The New Willow Centre

Last week saw the opening of our new Willow centre. The timing was particularly apposite given all the news about the needs of people with dementia. The centre will provide older people an opportunity to come for the day and in a separate area, there is a specialist service for younger people with dementia. The facilities include a kitchen for baking, a hairdresser’s room to match Vidal Sassoon’s, a gardening room, a few quiet corners and a large dining room, lounge and lots of safe open space. We hope the excellent environment will enable staff to engage in the most meaningful way offering a range of activities so every different interest and need is met.

There are also six bedrooms for people to stay the night. These rooms compare with the very best that can be accessed in 5* hotels but with an eye for the detail that will help people with dementia orientate themselves.

We expect over 200 people a year will access these services, whether coming for a day staying overnight or using our horticultural services.

This building has been funded primarily by the charity itself supported by some grants from national charities and Sefton Council. We are immensely grateful to them for their support.

We hope this significant investment will ensure that people with dementia and their families feel supported and cared for through accessing this creative project.

Hilary Rowland
Chief Executive
28.11.11

Allotment Week and our growing patches

This week is allotment week. It is particularly apposite for the Trust because finally after several years of waiting our allotments /growing patches are going to become a reality. There are no allotments for the people of Maghull at a time when growing your own has soared. The patches will be ready for the start of the next growing cycle. The project is being led by Richard Ayres our horticultural therapy manager.

A patch of land 75m x 50m has now been fenced and weeded (see picture below). It will soon be sown with clover to suppress further weed growth and create good growing conditions. There are 29 individual plots to be laid out, to around half the size of a standard allotment, either 100m2 or 130m2: they’re to be called ‘Growing patches’, to emphasise that they are not ordinary allotments. These plots have been allocated to the first 28 names on the waiting list: the 29th plot will be offered to a local charity. Two meetings with potential plotholders have been held.

Each plot will come equipped with a 2m x 2m potting shed, 2 compost bins, a water butt and shared use of a gravelled path: the intention is to create an orderly, well-equipped site with excellent growing conditions, landscaped with mixed native hedging and fruit trees. There will be a water supply (6 taps) and a composting toilet. Rules for plotholders which we discussed at the meetings will reinforce the maintenance of a peaceful, orderly environment, appropriate to the nature of the site.

This development is part of the Trust’s commitment to working with our local community. It will help promote the physical and mental health, diet and social inclusion of the people who live locally.

Hilary Rowland
Chief executive
11.8.11

The Countdown Begins

As the country counts down to the opening of the Olympics, only 365 days to the opening ceremony, we at Parkhaven are counting down to the opening of our new Dementia centre. This is an exciting £1.8 m development funded by the Trust, several generous charitable trusts and a small grant from the local authority. The centre is due to open in early November.

This centre will be the hub of a range of activities and services. It will include somewhere to come for day, to have a freshly cooked meal, somewhere to have fun and companionship, to take up or try new interests including baking, gardening, yoga and painting. The centre will be open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. It will be there whenever it is needed.

There will also be a specialist service for younger people who have dementia. Again there will a range of activities to try and days out to enjoy. This will be a modern leading edge service. It will also have a dedicated respite service for young people. No longer will they have to access a respite service in a residential home designed for older people.

The centre will also provide respite for older people. It will move from our Kyffin Taylor home. The centre will also be the base for the short breaks service another form of respite and immensely popular.

Continuity of care, knowing who you care for is immensely important. Our services are designed with that in mind. So someone may come and spend the day with us, they may stay with us or go on a short break. They may also need help in their own home. One staff team trained to a high standard will care and support that person. In that way we know what they like, how they like things done, what their interests are; it is a truly person centred service. An excellent is not only about the staff and their skills and empathy but also about the environment. In November we will have a building to match the excellence of our staff team. So Parkhaven is also counting down…

Hilary Rowland
27.7.11

A GOLD AWARD

Yesterday the Trust heard that not only had it retained its Investors In People Award it achieved this at the highest possible level, the gold standard. We are delighted because this recognises and acknowledges the efforts the Trust puts in to valuing, supporting and training its staff. Excellent services are achieved by investing in staff and investing in the environment in which people use our services. We firmly believe we do both. The gold award is certainly evidence of our investment in the staff.

The recent events in the news about the appalling scenes witnessed in the Panorama programme highlights the importance of training staff, of having good policies and a culture that will listen. There are long waiting lists for our services but we are not complacent we can always do things better and we will continue to do so.

The Southern Cross issue speaks to the importance of having the right model for the ownership of the buildings. Our three registered residential homes: the James Page Nursing Home, the Kyffin Taylor Home and Harrison House are all owned by the charity. We are constantly investing in these buildings and planning for the future in a prudent way to ensure high standards but also financial security. Our services are built on a firm financial footing. This is crucial for the well being of those who choose to use our services. We will endeavour to achieve gold in all that we do.

Hilary Rowland
Chief Executive
23.6.11

Changing Landscapes

This evening the Board of Trustees of Parkhaven meets. It is one of 5 Board meetings a year. The Trust is very fortunate in the range of skills and experience that it has on the board. Trustees are volunteers, they do not get paid for their contribution and commitment. (The background of our Trustees can be found at www.parkhaven.org.uk.)

This particular meeting in the cycle of Trustee meetings has a similar feel each year. It is the time when the Trust reflects back on the achievements of the previous year and looks forward and agrees the objectives and priorities for the coming year. It is a time to take stock.

In reflecting on the previous 12 months, the Trust can be proud of what it has achieved. Plans that have been in the pipeline for sometime have come to fruition. There is now an extra care scheme on the site, developed in partnership with Arena housing. One of our small residential homes has become a tenancy arrangement in partnership with Adactus housing. Planning permission was obtained for the new dementia centre and funding is in place. The scheme will be operational in November, 2011; another exciting new development changing the landscape of the Trust.

Other important achievements included a reducing sickness absence rate amongst staff. This is important because it ensures continuity of care for people who use our services. We are also hopeful that the recent Investors in People assessment will consider that the Trust has obtained the very highest award. The Trust has also managed to balance income with expenditure which is an achievement given the stringent financial conditions that currently prevail. But in the end what is important is what people think about the services they have used, some of the feedback I have received is very humbling and a credit to the staff teams involved. Very high occupancy and waiting lists for our services reinforce these sentiments. In essence a very good year, but no room for complacency, There is still much more to do which will be agreed by Trustees tonight.

Hilary Rowland

Chief Executive
16.5.11

The Courtyard at Parkhaven Court

Old and young, they all bring something special

Last week the new policy on removing the default retirement age came into force. Thus people who reach 65 years old no longer have to retire. For both employee and employer, there are many benefits.

For the employer, it maintains the wealth of experience that staff who reach that age have. It also enables their skills to be retained for longer. It can also provide continuity within the organisation, that history and narrative can be very important in understanding an organisation and why past decisions were made.

For the employee, it provides an alternative to that somewhat artificial arbitrary moment in time when work needs to cease. In our Trust many staff have been afforded the opportunity to work part time or perhaps in a less pressurised role. Staff have welcomed these opportunities; the continued social contacts, the opportunity for continued financial benefit and the structure and value that work affords.

However with youth unemployment at 1 in 5 of people between 16 and 25, it does seem concerning that young people are embarking on their working lives with gloomy prospects of securing employment. The change in the default retirement age clearly exacerbates this and reduces the opportunities that are available to the young people. Not only does it affect them directly, our service users also miss out. Many of our older people enjoy their contact with younger people. They bring something different, energetic and fresh. But also they are the staff of the future. We need to encourage the very best of them to make a career of social care. Thus the implementation of this new policy will create a challenge to organisations like ours.

Hilary Rowland
Chief Executive

A service user celebrated 100 years of age

Equity of access

Over the past few days there has been considerable discussion regarding the principle equitable access to university places for young people from a range of backgrounds. Those who come from less well off backgrounds should be able to go to Oxford and Cambridge and the established Russell group of universities and not be deterred by ability to pay. It brought to mind the issue of equity of access to residential homes for older people.

We pride ourselves at Parkhaven Trust that the fees for our homes are set at such a level that anyone can come irrespective of their ability to pay. Thus everyone has the opportunity to access the very best in residential care. With the cuts in public services and the changing assessment criteria, the financial burden of residential care will get more difficult for service users and their families.

In the midst of the debate about university education we should not forget the implications of these searing cuts for older people and their families and the importance of ensuring that all older people have equal access to the very best of residential care irrespective of their ability to pay. Equal access is as important for young people starting out on their life journeys as it is for people whose lives are coming to an end. It is a mark of a civilized society that we do support people well at this stage in their lives.

Hilary Rowland
Chief executive
10.3.11

Kyffin Taylor House

Learning from the health ombudsman's report

This week the Health Service Ombudsman published a report in to 10 investigations into the NHS care of older people (see www.ombudsman.org.uk/care-and-compassion/home). The discussions and commentary that ensued were about the innate empathy and the respect for dignity that is required in the staff that care for older people. This is just as much the case in the provision of residential care for older people as it is in the NHS. It is fundamental to providing excellent care. The report highlighted that these older people were in unnecessary pain, neglect and distress and that the NHS was failing to meet the most basic standards of care. It is important that all providers of care for older people, in whatever setting, take cognisance of these harrowing accounts and ensure that all our services uphold the best possible standards.

A recent survey of those that live in our homes, or relatives of those that live with us, indicated their high degree of satisfaction with the services they receive. However we are not complacent. Importantly the survey indicated that without exception people knew how to complain. It is then crucial that when people go to the trouble of complaining we listen, learn and change. We should encourage complaints, and track the trends. Complaints should be seen as a learning tool, and this is certainly one of the tools we use to help improve Parkhaven Trust services. Others are training, a clear policy framework, and audit. All of these need to be brought to bear to ensure that those older people, or their relatives, who choose to use our services have confidence that the standard of care will be consistently high and that respect and dignity of the people we care for is at the heart of all we do.


Hilary Rowland
Chief executive
18.2.11

New year, new developments

At Parkhaven Trust we are looking forward to the new year. It promises to be an exciting one as we continue to progress our modernisation strategy. On 16th December, 2010 nine people moved from their residential home to new apartments where they are now tenants and have their own front doors but have the comfort and reassurance of knowing that there is 24 hour staff support. This type of service is known as an extra care scheme. Several people have lived with us for 30 or 40 years, so it was a very exciting time for them and us; tears were certainly shed.

But we don’t rest on our laurels. This week work began on our £1.8m dementia centre. This is an exciting, new and innovative scheme which brings together a range of support services which will enable the many people who we support to stay at home longer. It will include opportunities to come for the day and engage in a range of activities including yoga, music and singing, bakery and the opportunity for a hair do and feet done. And for those who like the outdoors, there is our Haven gardening project. We expect the new centre to open in November, 2011.

We constantly review what we do, to ensure that the services that we do provide are what those who use our services want and value. Our long waiting lists for our residential services would suggest that we are going in the right direction. But just to make sure, over these past weeks we have engaged in a survey of all those that use our services. Our resolution for 2011 is to build on, listen, develop and keep on improving the range of services we offer so we are the provider of choice and a valued resource in our local community.

Hilary Rowland
Chief Executive
11th January 2011

Parkhaven Court - We can't promise the snow !