dementia care · pdf filethe october edition of our dementia care newsletter. ... including...
TRANSCRIPT
Dementia Care Newsletter
October
2015
GREAT NORTH
RUN 2015 Sunday 13th September was a beautiful day for
the annual Great North Run, a half marathon
starting in Newcastle. The 13.1 mile route takes
runners through the city centre, across the River
Tyne via the iconic Tyne Bridge to Gateshead
and on to the finish line in South Shields. It’s
quite a tough route - mostly uphill!.
Moral support is offered each year by a display
from the Red Arrows. They flew over the runners
on the Tyne Bridge, then performed stunning
aerobatics in South Shields.
We had several runners taking part to raise
funds and awareness for Dementia Care. This
included family members of one of our attendees
at the Bradbury Day Centre. Our two staff
members taking on the challenge this year were:
Dave Stevens, Director of Finance, and
Joe Florek, Head of Operations.
Joe has completed the Great North Run 29
times! This year, he completed in a time of 2
hours and 34 minutes. For Dave, it was his first
half marathon in 13 years, he completed in a
time of 2 hours 45 minutes.
I’m Jill Stevens, welcome to
the October edition of our Dementia Care
Newsletter. If you have anything that you
would like to share with other readers, or
subjects that you would like to be covered,
please contact me by letter, phone or email.
0191 217 1323 or [email protected]
Their total combined online donations are
impressive - over £1,300!
We'd like to say a huge thank you and offer
our congratulations to both Dave, Joe and
our other runners for taking on the
challenge!
If you would like to add to their sponsorship you
can find them both on Just giving:
https://www.justgiving.com/David-Stevens14
https://www.justgiving.com/Joe-Florek/
Alternatively, just give Kirstie Johnson
a call on 0191 217 1323.
INSIDE THIS EDITION:
THE INSERT
Weeping Window
Annual Feedback
Medication Records
Dementia Friendly Cinema
Human rights
Dementia Cafés
John Lewis
Gas Safety
Respite Fees
Singing Puppets
Give as You Live
Direct Debits
CQC Report Our contact details
Dave Stevens Joe Florek
You should have received
your copy of our Feedback
Questionnaire in the post,
including a stamped-
addressed envelope for you
to return the completed
questionnaire to us.
This is important for us as we value
and need your feedback. It is your
opportunity to let us know what you think our
services that you use. It is also something that
the Care Quality Commission (CQC) look for
when they undertake inspections, so your
responses/comments are also valued by CQC.
As with last year, the results of the survey will
be compiled into a report that we will share with
you. We can then look to make improvements to
our services, based on what you say.
Please take a moment to complete the
survey and send it back to us.
Many thanks for your
help.
Members of staff recently attended a
consultation where a number of care providers
(not Dementia Care) were heavily criticised by
the Care Quality Commission (CQC), as their
records did not match the medication
requirements of the individuals receiving care.
This is necessary to ensure there are no
misunderstandings and that everyone involved
with the individual is aware of their medication
needs.
Our staff take appropriate steps to ensure that
our records match what is kept on file in the
individual’s home. However, we
need you to
notify us
immediately
if there are
any changes
in the
medication of
the person we
are supporting.
Many thanks
for your help.
WEEPING WINDOW POPPIES AT WOODHORN
Woodhorn Museum, at
Ashington, is hosting the
Weeping Window as part of
a UK-wide tour of the iconic
poppies sculpture organised
by 14-18 NOW. The
sculpture was initially part of
the installation - Blood
Swept Lands and Seas of
Red - at the Tower of
London in 2014. It was gradually surrounded by
a vast field of ceramic poppies, each one
planted by a volunteer in memory of the life of a
British and Colonial soldier lost during the First
World War.
Staff from Dementia Care have taken people to
see the sculpture on two occasions. It is a
fantastic memorial to those who lost their lives
during the First World War and its setting at
Woodhorn certainly adds drama to the sculpture.
Those that have been were very impressed. The
staff at the site are very helpful (there is a
separate route for those with problems walking
or in wheelchairs) and it only costs to park
(£3.50).
The installation will be at Woodhorn until 1st
November 2015, so if you fancy going you
need to plan a trip very soon!
ANNUAL FEEDBACK MEDICATION RECORDS
The Tyneside Cinema’s Dementia Friendly
Screenings (Thursdays at 13.30) continue into
December:
Some Like It Hot - 5th November
Guys And Dolls - 19th November
White Christmas - 3rd December
All the staff on duty have received Dementia
Awareness training and the screenings are
tailored to meet the needs of people with
dementia. For example:
The lighting is not as low as usual, allowing
those with impaired vision to enjoy the
experience without struggling to see their
surroundings.
The sound is turned down a little, reducing
the impact of sudden loud noises, to ensure
all audience members can thoroughly enjoy
the show.
The screenings are well attended by people of
all ages.
Tickets are only £4.50 and carers go FREE! To
find out more, call the Box Office team on:
0191 277 5500.
We sponsored and presented at the International Conference on Human Rights &
Dementia in MediaCity UK in Salford on 10/11 September 2015.
The two-day conference focused on the progress made so far and policies put in place
to achieve the government’s dementia challenge. Delegates also heard from experts
and examined best practice case studies on methods to enhance dementia diagnosis
rates, support people of all ages with dementia, commission effective dementia services
and create community-based support and information services for people with a
dementia diagnosis and their carers.
Dave Stevens of Dementia Care explained our Independent Supported Living
model and why we feel that it offers the best possible quality of life for people with
dementia.
DEMENTIA AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Newcastle Carers FREE
Dementia Carer Cafés,
specifically aimed at carers of
people with dementia take place on the last
Friday of the month. The cafés are an informal
opportunity to meet other carers in similar
situations or get some advice. Refreshments are
provided. No need to book. The next
date for your diary: Friday, 27
November 12.30 - 2 pm.
If you want to get
out and stay social
the Alzheimer's Society run a
Dementia Café in Kingston Park on the 2nd
Tuesday of the month. The next café takes
place in the Tesco Community Rooms (Kingston
Park, NE3 2FP) on Tuesday, 10 November,
2 - 4 pm. Again this is FREE.
As a charity all donations, large or small, are
vital to our work.
We are delighted to report that the Community
Matters charitable giving scheme at John
Lewis in Newcastle has been a resounding
success for Dementia Care.
£3,000 was available from
John Lewis. People using their
café from May to July were able to vote for their
favourite charity. Dementia Care was one of the
three to choose from. We received a cheque for
£1,350 - so we had a fantastic 45% of the vote!
Everyone at Dementia Care would like
to thank John Lewis and all
those who voted for us.
DEMENTIA FRIENDLY CINEMA UPDATE
DEMENTIA CAFÉS JOHN LEWIS
Dementia Care, The Bradbury Centre, Darrell Street, Brunswick Village, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE13 7DS
Tel: 0191 217 1323 www.dementiacare.org.uk Facebook: dementiacareNE Twitter: @DementiacareNE
Charity No. 1045517 Company No. 2980817
On 25th September The Puppets came to
perform at The Bradbury Centre.
The puppets performed and sang along to songs
from different eras, including favourites by Frank
Sinatra, Vera Lynne, Cliff Richard and songs
from the shows. The show included a special
guest appearance by Elvis!
People from the bungalows also came along
and the show was a great success. The
audience enjoyed singing along to songs from
the shows and popular hits such as Oklahoma,
Summer Holiday and My Way.
The clocks have gone back and we all start
thinking about staying warm. Don’t forget to
have your gas appliances, boilers and fires etc,
safety checked and serviced. Also think about
is installing a Carbon Monoxide gas alarm. You
may also be entitled to free gas safety checks.
This website tells you about gas safety and
includes useful links:
http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/learn/
winter_gas_safety_tips.aspx
Always remember to ask for an
engineer's Gas Safe Register ID
card.
At Dementia Care we continually strive to offer
the best possible level of care at the lowest
prices. Our Residential Respite Centre provides
a valuable service for both people with dementia
and their carers and is a core part of our
charitable mission. However, due to rising costs
we have reluctantly increased our fees from 1
October 2015 to the following:
£80 per day
£500 per week
£40 additional charge per day for Bank
Holidays
GAS SAFETY RESPITE FEES
THE SINGING PUPPET SHOW
GIVE AS YOU LIVE FUNDRAISING DIRECT DEBITS If you shop
online you can
raise money for
Dementia Care each time you shop - through
Give as You Live: www.giveasyoulive.com.
It is a very simple to use website - it costs you
nothing, just sign up, choose your charity
(Dementia Care please) and shop! There are
100s of great online stores involved to choose
from, including Amazon, Argos, John Lewis and
travel companies such as Thomas Cook.
We welcome the use of direct
debits as a method of
payment.
It is by far the easiest way to
pay if you use our services
every month. It takes all of the
hassle away, as we process the payment for
you. If you would like to set up a direct debit,
please call Dave Stevens on:
0191 217 3309 or e-mail
What does the CQC Rating mean?
A good CQC Inspection Report is important for
both people using care services and providers in
the Care Sector, as it is the only publicly
published report on our services and ranks us
against others in our sector.
The new CQC rating system awards scores -
Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or
Inadequate across five categories:
Is the service safe?
Is the service effective?
Is the service caring?
Is the service responsive?
Is the service well-led?
CQC inspected our Home Support, Independent
Supported Living and Residential Respite
services. Our Day Centres were not included in
this process as they are not CQC regulated
services.
How did we do?
Our latest inspection report was published by
CQC on 31 July.
We were scored as Outstanding in ‘Well-led’ and
Good in the other four categories, giving us an
overall score of Good.
To put this in context, the overall scores of the
most recent reports published on the CQC
website are shown on the graph:
It is possible to achieve an overall Outstanding
score with just two individual Outstanding
scores, so we are only one category away from
being in the top 1% in the country.
What next?
The CQC report gives us a focus on areas for
improvement. The target for all of us at
Dementia Care is to maintain our current
standards and make improvements, so that we
score Outstanding in all categories.
If you have any ideas on how we can improve
our services, please contact Carol Brown, Head
of Best Practice, on 0191 217 3311 or email
OUR CARE QUALITY COMMISSION (CQC) REPORT AND RATING
Dementia Care, The Bradbury Centre, Darrell Street, Brunswick Village, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE13 7DS
Tel: 0191 217 1323 www.dementiacare.org.uk Facebook: dementiacareNE Twitter: @DementiacareNE
Charity No. 1045517 Company No. 2980817
HOW TO CONTACT US
We pride ourselves on the
quality of our service and take
every concern seriously. We
take immediate action to ensure
that issues are investigated and
action is taken where needed.
Dementia Care adheres to all
best practice principles in
relation to safeguarding as
determined by the Care Quality
Commission (CQC) and our
commissioning local authorities.
If you have any concerns about
our services, please write to,
or email:
Carol Brown
Head of Best Practice
Dementia Care
The Bradbury Centre
Darrell Street
Brunswick Village
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE13 7DS
Tel: 0191 217 3311
carolbrown
@dementiacare.org.uk
If you have contacted us, and
you feel that you would like to
raise an issue further, or are
unhappy with our response, you
should contact the social care
department at the appropriate
local authority. You can find
their contact information on our
website or contact your local
authority.
If you think a crime has been
committed, ring the police. Your
local social care department will
involve the police if they feel
this is appropriate to do so.
If you are having difficulty
contacting the local authority or
if you need to report other
issues, contact the Care Quality
Commission (CQC).
Tel: 03000 616161
Email: [email protected]
GENERAL ENQUIRIES MONDAY TO FRIDAY 9 AM TO 5 PM: 0191 217 1323
RESIDENTIAL RESPITE CARE
Angela Foster 0191 217 3318 [email protected]
NEWCASTLE DAY CENTRE
Clare Morris 0191 217 3303 [email protected]
HEXHAM DAY CENTRE OR INDEPENDENT SUPPORTED LIVING
Caroline Watson 0191 217 3314 [email protected]
HOME SUPPORT
Christine Turner
Barbara Dodds 0191 217 3300
OUT OF HOURS - CURRENT SERVICE USERS ONLY MONDAY TO FRIDAY 5 PM TO 9 AM AND WEEKENDS: 07785 623840