Finalist for The Frontline Leader Award

 Rebecca Blackmore:

Here are some of the things that our manager Sharron and the team have to say about Bex:

Rebecca who is known as Bex started working in our company in 2014.

Caring, compassionate and focused on helping and supporting people to be the best they can possibly be.

One of her strengths is also her cooking ability. Utilising this skill Bex is able to support individuals with healthy eating. She uses aids such as easy read menu’s and supportive technology, supporting individuals to understand the types of foods in their meals and understanding healthy options.

Bex has also inspired the individuals during house meetings to: choose a country, plan shopping lists, discuss a menu from the country, discuss utensils needed to make the meal, along with looking up information with individuals regarding the culture or the country. This will culminate once a month with the  person preparing the meal and hosting a lovely party. This creative use of skills in enhancing peoples lives and teaching independent living skills is wonderful and a real credit to Bex.

Her confidence has grown immensely, and this has transpired into Bex working and now achieving a senior role within Redcroft, taking on extra responsibilities such as Fire Marshal. Along with supporting staff as our advocate for dysphasia, oral health and supporting staff to be more confident in themselves.

She goes the extra mile when it comes to looking for fun ways to raise money for charities; Bex has helped to raise money for Macmillan, Red Nose Day and local Dorset charities. She rallies the residents round and gets them fully involved which gives people a sense of purpose and well-being. Bex has helped to raise awareness of these good causes and wanted the people she supports to feel a part of that experience. She is a shining example of a brilliant support worker and we are proud to nominate her for this award.

Thank you Bex for everything you do and we are all very proud of you.

The National Learning Disabilities & Autism Awards offer a unique opportunity to showcase and celebrate the successes of individuals, teams and businesses in the learning disabilities and autism sector – people and organisations who really do make a positive impact on people’s lives. They aim to pay tribute to people who specifically support those with learning disabilities and autism and recognise inspirational individuals with a learning disability and/or autism who make a real difference within their communities.

— Romaine Lawson, Director of Operations

CQC is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England.  The inspection was unannounced and took place over two days on the 27^thFebruary and the 1^stMarch 2018.

Our teams have demonstrated their unfailing commitment to providing a high standard of care and support at Apple House.

We would like to share below some of the report’s findings and you can also view the full report HERE

Safe

We spoke with three people who lived at the home, all of whom were living full active lives. They all told us they were happy living at Apple House and were keen to be part of the inspection. No one had any concerns about safety and they made comments such as: “I am very happy here”, and, “This is a nice place to live”.

The registered manager had also taken steps to make sure people’s care was delivered as safely as possible as all aspects of people’s care had been risk assessed. The risk assessments showed that the service was not ‘risk adverse’, as people were supported to take calculated risks in meeting their objectives.

One person had been assessed as having memory problems; however, they were supported to maintain their preferred routine of going out in the evenings and arrangements were made to support them with this goal.

This person was also the in-house Fire and Health & Safety officer. They worked with staff and had their own picture format to work from. This helped them identify risks or hazards in the way that they could understand. They were supported by a member of staff and assisted with fire evacuations and monthly health and safety checks. The registered manager told us this has helped this person’s esteem by being valued and included in the safety of their own home.

The home had recently had an audit of their medicines’ management by their pharmacist.  The report showed good compliance with medicines guidelines.  The registered manager shared knowledge with their medication auditor as they did not know the risks to using paraffin emollients. They said they would feed the information, which was taken from NICE/ CQC and NHS guidance, back to their pharmacist team.

Effective

People were satisfied about how their care and support was managed at Apple House and fed back to us that their consent was always agreed before any changes to their routine. Health and social care professionals also commented positively about the support people received at the home.

The home had a small staff team who felt well supported by the registered manager as well as the directors of the company.

Records showed that staff had regular supervision meetings and annual appraisal meetings with the registered manager. In these meetings they reflected on their work, the people living at Apple House, as well as training and development needs.

People were mostly able to make decisions for themselves about various aspects of their care and support. The registered manager and staff were aware of the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in relation to supporting people wherever possible to make their own decisions. People’s consent had been documented in relation to areas such as care and treatment, medication, sharing information with professionals and having photographs taken. People told us that their consent was always gained and that staff respected their decisions.

Where people lacked the mental capacity to make decisions about aspects of their care, staff were guided by the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to make decisions in the person’s best interest.

Care plans recorded that people had been involved and supported as far as possible in making any decisions. Best interest decisions had been made on the basis of the least restrictive intervention necessary. Staff had all had training in MCA.

Staff encouraged and supported people to eat healthily and to be involved in shopping, cooking and budgeting. For example, one person’s cookery folder showed how staff had worked with them. Real time photos had been used as visual prompts to help the person remember what actions were needed to complete the task.

Caring

People and health and care professionals all told of how supportive the staff were at Apple House.

We discussed equality, diversity and human rights with the registered manager. Staff had a good understanding about treating people as individuals and ensuring they were given choice and their preferences respected. Staff received training in diversity, equality and inclusion.

Staff we spoke with had very good understanding of people, how to support them and knew of their goals as detailed within care plans. Each person had a communication plan and staff knew how to communicate with each individual.

Staff were aware of people’s preferences and respected their choices. People’s records included information about their personal circumstances, likes and dislikes and how they wished to be supported. For example, care plans referred to people’s preferred routines and how they liked to spend their day.

Responsive

An advocacy worker who had been engaged to work with one person commented; “It is refreshing to meet such a dedicated staff who have such a strong bond with the residents. It is very clear that (person’s name) enjoys life at Apple House, and this is solely due to the professionalism and genuine warmth of the staff to the residents. Believe me, there are not many homes that I would endorse without a second thought.”

Each person had an up to date personal care plan. The plans detailed people’s needs and how they should be supported. The plans gave good information about the whole person; their health, social, spiritual and emotional needs and identified goals set with that person. The plans were up to date and shared with the people living at the home so that they were fully involved in planning what they wanted to achieve in the future. For example, the registered manager told us that staff at Apple House and family had worked with one person with a mental health condition to remain stable for the past 18 months. The professionals involved had agreed to sign a support plan the person had written with the help of staff. This person had also with support written their own support plan to lower their stress levels, demonstrating the service encouraged people to contribute to planning their care.

People were enthusiastic to share their experience of the home and were happy for this report to reflect the full lives that they were able to enjoy because of the support and assistance of the staff.

Each person had varied, differing interests and the staff had worked with people to ensure people individuality was respected.

Well-led

The home was well-led by the registered manager who had worked at the home for many years. The directors of the company also took an active part in supporting the registered manger and people living at the home. They visited the home at least once a month to support the registered manager and also to review the performance of the service.

The company was a finalist in the National Learning Disabilities and Autism Awards 2017 for Employer of the year and also for 2018. The award for 2018 was in relation to the ‘Breaking Down Barriers’, which celebrates and recognises an individual or organisation who has worked to make sure people get clear information and are able to contribute their views and experiences.

One of the directors had been awarded ‘Director of the Year’ and had also been a finalist for a lifetime achievement award with a local initiative recognising women’s achievement in business. The Managing Director and the Director of Operations gave a seminar presentation for Westminster briefing, one of Europe’s leading political information, public affairs and policy communication specialist. This service feeds into the House magazine, the weekly business publication for the houses of parliament.

The registered manager had sought feedback from staff members with questionnaires asking about their working life. This was in addition to the support, supervision and appraisal given to all staff. The registered manager gave feedback in an open letter to the team to motivate and inspire the team.

— CQC

We would like to extend our warm congratulations to Jayne Jackson, Registered Manager at Apple House care home, and her team, for their hard work and total dedication to the individuals they support. What an amazing CQC report and a very well deserved rating of Good!

— Romaine Lawson, Director of Operations, Apple House Care Homes.

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Summerwood has been awarded the highest CQC rating of ‘Outstanding’ meaning it’s among the top 1% of care providers in the country!  We’d love you to be part of our dynamic team there so, if you are experienced in learning disability support and seek an employer who will value, train and reward you, please get in touch using our ‘Contact Us’ page on this blog or call John, registered manager of Summerwood on 01425 839687.

Due to promotion, we also have a full-time support worker position available at our Bournemouth care home, Redcroft, as well as two waking night shifts (Tue/Wed) available now! 

With top rates of pay, a £100 Golden Ticket, and career progression opportunities, why not get in touch today for an informal chat?  Please call 01202 428158 and speak to Sharron, registered manager of Redcroft or use the ‘Contact Us’ page on this blog.

We look forward to hearing from you.

About The Venus Awards…

“In 2009 I created the Venus Awards to applaud and reward working women who are so often starved of adequate recognition and workable life-balance.

My vision and mission for Venus is to actively influence a movement of change to a more equitable and inclusive society; not by forcing opinions but by mutual respect and inter-gender collaboration.” — Tara Howard, Founder.

Romaine says, “It’s been a great experience being part of the whole process for the Venus Awards. Not only did I meet such inspiring women during the the months leading up to the final who were also nominated, I was introduced to our fabulous sponsors and judges. If you know of someone that you would wish to nominate then I would highly recommend that you keep updated with the Venus website and put them forward when there are the nominations in your area.

I was delighted to achieve the Director of The Year award in 2017 for my area,  and now absolutely thrilled to be Director of The Year 2018 nationally!

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Jane Montrose, Managing Director of Apple House care group, and Romaine Lawson, Director of Operations, were thrilled to be invited to speak at a Westminster Briefing in London last week.  The invitation followed the CQC ‘Outstanding’ rating of one of the group’s homes and focused on how leading services prepare for CQC inspections and met the updated CQC Assessment Framework.

In attendance were leaders of charitable trusts and housing associations, as well as heads of councils from around the country and other care provider heads, totalling twenty attendees. The discussions formed the first step in public policy debate which informs Westminster and Whitehall and also goes into the ‘House’ magazine which is distributed to Members in the Houses of Parliament.

A twenty-minute window was allotted to Jane and Romaine but this ran on to an hour as questions streamed in for them following their speech, culminating in the chair declaring, ‘One more question only!’

Romaine said after, “I am absolutely buzzing from this incredible experience, what a fascinating day it has been!”  Jane agreed, adding, “We hope to be invited by Westminster Briefing to speak again in the future.”

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Jane Montrose, Managing Director, and Romaine Lawson, Director of Operations of Apple House Ltd were thrilled to have accepted an invitation to London to be guest speakers at next week’s Westminster Briefing on ‘Care Home Inspections: Meeting the Updated CQC Assessment Framework.’

Joining Jane and Romaine in also speaking at the Westminster Briefing is Geraldine Strathdee OBE, former National Clinical Director for Mental Health and National Professional Advisor for the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

CQC’s new updated assessment framework for community and residential adult social care services comes into effect this winter. Discussed at the briefing will be a comprehensive overview of the guidance on care standards for care homes including best practice and changes to the key lines of enquiry.

Ms. Sutcliffe’s tweet followed a CQC national press release today announcing Summerwood care home’s ‘Outstanding’ rating, the highest rating possible.  Following the press release, Apple House Ltd were delighted to be contacted by local press taking up this good news story in an age when, all too often, the care sector is in the spotlight for more negative reasons.

Apple House will be holding a celebratory party at Summerwood next month.

Please follow us on social media: @AppleHouseLtd and https://www.facebook.com/AppleHouseCare/

• The public – people who use services, families and carers – know what high-quality care looks like and what they have the right to expect.
• Staff working within adult social care understand what high-quality care looks like and how they can contribute to delivering it.
• Providers of adult social care share a clear vision and commitment to providing high-quality care.
• Commissioners and funders of adult social care support the commissioning of high-quality care and high-quality integrated care.
• National bodies (including regulators and improvement agencies) support integrated working across the system to champion high-quality care.

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Tom and Mandy have both achieved their Level Three Diploma in Health and Social Care (loud round of applause!)

Skills For Care state:

“Skills for Care strongly believes that, when delivered well, these qualifications will provide a capable, confident and skilled workforce. These qualifications will support workers to deliver compassionate care based on strong values and ensure dignity is experienced by all those who need care and support and their carers.” [Read their report HERE]

We very proud of both Tom and Mandy and look forward to them working towards level four!

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