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?

• Prostate Cancer UK: about prostate cancer
• Cancer Research UK: prostate cancer symptoms