A round of applause for Caleb and his Mo!
Caleb has successfully completed the Movember challenge, and here’s his final photo to prove it. Well done! We think the Mo looks great, but we understand you might be looking forward to that shave!
Now that Caleb has done the hard work and persevered throughout November, it’s over to us! To show our appreciation for the Movember Foundation and Caleb’s fabulous effort (£365 raised so far), it would be amazing if anyone still wanting to make donations could do so this week.
Please help us increase this amount further by donating here. Your support will help make a real difference to men’s health.
If you want to find out more about the Movember foundation click here.
Massive thank you to the Berwick staff
Danielle Russell, Branch Manager for Careline Homecare in Berwick upon Tweed, has asked us to pass on her appreciation for the dedication shown by the team during the recent storms. Despite incredibly challenging conditions in the area, the team did everything possible to keep their service users safe and well.
Danielle told us, “I would like to include in communications a massive thank you to all of the Berwick team this weekend who have worked tirelessly to ensure that our service users have been warm and remained hydrated.
“Due to the storm on Friday many homes have gone without water and electricity. From boiling kettles and filling hot water bottles, to making soup and hot food, delivering blankets and water and removing trees from blocked roads to get through to our service users.
“Thank you does not come close to what you deserve. Putting your own lives at risk to help others each and every one of you have gone above and beyond this weekend and truly deserve so much more recognition I can give you. Together we got through the worst conditions I have ever witnessed. I could not ask for a better team.”
We couldn’t agree more Danielle, such amazing commitment from the team. Thank you all for everything you’ve done to protect those you care for during in the most difficult and dangerous of situations.
Noble Care Worker of the Month – November
Congratulations to Yaa Boatemaa for winning Noble Live In Care’s Care Worker of the Month. Your hard work, compassion and caring nature makes you a real asset to the Noble Team.
Yaa has bought her many years’ experience and her caring nature to her work at Noble. She has she has provided exceptional person-centred care to her client without hesitation. She works super hard to ensure her clients and well cared for and has often gone above and beyond the call of duty. Her positivity makes her a joy to work with!
Thank you Yaa for the all your hard work!
Debt Management – Four steps to reduce your debt
Getting out of debt isn’t easy and there are no quick fixes. It takes time, commitment and sacrifice, but it’s not complicated – it just take four steps:
- Acknowledge the problem – admit that you have a problem and commit to fixing it.
- Stop debt spending – Lock up (or cut up) your credit cards.
- Make a spending plan – track your spending for a month.
- Pay off your debts – list your debts and chose one to pay off first.
Head to the LifeWorks app and/or website to read the four-part series Four Steps to Reduce your Debt – where each step is broken down into manageable chunks.
Remember, there is no quick fix to overcoming serious debt problems, but if you stick with the plan, the benefits are well worth the effort.
Financial Support Services available from LifeWorks
Debt has financial as well as emotional costs. The more you work at it, the better you’ll feel. There’s no need to bear the weight of your money worries alone. Financial experts and support groups can help. LifeWorks offer the following free services to all CCH employees:
- Online Financial Planning Service
The LifeWorks website is full of resources and information that will help you create an action plan. You can access worksheets, audio episodes and advice created by experts to help you create and stick to your financial goals. - Financial Consultations
Seek professional financial advice through telephone consultations. Advisors will provide you with support around financial queries and recommend local and specialised services that can assist you with your financial goals.
Additional debt support groups:
- National Debtline is a national telephone helpline which gives free advice to people with debt problems.
- StepChange is a charitable organisation which provides free credit counselling to people in the UK.
Next week – Budgeting
One of the best ways to reduce or avoid money worries is to set up a realistic personal budget. Next week we will look at budgeting tips and tools.
Excellent end of life care at The Courtyards
Ross McCrann, Branch Manager for Guardian Homecare, wrote to us this week to share some feedback received for our Extra Care team at The Courtyards in Preston.
Ross explained that the team had been supporting a service user through her end of life and her wish was to remain at home in The Courtyards. After she sadly passed away, the family wrote to Ross to express their appreciation for everything the team had done during their Mum’s final days, saying:
“Can I just say how much we have been overwhelmed by every one of the staff involved in Mums care over the last few weeks of her life. The empathy, compassion and professionalism shown to mum and to myself and Sarah has been exemplary and outstanding to say the least, and we truly cannot thank you enough.
“Mum always wanted to die at home, and without the excellent team involved and the ethos of The Courtyards… for providing such a first class facility would not have been possible under any other circumstances.
“Please on behalf of my late Mum, please pass on our total appreciation of everything that has been done to accomplish Mum’s final wish.”
Ross told us, “This was absolutely lovely to receive, particularly during the current challenging climate when The Courtyards itself has been experiencing its own challenges in terms of staffing and recruitment. It is a testament to the staff that, especially during these times, they have been able to make such a difference and positive impact on both a service user as well as their family members.
“Being able to remain at home during end of life was so important to this lady, and the hard work, commitment and compassionate care by all members of the team enabled this to happen for her.”
Amazing feedback and a huge well done to everyone at The Courtyards. You really made all the difference for this service user and her family during this time. Thank you too for sharing this with us Ross.