Collection Box Appeal

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:10:14 +0000

We are appealing for the support of North West businesses to host collection boxes on behalf of our Non-profit Social Enterprise!

Collection boxes bring vital income into our service which provides assistance and support for Elderly members of our community. We ensure we empower isolated Elderly individuals to include themselves within society.

We are appealing to all workplaces, including shops, libraries, schools and offices to support the charity by keeping a collection box on our behalf. The income from collection boxes plays an important role in helping us achieve our fundraising target each year. Please help us make a difference tomorrow by helping our fundraising

today! Residents of the North-West community.

If your workplace is able to host a collection box please contact Guardian carers on 077155 01899 or email manager@guardiancarers.com

Personalisation Agenda: Inevitable Abuse?

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:13:08 +0000

The government’s Personalisation Agenda is currently under way, and at a swift pace I must add! But what exactly does this mean for us all? And perhaps more importantly, how does this affect the safety of Service Users in the community and the standards of care being delivered?

Notwithstanding the above, do I see a potential safeguarding issue on the horizon? Yes – and I don’t think I am the only one.

The personalisation agenda offers an opportunity to make home care (and other services) more responsive and flexible so that it is actually doing what people who use services want and need, rather than being constrained in rigid tasks and time specifications. There are, however, some unintended consequences for service providers, especially home care providers, which could spell large-scale destruction of the sector.

Let me be clear, I believe in the overall approach, but in my opinion, the speed of implementation and lack of control on spending are simply out of tune with the needs of the service users. Personalisation is a way of promoting choice within the provision of care services, but when choice allows service users to employ friends, family members, strangers, or to even spend the funds on non-care related items or activities, suddenly the overall picture of homecare changes. Targets mean rapid changes, and capacity issues within Regulated Services due to this pace, will no doubt force more unregulated care provision in the community.

Opinions vary. Mine are without prejudice and quite simply I have huge concerns over the speed of uptake of personalisation, the huge targets set for the individual Councils regarding the implementation of the personalisation agenda, and of course, what this spells out in the short, medium and long term.

Community care for the elderly is without question cheaper to deliver than residential care. The average costs for the delivery of homecare vary dramatically dependant of individual needs, however the abundance of “pop in calls“ provides a cheap way of meeting the “ Basic “ care needs of the Service User, but shouldn’t a care service offer more than this? In my experience, cheaper does not necessarily mean better.

I believe the fundamental ideas behind personalisation are correct: personal choice is without doubt an important improvement to the delivery of care in the community. But this must not come at a price where quality and safety is concerned.

There are a significant number of carers working as personal assistants through the personalisation agenda, without relevant training, supervision or CRB disclosure checks to validate suitability! Are risk assessments, ELP’s and care needs assessments becoming a thing of the past? With no CQC regulations to adhere to, this is likely to be the case. Standards are achieved because consequences exist for non compliance, poor performance and lack of value for money. It goes without saying; if rules and regulations do not apply…..they simply will not be adhered too.

So does personalisation really mean choice? If choice promotes the deterioration of Quality, is it really a positive outcome? Indeed does it highlight some real issues surrounding potential abuse through unsupervised care provision by non-regulated services and personal assistants?

Domiciliary care agencies with sufficient management structures, supervisory support and clinical experience still have difficulties surrounding capacity and safeguarding in the community. Are we simply passing on the inevitable issues of Financial Abuse, Safeguarding Incidents and poor practice to the service users themselves by pushing the agenda at such a pace? I’m inclined to believe that rapidly introducing a system, where quality benchmarks, supervision procedures, adequate training and suitability checks are no longer required, indeed spells out trouble, not choice.

If choice and responsibility is shifted away from the Council services, and placed in the hands of the individuals at such a pace, where will the advocacy service’s that are needed to assist with these decisions come from, and who will pay for it?

Charities such as Action On Elder Abuse that provide such services are having funding withdrawn, not increased!

Food for thought in my opinion, but what do you think? Have I missed something?

Concentrate on chest compressions…

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:57:32 +0000

New advice from the British Heart Foundation is urging people to concentrate on chest compressions when carrying out CPR and forget mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The charity has enlisted actor and former footballer Vinnie Jones in an advertising campaign promoting hands-only CPR.

It comes amid research by the BHF which suggests a growing number of people are concerned about giving the kiss of life because of lack of knowledge or the risk of contracting an infectious disease.

The official position of the BHF is now that anyone who does not have CPR training should ignore the kiss of life in favour of hard and fast compressions in the centre of the chest.

Hands-only CPR has previously been supported by the Resuscitation Council (UK).

The survey of 2,000 people in the UK found half were put off performing CPR because of lack of knowledge, 20% were worried about catching a disease and 40% feared being sued if they did something wrong.

Senior cardiac nurse at the BHF Ellen Mason said: “The kiss of life can often be daunting for untrained bystanders who want to help when someone has collapsed with a cardiac arrest.”

While it remained the “gold standard”, she said that if a person had not had training the best option would be to just do chest compressions.

Commenting on the new campaign, Vinnie Jones said: “There really shouldn’t be any messing about when it comes to CPR. If you’re worried about the kiss of life just forget it and push hard and fast in the centre of the chest.”

What is whistleblowing?

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:52:25 +0000

Blair McPherson, author of a number of management books, asks when is whistleblowing not whistleblowing?

Hearing an NHS board member recently described as a whistle-blower came as quite a surprise to me as they are generally in a powerful position, privy to many key decisions with access to the chief executive and directors.

It can also be frustrating, especially if you are a lone dissenting voice, but that does not make you a whistle-blower.

The case did highlight how tensions and disagreements are played out in NHS boardrooms.

The relationship between non-executive directors and the chief executive and senior management team can be finely balanced and while a good working relationship is good for the organisation, problems can arise if some non-executive directors fear it is becoming too cosy or that the feeling is that the chief executive has too much power.

I’ve seen this outside of the NHS where the long serving chief executive maintained their control over the organisation by influencing who was invited to join the board and by ensuring a turnover of non-executive board members.

So how is the balance of power maintained in NHS boardrooms?

While the chair with the backing of the board can get rid of the chief executive, what generally happens is that each board finds its own way to an effective working relationship… until the budget overspend comes to light, the trust is named and shamed over its performance or there is a major scandal over the quality of nursing care.

Patients to be able to register with any GP

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:02:43 +0000

Patients will be able to choose which GP they register with under new plans from the coalition government.

That could mean patients using GPs several miles from where they live, or registering closer to where they work under proposals to offer a greater choice.

It will also mean patients can keep the same family doctor when the move house with moves by ministers do away with GP practice boundaries.

The scheme will be piloted in parts of London, Manchester and Nottingham for a year from April, though some doctors have raised concerns about continuity of care.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “Many patients are happy with their local GP practice, but a significant minority have problems registering with a practice of their choice.

This pilot will mean patients taking part can access the high quality care they deserve in a place and at a time that suits them.

“That’s why I believe patients should have the freedom to choose a GP practice that suits their lives, and not be restricted by geographical boundaries.”

London GP Dr Laurence Buckman, Chairman of the British Medical Association’s GPs Committee, said the BMA looked forward to seeing the results of the pilot.

“Either way there will undoubtedly be lessons that need to be learned and it will be important for all sides to do that before there can be any further developments,” he said.

The Patients Association welcomed the plan but said it did not expect to see a huge number of patients changing practices.