22 Dec 2016

Care Assist Newsletter December 2016

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Director's Comments:

 

Hi there,

The year is going incredibly fast and thinking about the new year to come, we would welcome your ideas and suggestion on how we can become better and more cohesive as an organisation.

We value your views and it would be good to hear more from our staff. Let's make 2017 the year for listening!

Sophia Phills
Operations Director

CA Employee Profile
 

Each newsletter issue focuses on a different Care Assist employee and their experience working within the organisation and community care industry.

 

Teresa Neal – Group Supported Living Manager

 

My name is Teresa Neal and I joined the organisation in December 2014.

I am the Group Supported Living Manager and I oversee the Supported Living Services at Care Assist.

I have been in the social care field for a number of years, with various roles in supported living services, residential services, Domiciliary Care and hospital settings. I started my nursing career in 1980 at Harperbury Hospital.

A large institution where people with learning difficulties and mental health were looked after and not necessarily supported to gain their independence.
In those days supporting people in the community was a relatively new concept and it was the start of a lot of pioneering work in the field.

Over my 36 years of working in this industry I have seen much progression in services becoming, more person centered and those in receipt of that support become more independent and fulfilling their dreams.
Although I have only been here for two years I simply love the ethos that runs through the organisation. This is how services should be run, and this is why I am here and why I am still striving to make a difference.
I see:

  • People being treated with great respect.
  • People being listened to.
  • People being able to tell their story and to feel valued.
  • Staff having a wealth of good robust training.
  • Motivational and creative staff.
  • A can do and problem solving approach.
  • Clear lines of communication.
  • Good solid paperwork.
  • Decent, quality accommodation for people to live in.

I would like to continue to be a part of managing staff in order to provide excellent services and to see people with disabilities becoming more equal in society and achieving.

Community Care feature

 

We have been published on www.communitycare.co.uk!

 

Read the article HERE.


 

So what's been going on?


News from Care Assist services!

Chartley Avenue

 

A Day in the life of Christopher

 

Hi, my name is Christopher and I live at number 17 Chartley Avenue, I have recently spent a few months in hospital. I suffer from diabetes which was the route to the problem alongside the deterioration of my mental health. Staff at Chartley Avenue visited me on a regular basis, this certainly helped speed up my recovery and it was lovely to receive the support from them. I have a great relationship with all staff at Chartley Avenue and I am grateful for everything they have done to help me recover.

I recently spent a day out shopping with my key worker Owen and my girlfriend Bindi. I needed a new winter jacket. Owen suggested that we went to Wembley as there was a good choice of shops in the new outlet near the stadium. We ended up in Primark and I felt as though I was lost for choice. One jacket caught my eye in particular, it was dark grey and was fitted with fur around the hood. I tried the jacket on and it fitted perfectly, Owen and Bindi said it looked great.

It has been a while since I shopped for clothes so I decided to add a few nice t-shirts, a warm hat and scarf and gloves. I then treated my girlfriend Bindi to something, she chose a female version of my jacket and thought it would look nice for us to match.

 After shopping we went to one of my favourite cafes. All the staff in that cafĂ© know me as I go there every Friday with my girlfriend and father. They asked me if I wanted “My Usual “and also commented on my new jacket (as I was wearing it). It felt nice to receive a compliment, this really made me smile. I then complimented him on his shirt which looked like he had spilt tomato ketchup on it and we both laughed.

We then made our way back to Chartley Avenue, before we went inside I remembered I needed to grab a few groceries from Iceland. I always keep a list of shopping in my wallet so that I can remember what I need to buy.

I really enjoyed my day out as I laughed so much with Owen and Bindi.  It felt good being back out in the community. This was a good day for me.


Hamilton Road

 

A little throwback to summer... Melinda and Letisha organised a BBQ in August. Residents and staff enjoyed a great day of good food, games and sunshine.




Lynton Road


Welcome, Candice!

 

Candice has recently moved into Lynton Road and has made very good progress already.


Candice has recently joined Harrow Recovery Centre. They offer various classes for clients that are recovering from substance use. Candice enjoys her arts and crafts classes a lot and attends other interesting classes too. She then likes to go for a meal with staff.

Candice has also signed up for a college course that she will start very soon. We are very proud of Candice so far and hope she makes more progress in the future. Well done Candice!



Sheenal Patel – Progress so far.


Sheenal moved into Lynton Road in May 2016 and has made excellent progress already.

While she continues to have a busy schedule and carries out a lot of activities, she has also been to three holidays. Sheenal has visited Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Lincoln. The pictures below are from all the holidays she has been to so far. 



Happy Birthday Miles!

 

Miles celebrated his birthday with staff and his fellow residents at Lynton Road on the 25th October 2016. Happy Birthday Miles!

 

New template


Below is an example of our new 'Distant Travelled format', this is a good way to capture the outcomes and milestones that our clients achieve and it's a good way to look back and review. Templates can be found on the G Drive.


Key Principles for Supported Living and good support

 

To provide care and support aligned to the good practice REACH: Standards in Supported Living People using Care & Support services have the right to:

  • I choose who I live with, I choose where I live,

  • I have my own home, I choose how I am supported

  •  I choose who supports me, I get good support,

  • I choose my friends and relationships, I choose how to be healthy and safe, I choose how to take part in my community, I have the same rights and responsibilities as other citizens and I get help to make changes in my life.


To ensure the SL Service take both a person-centred approach and an outcomes-based approach to all aspects of daily living in relation to the environment, care, support services, in line with each service user’s support plan we should always focus the client/service user at the centre.
 

  1. To ensure service users, have influence over the operation of their care services.

  2. Are involved in all decisions which affect them.  This may include accessing the support of advocacy services where necessary or appropriate.

  3. To provide a Service that acknowledges and works with the service user’s circle of support.

  4. To ensure information is available to service users which may be bespoke to the needs of individual service users, allowing them to understand and make use of the information where possible.

  5. To adopt best practice methods and principles of positive engagement & behavioural support, ensuring all staff are equipped to deliver best practice in all situations.

  6. Rights – The Service Provider will ensure that all members of its workforce treat service users with dignity and respect in accordance with the Department of Health’s ‘Dignity in Care’ policy and ‘End of Life’ guideline; and challenge discrimination on all grounds including all protected characteristics.

  7. Respect - The experience of having a valued place among a network of people and valued roles in the community and being treated as a person of worth.  To achieve this means challenging stereotypes, and creating an atmosphere and culture in which service user’s self-esteem, dignity, rights, choices and privacy are promoted and respected.

  8. Choice – Service users have a right to make choices and decisions about their daily lives and activities. The Service Provider shall enable service users to make choices through the provision of support and accessible information. Service users will be supported and encouraged to determine their own lifestyle as far as possible.

  9. Independence - While service users’ individual needs will differ, the starting point should be one of independence, rather than dependence, with the Service Provider providing the support needed to maximise this. Independence in this context does not mean doing everything unaided – where a service user needs support with an activity, the focus will be on ‘doing with’ and involving the person to be an active participant in their support.

  10. Community Presence – The Service Provider will promote community presence.  This means the experience of visiting, belonging, sharing and using the facilities available in the ordinary places that define local community life.  It also means the extent to which service users live in non-segregated settings and participate in a variety of valued activities, including leisure and work.

  11. Community Participation - This means the experience of being part of a growing network of personal relationships and the valued contribution which may be made by the individual to these relationships, and to activities that are part of the local community and this shall be promoted by the Service Provider.

  12. Developing Competence – Service users should have opportunities to develop new skills throughout their lives, by building on their existing capabilities in a variety of settings with a variety of support to enable them to be as fully involved in their community as possible.  Age or Mental Health should not act as a barrier to this. Developing Competence shall be promoted by the Service Provider.

  13. Recovery - Service users with mental health needs will be supported in a manner consistent with the Recovery Model: an approach that emphasizes and supports each individual's potential for recovery. Recovery is seen within the model as a personal journey that may involve developing hope, a secure base and sense of self, supportive relationships, empowerment, social inclusion, coping skills, and meaning.

  14. Culture and Individuality – The Services provided shall be appropriate to individual need, reflecting age and gender considerations, culture, disability, race and sexuality. All service users should be valued for who they are.

  15. Equalities– Care Assist Ltd is committed to Equal Opportunities and the recognition of protected characteristics through the provision of services and requires that the Service Provider recognises and respects cultural and religious diversity and offers the Service in such a ways as to adhere to not only the letter but also the spirit of the Equalities Act 2010.

Would you like to be included in our newletter or have an interesting story to share?
Please email Anna at a.apanasewicz@careassistuk.net to be published in the next issue.