Staff recruitment and retention remain long-standing challenges for the care sector, with the coronavirus pandemic adding to the difficulties many providers face. Cygnet Healthcare's Fiona Oxley presents an uplifting and positive take on recruiting great colleagues - and keeping them.
"My name is Sofija Igonkina, from Latvia. I have been living in England for 15 years. I'm a nurse and I work in Evergreen nursing home in Hastings. I want to share my story about why I had the COVID-19 vaccine and why I'm going to get a booster jab this winter."
Millions of eligible people, including care staff, are now being offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine. Natasha Edwards, Registered Manager at Evergreen Care Home, explains why she and her colleagues are fully behind the booster AND the winter flu jab.
Social care bodies across England have joined together to announce a Social Care Day of Remembrance and Reflection. It will take place, next year, on 22 March and be a day to honour the work of the adult social care workforce and remember those we lost. Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, Deborah Sturdy, explains the background...
"As part of the record 36 billion investment to reform the NHS and social care, the Prime Minister’s announcement of at least £500 million funding for the care workforce across three years is very welcome", says Deborah Sturdy, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care in her new blog marking the Prime Minister's recent announcement on social care reform.
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented challenges for many colleagues working in the social care sector, making retention and recruitment more important than ever. Vida Healthcare's Bernadette Mossman explains how she and her colleagues have been encouraging vaccination among their staff.
When you have a ‘week’ or ‘month’ concentrating on a theme or a campaign, it can really focus minds. But there’s also the danger that, once the week or month has passed, the issue gets sidelined. Co-production Week, which the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) ran in early July, got a good conversation going. Gerard Crofton-Martin, Head of Research, Practice Improvement and Co-production wants to make the most of this awareness raising...
Barchester Healthcare has been working tirelessly, in difficult circumstances, to protect and reassure its colleagues, residents and their relatives about COVID-19 and vaccinations throughout the course of the pandemic. Chief Executive Dr Peter Calveley explains how he and his team worked hard to keep staff updated on the vaccination roll out and allay their concerns about having the jab.
COVID-19 vaccination has to be comprehensive to be truly effective as protection – particularly for those most vulnerable to infection. While the SAGE recommended levels of at least 80% of care home staff and 90% of residents have been reached and exceeded in many parts of England, regional variation persists.
Deborah Sturdy, our Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care, explains why the Government, following wide consultation with the care sector, has taken the difficult decision to make vaccination a mandatory condition of deployment in care homes.
After what can only be described as an uncertain and difficult 18 months, Care Home Open Week was a fantastic opportunity to focus on the positives and have some fun.
Many of the people supported at Precious Homes have found the pandemic hard. Changes to routine can be a challenge for autistic people, and isolation from friends, family and support systems add to an already confusing situation. Precious Homes staff made sure Care Home Week was enjoyed by everyone.