Christine Brooks wins at the Great British Care Awards

We are sure you will all join us in congratulating Christine Brooks – Head of Nursing for ICCM and Total Community Care – for winning the Frontline Leaders Award at the Great British Care Awards.

The Great British Care Awards are a series of regional events throughout the UK and are a celebration of excellence across the care sector. The purpose of the awards are to pay tribute to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding excellence in their field of work.

The awards evening was held at ICC in Birmingham on the 30th October 2021 and Chris took home the award despite strong competition from seven other finalists in the category. This particular award is given to a leader who has shown clear commitment to improving the delivery of care and support within their team. The judges chose to recognise Chris for demonstrating leadership qualities by reflecting on what could be better and supporting others to bring about change.

Chris will now automatically be put through to the National finals for the Frontline Leaders Award, taking place in March 2022. Congratulations Chris and best of luck for the National award next year!

Halloween fun at City & County

It seems that there were plenty of spooky celebrations happening across the City & County family to mark Halloween this past week. First of all, Joanne Brannen, Regional Manager – North West and West Yorkshire, sent us some photos of Hurst Meadows Extra Scheme getting into the Halloween spirit.

Staff and service users dressed up for the event, whist the whole scheme was decorated in ghoulish garb. Great work everyone.

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, the teams at our fiancé shared service centre in Nottingham held a pumpkin carving competition. Our Accounts Receivable Manager, Carrie-Ann Brown, had the tricky task of choosing a winner and loser.

The lucky winner of the best carved pumpkin was Caroline Hawkes’s team, whilst the ‘winner’ of worst pumpkin was awarded to Ivanka Cobo-Harris’s team.

We don’t know how you chose Carrie-Ann, they both look great to us! Either way, both teams walked away with a selection of sweet treats for their efforts.

Grow a Mo with Caleb

Movember is an annual event encouraging men to grow moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness and funds for men’s health.

The Movember Foundation are one of the leading charity’s changing the face of men’s health and their aim is to help men live happier, healthier, longer lives. The charity prioritises funding for the three biggest health issues facing men: mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

This year our very own Group Director of Operations, Caleb Atkins, has signed up to the Movember challenge and each week during November will share with us his moustache growing progress.

Caleb has sent us a clean-shaven photo to kick-start the challenge!

Over the next few weeks, as we cover Caleb’s Movember progress, we will also be sharing information about the biggest health issues facing men: mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

Get involved

• Donate – 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.
• Grow a Mo – why not join Caleb and share with us your Movember progress photos each week by sending to communications@candchealthcare.co.uk The more of us involved the better!
• Share your story – if you have been affected by the Movember campaign, personally or through a partner or friend, please share with us your story by emailing communications@candchealthcare.co.uk

High praise for Festus in Hackney

Amal Verde, Registered Branch Manager for London Care in East London, has shared some impressive feedback received by a member of her team. Festus had been supporting a client of the London Borough of Hackney social care team and, following a huge effort to improve this individual’s life, the Senior Social Care worker reached out to thank him, writing:

“My client was complex in his presentation, in that he had severe and ingrained self-neglect tendencies, and one had to be persistent and robust and adopt particular ways of working with him.

“I wanted to acknowledge that Festus’s input with my client was utterly invaluable. Festus put in the effort to really get to know my client on a human level, and he went above and beyond to provide care to him in a meaningful, compassionate way. My client was someone who felt very isolated and confused about his situation, and Festus’ compassionate touch gave him a sense of connection and dignity in what turned out to be his last stages of life.

“I am highly impressed with Festus’s work on this case, and I think he should be commended. We so often are quick to write to complain when things go wrong, and yet we sometimes forget to write to compliment when things go right.”

Amazing work Festus and thank you Amal for sharing this impressive feedback.

Recognition for Ileana at Noble Live In Care

Shona John has passed us some amazing feedback for a key member of the care team at Noble – Ileana Latis. Following Ileana’s commitment to her client, both her locality manager and the client’s next of kin wrote to express just how big a difference she makes to his life.

Noble’s Locality Manager, Vicky Hogan, wrote: “Ileana is every managers’ dream carer, she has everything organised and if does not know something asks. She is confident, compassionate and keen to learn. Ileana thinks ahead and continually talks to her client even when not providing care, she treats him as a complete person.

“Ileana’s client is bed bound and nonverbal. Despite this, Ileana will now when he is unwell, knows how he communicates and acts accordingly to every need.”

Meanwhile, the client’s next of kin, Sandra, said of Ileana, “she is a very kind, compassionate carer who shows empathy for her job role. Ileana treats her client like any other person even though he is no verbal and bed bound. She keeps him clean and well cared for, even the house is kept to a high standard.

“Ileana gives me the confidence not to worry about him, I know if Ileana feels there is something wrong she will manage this immediately and keep me informed, she gives me  peace of mind and takes the worry off of me, I can relax. I feel that she is not just a carer, but a trusted friend.”

Such amazing feedback Ileana, it’s clear how much of an impact you’re making to this client. We are very pleased to confirm that Ileana has won Noble’s Carer of the Month Award this month – and there’s no doubt that it’s a well-deserved win. Congratulations.

Let’s talk about… nutrition

Why nutrition is essential to weight loss

One of the biggest questions many people on a weight loss journey struggle with is whether diet and exercise are equally important.

The key to weight loss is taking in fewer calories than you burn.

Did you Know?

• To shed a single pound, you need a 3,500-calorie deficit
• It takes a great deal of activity to create a 500 to 700 calorie deficit through exercise

Making changes to your nutrition is a far more efficient method than exercise alone, although combining the two will give you the best results for maintaining weight loss and staying healthy.

Healthy Eating Basics

Healthy eating involves both choosing healthy foods and eating them in amounts that are right for you. Even if you eat a balanced diet, you may develop a weight problem if the food you eat contains more calories than your body needs. Why not try the following tips:

Familiarise yourself with how many calories you need each day

The number you need depends on factors such as age, gender, height, activity level and overall health. Use the BMI calculator on the NHS website.

Keep a food diary

Write down everything you eat. You can use online calculators and nutritional labels on food to get an accurate idea of calories in the food you eat.

Mindful eating

Start by being mindful of your choices, focus on making healthy swaps instead of traditional dieting, e.g. drink more water and eat more whole fruit and veg. Eat a range of healthy food to make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need. Make sure you eat regularly and take your time when you eat, making sure you are aware of your hunger signals.

Long service in Thornliebank

Shannon Murray has shared this week that the Constance Care Thornliebank team have been celebrating the long service of some of their colleagues this week.

Sharing decades of support to the people of Glasgow between them, these three care workers have made a huge impact in the area. Firstly, Maureen Corcoran has 20 years, Amanda McDonald has 17 years and finally Irene Wales has 19 years – impressive stuff!

Shannon told us, “All three of these care workers are a credit to the team I have and it would be great if they could be in the weekly round-up”.

We couldn’t agree more Shannon, thank you all for your continued support to your colleagues and service users.