A local couple has celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary with residents, family and staff at Croft Meadow care home in Steyning.

John and Audrey Mundy, 82 and 84 years old respectively, were surprised with a party in the Shaw healthcare-operated care home, which included a display of photos of family members and their wedding day. Among the many anniversary cards and well wishes they received, they also received a card from the Queen to congratulate them.

Healthcare staffing agency Local Care Force, which has offices in Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds, has been shortlisted for a prestigious Nursing Times award in Improved Patient Safety.

Local Care Force is the only agency to be shortlisted across all categories and over 200 entries, and is up against large healthcare institutions such as the NHS and Virgin Healthcare.

Created in 2004 by former healthcare professional Leanne Silverwood, Local Care Force supplies workers to the nursing, healthcare and social care sectors. The agency has 50 staff, comprised of recruiters, medical professionals and medical trainers.

YOUNG volunteers from Nottingham spent a week helping care home residents living with dementia.

The Future Foundations National Citizenship Service (NCS) spent time at Longmoor Lodge Care Home, in Sandiacre, as part of their social action project.

The 15 to 17 year olds renovated the home’s garden, adding a vegetable patch, colourful flowers, garden ornaments and a sensory table incorporating sight, hearing, smell and touch.

The multisensory additions will be particularly beneficial for those living with dementia, said Samantha Ely, home manager.

A student nurse, who spent a six week university placement at a care home in south Wales, has been commended for her dedication with two university awards.

Ambitious Daniella Crawford, a student nurse at the University of South Wales, spent six weeks at Cwm Celyn Care Home in Blaina earlier this year as part of her third-year studies. And thanks to her hard work received the ‘Mentor Choice Award’ and ‘Mental Health Field Award’ at the university’s ‘Student Showcase Awards’.

As we age, there are some things that we tend to forget about or let fall by the wayside, and dental care is one of them. Dental health is connected to the whole-body health and it’s important for elderly people to keep their dental health a priority.

There are a range of conditions that highlight the importance of taking care of your oral health, such as gum disease, denture problems and dry mouth (to name a few). Here we explain a little more about these conditions and how to prevent them.

Tea dances are back on the calendar at the Waveney Centre in Beccles after a local firm stepped in and donated some vital pieces of equipment! 

A handy meeting place for the elderly, the centre is regularly used by over 100 people each week including those who take to the dance floor and enjoy a nice cup of tea. 

But with constantly failing kettles and toasters, plus a far from reliable sound system things were not going to plan. 

However, Hughes Electrical, with a branch on New Market, quickly came to the rescue by donating a new kettle, toaster and CD player to ensure everything could continue to run smoothly! 

The enormous task of digitising the NHS is in full swing, but many service users, particularly the elderly, may have reservations about this. The recent, widely reported ransomware cyber attacks are unlikely to have instilled confidence in the move. A system incorporating the efficiencies of technology complemented by the reassurance of paper records could be the answer, suggests Derek Way, managing director at mini printer specialist Able Systems.

The digitisation of the NHS was an inevitable step, and there are incontestable benefits to the move. Healthcare professionals can share electronic information about patients quickly and easily, enabling them to receive the most effective treatment in the fastest time.

apetito, the UK’s leading creator and supplier of meals to the health and social care sector, has launched a new selection of Purée Petite meals following the range’s success.

The product line, which won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Innovation in April 2016, will now include several breakfast dishes to ensure customers have an option for every mealtime.

The world leading range of pureed meals, which has seen a 70 per cent increase in sales over the last three years, was created to help individuals suffering with dysphagia to ‘dine with dignity’.  

Dentacoin Manifesto: Treat the body as a whole

The future of the health care system is going to depend on health care providers from all industries to work together to share information and provide feedback on patient care. We know there is a link between a person’s dental health and their overall health and it is going to become increasingly important to ensure that the dental and medical industries have access to this information in order to provide the best possible treatment options for patients worldwide.

What Can Dentacoin do to Improve Integrated Health Systems?

•        Draycott Nursing & Care, Auriens and Cera join forces to change face of homecare

•        Innovative partnership offers new and efficient way to resolve elderly social care

•        World class care provider Draycott to train Cera’s carers

Creative Support’s local support centre in Tower Hamlets (London) is tackling loneliness:

After numerous summer activities, they are now taking part in two research projects on loneliness. John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets supports the projects: “We wanted to engage the community about what makes people lonely, or not lonely, in Tower Hamlets."

It is increasingly recognised as a serious health concern having a detrimental impact on health and wellbeing, affecting people of all ages.

To gain more insight into loneliness in Tower Hamlets and ways of tackling it, the council commissioned two projects:

On July 18th, the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust invited Greater Manchester care staff to Albion Church in Ashton under Lyne. Every year, their committee awards outstanding carers with a Daisy and remembers the values in dementia care.

Residents at a Bridgwater dementia care home were on their feet and singing their hearts out last week when a professional touring theatre troupe came to perform a range of songs from the ‘40s through to the ‘70s with a ‘Music Through The Decades’ show.

The hits ranged from Glen Miller through to Abba, with every resident participating in their own way, assisted by props provided by the troupe as well as guided dance routines.

“Because musical appreciation is one of the abilities that people with dementia retain when other abilities fade, we knew as soon as we heard about it that this show would be a hit with our residents,” said Paula Howlett, manager of Camelot Care’s Avalon Nursing Home in Bridgwater.

Toddlers took a trip to a Nottingham care home to enjoy a day of games with the elderly residents.

Arts and crafts, playdough making, balloons and singing kept both young and elderly entertained before they shared lunch.

Longmoor Lodge Care Home, on Longmoor Lane, Sandicare, hosted the children from Brookhill House Day Nursery, on Brookhill Street, Stapleford.

The three to five year olds have been making regular trips to the care home, playing parachute and ball games, reading and sharing photographs and stories, among other activities.

“There are great benefits for both the children and our elderly residents,” said Samantha Ely, home manager at Longmoor Lodge.

Staff in the care home sector provide invaluable care to some of the UK’s most vulnerable people, but these employees and the industry as a whole are facing unprecedented change.

According to Skills for Care, in 2016 the adult social care sector employed an estimated 1.5 million people, a large number of them low-wage staff. The introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW) and the overwhelming shortage of skilled carers, compounded by Brexit, is directly impacting resources. It is now more important than ever for care homes to retain staff and drive employee engagement and productivity to ensure we can continue to care for those most in need.

The challenges facing the sector