Homecare Support, a care at home service contracted by the City of Edinburgh Council, has been told to make urgent improvements to in the care it provides to vulnerable people. Continue reading ‘Failings’ at local care at home service
Tag: care
Celebrating Lothian’s health heroes
LOCAL healthcare workers have been honoured at a ceremony celebrating the best of the best of NHS Lothian staff. The annual ‘Celebrating Success Awards’ praised the hard-working NHS Lothian employees who give their heart and soul to deliver outstanding care to patients.
Elderly hospital care: NHS Lothian must do better
Inspectors step in to respond to Ferryfield patient buzzers
Health Inspectors were twice forced to step in to answer patients’ alarm buzzers while conducting a recent survey into complex clinical care in Edinburgh. It’s little surprise, then, that their report makes a number of recommendations for service improvement. Continue reading Elderly hospital care: NHS Lothian must do better
Letters: who cares?
Dear Editor
By the middle of 2016 all patients who have limited life time left will receive palliative care treatment.
In the past there have been other ideas; for example the ‘Liverpool Pathway’ treatment which is now seen as bad practice and was stopped.
A full public explanation of palliative care is urgently needed to give assurance that this latest scheme is based on enhanced individual care, carried out by adequatel numbers of staff fully trained in enhanced caring.
A. Delahoy, Silverknowes Gardens
New service offers care information for all in Scotand
PEOPLE throughout Scotland who are looking for quality-assured information about care are being reminded to use the improved Care Information Scotland service.
Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health Jamie Hepburn urged people to turn to the online and telephone resource for all their care information needs at Scottish Care’s National Care at Home and Housing Support Conference in Glasgow today.
He said: “Back in 2010, when Care Information Scotland was first launched, it was the first site of its kind in Scotland, offering a single point of contact for care information for older people.
“The service has now expanded to provide accessible, quality information to not just older people but to all carers, those being cared for and care support services across Scotland.
“This re-designed service provides a central point to help guide people through the maze of resources and to ensure they have access to comprehensive, accurate and up to date information, either for themselves, a relative or a friend. I would encourage everyone to visit this website to find out more.”
NHS 24 – which manages the service – has worked in partnership with the Scottish Government and a wide range of organisations including Age Scotland, the Carers Trust and Shared Care to ensure the re-designed website and telephone service meets the needs of carers and those being cared for.
NHS 24 Head of Health Information Services, Lynne Huckerby, said: “This fresh new service now offers features such as web chat, direct links to social care across local councils and the ability to share content and information.
“The service is designed to complement service provision in local areas and provides advice and signposting information a range of topics, allowing people to make informed decisions. This service will be a useful resource for those finding themselves in a caring role for the first time.”
Carers Trust Scotland has been one of many organisations involved in the expansion of the service.Florence Burke, Carers Trust Director for Scotland, said: “We were pleased to be involved in the development of Care Information Scotland, using our experience of supporting carers and carers’ services across the country.
“The website has a wealth of information for people who are starting out in a caring role, as well as being a good reference tool for people who have been caring for some time.
“For carers, having access to relevant information at a time that suits them can be valuable in helping them to navigate the demands of caring.”
The Care Information Scotland helpline is available on 0800 011 3200 between 8am and 10pm seven days a week.
The online service is available at www.careinfoscotland.scot and includes video content, webchat and BrowseAloud, a speech and reading support tool which can also translate material into different languages.
LOOPS survey
LOOPs – Care at Home
Over recent months EVOC has been working with a range of organisations to analyse the possibility of a Care at Home Collaborative.
As part of this work we have put together a survey and we would be very grateful if any Third Sector organisations were able to complete it. This will help us to understand three main things:
- What are the prevailing terms and conditions for front line staff within the sector at present?
- What kinds of community assets might be available to support a Collaborative of the kind we are suggesting?
- What training and services are provided within the sector?
The Care at Home Collaborative Survey can be accessed by clicking here. This survey should take about 20 minutes to complete, and will be available for 2 weeks.
Closing date for completed surveys is Friday 13th March 2015.
We will soon be hosting the next meeting of the main group to feedback on what we have learned so far. That meeting will take place soon and we will keep you posted about the date.
Care opportunities in North Edinburgh
Call in Homecare are currently recruiting Community Care Assistants (Full or Part Time in the North Edinburgh areas and they’re holding a Roadshow at Muirhouse Millennium Centre on Tuesday (24 June) from 1 – 5pm.
Call in ir visit our website at www.muirhousecommunitycentre.co.uk
Jim McGinty
Quality! Edinburgh College cares
Edinburgh College has been awarded a national Buttle UK Quality Mark for its commitment to supporting young people from care backgrounds.
The college was given the honour in recognition of its support for young people in and leaving care. Buttle UK – a charity that supports children and families living in poverty – recognises colleges and universities that make exceptional steps in helping young people to succeed in their studies and reach their true potential.
The award coincided with a college event organised by Edinburgh College Students’ Association (ECSA) to support students from care backgrounds. The Care Leavers’ Event underlined the college’s commitment to supporting care leavers and saw current students from care backgrounds take to the stage to share their stories and break the stigma attached to those who have been in the care system.
Two Edinburgh College students and another young person with a care background spoke in front of a large audience including Colin Beattie MSP, senior managers and guests from other local organisations including universities. Colin Beattie sits on the Education and Culture Committee, which was instrumental in passing the Children and Young People Bill that addresses looking after children in care and care leavers.
The event was held in partnership with the young people’s voluntary organisation Who Cares? Scotland, and saw the college and ECSA both sign the Who Cares? Scotland Pledge. This, along with the Buttle award, strengthens the long-term support Edinburgh College will provide to students with care backgrounds.
The Buttle award recognises the quality of the financial, pastoral and educational support Edinburgh College offers to young people in and leaving care. The college’s holistic approach to support, as part of its Transitions for Young People Leaving Care (TLC) project, ensures that additional help is not just offered by student support teams but is also embraced by all teams at the college. This approach, as well as working closely with Edinburgh City Council and ECSA, raises the aspirations of care leavers and gives them equal opportunity.
Myra McCabe, head of Student Services at Edinburgh College, (pictured above with Kelly Parry) said: “Edinburgh College strives to reach some of the most under-represented and hardest-to-reach groups in our local communities. There is no doubt that the challenges facing young people leaving care are great, which is why we want to offer as much support as possible to give young people the chance to succeed.
“To be recognised by this national charity is a great endorsement of what we have achieved. Together with our recent Times Educational Supplement award in widening participation, we are pleased to be able to offer opportunities to those who need them the most or who would not normally consider college as an option. We are now one of only a handful of colleges in Scotland with the Buttle UK Quality Mark and we are delighted to have received the recognition for the real difference the college makes to our students and the local community.”
Kelly Parry (above), student president of ECSA, said: “I am delighted that the college has been awarded the Buttle UK Quality Mark. Care leavers are one of the most marginalised groups in society and are often overlooked and ignored. Over the last year, Edinburgh College Students’ Association and Edinburgh College have been doing some fantastic work to empower care leavers and give them the same chances and prospects as everyone else.
“The Care Leavers’ Event was unique because it was organised by care leavers for care leavers. By coming together to share stories and successes we send a strong message to other young people in care that they have the potential to achieve in education. This was the first time the students had addressed such a large and influential audience and they did brilliantly, speaking clearly and with passion.
“Signing the Who Cares? Scotland pledge is just the first step for us. We want to keep moving forward and to inspire other colleges and associations as well as wider society to really start delivering for care leavers and start transforming their lives.”
Twenty three-year-old Health and Social Care student Nathan Sullivan (pictured below) was one of the key speakers at the Care Leavers’ Event.
He said: “I’ve been through many different types of foster care – from foster care to respite to living in a residential home – and the reason for this was because my mum had a number of different illnesses. She passed away when I was 14 years old and at this point I was placed into a residential care unit. I was passed from from pillar to post, was confused, upset and angry because I had no stability in my life at that time.
“I then started studying at Edinburgh College, joined the Edinburgh College Students’ Association and realised that I wanted to be a social worker. I’m doing all that I can to achieve this and, with the support from the college and the Students’ Association, I have now set up a peer group for care leavers to help to support many others like me in the future.”