Care and support

Looking after yourself and others this festive season

Posted by: and , Posted on: - Categories: Care and support, Communities, coronavirus, Information sharing, Mental health, Workforce
snow globe

As we approach a festive season that will be very different for all of us, Fran Leddra and Mark Harvey, our Chief Social Workers for Adults, offer their hopes, thoughts and heartfelt thanks for the support of health and care colleagues this year. Their message is simple: look after your own mental and physical health …

The boost we needed

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Cartoon depicting doctors and nurses vaccinating with giant syringes

After so many months of challenge, set against a nonetheless undimmed determination to endure, the care sector has received some much needed good news. Coming quickly after the emotional boost generated by the resumption of care home visits, supported by testing, the news that Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine has been authorised by the MHRA - and care …

Drawing strength from experience

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residents enjoy a fireworks display

It takes more than a global pandemic to dampen spirits in this care home – just ask these care home residents! COVID-19 may have put a stop to much the White Rock Care Home could offer, but with a little creativity and being mindful of measures to prevent cross infection, they have still been able …

Tests, tears and triumphs

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swab test for covid

If someone had told registered manager Melissa Jones three weeks ago her care home would be filled with the voices, laughter and tears of relatives being reunited with loved ones she wouldn’t have believed them. That was until she received an email from Cornwall Council looking for care homes to take part in a pilot …

Signs of real hope

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Surgically gloved hands holding a syringe and vial of va

After months and months of restrictions, continued uncertainty around work, education and our general health, and the shared anxiety about the future course of this pandemic, we are now in the unusual position of receiving some cautiously optimistic news. Michelle Dyson, our Director General for Social Care, considers what the news of potentially effective COVID-19 …

Direct from the source: the value of lived experience

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illustration of shops and services

Advice for people who buy care and support through a direct payment, as well as local authorities, clinical commissioning groups and those who provide care and support has recently been published. The guidance has been produced in part with the help and wise counsel of Simon Wilson and Katherine Wynne, two individuals with lived experience …

The volunteers and the virus

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People walking on a bridge

Even though the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause stress, anxiety and disruption, it has also created opportunities, spurred innovative thinking and encouraged the forging of new connections. In her role as Head of Commissioning in Adult Social Care, Kate Galoppi and her colleagues collaborated closely with their local voluntary action organisation to identify people interested …

Dashboard brings it together for care providers

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computer dashboard showing graphs

Prior to the first official ‘lockdown’, Hertfordshire County Council took the decision to cease monitoring visits for residential and nursing homes to minimise infection risks. In normal circumstances, Bryony Morris's team would undertake these monitoring and quality assurance visits. In their absence, they soon realised how important it was to make sure care providers continued …