It has been an unprecedented time for social care across the UK. People have been left waiting for ambulances for up to 40 hours due to a lack of paramedics. As the government requests assistance from the M.O.D, care providers across Edinburgh await a response to their request for support from Edinburgh Council.
In the absence of a response, we are pulling out all the stops to support existing service users now and over the Autumn and Winter periods. There are key things you can do to help including:
Vaccinations
Flu Vaccinations
Influenza kills 25,000 people across the UK every year. Whether you work for SCA or you or your loved one receives support from us, please consider getting vaccinated. You are not only protecting yourself but potentially others at risk.
Covid Vaccinations
If you haven’t already had both doses of the vaccine, please act now. If you are house bound contact your G.P for advice, or if you are mobile, please use a drop-in centre. You can find a list of these here.
Covid Boosters
Just like the Flu Vaccine, those who had their Covid Vaccination earlier in the year will be entitled to a booster. Whether you work in social care or you or your loved one receives support from us, please consider getting your booster when they are available.
Herbert Protocol
You may have seen on the news how the Herbert Protocol is helping safeguard those with dementia. It is a simple form which gathers useful information on those with Dementia. In the case of a missing person the completed form can be given to the emergency services and save valuable time in locating them safely. You will be glad to hear that SCA implemented the protocol last year and continue to keep these updated.
Technology Hub
Following a successful visit by Martin to the tech hub last month (see video and blogpost below), we are offering referrals to everyone who may be interested in getting more support at home. Shaz our business manager is contacting the next of kin of those with Dementia as a specialist assessment by the hub to improve their lives. If you wish to lean more, please call the office and ask for Shaz.
For those who don’t know Martin, you can find out more in Martin’s own words here:
Dementia affects the brain, making it harder to remember things or think as clearly as before. It’s an umbrella term for over 100 different types of illnesses and disease symptoms. Symptoms of dementia may include memory loss and difficulties with day to day tasks, language and problem-solving.
Dementia is not a natural part of the ageing process. It’s caused by illnesses that affect the brain. We do not yet know exactly what causes dementia. Medical researchers all over the world are working to find causes and develop treatments.
Dementia can affect every area of human thinking, feeling and behaviour, but each person with dementia is different – how the illness affects someone depends on which area of their brain is damaged.
In Scotland, over 90,000 people have dementia. It is most common in older people but can affect people in their 40s and 50s or even younger.
Types of dementia
There are many conditions which cause dementia – these are some of the most common. It is also possible to have more than one type of dementia at the same time.
Alzheimer’s disease: Gradually destroys brain cells and their connections. This affects how the person copes with everyday tasks.
Vascular dementia: Is caused by problems with the blood supply to brain cells. It can involve tiny strokes which damage small areas of the brain.
Dementia with Lewy bodies: It isn’t as easy to identify as some other types of dementia, so it can be hard to diagnose. It can include hallucinations and symptoms that are similar to Parkinson’s disease.
Frontotemporal dementia: Affects the parts of the brain responsible for decision-making, control of behaviour as well as emotion and language.
How technology can help to support dementia sufferers
Now technology is available to enhance the wellbeing, support and independence of people living with dementia.
You’ll be pleased to know that Social Care Alba is working in partnership with Edinburgh Smart Home, whereby we can contact a Digital Dementia Advisor by submitting a referral form to arrange an assessment of your needs and to identify technologies (such as smart speakers, GPS devices) that can help your carer/family to a better support. Also helping you find technology products matched to your needs.
You will receive unbiased, trusted recommendations from the dementia community and from a team of experts. This is a free service funded by Alzheimer Scotland and the Scottish Government.
All of these products have been tried and tested by families living with dementia and the Digital Team at Alzheimer Scotland, using the Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Circle testing protocols, which give us insight to their potential usefulness for other families in similar circumstances.
We don’t sell anything, but all the products are available from retailers or on the high street.
At Social Care Alba we strive to provide more than just care. We work towards facilitating independence and support our clients to have a better quality of life.
We visited Edinburgh Smart Home to see how the use of smart technology solutions, can give the most vulnerable in our communities access to the tools they need to live independently in their own homes:
voice-assisted home controls
digital devices (mobile phones, tablets)
personal digital assistants
video conferencing
telecare and community alarms
home safety
Customised telephone with photos of contacts
Elements fold away easily when not used
Home entertainment centre controlled by voice and eye tracking
If you want to know more about Smart Home Technology, Social Care Alba is working in partnership with Edinburgh Smart Home, and we can contact a Digital Advisor by submitting a referral form to arrange an assessment of your needs and to identify technologies (such as smart speakers, GPS devices) that can help your carer/family better. Get in touch with us on 0131 285 1606.
*Please note we don’t sell any of these products and they are also available from retailers or on the high street.
https://social-care.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/smart-home.jpg8181227Stephen Wilsonhttps://social-care.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Social_Care_Alba_Logo_Career_Page-2-300x138.pngStephen Wilson2021-08-17 08:46:362022-02-15 08:41:00Smart Technology to support safe and independent living
Part of care that nobody sees, is what goes on behind the scenes to ensure people are safe.
Office staff on a typical day will be:
Ordering stock
Dealing with job applicants
Organising training, interviews
Handling visitors to the office
Arranging rotas and holiday requests
Doing a return to the Care Inspectorate
Meeting with social work and Edinburgh Council
Handling calls from staff, families and service users
Handling timesheets, expenses and paying wages to staff
Here is what happened over and above, on just one day this week.
NHS call to confirm a staff member is Covid positive.
This triggered our welfare plan. Immediately the staff member is removed from the rota and we have to adjust all rotas to ensure everyone is supported.
Next, 2 office staff take covid tests to staff and service users in the community to check to see if they are positive.
Later that evening the NHS called to apologise that the test was in fact negative. This meant undoing all the changes we had made and informing staff and service users not to worry.
Staff member is unwell
Staff like all of us get ill. When this happens we need to cover their shift, which may mean changes to visits.
Service user is not at home when we visit
When we visited there was no answer, we called the police for a welfare check and found the flat empty. This led to the police looking for the service user in case they were in distress. Later that day we found them well, having forgotten to inform us they would be going out.
Service user passes away
During a visit a service user became unwell, emergency services were called, sadly they passed away. Our priority was the welfare of them and their next of kin.
All these incidents were unforeseen and when they occurred our main concern is the welfare of all staff and service users. As you can see, to protect people we must react quickly. This often means visits need to be changed which can be unsettling for service users and staff. Hopefully you can see that we never change visits unless there is an immediate need to do so, but when we do it is for your welfare.
Finally, at 11pm we stopped for the day.
https://social-care.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/office-staff.jpeg13332000Stephen Wilsonhttps://social-care.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Social_Care_Alba_Logo_Career_Page-2-300x138.pngStephen Wilson2021-08-13 10:29:292022-02-15 08:41:06Behind the scenes
We are living through very difficult & uncertain times as the ever present threat of COVID is still with us. We want to let you know we have been working hard to ensure you can have the best support possible during these testing times. We invested in technology, protection equipment & staff development and we will continue to look for ways to improve even further. And most importantly, we will continue to be here for you.
We will continue to ensure you experience compassion, dignity and respect. That you get the right service, your health benefits from the support we provide, and most importantly you the get the most out of life.
We will continue to invest in research and technology, support our staff with development and new staff roles to improve your wellbeing.
COVID Vaccination
You will be please to know that almost 60% of our staff have been vaccinated now. We are working hard to get all of our staff vaccinated to protect themselves and others.
We strongly encourage our clients to take their COVID vaccination when it is offered to them. If you have had both vaccinations please could you let our office know so that we can update our records.
Staff are well led
Our vision and values will continue to inform practice and we will monitor this through quality audits we share with you. Our leaders will collaborate to ensure people are supported and well led.
We are very focused on building new stronger team leaders, increase retention and deliver staff learning despite the pandemic.
We will encourage greater communication between all staff, support your career and learning needs. All staff now benefit from a 3 year career plan including pay, benefits and learning outcomes.
Creating great staff teams
We will continue to work towards maintaining our best practice recruitment approach, recruiting staff that have the knowledge, competence and skills needed to care for and support our clients. We will continue to ensure we have the right staff level and mix of skills to meet client’s needs.
We created and expanded our staff teams to implement a culture of knowledge sharing amongst the staff. We introduced pairing to improve staff involvement and teamwork.
We will continue to invest in creating new roles to provide better support to our teams and service users. We will seek collaboration from other organisations including the 3rd sector to expand our skillset.
Training
How can you be involved in Social Care Alba’s Training?
On 1st July we will be holding a Medication Administration and a Moving & Handling Workshop. If you would like to participate and give us feedback about these workshops please inform the office and we can organise this.
Staff engagement survey
We have sent out an anonymous survey to our staff to let us know about what aspects of the job they enjoy & equally things they find challenging. Also how we can improve things for them along with what kind of support they would like us to offer them to do their job better & feel happy.
Planning care and support
We will continue to encourage the involvement of family members in the support plan and invest in technology, ensuring our staff has the tools they need to assess our service users’ requirements and wishes.
Access Group
We are setting up an access group which aims to;
Look at how we can improve the wellbeing and health & safety of our service users by the use of smart technology in their homes.
Provide a monthly podcast covering the needs of service users and their family members.
Facilitate access to services such as advocacy, befriending or specialist support such as Dementia or Alzheimer’s.
Improve ways in which service users and their family members’ voices are heard and get more Involvement in the training & recruitment of care staff.
For more information on our access group, listen to our month of May podcast:
Our capacity for improvement
Looking back at what we did well and what we can do better, we will continue to improve our development plan and provide support to more people. We delivered on all areas of our Annual Improvement Plan and explored ways to further improve our capacity levels.
Amongst others we wish to improve the lives of people with dementia and those with life shortening condition. We will expand the uptake of PASS with service users and families. Collaboration with other organisations such as Vocal and Alzheimer Scotland will be a priority.
Supporting you through the COVID-19 pandemic
We never stop looking for ways to support your physical, mental or emotional health. We will keep you connected, respected and treated with dignity throughout the pandemic. This means doing everything we can to stop the spread of Covid-19. From responsive and flexible staffing to improving your knowledge and skills to stay safe.
With no end in sight just yet we will continue to respond rapidly to changes, making sure you and your loved ones are protected.
We know how difficult it has been for you during these past months. We want to let you know we have been working hard to ensure you can have the best support possible. We invested in technology and staff development and we will continue to look for ways to improve even further. And most importantly, we will continue to be here for you.
We will continue to ensure you experience compassion, dignity and respect. That you get the right service, your health benefits from the support we provide, and most importantly you the get the most out of life.
2020
2020 saw us invest in new technology for staff rotas, recruitment, HR, medication and support planning. Going 100% digital allowed us to support you without interruption.
2021
We will continue to invest in research and technology, support our staff with development and new staff roles to improve your wellbeing.
Staff are well led
Our vision and values will continue to inform practice and we will monitor this through quality audits we share with you. Our leaders will collaborate to ensure people are supported and well led.
2020
2020 saw us build new stronger team leaders, increase retention and deliver staff learning despite the pandemic.
2021
We will encourage greater communication between all staff, support your career and learning needs. All staff will benefit from a 3 year career plan including pay, benefits and learning outcomes.
Creating great staff teams
We will work to maintain our best practice recruitment approach, recruiting staff that have the knowledge, competence and skills needed to care for and support our people. We will continue to ensure we have the right staff level and mix of skills to meet people’s needs.
2020
We created and expanded our staff teams to implement a culture of knowledge sharing amongst the staff. We introduced pairing to improve staff involvement and teamwork.
2021
We will invest in creating new roles to provide better support to our teams and service users. We will seek collaboration from other organisations including the 3rd sector to expand our skillset.
Planning care and support
We will continue to encourage the involvement of family members in the support plan and invest in technology, ensuring our staff has the tools they need to assess our service users’ requirements and wishes.
2020
We invested in new systems such as PASS to improve communication with our service users and family members, and eMARS to improve service user’ support with medication.
2021
We will expand the uptake of PASS with service users and families. Collaboration with other organisations such as Vocal and Alzheimer Scotland will be a priority.
Our capacity for improvement
Looking back at what we did well and what we can do better, we will continue to improve our development plan and provide support to more people.
2020
We delivered on all areas of our Annual Improvement Plan and explored ways to further improve our capacity levels.
2021
Amongst others we wish to improve the lives of people with dementia and those with life shortening conditions.
Supporting you through the COVID-19 pandemic
We never stop looking for ways to support your physical, mental or emotional health. We will keep you connected, respected and treated with dignity throughout the pandemic. This means doing everything we can to stop the spread of Covid-19. From responsive and flexible staffing to improving your knowledge and skills to stay safe.
2020
We managed to deliver support to everyone who needed it and to keep staff and service users safe.
2021
With no end in sight we will continue to respond rapidly to changes, making sure you and your loved ones are protected.
If you haven’t had your flu vaccination yet then can I please ask you to follow this up as soon as possible. Having a vaccination could save your life or the lives of others. Please contact your G.P.
Masks
Wearing a mask helps you protect others from infection. Can I please ask everyone to wear masks during visits. By doing this simple thing we can reduce the risk of Covid and Flu transmission this winter.
Cleaning
Did you know door handles, phones and remote controls have more bacteria than a toilet seat Can I please ask everyone to clean these and other surfaces with an anti-bacterial cleaner twice a day.
Temperature checking
One of the simplest things you can do is check your temperature to see if you have an infection. Everyone visiting our offices have their facial ID scanned and temperature checked automatically.
Download the app
If you want to know if you have been put at risk of Covid-19 download the Scottish Governments App. More than 1.6 million Scots have done so already. Together we can protect each other.
We are now providing staff a picture of the people they will support at each visit. This is to help with medication administration, if someone is missing or doesn’t answer and when we introduce new staff. If you would like to have a photo of the staff that will visit please let us know.
Medication
We have just about finished moving everyone onto a digital medication recording system. This means you will no longer see paper medication recording sheets in homes. Instead we can monitor all medications remotely and provide a better level of service.
Training
Did you know all our training is open for you to attend? We are also keen for you to contribute to staff training. If you would like to learn more or help our staff better understand your needs please get in touch with the office.
Pass
We have moved all of our visit notes online. We would like you or a nominated person from your family to have access. Please get in touch with us to arrange this.
Christmas
It’s coming to the festive time of year again!
Can everyone please start thinking about what support they will require over the Christmas and New Year’s period. We understand this year will be different from how people normally spend their holidays and would like to support you and your families where possible.
Summer has officially finished, and for a short time we had respite from COVID restrictions. Unfortunately, with a 2nd wave building I fear Winter will be hard for all of us. I wanted to reassure you that we are still fighting it and to update you on some of the changes we have or are making.
1st Wave – A few things we did included:
Working from home
3D printing face shields
Moving all our recruitment online
Opening a dedicated recruitment office
Making facemasks and sourcing hand sanitiser
Moving all our care and support documents online
Keeping you updated online, by phone, email and text
2nd Wave – Some of the things we are doing include:
Building a stock of PPE from suppliers
60% of office staff now work from home
The remaining 40% have homeworking days
Implementing a dedicated fibre line to the office
Installing video conferencing facilities in the office
Opening training to staff, service users and families
Pairing teams to ensure continuity where absences occur
Creating new runs and staff teams which improves continuity
Moving our office from 1 to 3 rooms to create social distancing
Moving to eMAR – electronic medication records by December
Encouraging staff, service users and families to get a flu vaccination
Sarah our communication lead will send monthly updates to everyone
How you can help?
Wash your hands and clean surfaces regularly
Get a flu vaccination to protect you and others
If you can, wear a face mask to protect each other
Our office is open 09:00 to 17:00 Monday to Friday
Only call outside of office hours if it is an emergency
Please use our Quarter mile office if you want to visit us
Please get a mobile, or internet connection so we can video chat with you
