Care & Share – our newsletter for care workers
Did you know that City & County sends out a weekly newsletter called Care & Share to care workers?
The newsletter is distributed every Thursday to our frontline care workforce and includes a range of good news stories about the fantastic work that care workers are doing out in the field. It aims to recognise care workers and their teams from across the City & County Healthcare Group.
Please be on the lookout for good news stories about the great work that care workers are doing and send these to us so we can feature them in the Care & Share newsletter. Stories can range from testimonials from service users or their families; activities and events held in branch; how care workers have made a difference and helped service users; and tips on sharing best practice.
We want to compliment and celebrate the efforts of our care staff.
Email communications@candchealthcare.co.uk to share your stories today!
Home worker safety
With many of us working partly or entirely from home, it is ever more important to consider our safety in the home environment.
Remember that home-workers should:
- have completed a workstation risk assessment
- ensure they take rest breaks just as they would in the office
- report accidents that occur during their working hours, even if they scold themselves on their own kettle
- carry out visual checks on any equipment (e.g. laptops) before they use them on each occasion and report any defects
- notify their line manager of any reasonable adjustments they may need arising from a disability.
You can get advice on safety matters from hse@candchealthcare.co.uk and on general home worker issues from hr@candchealthcare.co.uk.
COVID-19 – autumn booster vaccines
COVID-19 case rates are now back down to levels last seen in mid-May but we may see a new surge of infections as schools return at the start of September.
The good news for care staff is that they will be near the front of the queue for autumn COVID-19 vaccine boosters, which are likely to be available from the second week of September, along with free seasonal flu jabs. We are expecting more details in the next week of how and where staff can book their appointments.
“Getting my life back on track” – Greg’s story
Charlotte Groves (Care Coordinator, HSG Middlesbrough branch) shares a letter received from service user Greg Tate. He wants to share his mental health journey and show that there is light at the end of the tunnel for anyone who may be struggling.
Greg’s story:
“My name is Greg Tate.
About three years ago, unfortunately, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and over a period of around two years there was no improvement. I was told I must go into Roseberry Park to recover. I was in there for about a year and unfortunately whilst in there I had a suicide attempt. I was released from Roseberry Park about two years ago.
I was still not in a good place but with the help of medication, a change in my daily routine and especially the Human Support Group care workers coming in to see me, I am pleased to say I have almost completed my recovery.
As you can imagine, I am so grateful to everybody who has supported me through what was the worse time of my life, as well as helping and supporting me through my mother’s death.
My family, friends and the carer workers have played a very important role in getting me back to almost my usual self again! I am so happy to say that at least one good thing has come from this horrible experience and that is meeting the care workers. Especially Noel, Neo and Garry. They have become good friends who have supported and aided in my recovery.
Recently, I hosted an event to get everybody together who is important to me to say thank you as they have all played a big part in my journey to recovery. Everyone had a lovely day; it was a total success! It was something I knew I wanted and needed to do as I appreciated everyone who was invited and wanted to show them that. I am now pleased to say I am focused on getting my life back on track.”
(Many thanks to Greg for sharing his inspirational story.)
Praise for staff at Broad Meadow for person-centred approach
City & County HR Advisor – Kyle Rowley-Williams recently visited Broad Meadow branch (Advance Healthcare) and was impressed by the person-centred approach of staff.
Kyle said: “Joanne Preece, Branch Manager for Advance Healthcare Broad Meadow, and her team have recently had a CQC audit and together achieved a good rating. It is no secret this branch has been through the mill due to staff shortages, but they have been brilliant together to achieve this rating.
“Whilst on site I witnessed person-centred care myself. I was in the office and there was a knock on the door from a service user who was extremely confused. The team dropped everything they were doing and took the service user back to his apartment and contacted his family. This was lovely to see, they didn’t hesitate to go and support. They didn’t talk over or down to the service user and did everything with a smile and kept calm.
“When they got back to the office, they discussed going back to check on the service user later.
“It makes me proud to witness this in person. Well done team!”
