Social care back in the news

Earlier this week a letter to the Prime Minister urged politicians to find a way to overhaul the failing social care system. Apparently cross party talks are about to start again. So from the perspective of a local small to medium sized charity, what are the issues.

Firstly we notice that people who are coming into our residential homes are frailer and yet the charity is being paid no more. Over the past two years the Trust has had no uplift in fees. This will eventually compromise the quality of care that can be given.

Secondly the staff are the key to excellent services. Our aim is to achieve 90% of our staff trained to at least level 2. We are an Investor in People to the top gold standard. It is important that our staff feel valued and are appropriately rewarded. Politicians from all parties need to consider this in their deliberations. These staff deserve to be paid a proper living wage.

Thirdly the impact of changing local authority financial assessments and the subsequent payments that service users have to pay should not be underestimated. Locally for example the percentage the local authority now charge/ recover from service users has increased. These increased payments are putting potential clients and or their families off from using services. The long term effect of this could be significant. Situations will break down, emergencies will happen and people will ultimately require more care than if the appropriate care packages are put in place early on.

Social care is often not afforded the priority it should be. Some difficult questions need to be addressed and some bold answers found so that we as a society make the appropriate investment in services to support older people and those with disabilities.

Hilary Rowland
Chief Executive
5.1.12

Parkhaven Trust Works Council

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