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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
COVID-19 has led to many changes in the way residential care is provided and the way care colleagues work together. One thing that hasn’t changed is the sense of family and community within Priscilla Wakefield House, a teaching care home in Haringey, north London. Despite the outside world being turned up-side-down, care staff have succeeded …
Andrew Reece, head of the integrated learning disability service for Camden Council, has always struggled with how the social care sector measures ‘what good looks like’, particularly in the context of supporting people with learning disabilities to make and sustain friendships. In this blog for DHSC's Social Care site, he proposes an alternative approach to …
If you’ve not come across DHSC's Regional Assurance team, its members act as two-way information sharers between the Department and local areas. They use their experience of the adult social care sector to provide informed assessments to the Department and the Minister for Social Care. They also provide opportunities for the sector to influence and …
For almost a decade, care home open days have seen care homes all over the country open their doors to families, friends and local communities. This year’s event, which takes place across a week (28 June - 4 July), has particular significance, providing an opportunity to reunite care homes with their local communities, while celebrating …
Developed by the NHS and then adapted for use in social care, a new infection prevention control toolkit has been launched to help all social care colleagues protect themselves and those they care for. It can be used to start a conversation and help you find the answer to the question: ‘What can I do …
In February 2021, the Commission on the Role of Housing in the Future of Care and Support published its first report – a policy discussion paper outlining the major issues facing accommodation provision for older people and setting out a vision for a better future, with some preliminary proposals the Commission had been exploring as …