Month: July 2017

Residents and staff at Sherborne House enjoyed another weekly ‘Music with Malcom’ session on Wednesday 26th.
Malcom has been visiting Sherborne House every Wednesday for the last 15 years to perform a variety of songs, with residents enjoying plenty of sing-a-longs! Pictured is resident Amy with Malcom. We are looking forward to next week’s session!

Paula House received a special 10-year service award this month and a heartfelt thank you from the Chief Executive at Altogether Care for her dedicated passion in each of the various roles she has carried out in her last ten years with the organisation.

Originally a chef at Cheverels Care Home in Maiden Newton, Paula transferred to Steepleton Manor and continues to work as a Senior Team Leader also covering the position of chef when required and working an additional day each week to transport residents on their mini bus outings.

In addition to her various skills, Paula is well known for her chocolate cake and quiche!

The occasion was marked with a buffet  for Paula and she was presented with flowers and a £100 voucher.

Residents recently enjoyed their own Teddy Bear’s Picnic at Sherborne House – the day was spent reminiscing about childhood with stories about their own teddies they had been given as children – and some as adults!

Everyone enjoyed singing Teddy related songs and tucked into Barney Bear Cakes. Despite rain forcing them to come indoors, they all had a great time and got to share laughter and stories relating to Teddy Bears.

The inconclusive result of the recent General Election does little to clarify how the future of social care will look. The delicate balance of power in the House of Commons could mean that difficult and emotive issues around how increasing care needs will be funded get sidelined.

Despite announcements of an additional £2bn over 3 years, the long term issue of how we pay for care is still unresolved. The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services estimates that £20.8bn will be spent on care this year (including service user contributions), a cash rise of 5%. In spite of this they expect that £824m of savings will still be needed. At the same time there are hundreds of empty beds in care homes as commissioning bodies lack the funds to place people with the appropriate care.

Political uncertainty could also mean that it’s harder to make progress with practical challenges such as better integration of health and care services and digital transformation of the care sector.

On the other hand, it could be a golden opportunity to take party politics out of the equation, to build a consensus on the changes that are needed and how they will be delivered and funded. Definitive answers over how much people will be expected to pay for their own care, and in what circumstances, would be welcomed by all.

What do we know?

Whatever happens there are clear trends that will continue. Affordability, efficiency and productivity will be recurring themes as we attempt to deliver more with less.

Delivering more care in people’s own homes is generally seen as a good thing. It is a trend we expect to see continuing – whether that’s domiciliary care visits or live-in care. Domiciliary care is more cost effective and better for many service users if the appropriate support structures are in place.

More imaginative approaches to commissioning that focus not just on hours of care delivered, but also on the support needed to help people live more independently and avoid social isolation are emerging. Shaping services around local needs and commissioning for outcomes rather than activity are still important goals; these aren’t simple but are worth pursuing.

Reshaping services so that there is better integration between health and care professionals is essential. The new CQC inspection framework due to be implemented in the autumn is largely an effort to align inspection criteria and language with health services. This is one step on the route to better integration.

With better integration improved and coordinated discharge planning will reduce delayed transfers and ensure that elderly and vulnerable patients can be safely discharged earlier and at any point in the week, including weekends. Finding ways to include carers and family members more effectively into the care planning process will be critical if we want to make this work consistently.

Affordability will inevitably be a significant driver as local authorities and other commissioning bodies struggle to make the best use of their budgets. Demand may continue to grow faster than budgets and finding solutions won’t be easy.

Generally though, there seems to be a sense of greater realism in the air, particularly over funding. This will hopefully lead to a non-partisan and objective debate about the type of care services we want and how these will be paid for.

What we can say for sure is that the issue is not going to disappear so needs to be addressed to ensure that those reaching their older years have certainty there is a system to support them.

Residents and staff at Sherborne House took part in National Music Day on the 21st June by singing, dancing and celebrating all things music! Ninety year old Ruby Hillman enjoyed playing a tambourine.

The residents regularly participate in music sessions with local entertainers who encourage as much singing and dancing as possible. Sherborne House Manager Caroline Sharp said, “Our residents love music and apart from being relaxing, it’s a great opportunity for everyone to sing, dance or simply and enjoy”.

June Bailey celebrated her 95^th birthday on 29^th June with a scrumptious chocolate cake and a party with the other residents and staff at Sherborne House. An ice cream van also paid a special visit.

June has lived at Sherborne House for nine years. Born in Dorset, June was a WREN during the Second World War and became the first female stock broker in London.

She loves singing and dancing and has made many friends at Sherborne House.