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Weekly Blog 4 March 2022

Update on mandatory vaccination for homecare workers in England

On Tuesday, the Government announced that that the need for vaccination as a condition of deployment for homecare workers in England will be reversed. This change will come into force on 15th March 2022 and you can read more on the outcomes of the consultation here.

Welcoming the news, Homecare Association’s CEO Dr Jane Townson said:

“We are very pleased the Government is reversing the VCOD regulations and therefore preventing further care workers from leaving the workforce.

“Since vaccination as a condition of deployment was first announced in September, we have lost nearly 20,000 homecare workers who provide vital care and support to some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. This decision will prevent a further reduction in the workforce, at a time when recruitment and retention has never been more challenging.

“We have always strongly supported vaccination against COVID-19, as it helps protect the recipient from severe illness and death. However, we believe persuasion is more effective and proportionate than compulsion, in encouraging uptake amongst the remaining workers with a genuine fear about vaccination. We also need to balance the mitigated risk of infection with the very real risk of even more older and disabled people going without care due to workforce shortages.’’

A big birthday for Margaret

Lynne Hewitt, one of our Regional Managers in Scotland, has asked us to share this fantastic photo of one of their service users – Margaret. Margaret recently celebrated her 100th birthday at the Highland Hotel with family and friends.

Congratulations Margaret, what a wonderful picture. We all hope you had a lovely day.

 

A commendation at Constance Care Blantyre

Wendy McCall, our Regional Director for the North, Northern Ireland and Scotland, has passed us some fantastic feedback received this past week. Sent to the Blantyre branch of Constance Care, the son of a service user took the time to express his appreciation for the support that three members of the team – Sharon, Elaine and Maggie – provide to his mother, writing:

“These individuals execute the utmost professionalism in the care management of my mother but also whilst under the additional stress and constraints of this dreaded Covid virus that has plagued us for two years and counting. I cannot praise them highly enough in all aspects but what is most notable for me is the sensitivity and sincerity they extend to my mother.

“Whilst your focus is rightly in delivering care to my mother, I do not think they are aware of the relief that the quality and diligence of care given has on me – to know that I fully trust my mother being in their hands. It is such a great help to me personally, as I attempt to wrestle with the understanding of this monster disease, dementia. Being a distance away and not having the best of health either, knowing these angels are there for my mother, it is such a great assistance and relief for me, more than they know.

“I cannot thank you and the team enough and are most grateful to you all.”

We want to share Wendy’s appreciation and express a huge ‘thank you’ to the three of you for the support you’ve been providing to this family through what has clearly been a very challenging time. Your hard work and dedication is making all the difference for this service user and her family, and it’s clear just how much they appreciate everything you are doing.

Guardian Homecare Ormskirk acts quickly to support people in Ukraine 

Jackie Lowe, Branch Manager for Guardian Homecare, has made us aware of an amazing crisis appeal happening in Ormskirk to support people impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. Working with their local school, Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Engineering College, the branch has started a collection for essential items including baby supplies, toiletries and sleeping bags.

If you’re in the area and want to help with a donation, the team are operating a drop-off point from 9:00 – 5:00, Monday to Friday. All donations will go straight to partner organisations on the ground in Ukraine as well as those working in surrounding countries to support refugees.

Jackie told us, “The Ormskirk branch staff are great champions and ambassadors for working both in partnership and supporting local charities and initiatives in support of their communities. Not only do the staff at Guardian Homecare do a fantastic job supporting and caring for the residents of West Lancashire, but also take time to go that extra mile to help all who are in need.”

The team are certainly living up to their reputation for supporting good causes Jackie, and it’s amazing to see such a quick response from the staff in Ormskirk.

Ae your team supporting people affected by the crisis in Ukraine? Let us know at communications@candchealthcare.co.uk and we’ll help spread the word.

‘Forget Me Knot’ Atlantic row for dementia support

As some of you may already know, the son of Nicky Tucker from our Bids and Contracts team –Stefan – as well as his friends Johnnie and Dirk are rowing the Atlantic for Dementia UK, a cause close to all of our hearts. This adventure has been 18 months in the planning, with training, counselling, insurances, sponsorships and much, much more to organise.

They left Portugal late January and are rowing an epic 3800 miles to French Guiana.

The trio have covered 2,140 miles so far and are aiming to complete their row in the next 30 days. Yes, that’s over 60 days at sea, in an 8-metre row boat. It’s this madness that has captured the heart of BBC Radio 5 live listeners. Following an initial interview back in January the channel received lots of requests by listeners to be kept updated, and they now have a weekly slot and have been dubbed the mad rowers.

They have endured some gruelling conditions, not least getting to Portugal in the first place, with the onset of the Omnicom variant and Europe shutting their borders to the UK. This meant Johnnie and Stef had to leave the UK on December the 20th, missing Christmas with their families and, as the boat could not be left unattended, sleeping in the back of their car for 10 nights.

They hit a massive storm just a few days into their row and Stef suffered a nasty injury to his hip. Thank goodness Dirk is a Doctor. They have continued to be hit by storms but are at last getting some decent weather now and making good headway.

So far the friends have raised nearly £65,000 for Dementia UK and you can find out more about their adventures on their Go Fund Me page.

Congratulations to Laura in our complex care division

Huge congratulations to Laura James on a well-deserved promotion. Our Service Development Manager, Kristine Pidgeon, has asked us to share her appreciation for Laura, who has recently been promoted to a role within the business development team.

Laura joined the Complete Care Amegreen team in December, in the role of Business Development Administrator. After quickly proving her skills in our fast-pace complex care division, Laura was promoted to Service Development Executive in February. In her new role, Laura will oversee the bids and tenders process – writing, reviews, portals and contracts – as well as marketing, events and social media.

Kristine described Laura’s new position as “a huge support to the whole business development team”, and we’re all certain you’ll continue to make a big impact across the division. Well done Laura.

Do you have a recent promotion in your team that you’d like to share across the group? Let us know at communications@candchealthcare.co.uk and we’ll include your news in a future round up email.

Brilliance in Bethnal Green

Dhiman Das, Branch Manager for Mihomecare in Tower Hamlets has asked us to share some feedback received from a local social worker. The social worker contacted the Bethnal Green Branch to express her appreciation for a member of the care team, Shila Begum.

Dhiman, explained, “Shila has a client who has got mental health concerns resulting in hoarding of lots of unwanted items from the street. When we started the package, her house was so cluttered that it was identified as health hazard. So, Shila was assigned to slowly declutter the house, to remove all the hazards and to make the house safe for the client.

“The house was so cluttered that the client had no place to sleep because the bed couldn’t be seen in the bedroom. Shila took the challenge to clean the house step by step and encouraged the client not to bring in any unwanted items from outside – resulting in a clean, comfortable habitat.

“Following a visit last weekend, social worker was so impressed and mentioned that Shila had done a tremendous job clearing the house and making it safe for the client so she almost didn’t recognise the place.”

A massive ‘well done’ Shila. It sounds like you’ve certainly gone above and beyond to give this client a home that they can live in both comfortably and safely. The appreciation from this social worker was definitely well-justified given the difference you’d made to this client’s life.

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Weekly Blog 25 Feb 2022

Sharing success for Sue in Preston

Ross McCrann, Branch Manager for Guardian Homecare in Preston, has asked to share a compliment he received about a member of the Preston team – Sue Brome. Sue works as part of the local crisis and reablement services.

During their end of service review, three separate service users have complimented Sue’s practice over the past week. Specifically, they have shared that Sue “goes the extra mile”, that she “is a breath of fresh air” and that she is “a credit to the team”.

Ross told us that “the senior passed this information on during her supervision, and it is lovely that another staff member has gone out of their way to ensure that positive feedback is passed along. And it is even more heart-warming to receive such feedback about Sue, who works on some of our most challenging and pressured services.”

Ross continued, “Sue is obviously making a difference and a positive impact on the people that she is supporting, and we send her a massive thank you to us all from the branch at Preston.”

Thank you for sharing Ross and it seems that you’ve made a big impression on these service users Sue. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to everyone you support.

Making the difference at Moore’s House

Joanne Brannen has sent us some glowing feedback about the staff at the Moore’s house Extra Care scheme in Salford. Lisa Sullivan, a local social worker, was so impressed by the Comfort Call team’s support for the mother of one of her clients that she took the time to get in touch.

Lisa contacted Joanne to say, “Just wanted to come back to you as I spoke to daughter of a service user. She was very complimentary about staff at Moore’s House and I just wanted to pass this on.

“It isn’t the first time I have had positive feedback about Moore’s House when gathering feedback for safeguarding or my own case who I visited last week. Thought it was important to take five minutes just to write you an email.”

A huge thank you to all of the hard-working staff at Moore’s House. It’s fantastic to see how word of your amazing care and support is spreading through the local community.

Improving spinal injury support in complex care

Never ones to rest on their laurels, our complex care clinical team have recently been sharpening their skills in supporting clients with spinal injury. Provided by their partners at the Spinal Injury Association, the team took part in the Good Clinical Practice in Spinal Cord Injury training day.

Meanwhile, the complex care division have also assembled a team to take part in this year’s Spinal Circuit 2022, which takes place in March. In this challenging event, participants can choose to run, walk, push or cycle to help the spinal injury community complete a virtual circuit covering all eleven spinal units in the UK.

Coming in at a mighty total distance of 1799km, every penny raised from the challenge will go to Back Up, a national charity which inspires people affected by spinal cord injury to get the most out of life and rebuild their independence.

Best of luck with the challenge everyone, we look forward to sharing your progress in the coming weeks.

Praise for the team at Raynes Park

Magdalena Trepczynska, Regional Manager – London, has asked us to share compliment received about the Raynes Park London Care branch. Following a fall and a stay in hospital, one of their service users sadly had to be transferred to a nursing home.

With the service user no longer having flat or the need for homecare support, her niece reached out to express the family’s gratitude for the team’s support over the years, writing, “I would just like to put on record how wonderful the carers were who looked after my aunt. The two principal carers were Marion and Sharon. They were exceptionally caring, and ensured that my aunt was looked after and safe. Please pass on my sincere thanks to them.

“In addition, I would like to comment on the efficiency of the staff who answered the telephone. They were always polite and knew who I was, as well as my aunt. My husband and I live a two hour drive away. Knowing that my aunt was cared for so well give us both peace of mind, for which we are eternally grateful.”

It’s amazing to see the whole team’s work recognised by this family – from the staff who were a welcome reassuring voice on the phone to the diligent care team. Amazing work everyone at Raynes Park, and it certainly seems like well-deserved prise from this family.

Sarah Kwofie shares expert advice on vaccine uptake

The Homecare Association has recently developed a series of videos to support home care providers to encourage COVID-19 vaccine take-up among care staff. And, very our Sarah Kwofie is one of the experts featured!

In this video, Sarah – along with Joanna McCall from Home Instead – talks through top tips on increasing vaccination rates in the homecare workforce.

You can see more of what Sarah and other colleagues in the sector had to say here.

Let’s talk about physical health: Staying active helps wellbeing

Staying active boosts wellbeing at any age. If you remain physically and mentally active, you’ll not only have more fun, but you’ll also promote your overall health and wellbeing.

Research shows that staying active can help you to, live a longer and healthier life, stay mentally sharp and feel more optimistic.

You don’t have to run marathons to benefit from staying active. You can promote your wellbeing by seeking out physical and mental activities that you find rewarding. You might prefer yoga or hiking, joining a book club or choir, going to a football match with friends, or visiting a park with grandchildren.

Different activities offer different benefits. You’ll get the most benefits if you take part in a variety of healthy, enjoyable, and meaningful activities.

Try to find activities that will:

  • Strengthen your ties to family and friends. Maintain strong connections by getting together with friends/family regularly, either face-to-face or via video/phone chats. Plan holidays or reunions, share family stories.
  • Help to get 30 minutes of vigorous exercise on all or most days of the week. To stay fit and socially connected take a brisk walk with a friend/colleague, attend exercise classes, join a sports team – a scheduled commitment with others will hold you accountable.
  • Stimulate your mind. Enrol on a class, join a book club, play in a band, try a puzzle.
  • Get you involved with a group or cause to find a sense of purpose. Consider mentoring, volunteering, joining a community group.
  • Help towards reading  for at least 20 or 30 minutes a day. Early research suggests staying mentally sharp can help to delay the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Don’t forget there is support available to all our staff through LifeWorks, our Employee Assistance Programme.

By visiting the LifeWorks app and/or website you can access articles and videos to help improve your physical health and well-being, including ‘Making Fitness Fun’, ‘Staying Fit and Healthy as You Get Older’ and the ‘Health and Wellbeing Toolkit’.

You can access the service here – if you are unsure of your login detail or have any questions about LifeWorks please contact the team

Please also remember, if you would like to talk to trained counsellors, call the confidential assistance programme 24/7 on 0800 169 1920.

 

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Weekly Blog 18 Feb 2022

Valentine’s Day at the Pullen Day Centre

Maria Gerardo from London Care’s Pullen Day Centre has let us know about their Valentine’s Day celebrations this week.

The centre’s clients made their own cards and decorations last week ready for our Valentine’s Day. Maria let us know that the clients thoroughly enjoyed crafting and getting involved in activities on the day.

Maria and the team even encouraged clients to discuss their first loves and when they had their first kiss – and we’re sure that there were plenty good stories to be heard!

Thanks for sharing Maria, and great to see more of your work in improving the sustainability at the centre through making your own decorations and cards.

Appreciation for Alice at Total Community Care

Lisa Downs, Regional Operations Manager for complex care, has let us know about a recent presentation for a member of the TCC team – Alice. The management team wanted to show their appreciation for Alice’s commitment and hard work, and took the opportunity to present her with vouchers at a recent team meeting in Milton Keynes.

Alice was presented with the vouchers by Care Managers Yana Rast and Marta Mazur, who told us, “We really wanted to present Alice with something special because of all her hard work all the time but particularly over December 2021. The team that she works in are short staffed and there were lots of uncovered shifts through the month. Alice offered to pick up the majority of the shifts and by the end of December, she had worked a total of 24 out of 31 waking night shifts including Christmas Eve, Christmas day and Boxing Day.”

They continued by saying that “Alice is really a team player and clearly cares about her client and we felt that this needed recognition and reward. We hope Alice spends her voucher on something really nice for herself as she truly deserves it.”

Thank you all for sharing and congratulations Alice, it sounds like your vouchers were certainly well-deserved.

Plans for better care announced in integration White Paper

A new White Paper on integration between the NHS and adult social care sector with the aim of enhancing care in England has been published by the government.

It outlines how needs can be better met and waiting lists reduced, as well as to help level up healthcare, with care also becoming more personalised.

Some of the proposals include:

  • Earlier intervention with people being able to access the right services at the right time;
  • A single digital care record for patients, enabling care plans to be made more easily;
  • Better access to social care services via NHS data sharing;
  • Combining budgets so that resources can be used more flexibly;
  • Ensuring more value for money.

You can find additional information in the Government’s press release and White Paper itself.

A commendation for Kirsty at Advantage Healthcare

Lucy Farwell, Care Service Manager at Advantage Healthcare, has asked us to pass on her thanks to Kirsty Lindo – Field Nurse for Peterborough.

Lucy said, “Since Kirsty joined us earlier this year she has been an asset to Advantage Healthcare and has been a key and valuable member of the Peterborough and the wider network for Advantage Healthcare.”

“Kirsty has always shown professionalism and commitment and has never said no to anything. She goes out of her way to support existing and new business growth and supports with the ongoing clinical and governance for CCS.

“Kirsty is an absolute pleasure to work with and feels like she has been part of the team for many years.”

Sounds like Kirsty is an absolute star on the Advantage Healthcare team Lucy. Thank you so much for sharing this with us and we’d like to extend our appreciation to Kirsty for everything she’s doing to support the staff and clients.

Catherine’s running 50 miles to support children and young people

Catherine Spence from the City & County Learning and Development Team is embarking on a challenging 50 mile ultra-marathon in July raising money for Epic Kidz charity.

Catherine told us, “I am running 50 miles in July 2022 across the Lake District to raise money in support of Epic Kidz charity. This charity raises funds which provide grants to community groups who support children and young people get involved in recreational and community events – this give these children opportunities to experience different activities in life, promoting support networks and wellbeing for those children where they may not have that chance in their day to day lives.

“The challenge is to complete the renowned Montane Lakeland 50 ultra in under 24 hrs; taking the route from Dalemain House just outside of Pooley bridge 50 miles up and across some of the most beautiful countryside and finishing at Coniston water – this is the longest, most breath-taking and most extreme terrain race I have ever taken on. Every ounce of support pushes me that mile further towards the finish line and every penny opens a doorway of opportunity for another young person in our communities.”

You can keep up with Catherine’s progress and training by following her on Strava or show your support on Just Giving.

Fantastic feedback for Sagecare in Bournemouth

One of our Local Regional Recruiters, Mark Piper, has asked us to share some fantastic feedback the Sagecare Bournemouth team received following the outcome of the team’s hard work.

The Bournemouth team fought passionately to get a package of care increase for a service user, enabling her to live more comfortably from home. A family member got in touch with the branch team say, “I just wanted to thank those involved in applying for this, and to all of you who are looking after our Mum

“I am sure this will help to set her up more comfortably for the day. I know you are all accustomed to the difficulties of looking after elderly, dependent people who are in pain a lot of the time or fail to show some gratitude to all of you doing your best under the circumstances. So, I wanted to say that my sisters and I are very aware of this and wish to tell you that Mum does appreciate the time constraints upon you all, and she is grateful for your help.

“I know you are all accustomed to managing the emotions and difficulties presented by the people in your care, but on behalf of all my family, I want to thank you all very sincerely and let you know we very much appreciate how you are helping all of us cope with our mother’s failing health.”

Mark has asked us to extend an extra special thank you to Ana Aguiar, the registered manager, and Alejandra Alvarez who is the coordinator. Amazing work all-round by the team in Bournemouth.

Demonstrating dignity in Middlesbrough

Dignity Action Day is an annual opportunity for health and social care workers, and members of the public to uphold people’s rights to dignity and provide a truly memorable day for people who use care services.

Our teams in Middlesbrough took part this year to raise awareness to put an end to undignified care and asked everyone to participate by wearing red.

The Comfort Call team (pictured above) arranged a free raffle, choosing two service users and two care workers at random on a number generator to win flowers and chocolates.

Meanwhile, the staff from Careline Homecare in Middlesbrough decided to deliver flowers to some of their service users. The staff all wore something red and bought a small bunch of flowers which were given to the service users of their choice.

As you can see the staff loved it – and so did those who received the gifts.

Huge thanks to Katie Wem and Cath Stobbs for sharing the pictures with us. It certainly looks like both teams got into the spirit of the day.

Let’s Talk About Physical Health: LIFT Session Fitness

Finding a workout that fits your lifestyle is one of the most important things you can do to get started and stay consistent with your fitness goals. With LIFT session virtual fitness, through LifeWorks, you have access to free unlimited fitness journeys that are customised for your goals and current fitness level.

The virtual fitness programmes are available on your mobile device, so you can stay active anytime and anywhere with personalised fitness journeys to keep you engaged, excited, and on track to hit your goals.

Each session lasts 30 minutes, and the typical journey is three sessions per week for a total duration of six weeks. No equipment required!

Chat live online with fitness coaches who can help with fitness, nutrition, and recovery questions you have.

Watch this video to learn more about LIFT Session Fitness.

How to get started

To access LIFT Session Fitness, you must first register with LifeWorks. You will have received emails from LifeWorks, to register for the online services. If you have not received these, please first check your junk folder and then email us so we can set you up.

  1. Once you’re registered with LifeWorks, get started with LIFT Sessions online at login.lifeworks.com or on the LifeWorks app
  2. Click ‘Support & Resources’ under the ‘Life’ tab and click ‘LIFT Session Fitness’
  3. Sign up and complete your online fitness assessment

 

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City & County Healthcare Group acquires Midway Care Group

With great pleasure we can announce that, on 4th February, City & County completed the acquisition of The Midway Care Group – including the trading brands Midway Support Services Limited, Midway Care Limited, Pharos Support Limited, and Pharos Care Limited. We look forward to welcoming the Midway team into the City & County family over the coming months.

Based in Birmingham and operating across the West Midlands, Midway Care Group provides a range of care services including supported living and residential care. The group currently delivers in excess of 21,000 care hours per week to around 190 clients across 12 residential sites and 50 supported living locations.

We’re also pleased to confirm that the Group’s senior executive team, Matt Harrison (Managing Director), Ian Brown (Finance Director) and Leanne Owen (Chief Operating Officer), will remain with us for an extended period to continue overseeing the business day-to-day. Matt and the team will initially report into Caleb Atkins, City & County’s Group Service Development Director.

The acquisition of Midway Care Group compliments City & County’s strategy to acquire community care businesses across all the segments of homecare. To these businesses we aim to add our financial and technical resources to help their growth. The acquisition furthers the breadth of our offering and helps cement City & County as one of the UK’s leading community care providers.

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Weekly Blog 4 Feb 2022

Nottingham fire makes national news

There was drama in Nottingham this week as staff in our head office at Cardinal House were evacuated when a neighbouring recycling centre caught fire, spewing hazardous asbestos smoke across the local area.

We’d like to say a huge thank you for the quick thinking and professionalism of staff at the office, who acted calmly to ensure everyone was kept safe.

You can read the news report about the fire here.

Appreciation for Sareedo and Sarah from Careline Homecare

Joanne Brannen has passed us on some stellar feedback for two members of the Careline Homecare team in Tameside. The daughter of one of their service users contacted Joanne to express her gratitude for the work of Sareedo Kaamil and Sarah Gale, writing:

“I just wanted to let you know that two of your staff members are amazing. They have looked after my mother now for nearly three years. I don’t think carers get enough recognition and the majority of them do a fabulous job that’s very hard, especially during covid. It takes a special kind of person to do your job.

“Sareedo is my Mum’s regular daily carer and my mum adores her and she’s very good and patient with my mum. She works very hard and is always looking out for my mum and because she sees my mum most days, she will pick up on when she’s not herself and let us know of any issues.

“The second one is Sarah, she covers when Sareedo is off. Sarah is an absolute gem and again my mum adores her. She’s so very kind and considerate to my mum and treats her like one of her own. She’s great with her and calms my mum down when Sareedo isn’t there. She never rushes her or makes her feel uncomfortable.

“My mum suffers with dementia and struggles with change but these two are brilliant with her.  To have carers who care for your mum like she’s their own is a big weight off our shoulders and I just want the managers and staff to know that these carers are doing an amazing job. Well done and keep up the great work that most of us know is a very hard and challenging role.”

Such amazing feedback and thank you for sharing it with us Joanne. It’s clear just how much this family appreciate Sareedo and Sarah – and how much of a difference these two dedicated members of staff make to their lives.

Webinar on booster vaccinations

DHSC and NHSEI are inviting homecare providers to a webinar on booster vaccinations within the adult social care sector on Thursday 3rd February, from 11 am to 12.30 pm.

The session will be chaired by Sir David Pearson, Chair of the Boosters Task Force, and is to promote and share best practice in the sector and to discuss what successful local delivery of boosters in adult social care looks like.

You can register for the webinar here.

Additional Bank holiday in 2022

In 2022, there will be an extra bank holiday on Friday 3rd June to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. This will result in a four-day bank holiday weekend, as the regular May Bank Holiday Weekend date has moved to be on Thursday 2nd June.

All employees will be eligible for this additional bank holiday and it will be added to your entitlement. For anyone working less than five days per week or who works variable hours, this additional day will be pro-rated to reflect a reduction in days/hours worked.

Any care staff who work on the additional bank holiday will be paid time and a half for all hours worked on that day.

Congratulations to Kayleigh at Guardian Ormskirk

Jackie Lowe, Branch Manager at Guardian Homecare in Ormskirk, has asked us to share some amazing news about a member of the team – Kayleigh Goodison-Jones.

Despite starting with Guardian just two years ago, and with no previous experience in care, Kayleigh has gone on to gain her NVQ2 with  distinction!

Jackie has described Kayleigh as being “a credit to our branch” and we can certainly see why. Congratulations Kayleigh!

World Cancer Day – 4th February

On Friday 4th February the world recognises World Cancer Day 2022 – a day to raise awareness and take action against cancer.

Did you know?

  • 10 million died of cancer in 2020 across the World – that’s equivalent to twice the population of Ireland
  • 27% of cancers relate to tobacco and alcohol use

Importantly – Progress is possible, there’s a lot we can do

  • 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable
  • Adopting healthier behaviours and screening for early signs of disease reduce cancer risks

What can you do to reduce your cancer risk?

Want to know more?

There are many organisations and charities providing information on cancer, from types of cancer and symptoms to treatments and support available.

Don’t forget there is also support available to all our staff through LifeWorks, our Employee Assistance Programme

By visiting the LifeWorks app and/or website you can access cancer related articles, such as:

  • Simple Steps to Cut Cancer Risk
  • Preventing Skin Cancer
  • Ways to Support a Colleague Who is Working During Cancer Treatment
  • Supporting A Friend or Relative Who has Cancer
  • Understand and Practising Preventive Health Care

You can access the service here – if you are unsure of your login detail or have any questions about LifeWorks please contact the team.

Please also remember, if you would like to talk to trained counsellors, call the confidential assistance programme 24/7 on 0800 169 1920.

Reaching out to the community in Westminster

Vaida Grybauskiene and Lukasz Demian from our London Care and Sagecare teams recently took time to visit the City of Westminster College. Invited by their local skills and employment manager, Andrea, Vaida and Lukasz took time to speak with students about taking up a career in care.

Thanks for sharing Vaida and Lukasz, looks like you had a great day. We’re looking forward to seeing some eager new members of the teams in Westminster.

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Weekly Blog 28 Jan 2022

COVID precautions in our branches and offices

Last week the Prime Minister announced a further relaxation of rules and guidance for the general public and for employers in England covering the wearing of face coverings in public places, home working and self-isolation. These changes have prompted a review of our own approach for “COVID-Secure working’’, and we have made some adjustments to our policies relating to staff working in our office locations across the UK.

Despite promising data, there is still risk to us from relaxing our own COVID restrictions in the workplace. We have to bear in mind we are operating in a sector in which most of us are only a transmission or two away from someone who is still very vulnerable to the virus.

In view the above, as of 24th January anyone working in and visiting offices must wear a face covering where they are:

  • unable to maintain social distance of at least 2 metres from others,
  • or, where they are eating or drinking during a break.

As of next week (31st January), we will relax the “home first” approach to home working, so that people that usually work in the office but that have been working at home may return to the office to work. Note that our policies on home and hybrid working remain unchanged.

Also as of 31st January non-essential visits to office locations from shared services such as Business Improvement, Quality and Health and Safety may also resume. If you are a visitor from one of these teams, please remember to observe the same safety measures as those you are visiting.

We will keep the situation under weekly review and update you as and when we decide that any further changes can be made.

Lucky escape in an office fire

Last Tuesday a wall heater at one of our branch locations caught fire because of a fault and, for reasons we don’t yet know, the fire alarm failed to go off. Thankfully staff at the branch noticed smoke, evacuated the building and called the fire brigade. The fire was contained and no one was injured.

We’re glad to report that everyone is safe and well. However, the situation was a reminder to us all that we never know when a fire could occur, but you can make sure you are ready if it does. Please make sure you are familiar with any arrangements at your workplace and speak to your manager if you are not sure.

Let’s Talk About Physical Health: Physical assessment, advice and support

Taking care of your physical health is good not only for your body, but also for your work, life, relationships, and emotional wellbeing. Don’t forget there is support available to all our staff through LifeWorks, our Employee Assistance Programme.

By visiting the LifeWorks app and/or website you can access articles and videos to help improve your physical health and well-being.

The LifeWorks ‘Health and Wellbeing Toolkit’ offers ideas on how to adopt and maintain healthy habits and boost energy levels in your daily life. Areas covered include:

  • Making fitness fun
  • How to be active without joining a gym
  • Quick tips for starting and sticking with a weight-loss plan
  • Quick tips for starting and sticking with an exercise programme
  • Walking for exercise

Why not start by taking the Total Wellbeing Physical Assessment?

  • Answer a series of questions about aspects of your current lifestyle to see how well you are doing – it only takes a few minutes.
  • Relevant content is suggested based on your answers (so be honest), to help you make even the smallest changes to improve your health.
  • It’s also completely confidential!
  • Click the ‘Assessments’ tab under the ‘Wellbeing’ tab and click ‘Total Wellbeing Assessment Physical’ to get started.

You can access the service here – if you are unsure of your login detail or have any questions about LifeWorks please contact the team.

Please also remember, if you would like to talk to trained counsellors, call the confidential assistance programme 24/7 on 0800 169 1920.

Police protect our clients from scams in London

Maria Gerardo has shared a reassuring story from the Pullen Day Centre in London. Following their Christmas celebrations a few weeks ago, the centre’s clients were paid a visit from their local police force to share advice on keeping their details safe from scammers.

The police spoke to our clients about scams and gave practical advice on how to identify and avoid scams. As well as handing out informative leaflets, they also gave out alarms for our clients too.

Do you have any tips on spotting scams that might be useful to share with our teams across the group to protect service users? Send any suggestions to communications@candchealthcare.co.uk and we’ll include them in a future Weekly Roundup email.

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Weekly Blog 14 Jan 2022

Christmas commitment from our complex care teams

Steph Mohan from our complex care division has asked us to share her appreciation for all of the dedicated staff who helped keep our clients safe and well over the festive period. Steph has shared some amazing photos of what some of the teams got up to over recent weeks:

ICCM’s Nicola Tuffs, Amy Vickers, Rebecca Taylor, Angela McGann, Emma Morton Evans and Sue Griffiths all helped to create this wonderful window display for their client to enjoy over the Christmas period!

Advantage Healthcare’s Kelly Buxton spent Boxing Day and New Year with her client and is a real credit to the team. Steph tells us that Kelly always goes above and beyond, as you can see from the photo they have a really special bond.

Carol Henson kept on top of on-call support over the Christmas break (wearing a selection of fabulous jumpers we hope).

Kate Finzi and Siobhan Shingler took care of recruitment and HR – and are looking particularly merry here.

Finally, Steph has let us know about an Advantage Healthcare client who was released to us as a palliative several months ago. Thanks to the dedication of her team, she is showing significant improvements to her health and is now on a transplant list. With the support of the healthcare assistants and her commissioner, the client and her family were able to take her two small boys to Legoland before Christmas.

The client’s commissioner funded a second carer to support on the day, as well as transport provided by Papworth. It just goes to show how – by all working together – we can create happier memories for her two little boys. Steph wanted to give a special thanks to Fiona Fairclough and the care team for making a real difference for this family.

Thank you all for your commitment and work to keep the business, our clients and their families supported over the holidays.

Appreciation for Nadine at Noble Live-In Care

After celebrating her first year of working with the Noble team, Natasha Taupin wanted to her share appreciation for her dedicated colleagues. In particular, Natasha wanted to make sure that her manager, Nadine Bowman, go the recognition for the support and encouragement she gives to the staff – whatever challenges they come across.

Natasha told us, “I would like to thank Noble Live-In Care for giving me the chance to be able to work as a carer and to do my best in a job that I enjoy doing. It’s only been a year, but seems forever.

“I would like to thank Nadine Bowman who has been and still is a wonderful Care Manager. Nadine has directed me how to safeguard myself and is always there to back me up and in some ways to push me the extra mile – whether it’s with the tablet, the supervisions and even the way of thinking for the clients.”

Finishing off, Natasha wished all of her colleagues a “Happy New year 2022 hoping all the very best”. Thank you for sharing, it’s amazing to hear just how much support you’re getting from the team at Noble. We’re looking forward to another year of working with you too Natasha.

Care Quality Commission re-prioritises activity in England

The CQC has reviewed its regulatory priorities in England in light of the current Omicron surge. They recently announced that over this winter they are focusing on:

  • Completing 1000 infection prevention and control (IPC) inspections in adult social care, and respond rapidly to requests to set up new Designated Settings; and
  • beginning a programme of activity to rate adult social care services that are registered and not yet rated and to inspect providers currently rated as Requires Improvement, to identify where improvement has taken place and re-rate where possible.

You can read the full details here.

The CQC is also seeking feedback on how they have regulated over the past three months, to help inform their priorities over the coming months. You can take the survey here.

Are you ready for Blue Monday?

January’s third Monday, “Blue Monday” is thought to be the most depressing day of the year.

Did you know…

  • It’s a myth – there are no scientific studies to say that Blue Monday is actually Blue Monday.
  • It was a PR Stunt dreamed up to sell holidays, based loosely on the idea we might be feeling down because of the dark mornings, the weathers cold, we’re back at work after Christmas, not to mention the debt from Christmas and failed New Year’s resolutions!

Don’t feel blue next Monday, remember:

  • We all have good and bad days – everybody’s situation is different.
  • It’s actually a good opportunity to check in on our mental health – reflect on your mental wellbeing and continue to do it all-year round.
  • Talk things through with other people – talking about our feelings is really useful for protecting our mental health.  Sometimes, a problem shared can be a problem halved.
  • Try and keep active, eat well and drink sensibly – ask for help if your struggling.

If you are feeling anxious, low or experiencing any other symptoms of mental health problems, please seek help.

  • Our Employee Assistance Programme with LifeWorks, offers both online resources to help improve mental and physical wellbeing, as well as a 24/7 assistance helpline, where employees can talk to trained counsellors. If you are struggling call the free confidential helpline on 0800 1691920.
  • To speak with someone immediately, contact NHS 111 on 111 or contact Samaritans on 116 123.

Recognition for the Constance Care team in Blantyre

Sadly, a reality of our work is supporting people at the very end of their lives. However, it’s often the case that the care and attention our teams give to families at this difficult time is the most impactful.

This was very much the case for the Hebenton family, who have gone out of their way to recognise the commitment and loving attention that the team in Blantyre gave their mum in her final years.

On behalf of the them, we’d like to send a huge thanks to the fabulous team of staff at Constance Care who made such a difference for this family, as well as their dedicated branch manager, Christine McGill.

Let’s Talk About Physical Health: Eating healthily

This week we are looking at the importance of eating well. There is no question that the food we eat affects how we feel.

You don’t have to follow a strict diet, but it is important to follow a healthy eating plan. A nutritious, well-balanced diet gives you energy, protects against disease, and helps you to maintain a healthy weight.

National Obesity Awareness Week –  10-16th January 2022

This week its National Obesity Awareness Week. The annual campaign was set up to draw attention to the issue of obesity and encourage people to keep active and eat a healthy diet to avoid becoming obese.

It’s estimated that obesity affects around 1 in every 4 adults in the UK and around 1 in every 5 children aged 10 to 11.

Treating obesity

The best way to treat obesity is to eat a healthy reduced-calorie diet and exercise regularly. It’s recommended we take up activities such as fast walking, jogging, or swimming  for 150 to 300 minutes (2.5 to 5 hours) a week.

Looking to lose weight and get more active? 

  • Download the free NHS Weight Loss Plan to start healthier eating habits, become more active, and start losing weight. The plan helps to set weight loss goals, plan healthy meals and record activities and progress.
  • For CCH employees, you can also visit LifeWorks here to read the full article Talking Care of Yourself: Commit to eating healthily for tips on ways to improve your diet.

 

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Weekly Blog 6 Jan 2022

A fantastic festive round-up

 

Happy New Year everyone. It was a busy festive period for our teams across the UK, but so many of you still found time to get into the Christmas spirit. Whether it was to recognise the hard work and dedication of staff or to help our service users get involved with the celebrations, thank you to everyone who shared your activities with us over the last few weeks. Here’s just a small selection of what was happening across the City & County family.

Firstly, Danni Russell has asked us like to say a massive ‘thank you’ to Amanda Brown. Danni tells us that Amanda has been part of the Berwick team for nine years and is loved by all of her service users and colleagues. In Amanda’s spare time, she has devised a small craft page on Facebook where she makes gifts to order. Every year Amanda’s service users receive a small gift from her, and this year she has excelled herself crafting these truly heartfelt gifts and handmade Christmas cards for all of her service users.

 

Danni finished by saying, “Amanda, these are absolutely beautiful and you have made some of our service users extremely happy this Christmas”. We couldn’t agree more – thank you Amanda.

Meanwhile, Chris Noble has let us know about a fantastic festive initiative by the HSG team in the North East. Each year Middlesbrough’s HSG office staff put together two hampers, one for staff and one for service users. After all of the names are put in to a raffle, two lucky winners are drawn.

Congratulations to Serena Westwood who won the staff hamper

Well done to the Bradshaw family who took home the service users’ hamper

Such a fantastic idea Chris, we hope you all enjoyed your treats. And, that’s not all from the amazing HSG team in Middlesbrough! The staff also donated items to their local food bank – and they definitely looked the part when they delivered the donations too.

Finally, Joanne Brannan shared this terrific collage from the Careline Homecare team in Tameside. Two of their care workers, Shelley Townsend and Seemab Ali, took time to visit service users and deliver Christmas presents in full costume.

Joanne told us that the service users were delighted with the visit from the care workers. We’re really not surprised that they loved the visits – Shelley and Seemab look fabulous, and thanks for sending in the ‘elfie pictures too Joanne!

Let’s Talk About… physical health 

As part of our Let’s Talk About Wellbeing campaign, we’ll be tackling a wide range of wellbeing topics across the year.

Our next quarterly theme, which will run through January, February and March, is Physical Health and Wellbeing.

Physical Health

When experts refer to physical wellbeing, they look at things like whether you feel healthy and full of energy. Taking care of your physical health is good not only for your body, but also for your work, life, relationships, and emotional wellbeing.

From diet to exercise to sleep, over the next three months we’ll be providing tips and strategies to help make taking care of ourselves, a priority every day.

You tell us what matters

We are building an approach to wellbeing that works for you. To do this, we want to hear from you to help shape the campaign over the coming months. Email us at communications@candchealthcare.co.uk to tell us what matters to you, what concerns you have and any tips you’ve discovered which you would like to share.

Walk your Dog Month – January

Did you know that almost 12% of the dogs owned in the UK are overweight?

Walking is amazing for humans and dogs, both physically and mentally. Why not kick off the New Year with a fun challenge this January, try the following:

  • Change your dog walking route – change the route to create more excitement
  • Walk your dog with style – treat your dog to a brightly coloured lead or collar
  • Teach your dog some new tricks – spend time together and burn off some energy

Don’t forget to send us photos of you walking your dog this January to communications@candchealthcare.co.uk.

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Weekly Blog 3 December 2021

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:

  1. Acknowledge the problem – admit that you have a problem and commit to fixing it.
  2. Stop debt spending – Lock up (or cut up) your credit cards.
  3. Make a spending plan – track your spending for a month.
  4. 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.

 

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Weekly Blog 19 November 2021

Department of Health and Social Care launches social care recruitment campaign

The latest phase of the Department of Health and Social Care’s national adult social care recruitment campaign, ‘Made with Care’, has now launched and will run continuously until March 2022.

Created to support care providers in recruiting the dedicated staff they need, this campaign will show the amazing work that care workers do, celebrate the way they empower the people they care for, and shine a light on the emotional rewards of the role, to inspire more people to consider a job in adult social care.

‘Made with Care’ advertising will direct job seekers to adultsocialcare.co.uk. Here, they will be able to find everything they need to research a career in adult social care and, crucially, search and apply for adult social care jobs near them through DWP ‘Find a Job’, including those in our operating companies.

You can read more about the campaign here.

Look out for COVID vaccine pass scams

Members of our teams have already started to see scam emails inviting them to take part in a COVID-19 Passport programme.

The emails ask recipients to click on a link to register their details, with a promise that doing so will secure a digital or had copy vaccination passport. The emails may stress that there is a short deadline to register – typically just a few days.

Such emails could show authentic-looking NHS or government branding and may, initially at least, appear to be from a reliable source. However, when checking the sender’s information to see the originating email address it will not use the expected NHS or GOV.uk format:

If you receive an email you suspect to be spam, please do not click on any links. Instead, report it to the IT Service Desk immediately.

Poppies at the Pullen Day Centre

Maria Gerardo has shared some photos of London Care’s Pullen Day Centre clients preparing for Remembrance Day.

Maria told us, “our clients made their own poppies this week we had all sorts of designs going on, we spoke about what we remembered from the war and the jobs they did. One client had been a Morse coder in the war and she taught people how to understand it and sent messages in war.”

“Our clients had a lovely week making their own poppies and talking about things that they remembered in the war or people they knew were veterans.”

Thanks for sharing Maria, it looks like your clients put a lot of work into their poppies and displays for the event.

Alcohol Awareness Week: 15th – 21st November

It’s Alcohol Awareness Week and this year’s theme is Alcohol and Relationships.

Many of us drink alcohol for a variety of reasons, including: to relax, to socialise, to de-stress, to have fun, to relieve boredom, to deal with feelings of loneliness, and to try and cope with or avoid problems. However, drinking too much and too often can cause or make worse, problems with our physical and mental health, including damaging relationships with our loved ones.

How does drinking affect our relationships?

Alcohol is a psychoactive substance, meaning it can radically change the way we think and feel.

  • Alcohol can alter both our mood and inhibitions, affecting our decision-making in the moment, meaning we are more likely to make rash choices, or perhaps start verbal or physical confrontations that we later regret.
  • If our partner or loved one is regularly drinking more than we are, it can impact on our own feelings, creating tension and anxiety. For example, we may feel that we take second place to our loved one’s drinking, or that they are increasingly physically or emotionally absent.
  • If we are the ones drinking regularly or heavily, we may be neglecting or ignoring the needs of our loved ones, and not fulfilling our responsibilities as a partner, friend, parents or family member.

Making some changes

This week is the ideal opportunity to think about our own drinking and ask ourselves whether we are likely to benefit from making some changes.

Here are some tips for heather drinking and happier relationships.

  • Talk it over. If you’re having problems or something is playing on your mind, it’s good to talk things through when both of you are sober.  By talking, we can help each other to better understand how alcohol might be affecting us and those around us.
  • Commit to cutting down. The UK’s Chief Medical officers recommend not drinking more than 14 units a week; that means about six pints of lager or a bottle and a half of wine.
  • Keep track of your drinking. Recording what you drink for a few weeks will help you understand your drinking pattern so that you can decide if you want to make a change. Use a free app like Try Dry to keep track of your drinking and set goals to help you cut down.

Support with Drinking Concerns

If you’re worried about your own or someone else’s drinking, remember that there is always somewhere you can turn for support.

  • LifeWorks Helpline (Employee Assistance Programme) – a free and confidential service available to employees. Professionally trained counsellors are available 24/7 to offer emotional and practical support, and resources for you and your loved ones. Call 0800 1691920.
  • LifeWorks online resources – LifeWorks Addiction & Recovery toolkit offers resources and information on how to recognise signs of addiction—and guidance on how to find resources and support to guide you or a loved one toward recovery.
  • Your GP – can provide confidential advice and refer you to extra support
  • NHS Website – find support and treatment services near you
  • Alcoholics Anonymous – helpline open 24/7 0800 9177 650
  • Your Manager or HR – tell your manager about your concerns/problems – they can support you.

Eagle-eyed team recognised in Rochdale

Joanne Brannen, Regional Manager – North West and West Yorkshire, has shared some outstanding feedback received by the Comfort Call team in Rochdale. After diligently spotting that some lifting equipment in a client’s home had been tampered with, the client’s care team quickly reported the issue in the correct manner.

This quick thinking by this team ultimately helped avoid potential significant injury to their client. Thankfully the issue was able to be quickly resolved.

In sharing Rochdale Borough Council’s appreciation for the team’s attention to detail, their Contracts & Quality Monitoring Manager wrote, “Given the massive issues in the Home Care sector at this time around capacity, it’s really good to hear that staff are still so switched on and professional despite the huge workload pressures they face on a seemingly never-ending basis.

“Great job from everyone involved both at Comfort Call and in terms of the support from the team here at Rochdale Borough Council.”

Great work by everyone, and thank you for sharing Joanne.

Don’t forget that Caleb’s growing a Mo

Caleb is just over two weeks into the challenge, and here’s his progress to date!

You can get involved with this great cause by donating here. Your support will help the Movember Foundation create ground-breaking health projects that make a real difference in the lives of real men across the world.

Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men in the UK and the reason why the Movember Foundation are pushing forward progress in prostate cancer research, from early detection through to diagnosis, treatment and support.

Did you know?

  • 1 in 8 UK men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.
  • More than 47,500 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year – that’s 129 men every day.
  • Every 45 minutes one man dies from prostate cancer in the UK – that’s more than 11,500 men every year.

Early detection is key

  • Early detection 98% chance of survival beyond 5 years
  • Late detection 26% chance of survival beyond 5 years

To give themselves every chance against prostate cancer, men should talk to their doctor at 50, or at 45 if they are of African or Caribbean descent, or if they have a family history of the disease.

Signs & Symptoms

Prostate cancer does not usually cause any symptoms until the cancer has grown large enough to put pressure on the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the penis (urethra).

Symptoms of prostate cancer can include:

  • needing to pee more frequently, often during the night
  • needing to rush to the toilet
  • difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)
  • straining or taking a long time while peeing
  • weak flow
  • feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
  • blood in urine or blood in semen

These symptoms do not always mean you have prostate cancer. Many men’s prostates get larger as they get older because of a non-cancerous condition called prostate enlargement.

Signs that the cancer may have spread include bone and back pain, a loss of appetite, pain in the testicles and unexplained weight loss.

Want to know more?

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