Christine Noble: Winner of our Impact Award, Operations

When Christine Noble’s name was called it was easy to spot her surprise and hear the quiver in her voice as she gave a five word speech: “this is for team North”. 

Christine Noble is a Regional Manager in the North East covering six domiciliary care branches. Her role is to support managers in the best way possible, make sure the service is safe, everyone adheres to compliance, the business grows, that she finds innovative solutions for challenges that are bound to arrive “and a lot more”, explained Christine.

Christine’s career began in 2002 as a care worker for Community Homecare Services, which was acquired by City & County in 2012. Over the last twenty years she has progressed to where she is today.

The humility and generosity that the audience saw on the stage when Christine collected her award is what she has become renowned for. She has been described as “an all-around excellent example of an excellent manager”. One team member even remarked, “I am not sure we would have gotten through these past few years without her”. We sat down with Christine to better understand this rising star.

What attracted you to care?

I like having the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. I was originally studying to be a nurse but then my father became critically ill when he was only 48. We could not get care at home – at the time it wasn’t as readily available as it is today. He passed away in the hospital, which was heart-breaking for him and for all of us. That is what pulled me into domiciliary care. I wanted to support others to remain at home so that they could be as independent as possible. I wanted to give them what we were unable to have.

What keeps you motivated? 

The love for my role is a key motivator. I am lucky enough to make a difference to people’s lives by supporting both service users and staff, even if from a distance. I am also driven by the incredible team, both in the area I work but also the wider City & County family. We all want to achieve the same goals and we always encourage each other to be the best we can be. It is a unique and special place to work.

What was your reaction when you won? 

I was shocked and overwhelmed. I certainly wasn’t expecting it. I also found it extremely emotional listening to the kind words from the people who nominated me. Once it sunk in, I felt a sense of pride and achievement. Not only for myself but for our entire team. Our mutual respect and belief in each other is what allows me to do my role.

What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it? 

A challenge for me has been finding my confidence. Whilst I was confident in the smaller local teams, it was very difficult to find the same confidence on a wider scale. However, the changes within our structures and teams have brought everyone together.  At City & County you are encouraged to be involved in developing the teams, the business and utilising the support mechanisms. While confidence still remains a challenge in some scenarios, the want and need to do my role well motivates me to develop this.

Proudest moment?

My proudest moment was being made Regional Manager and getting this award, of course.

Recognition for Heather at Comfort Call Cheltenham

Nicola Johnson, one of our registered managers at Comfort Call, has asked us to help share her appreciation for a member of the Cheltenham team.

Nicola told us, “We have finally moved back to face-to-face team meetings in Cheltenham and have reinstated carer recognition awards. Our first winner is Heather Dubberley who has received the most compliments over the last 12 months.

“Heather received a certificate and a flamingo mug as she always pops into the office every Thursday for a coffee, therefore we felt it only appropriate for her to have her own office coffee mug!

“Well done Heather, keep it up!”

Congratulations Heather – and thank you so much for sharing Heather’s achievements with us Nicola.

Do you have someone like Heather on your team that you’d like to champion to the City & County family? Let us know at communications@candchealthcare.co.uk and they could feature in our Weekly Roundup too!

A Model Branch milestone

A huge milestone was achieved this week, with our final site to go live on the Model Branch platform from our existing estate.

The team at Chestnut House Extra Care scheme were the final site out of 261! Raj Singh and Veena Shingadia from the implementation team were on hand to celebrate with cake.

Jon Kerr, our Senior Implementation Manager, told us “This has been the largest digitisation project we have seen at City and County and has standardised our entire organisation onto the same platform. More integrated sites to follow in the upcoming weeks to complete the acquisition part of Model Branch.  Thank you to the team at Chestnut House for such a successful transition, we hope you enjoyed the cake.”

A huge well done to everyone involved in this impressive project and congratulations to you all on completing the roll-out. We’re looking forward to hearing more about the next phase – launch of Model Branch into our recent acquisitions – over the coming weeks.

Katie Beckley rides to success as Para Ambassador

We’re incredibly pleased to announce that our very own Katie Beckley – Clinical Nurse Specialist at Total Community Care – has been chosen as a Para Ambassador for Great Britain. Not only will Katie help to champion Para Sport, but her long-distance riding skills have earned Katie a place on the England squad!

Katie told the Endurance GB website team, “I am a Clinical Nurse Specialist and I work with complex spinal patients in the community. I am also a lifelong horse owner who has participated in many different competitive areas.

“My spinal injury happened in November 2019 and has left me with a left sided weakness and chronic nerve pain. I have had to be creative with ways of allowing me to ride and my horse, Bobby, has learnt to live with a lopsided rider!

“I have struggled but am slowly improving and my love for my horses and endurance is helping me continue doing something I love.”

Amazing news Katie, and fantastic to see your riding skills recognised with a place on the team. You can read more about Katie’s story and how she has used horse riding to support her rehabilitation on the Endurance GB website.

Let’s Talk About Health… International Day of Yoga

On Tuesday it was International Day of Yoga!

Did you know?

Yoga began in India almost 5,000 years ago as a spiritual practice.

There are several different traditions of yoga, but they all combine postures, stretching, breathing, and meditation to make your body and mind relax. Some of the postures are difficult—never force your body to do something it’s not ready for. A yoga instructor will be able to help you adapt the postures for your abilities.

Benefits of Yoga

Yoga postures, breathing exercises, and meditation combine to provide stress relief and improved physical fitness. Yoga can also increase flexibility; help with high blood pressure and circulatory problems; relieve back and neck pain; and improve conditions like asthma, fatigue, insomnia, arthritis, rheumatism, and anxiety.

Try out Breathing and Meditation Exercises on LifeWorks

Why not try the following breathing and meditation exercise videos available free on LifeWorks:

  • Deep Breathing Exercise This breathing exercise will help to relax your mind and release tension in your body.
  • Body Scan Meditation This meditation is designed to release tension in your body and mind.
  • Tree Grounding Meditation This grounding exercise is designed to focus your mind on the present and help you feel more calm and relaxed.
  • Five Senses Meditation This exercise is an active form of meditation that engages your five senses.

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

Summer memories shared at HSG in Middlesbrough

Charlotte Groves, Care Coordinator at Human Support Group in Middlesbrough has shared an update on the branch’s activities with staff and service users to make the most of the recent good weather and rekindle memories of summers past. Charlotte told us:

This week in the Middlesbrough HSG Branch we are celebrating all things summer!

With Summer solstice on the horizon and the lovely sunny weather that has finally start to grace us with its warm embrace, we thought it would be no better time than to give you all a glimpse of what we have been up to.

When we have been sitting looking at the sun shining away in the sky and feeling the warmth on our skin, it got us thinking about our lovely service users and care workers. What do they enjoy about summer? Do they have any fond and favourite childhood memories? Are they an ice-cream lover or more likely to reach for a fruity ice pop?

We spoke to one of our service users Audrey Laws and her daughter Ann. Audrey has been with HSG Middlesbrough now since January 2021. Here are some of Audrey’s thoughts on summer time…

“I like the warmth of the summer. It’s nice and cheerful and makes everyone happier and feel better. As a child I used to walk the dog on Blackhall beach and collect brambles later in the summer.

“I stayed with my gran in Durham and we walked along the river and looked after her chickens. I’ve always loved the outdoors. Later in life we took the girls to Hob Hole and had picnics. We had a caravan in Filey and loved our holidays there. I don’t like being stuck in the house so my favourite thing is to take Bailey (my dog) for a walk and to go for drives over the moors. I like a nice cool drink in a pub garden to meet other people. An ice cream at Redcar is also a treat”

Thank you Audrey for you wonderful memories and we must agree with you that an ice-cream at Redcar is most defiantly a treat.

We also spoke to Katherine Wilson who has been a valued care assistant for HSG Middlesbrough since April 2019. Here are her thoughts on the perfect summer …

My most favourite part of summer is making the most amazing memories with my family and friends by going on days out to the seaside and going on holiday. My favourite childhood memories were going to Spain with my parents and I was incredibly luckily to be able to cherish these memories! Another favourite thing do is go for a drive to Redcar or Whitby to eat fish and chips and enjoy the sun. My favourite cool treat to indulge in is definitely an ice lolly!

We hope everyone has a happy summer solstice and hope you have enjoyed reading our summertime stories!

Amanda Frankton levels up leadership in Leicester

And finally, Julie Hunter and the Quality and Governance team have asked us to extend a huge congratulations to Amanda Frankton at Help at Home in Leicester.

Impressively, alongside overseeing additional hours into the branch, not only has Amanda recently passed her Level 5 Leadership and Management qualification – but she’s done it with a distinction!

Fantastic news Amanda, and such an amazing achievement – especially considering everything else that’s happening at the branch.