pressure map' gives care staff accurate detail on eachindividual patient, enabling them to alter the patient's position accordingly to reducepressure and therefore reduce the potential for pressure ulcers. Micro movements canreduce pressures dramatically, which is particularly effective for patients where fullbody repositioning or even turning may be restricted.

The M.A.P™ system is available both for sale and for rental from Sidhil. The purchaseprice is believed to be less than the cost of treating one Grade 1 pressure ulcer.� For a demonstration of Sidhil's M.A.P™ system, please contact:

T: 01422 233 000, www.sidhil.com

Intelligent bedside pressure monitoring from SidhilIn any kitchen no piece of light catering equipment is perhaps more widely used than clingfilm and aluminium foil, which is why catering professionals should be using a professionalkit when it comes to dispensing – you wouldn’t fillet a fish with a bread knife and the samegoes for cling film with cardboard cutter boxes.

Cardboard cutter boxes are not only wasteful – with more cling film ending up in the binthan protecting food – but they can really impact on efficiency, which can be disastrousduring a busy service.

A professional kitchen calls for professional catering equipment, the award winningWrapmaster offers improved kitchen efficiency, less packaging waste and a 35% reductionin product waste for big cost savings. Quick and easy to use, it can help increaseproductivity in the kitchen and – being shatter resistant and dishwasher proof – is also thesafe and hygienic choice for caterers.

What should caterers consider before buying new equipment?There are three key considerations when it comes to light catering equipment – efficiency,

minimising wastage and above all cost savings. By using the Wrapmaster, caterers can avoidtangled and ripped cling film which means not only a more efficient operation but also a 35%reduction in product waste, helping to save money. Space can often be limited in kitchens,the Wrapmaster Compact is perfect for those smaller kitchens with limited space, taking upthe same area as a traditional 30cm cutter box – it’s the portable and easy to use unit, withall the great qualities that have made Wrapmaster the trusted choice.

Since 1975, Wrap Film Systems has been supplying the catering and hospitality sectorsboth here in the UK and internationally. Based in Telford – with a world class

manufacturing and warehouse facility –Wrap Film Systems is the award winning,market leader in cling film and aluminiumfoil that is trusted by catering professionalsand chefs.

� For more information please visitwww.wrap-smart.co.uk

31-33CT0116ads_Layout 1 09/12/2015 16:45

January 2016 www.careinfo.org – Caring Times official website34

building with care

Hartford Care celebrated its new £6m carehome in Portsmouth being one step closerto completion with a traditional ‘ToppingOut’ ceremony in late September..Construction of the 60-bed Hartford

Court, which will offer residential and de-mentia care, began in March of this year andis scheduled to open in the Spring of 2016.Hartford Care is part of a family-owned

business established more than a centuryago in 1908 and features a collection oftwelve individual care homes locatedthroughout the South and South West.

Hartford Court tops-outConstruction work has begun on The Orders ofSt John Care Trust’s (OSJCT) care centre inTrowbridge, Somerset.The £6.1m 64-bed care centre, set for com-

pletion during Winter 2016, will include twofloors providing residential and specialist de-mentia care and will comprise four 16-bedhouseholds, each one complete with its ownkitchen and communal living space.Linking the two households on the ground

floor will be a central destination area, calledthe Street, featuring a cinema, corner shop,hair-salon and a garden room/café.Secure landscaped gardens will be accessi-

ble from each of the ground floor households,along with a communal landscaped garden

Computer rendition of OSJCT’s £6.1m care homenow under construction in Trowbridge

accessible from the garden room/café.The home is being built by Stepnell in part-

nership with The Orders of St John Care Trust,which will provide the care in the new home.

Stepnell starts work at Trowbridge

Planning permission has been given to build a54-bed nursing home in the 27-acre grounds ofGrove Place retirement community in Romsey,

Hampshire. The new LifeCare Residences facilitywill have a 20-bedroom dedicated dementia wingand gardens, and is due for completion in 2017.

Go ahead for nursing home at Grove Place retirement community

Hadrian Healthcare Group opened its latestcare home in November. The Manor House inKnaresborough is the company’s tenth pur-pose-built care development in Yorkshire andthe North East since 2008.The £7.3m home at Hambleton Grove is close

to the town centre and will provide both resi-dential and dementia care.The Manor House has 75 spacious furnished

rooms each with private facilities, landscapedgardens, residents’ bar and restaurants, hairand beauty salon, spa and wellness suite, li-brary and shop. Hadrian says a team of in-house cooks will prepare all the catering usinglocally sourced fresh produce, and a lifestyle

co-ordinator will organise relevant social activ-ities for each resident. All accommodation isarranged in small living groups creating ahomely environment.Hadrian’s managing director Jas Gill said his

company’s aim was always to provide high qual-ity person-centred care in a luxurious, carefullydesigned setting.“The Manor House is right in the heart of the

community and we look forward to becoming anactive part of the community too,” said Mr Gill.

Computer image of Hadrian Healthcare’s£7.3m Manor House in Knaresborough

Hadrian’s Knaresborough home opens

Care UK and specialist construction partnerCastleoak have celebrated the start of work ona £6m care home in Horsham, West Sussex.With 82 en-suite bedrooms the facility will

provide residential care, specialist dementiacare, nursing, and short term respite care andis scheduled to welcome its first residents inOctober 2016. Featuring a cinema, hairdressingsalon and café, the home will also have wheel-chair friendly landscaped gardens.

Castleoak begins ground works at Care UK’s Horsham project

Justin Daley and Craig Currie on siteof the £6m care home now beingbuilt in Horsham, West Sussex

The layout of the building will also facilitatethe creation of close knit communities and willbe configured into a series of individual suiteswith a dedicated lounge and dining room. Eachbedroom will have an en-suite wet room, to-gether with a flat-screen television, adjustableprofile bed, and a 24-hour nurse call system.Castleoak chief executive officer Craig Currie

said the project marked the 1000th care bedCastleoak had delivered for Care UK.

“Over the course of our 17 developments forCare UK we’ve established a collaborative ap-proach to delivering projects that we knowworks well,” said Mr Currie.“This scheme will be testament to our excel-

lent working relationship and will bring somuch to the local area.”

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34-45CT0116edit_Layout 1 09/12/2015 14:24


building with care

On 6 April 2015 the Construction(Design and Management) Regulations2015 came into force replacing the

existing 2007 regulations. The purpose of thenew regulations is to ensure that health andsafety issues are adequately addressed andintegrated during the design, build andoperation of domestic and commercialconstruction projects.The new regulations are intended to improve

on what were perceived to be unnecessary bu-reaucratic measures under the 2007 regula-tions. In particular, one of the key changes wasto remove the role of the Construction Design& Management (CDM) co-ordinator and replaceit with the new role of a Principal Designer. Thiswas because of concerns that the CDM co-or-dinator was not being truly integrated into thedesign process or being involved early enoughin order to be able to influence design.Employer clients on construction projects

must now, where there is more than one con-tractor, appoint a Principal Designer to plan,

New building rules create new role of Principal DesignerByTOM

COLLINSAssociate,Weightmans

Tel: 0151 242 [email protected]

manage and monitor the pre-constructionphase of any project and co-ordinate mattersrelating to health and safety to ensure that, sofar as reasonably practicable, the project is car-ried out without risks to health and safety,seeking to eliminate or control foreseeablehealth and safety risks to those carrying outconstruction work. The client must ensure thatthe Principal Designer appointed has the rele-vant skills, knowledge and experience to under-take the role. If the client fails to appoint aPrincipal Designer then the client itself will berequired to fulfil that role.The new regulations included a transitional

period allowing those operating under the2007 Regulations to continue to do so until 6October 2015. As of 6 October the client mustnow have appointed a Principal Designer or un-dertake the role itself. This requirement hascaused some disquiet in the industry. An exist-ing CDM co-ordinator cannot simply change‘hats’ and become a Principal Designer. ThePrincipal Designer needs to be a designer with

the necessary skills, knowledge and experience.The most likely candidate will be those who

have responsibility for design such as the ar-chitect or perhaps the design and build con-tractor. However, on design and build projectswhere the architect is often novated over to thecontractor the client no longer has a direct linkto the architect.It is the client itself which should make the

appointment. That means that the client has toenter into a new retainer with the architect toact as the Principal Designer.There has been a resistance in the industry

to take on the role, whether for reasons of lackof resource, experience or indeed the will tocarry out the role. Alternatively, design consult-ants may be appointed by the client but sub-contract out the requirements to specialists orresponsibility may be placed on the contractorto act as Principal Designer if it is commerciallypossible to amend the contract.There is as yet no commonly accepted prac-

tice to appoint the Principal Designer in suchcircumstances but, with the 6 October 2015deadline having passed, clients who have notappointed a Principal Designer will have to takesteps to do so or fulfil the role themselves ifthey are content to continue to do so. CT

Rosewood Court, a new care home being builtby LNT Construction in Dunstable, recentlycelebrated a landmark stage in the build witha topping out ceremony.When complete in early March, Rosewood

Court will be operated by Only Care Ltd to pro-vide a home for 66 older people.The home will provide residential, nursing

and dementia care with 100% en-suite accom-modation, landscaped sensory gardens and itsown cinema room and café.Established in 2007, Only Care is a

family-owned business established in 2007with four homes in Derbyshire, Cam-bridgeshire and Yorkshire.

Dunstable town mayor Liz Jones; Only Careregional operations manager Chris Ashton, OnlyCare director Amit Dhamecha and LNT Groupdevelopment director Nick Broadbent mark thetopping-out of Rosewood Court near Dunstable.

LNT tops-out Rosewood in Dunstable

An independent care home company has beenrecognised as one of the best performing busi-nesses in the Scottish Highlands.Parklands Group, which operates seven care

homes across Moray and Highland, was namedOutstanding Performing Business (25+ employ-ees) at the Highland Business Awards.The company has announced plans to build

two new 40-bed care homes, one at Grantownon Spey, for which it has already received plan-

Highlands Business Awards recognise Parklands growthning permission, and another in Fortrose, forwhich planning permission has just been sub-mitted. It is hoped both homes will open by theend of next year, at a cost of £3.5m each.The new facilities will be modelled on Park-

lands’ modern care homes in Tain and Muir ofOrd, opened last year. As well as residentialcare, the new homes will provide respite andconvalescence care.Rooms will be significantly larger than the

minimum standard set down by the NationalCare Standards.Parklands managing director Ron Taylor said

the recognition by the Highland BusinessAwards was fundamentally about the staff.“We employ almost 500 people across the

Highlands and Moray, many of whom have beenwith us for over a decade,” said Mr Taylor. “I amgrateful to all of them for their hard work andcommitment to our residents.”

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Ideal Carehomes, part of the LNT Group, has begun paying all its staff above the Living Wage,despite inflation being near 0% for the past year. The lowest paid staff member in the organ-isation will now be paid £7.50p/h – a 15% increase on Ideal’s former lowest wage. The NationalMinimum Wage reached £6.70p/h in October 2015. Newly appointed chief executive Matt Lowe said Ideal had a strong family feel and has long

offered excellent additional benefits to staff such as iPhones, shopping discounts and childcarevouchers. “The introduction of the Living Wage has given providers like us the opportunity todemonstrate our dedication to a quality care offer and recognition of how hard our staff workto create such great places to live,” said Mr Lowe. “Offering an above-Living Wage, never mindMinimum Wage, rise is a no-brainer for us and puts us ahead of the curve in the sector.”Sarah Colling, Ideal head of HR, said that while the Chancellor’s announcement to introduce

the Living Wage from next year had been met with caution by many in the sector, Ideal believedthe raise would help them improve their offer to residents.“The decision to make the introduction at this early stage, reflects Ideal’s understanding

that quality care requires motivated and committed staff,” said Ms Colling.“Ideal wants to recruit and retain the best staff. We believe that this raise in hourly pay will

show our staff how committed we are to their roles. It’s not all about wage, however, and webelieve that providing our staff with full training, regardless of their role, is vital to creatingthe right caring environment. Their achievements as carers are central to our achievement asa provider.”

Ideal Carehomes: exceeding Living Wage is a ‘no-brainer’

Orchard Care Homes, a provider of residential elderly care homesacross the UK, has completed its acquisition of 21 homes from theLeyton Healthcare portfolio.Paul Mancey, Chief Executive of Orchard Care Homes commented:

“We are pleased to announce the news of the purchase of LeytonHomes, which are mainly located in the Midlands and the north ofEngland. Orchard has a strong track record in taking on home portfoliosand we’re looking forward to working with the Leyton home teams. Themost important thing is to ensure the continuity of care. There are nochanges envisaged to the management and staff at the homes”The purchase is part of an ongoing expansion of the Harrogate-based

care group.

Four Seasons Health Care has announced theclosure of seven of its 69 homes in NorthernIreland, where it is the leading care provider.Two are in Belfast, with the others in Antrim,Garvagh, Craigavon, Ballynahinch andArmagh, together employing 393 staff caringfor 254 residents. The closures are expectedto be completed by February and follow in thewake of an earlier Four Seasons closure inNorthern Ireland in October, after which thecompany appointed advisers to undertake anemergency financial review.A spokesman for the company, which is

owned by private equity firm Terra Firma, said:“The principal reason behind this decision isthat each of these homes is operating at a lossand they are no longer viable. The fee incomethat the homes receive is below the cost of thecare they are providing… The decision to closeany home is not taken lightly.”

GMB, the union for care home staff,responded: “GMB is seeking an urgent meetingwith the [Northern Ireland] health ministerSimon Hamilton along with senior managementin the wake of the company announcement.”After the announcement, Mr Hamilton said a

consultation process over the potentialclosure of 10 state-run care homes in NorthernIreland would be put on hold. Four Seasons faces £50m of interest to

service a £500m debt. In an interview with theGuardian, Four Seasons chairman Ian Smithcriticised George Osborne’s 2% council taxprecept and the Better Care Fund, and saidcare homes need an increase of 6-10% incouncil funding “just to stand still”.At the time of going to press, Hutchinson Care

Homes had expressed interested in buyingAntrim Care Home and Spa Nursing HomeGroup was interested in Oakridge, Ballynahinch.

The future of three Lincolnshire care homesemploying 160 staff has been secured afterthey were transferred from current ownersLACE Housing to specialist care providerCountry Court Care.Eccleshare Court near Hartsholme Country

Park in Lincoln, Ruckland Court in north Lincolnand Neale Court in North Hykeham are nowowned and managed by Country Court Care.

Embattled Four Seasons closesseven homes in Northern Ireland

County Court Care acquiresthree Lincolnshire homes

Alykhan Kachra, Managing Director at Country CourtCare, with Nick Chambers, CEO of LACE Housing

Orchard Care Homes acquires Leyton Homes group

The care workers union GMB has begun legalaction against Avery Healthcare Group overclaims that its female staff are not paidequally to men.GMB has instructed law firm Leigh Day to

seek equal pay for 62 female members of staffin caring roles across Avery’s 15 homes, to putthem on a par with the mostly malemaintenance and caretaking staff.Chris Benson, a partner at Leigh Day,

commented: “While it is recognised in somesectors that women are undervalued andunderpaid I did not expect to see this happenin care homes.”A letter from Leigh Day to Avery warned:

“Our clients intend to pursue claims in respect of breaches of their contracts ofemployment.”

Avery under fire overpay for female staff

Care home operator Kingsley Healthcare has acquired two premiumproperties in Cheshire. The multi-million-pound purchase of Redwallsnursing home in Sandiway, Northwich and Sharston House nursinghome in Knutsford adds 92 beds to the company’s portfolio.Kingsley’s CEO Daya Thayan said: “Kingsley is looking to acquire

further quality homes in prime locations as well as moving forward witha new build programme to complement our property portfolio.”The sale was assisted by Coutts bank and Wetherby-based property

agent Lamont Johnson. Mr Thayan said his company’s new-buildprogramme was also progressing with a specialist dementia care homein Partington, Greater Manchester under construction.

Kingsley Healthcare expands in Cheshire

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Investigations by the Observer have revealedan escalating financial crisis in the care homesector. Chai Patel, the chairman of HC-One,

one of Britain’s largest care home operators,recently stated that half of Britain’s care homescould soon go bust.There are concerns that the new National

Living Wage and moves to pay transport costs tocarers will increase the costs of care. Localauthorities have also suffered funding cuts ofmore than 40% since 2010 and are struggling tooffer attractive contracts; therefore manyproviders are turning to the private sector.In light of this, solicitors have received

numerous queries from care home owners askinghow to deal effectively with mounting debts. If you are a care home owner faced with this

problem, you will need to:� Work out how much is owed� Work out if you have enough money to pay offyour debts

� Contact your creditors and make proposals topay them back

� Work out your options if you don’t havesufficient funds to repay the debts.Once you have worked out how much money is

owed, it is important to understand that differenttypes of debt can result in different types of

enforcement action being taken:� Mortgage or rent arrears. Failure to pay thesecould result in you losing your place of business.

� Electricity and gas arrears. Failure to pay couldresult in your care home being disconnected.

� County Court Judgements (CCJs). Failure topay a CCJ could result in the creditorinstructing bailiffs to seize your property,obtaining a third party debt order (this allows acreditor to take the money you owe themdirectly from whoever has the money, forexample a bank or building society) or securinga charging order over any land or assets thatyou own. If a charging order is obtained, inorder to realise the judgement debt the creditorwould have to go on to obtain an order for sale.

� Income tax or VAT arrears.You can be sent toprison for non-payment of income tax or VAT.It is also important to be wary of creditors

threatening to invoke insolvency proceedings. Ifyou operate as a company and a debt is worthmore than £750, then insolvency proceedings orthe threat of them, via the service of a statutorydemand, may be served on you. If you operate

your business as a sole trader or partnership, theinsolvency threshold is £5000. However thecourts tend to discourage the use of insolvencyprocedures as a debt collection exercise and, ifthe debt is genuinely disputed, then the courtsmay not only dismiss petitions, but also penalisethose bringing them.It is also important to note that even if you

don’t have sufficient funds to pay off your debts,it may still be possible to negotiate a deal withyour creditors. For example it may be more costeffective for a creditor to accept a reduction inthe amounts owed to them than take action toenforce the debt. Also if there is a lack of moneyin your business generally, the likelihood ofcreditors receiving all money owed in the event ofthem taking enforcement action is likely to beslim. Therefore a negotiated deal may be themost cost effective solution.

� If your care home is struggling with mounting debts, you canget advice from David, who specialises in the care homesector. He can be contacted directly [email protected] or 01772 208 507.

CT

January 2016Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn 39

business & property

DAVID EDWARDS, head of the healthcare sector team at Harrison Drury solicitors, looks at how to contain a potential crisis

How care home owners can manage debt

FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR EITHER OF THESE GREAT EVENTS PLEASECONTACT [email protected] TO REGISTER INTEREST

DEMENTIANational

CARE AWARDS

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Paul Marriner is CEO of Lifeways Group,which is one of the UK’s leading providersof support services for people with

learning disabilities and other diverse andcomplex needs in community settings. Thebusiness, established in 1995, currently supportsmore than 6000 tenants and individuals,employs more than 10,000 staff and has aturnover in excess of £230 million.“It’s been a busy year for the business and I

guess the acquisition of the learning disabilitiesbusiness of Care UK (which turned over morethan £50 million) was a significant milestone,”Paul explains. Lifeways clearly seems to have taken that on

board with its service offerings and its history ofhigh profitability – partly thanks to the lessonsput forward by one of the most influentialbusiness books of the past decade, Blue OceanStrategy (W Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne,Harvard Business Review Press 2005). Itsauthors argue most companies compete in a ‘redocean’, ie in an overcrowded market wheremargins are continually driven down. Kim andMauborgne suggest that to succeed the key is todifferentiate one’s offering by establishing apresence in an uncontested market (the ‘blueocean’) where margins are greater. “Supported living is the core and largest part

of our business and within that we have beendifferent as the first provider to successfullydevelop and deliver a new model of purpose-built supported living services for people withdiverse and complex needs,” says Paul. “We havealso branched into more specialist segments ofthe market, including acquired brain injury aswell as a wide range of mental health services.”

Sporting backgroundToday Paul is widely recognised across the socialcare sector for his contribution, not leastadvocating innovation. And yet his initial careeraspirations were not related to social care at all.

“I grew up in Yorkshire in a working classfamily passionate about sports. I played rugbyleague semi-professionally, football, badminton,and my real passion was table tennis. During myA levels I wanted to be a policeman. I applied butwas told I had to wait 18 months forcommencement of training and then the miner’sstrike was looking likely.“I was very close to my late grandfather, John

who, particularly later in his life, was severelyphysically disabled. In the late 1970s I used toattend a day centre with him in Pontefract, whichduring the day was a centre for people withlearning disabilities. My aunt said I would make agood nurse given my empathy and ability tointeract with people, so I thought ‘why not?’.”He duly qualified as a nurse and then in

mental health (“back then we were called mentalhandicap nurses!”). Having spent over nine yearsin the NHS, including the last four as acommunity nurse in Leeds, he joined theindependent sector in 1993 with what was thenNorthern Life Care. This move had a lastingimpact on his professional career.“I was blessed to have a superb mentor there

in Dorothy Jarvis Lee, who was an innovativethinker in the world of social care. Back then,more than 20 years ago, we were providingsupported living almost exclusively. Indeed, oneof my first roles was to work towards closingdown a 17-bed residential care facility. Thebusiness was ahead of its time. My time thereadded to my inspiration to make a difference andthink differently.”Paul flourished and was promoted to Regional

Manager and then became Head ofDevelopment. He found time, in 1994, tocomplete a degree in health and social care inthe process too.

Roles at LifewaysHe eventually joined Lifeways in 2000 (havingignored the entreaties to meet the founder formore than six months) and moved to Devon(with his wife Tracie and then baby daughterCaitlin). At the time Lifeways had just 100 serviceusers and 150 staff. By 2007 Paul had beenpromoted first to Development Director and thencombined Development & Operations Director.During this time the business had experiencedexplosive growth and now served 900 servicesusers and employed 1500 staff.“I worked hard and had faith that supported

living models offered real opportunities toservice users to live and be connected with acommunity and realise their self-worth. Thesupported living model also offered value formoney for commissioners and I was confidentthat, commercially, due to demographic trends,there was a great opportunity to grow thebusiness”At this juncture the founders of the business

wished to retire and Paul took up theopportunity to realise his vision and lead anmanagement buyout with the backing of AugustEquity. This proved a spectacularly successfulmeeting of minds.“August Equity shared my deep passion for

Lifeways leader has a lifetime passion for careSuhail Mirza’s healthcare leadership profile: PAUL MARRINER, LIFEWAYS GROUP

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quality. It was the item that led all boardmeetings and we knew that this, together withinnovation, would distinguish our business.”Over the next five years Lifeways, through

both organic growth and acquisitions, grewexponentially. By the time OMERS PE (theprivate equity arm of one of Canada’s largestpension funds), backed a secondarymanagement buyout led by Paul, Lifewaysserved 3000 service users and had more than5000 staff. Paul highlights that the deal was good for

both August Equity and OMERS PE, with Augustdoing exceptionally well after five years. Hefurther mentions OMERS PE’s passion for qualityand financial strength as key enables of growththey have enjoyed since 2012. Paul’s mastery of the numbers matches his

encyclopaedic understanding of care.“I have an affinity with numbers, did an A level

in maths and also fancied being an accountant. Idid complete an MBA in 2004 but left being aqualified accountant to my wife Tracie!”

Strategy for growthThe last three years have witnessed acontinuation of Lifeways’ impressive growth andthis includes several acquisitions, culminating inthe Care UK transaction of earlier this year.John Kotter, a Harvard Business School

scholar, has emphasised that truly outstandingleaders need to have a clear vision in which their

colleagues have belief and be able to inspirethem to continually make the changes needed torealise it. Paul personifies those ideas.“My leadership team shares my passion for

empowering all our service users to receive thebest person-centred care and support thatenables them to make choices about their livesand to live as independently as possible. In fact,the senior leadership team has been with mesince 2008 and having that continuity has beenkey to our growth.”And how does Lifeways seek to establish itself

as a leader in its markets?“Quality of service is paramount. This has

always been so but, particularly in light of recentscandals, the scrutiny of independent sectorproviders has never been greater. In that regardwe have Quality Focus Groups that meetregularly and we also ensure the individuals wesupport are also involved in our quality team’sindependent audits of services. This ensures allhave optimal involvement in the delivery of care.”He adds that equally important is the culture

and values of staff in any care organisation“We have adopted a Recruitment Toolkit

which ensures there is a nexus or bond betweenstaff and service users in that its aim is to ensurenobody is recruited without some input frompeople who receive support.”Paul is a champion of community-based care

provision and his days within the NHS haveprovided him with an empathy to the challenges

facing commissioners.“We have long advocated a move away from

silo-based thinking,” he says. “We welcomeadoption of a holistic, whole-systems model ofcare and support where, through transparencyand collaboration, providers and commissionerscan join up health and social care delivery. Thispromotes service user choice and also offersbest value; critically important at a time ofrestraint on the public purse.”

Forging partnershipsPaul remains driven to improve the extent ofchoice and control vulnerable adults have abouttheir models of care: “Too many adults are notgetting the care and support they deserve and livein inappropriate settings. To redress this Lifewayshas partnered with investors and housingassociations to deliver a purpose-built flat schememodel that works for both some of the mostcomplex individuals or individuals who requiresmall amounts of support each week; Lifewaysdelivers the 24/7 care and support and thescheme makes full use of assistive technology.”Paul may be the CEO of a £230m turnover

business with aspirations to grow much further,but he remains very much hands on and spendstime every week in services “rolling up mysleeves and being close to where care andsupport is delivered”. The spark that was lit inPontefract looking after his grandfather all thoseyears ago clearly burns brightly today. CT

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PROMOTION: The future of threeLincolnshire care homes has been securedafter they were transferred from LACEHousing to ‘Residential Care Provider ofthe Year’ Country Court Care.Eccleshare Court, near

HartsholmeCountry Parkin Lincoln,RucklandCourt in NorthLincoln and NealeCourt in North Hykeham are now ownedand managed by Country Court Care.Country Court Care is already a major

employer in Lincolnshire, employing over700 staff and they are committed to acontinued program of investment in theindustry with plan for growth across thecountry. As an award winning care provider with

strong family values, Country Court Carewill be able to achieve greater efficiencieswithout affecting the quality and standardof care provided. All three of these CareHomes will receive significant investmentto ensure that existing and future

residents experience the very best careand accommodation.Al-karim Kachra, Corporate Finance

Director, commented: “We are delightedwith the purchase of these three care

homes from LACE Housing. This isCountry Court Care’s

secondtransaction withChandler and Co

and they haveprovided exceptional

service and we are looking forward toworking with them again in the future. “We were already aware of LACE and

these assets for some time and we knewthat they were good operators. Havingdone previous deals with two otherhousing associations, this was a natural fitfor us and with having similar values toLACE, we are pleased with the outcome.”Mark Hickman, Partner at Chandler & Co

commented, “It is always a pleasure towork with Country Court Care and we havebuilt a strong relationship over the lastfive years. We look forward to workingtogether on the next project.”

Chandler & Co supports Country Court Careas it secures future of Lincoln care homes PROMOTION:

Carterwood havewon the prestigioustitle of PropertyConsultant of theYear at theLaingBuissonAwards. Ben Hartleyand MatthewDrysdale receivedthe award frompresenter andformer politicianMichael Portillo.The volume of nominations this year was phenomenal according to

LaingBuisson. Judges were, when choosing the winners, to look at anumber of key areas: the core values and aims of the organisations;project outcomes; the longevity of their projects; the opportunitiesgiven to both staff and clients; and the importance of the providerwithin the context of the independent sector framework.Commenting on this achievement, Amanda Nurse, director, said:

“We’re thrilled to win Property Consultants of the Year. This is a newcategory this year and to be up against some long establishedcompanies and to win is absolutely fabulous. However this is very mucha team effort, and on top of an excellent year where we have achievedour largest agency deal to date and had a tremendous increase in ourconsultancy reports, 2015 is shaping up to be our best ever!”

� For information about Carterwood’s services and approach,please telephone 08458 690777 or email [email protected]

Carterwood win Property Consultants of the Year

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Running a well-managedcare home is expensiveand with the

announcement of the NationalLiving Wage it’s not about to getany cheaper. However, relyingsolely on the Government tomake up for any financial shortfallisn’t a viable way forward. For thegood of the sector and our userswe need to diversify and makesocial care more sustainable.That’s why I think we need to seegreater use of self-service servicetechnology to attract morebusiness from self-funders.Right now around £14bn of the

money spent on social care eachyear comes from local government,with £10bn provided from privatesources. In anyother line ofbusiness, havingmore than half ofyour revenueassociated with asingle customeris a cause forconcern. This isparticularly trueif that customeris very publicly experiencingfinancial difficulties. Why shouldcare be any different?To put care homes on a better

financial footing we need to growsubstantially the share of incomethat derives from private sources.That means being visible not only tolocal authorities who commissionservices, but also to individuals andtheir families. Increasingly thismeans being highly visible onlinewhere those in need of care andtheir families are likely to researchthe available options.It also means offering

innovative services that attract awider potential market. Forexample, there are interestingscenarios to be consideredaround housing market equityrelease to fund alternative living

arrangements in housing that ismore suited to care.This need for innovation is

another reason why we mustreduce our reliance on localauthority commissioning, whichinadvertently disincentivises carehome owners from trying newthings. Procurement asks foradded value and often claims toput quality above price, but sooften it seems that price wins overquality. It feels like box-ticking andexacerbates difficulties inrecruiting nurses and careworkers. If it’s not attractive towork in the kind of care settingswe are perpetuating, then howmuch less attractive must it be tolive there too? I do not aspire to

end my days inresidential care inits current guise. In line with the

aims of the CareAct a better wayforward is toenable everycitizen and theirfamily to becomea private

commissioner of care, with muchmore say over which careservices best fit their needs. Howmight this work in practice? Withso much confusion in the marketwe need better signposting sothat care users and their familiescan get a better understanding ofwhat is available.A prerequisite for this is a

central marketplace where anyindividual can log-on to see what isavailable in their area. However,encouraging the take-up of directpayments could also help to tip thebalance, enabling the care sectorto reduce its dependence on localauthority business in favour ofsecuring revenue from a morediverse base of users.

� www.mycaresupermarket.com,01772 535 683

CT

Accessing a diverse marketAs local authority funding dries-up,myCareSupermarket’s co-founder

STEPHEN SLOSS says providers need tolook at other ways of reducing theirdependence on state-funded clients

‘To put care homes on a

better financial footing

we need to grow

substantially the share

of income that derives

from private sources’

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business & property

My company, Radfield Home Care, wasrecently ‘randomly selected’ for aNational Minimum Wage compliance

inspection by HMRC. As this is a hot topic in thesocial care sector, with HMRC focusing itsattention on domiciliary care for many of itscompliance inspections, I thought it might bebeneficial to others to share my experience andsome of the useful pieces of information that wegleaned from having successfully gone throughthe process.

How does HMRC select whichdomiciliary care providers to audit?Firstly, the selection of our company to beinspected was not as random as the initial letter

suggested, but as a response to HMRC targetingproviders operating in locations where the localauthority pays a lower than average rate for thecare that they commission. While this is clearly a useful strategy for HMRC

to adopt to try to focus in on those more likely tobe in breach of the National Minimum Wage law,it does feel somewhat heavy handed tospecifically target those who are trying to makebusiness ends meet in areas where they havelittle influence over the rate that they are paid. In England, local authorities pay on average

£13.77 per hour to domiciliary care providers,whereas according to the UK Home CareAssociation (UKHCA) the minimum sustainableprice of UK Care is currently around £16.16 per

hour and will increase to £16.70 in April 2016when the Living Wage comes into effect.Homecare providers are therefore having to

uphold the UK Government’s minimum price forwages, but the Government is not having touphold the minimum price that care actuallycosts to deliver. This imbalance is a serious threat to a

sustainable home care system that is good foremployees and good for those receiving care.Without greater action, the sector is atsignificant risk of failure – that recent figuresgathered from a survey of 492 homecareproviders in the UK suggesting that 11% ofdomiciliary care providers in the UK felt thatthey would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ have

How my homecare business survived an HMRC minimumwage inspection and what you need to know

Dr Hannah MacKechnie, founder and director of Radfield Home Care Ltd, hasrecently been through the process of a National Minimum Wage complianceinspection by HMRC. Here she shares her valuable insights gained during this processto benefit other UK homecare providers

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stopped trading within the next 12 months istestament to this.

How does the process work?The inspection itself was straightforward but verythorough. It broadly followed this format:� Stage 1: Standard issue HMRC letter� Stage 2: Face-to-face HMRC inspection visit� Stage 3: Removal of records for HMRC auditing� Stage 4: Outcome of HMRC inspectioncommunicated.The initial letter advised that records dating

back three years needed to be available for theinspection team to review. The inspection visitwas undertaken at a mutually agreed date andtime and at our premises. The inspector wasaccompanied by a trainee and, as our inspectorinformed us, HMRC is actively recruiting andgrowing its National Minimum Wage inspectionteam at the moment, I imagine having a traineepresent during the meeting will be fairly standardpractice. With regard to the auditing process, the

inspectors have the right to take away anydocumentation that they feel is relevant to theirinvestigation and this usually includes, at theminimum: carer timesheets, rotas, rates of payand payroll information. HMRC takes thisinformation away to undertake its own audit toestablish if there are any instances of non-compliance. When the external audit is completed, HMRC

will communicate its findings back to thecompany; in Radfield Home Care’s case this was inthe form of a letter stating that we were found tobe compliant with National Minimum Wagelegislation.

Points of interest During the inspection meeting in September 2015we were asked a lot of questions about ouremployment processes, which ranged from howwe undertake staff interviews right through to themore expected specific questions on how westructure travel pay. Having become familiar withthe online guidance produced by HMRC for traveltime pay, pay for waiting time and breaks,theinspectors’ approach to these areas on somepoints seemed to be more specific than the basic

guidance available online. For example, it states on the HMRC website

“the average hourly pay has to be at least theNational Minimum Wage, worked out over theperiod each pay packet covers”. This would implythat you can take the total earnings over a payperiod and divide this by the number of hoursworked to check that the employee is being paidthe Minimum Wage. However, in reality the actualapproach taken by HMRC is more detailed in thatany enhancements to pay are discounted for thepurposes of calculating minimum wagecompliance. So if you pay an enhanced rate for work

undertaken in the evening or at weekends, thisenhancement is not included when calculating theaverage pay over the pay period – HMRC will usethe standard rate of pay for work undertaken tobe the rate upon which it makes all calculations. This means that if a homecare provider

happened to pay below Minimum Wage for anyaspects of work, this rate would be that uponwhich all pay is calculated and they wouldimmediately be in breach of the NationalMinimum Wage legislation. There is more in-depth information available on

enhanced payments – it forms part of a lengthyNational Minimum Wage Manual guidance

document, which is available online. Our inspector also stated that work undertaken

at night is considered as a separate issue and istherefore not included in calculations for MinimumWage compliance. Any night work done by carerswill therefore not be included in any audits.

Are workers’ breaks included?Another area where I feel that the guidanceprovided by HMRC is not clear enough is in regardto breaks for workers. HMRC has examples on itswebsite about how to manage breaks in work andwhen a break must be paid for, but it does notexplicitly state how long a break must be in orderfor it to be considered an unpaid break. Theinspector stated to us that an unpaid break mustbe at least 30 minutes in duration – any breakshorter than this is considered to be waiting timeand therefore must be paid for.Knowing that Radfield Home Care is legally

compliant of course provides peace of mind but Ifeel that it is important to share the informationand help others avoid the potentially far-reachingconsequences that non-compliance can have ontheir business.

� Hannah MacKechnie, 01939 291692,www.radfieldhomecare.co.uk

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� Ensure that your basic pay rate is at least at the levelof the National Minimum Wage

� Ensure that you are paying carers for any gaps betweencare calls that are less than 30 minutes in duration

� Ensure that you are paying carers for their time spenttravelling at least at the level of the National MinimumWage (special care needs to be taken here forproviders who use a rolled-up rate to pay carers, iepaying them a higher rate for time spent with clientsbut no additional travel time pay)

� Remember that travel time is work time and workersare entitled to holiday pay for this

� Do not rely on enhanced rates of pay or night work toboost average pay to meet the National Minimum Wage

� Familiarise yourself with the National Minimum WageManual (www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/nmwmanual/) toensure compliance across all areas.

How to comply

Potens acquires Olive Tree: Social care providerPotens has expanded its operations in north-westEngland with the acquisition of Blackburn-based OliveTree Domiciliary Services, in a deal advised by BusinessPartnership Corporate, business brokers based inNorthwich, Cheshire. Olive Tree is a specialist inproviding domiciliary care for adults with learningdifficulties and has enjoyed substantial growth sincebeing established in 2011. Birkenhead-based Potens runsa network of 52 services, from Torquay to Newcastle.

Family firm expands home care service: Lancashire-based Townfield Care is set to significantly expand itshomecare service, creating up to 100 new jobs. It willalso establish its own in-house training academy aspart of the planned growth. Over the next 12 monthsTownfield aims to increase the homecare hours itprovides to around 2500 per week.

Homecare business news

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