A Scottish company specialising in providing home-based care solutions has opened a brand-new office in Carluke to reach people requiring help outside of hospital in the region.

SRS Care Solutions, a complimenting business arm of Group SRS (Scottish Recruitment Solutions), welcomed Angela Crawley, local MP for Lanark and Hamilton East, along with local businesses, members of the community and service users for the special opening.

During her visit, Ms Crawley judged a ‘Bake Off' competition which was embraced by several businesses in the area, including Carluke Development Trust, Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland and LG Lash & Wax, who brought their bakes to the event.

The BBC has scrapped the free TV licence for all over 75s, meaning only those who receive Pension Credit will be exempt from paying the fee from next year.

There has been widespread criticism of the move to means test the concession, which was announced days after the D-Day anniversary coverage on the BBC and will affect millions when it comes into effect on June 1 2020.

Cygnet Health Care’s Sherwood Lodge and Sherwood House rated ‘Outstanding’ by Care Quality Commission

Sherwood Lodge rated ‘Outstanding’ across all five CQC categories.Cygnet now has the only two learning disability hospitals in the country to have achieved this extremely rare accolade

Cygnet Health Care is delighted to announce that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the care provided by Sherwood Lodge, Cygnet’s specialist learning disability hospital and Sherwood House, Cygnet’s specialist rehabilitation mental health hospital as ‘Outstanding’.

A care provider that failed in its duty to provide safe care and treatment has been fined £24,000 and ordered to pay £14,000 towards the cost of the prosecution, and a £170 victim surcharge, by North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.

The Care Quality Commission brought the prosecution following the death of an 83-year-old woman at Gretton Court care home in Hartlepool.

The provider, The Hospital of God at Greatham, previously pleaded guilty at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, on 13 March 2019, to two offences: failing to provide safe care and treatment resulting a resident being exposed to a serious risk of avoidable harm, and a failure to provide safe care and treatment to the residents of Gretton Court from being exposed to a significant risk of avoidable harm.

The court heard how a new resident was admitted to Gretton Court on 25 November 2015. Due to them being at risk of falling from bed when resting, it was decided that they needed bed rails and passive infrared sensors (PIR), that sound an alarm when they detect movement. The resident’s need for bed rails was reassessed throughout 2016 and they were found to be of low risk of falling from bed. However, the provider had failed to ensure that staff, responsible for assessing these needs and the safe use of bed rails, had received appropriate training. A relevant safety policy was also not available. The bed rails remained in use.

Ardale, a new name to the residential and nursing care sector have named Oakham Grange as their first home. This 9 million bespoke 60 bed new build home is planned to open in early 2020, creating 200 new jobs.

‘Ardale may be a new name to the healthcare sector’ said Lesa McAnulty, Ardale’s Chief Operating Officer ‘but behind the name is a senior team with many years nursing care and expertise.

Ardale are on a mission to deliver care and support that is meaningful to each individual; with the warmth and personality that only a family owned company can create.’

Ardale will provide nursing care and support underpinned by a care ethos of; promoting independence while maintaining friendships and interests

As the world marks International Nurses Day on Florence Nightingale’s birthday this weekend (Sunday 12 May), editor Victoria Galligan takes a look at five ways that nurses around the country are celebrating…

1. The Royal College of Nursing is encouraging members to organise a get-together as part of the UK’s Biggest Nursing Party and offers a free party pack to help get planning started on your event. 

A care home operator has had his Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration cancelled following a rating of “inadequate” in a recent inspection.

The CQC took the action to cancel the registration of Mr Thurairatnam Nadarajah Prakash and he is now no longer legally allowed to provide care at his service Durham Care Homes in Hull.

The CQQ said in a statement: “The latest inspection, in February 2019, rated the service inadequate overall and it was placed into special measures. The inspection revealed a significant deterioration in the care being provided and inspectors began the process to take enforcement action.

Our Health Heroes, the national healthcare awards which celebrate individuals, teams and organisations within the healthcare and care and sectors, are returning for the fourth year and promise to be bigger and better than ever.

Launched today (Monday 8^th April) during the annual UNISON Health Conference at Bournemouth International Centre, the Our Health Heroes awards will be delivered by Skills for Health and the National Skills Academy for Health with support from headline sponsor Health Education England.

Nominations in eight categories, which recognise the contribution of healthcare workers from a range of facilities across the UK, including those working in the NHS, are being sought from healthcare professionals and members of the public via the dedicated Our Health Heroes webpage.

ELDERLY residents have expressed their gratitude to two school pupils after a week working at their care home.

15-year-olds Hannah Pears and Molly Ratcliff supported staff and spent time with residents living at Pelton Grange Care Home, in Pelton, County Durham.

The pupils from North Durham Academy, in Stanley, provided support with the tea trolley and dining, general housekeeping and social activities.

Hannah said: “I had a great week. I had a lot of fun listening to the stories of the residents.”

Molly added: “I never thought about what it was like in a care home. It was nice to see the residents had so much choice.”

A ground-breaking new Innovation Centre aimed at the catering, cleaning and facilities management industries opened its stainless-steel doors for business on May 1 in Peterborough.

It is a collaboration between Oxford company, GreenTeckGreenteck Global Ltd: innovators in alternative green technologies, providing sustainable, energy-conscious amdand cost-effective solutions that will make a real difference to the environment; and commercial kitchen experts CK Direct.

The Centre is based at CK Direct’s factory and showroom just a mile or so off the A1(M) in Peterborough and is unusual in that the company has built a fully-fitted and fully-operational commercial kitchen as its centrepiece . . . all under one, bespoke, stainless-steel roof, or ceiling, also fabricated from scratch on the premises.

So visitors can not only see the equipment in situ and in operation but can even cook themselves lunch: if they remember to bring some burgers and buns! In addition to the actual cookers and fryers, equipment on display includes:

AN EGGSTRA special invitation was sent to care home residents for a Runcorn school’s Easter assembly.

Residents from Simonsfield Care Home, on Boston Avenue, were invited to view the school’s display of hand decorated Easter eggs.

They had been created by pupils aged five to ten years old at The Grange Academy, on Latham Avenue, for a school competition.

The school invited the elderly residents to visit following the care home’s appeal for Easter eggs.

More than a dozen of the chocolate treats were presented to residents at the assembly.

CALL centre workers swapped telephones and keyboards for shovels and dominoes for a day volunteering at a Teesside care home. 

Staff from BT’s Middlesbrough office carried out gardening work and engaged in activities with elderly residents living at The Gables Care Home, on Highfield Road.

As part of the telecoms business’s volunteering programme, almost a dozen call centre advisors and a team manager spent the day at the home.

They tidied the garden, removing weeds and sweeping leaves, planted flowers, repainted a fence, benches and plant pots, cleaned the green house and planted seeds for tomatoes, lettuce, onions and other vegetables.

After the gardening work, they shared a hot drink with residents, while reminiscing about the town and their own careers, as well as playing a few rounds of dominoes.

The National Association of Care Catering (NACC) has announced the finalists for the NACC Care Chef of the Year 2019 competition, taking it one step closer to crowning the nation’s best care chef.

Over the past month, talented chefs working in the care sector have competed in the regional heats to secure a coveted place in the national final of the prestigious culinary competition.