a galaxy of winners!

January 2016
The management magazine for the social care sector
The Care Collapse
- dire warnings from new report
Osborne's 2%
- recipe for postcode lottery?
BUSINESS
Four Seasons
under fire
How to survive a
wage inspection
A happy New
Year to our
readers and
advertisers
National Care Awards 2015:
a galaxy of winners!

Regulars
News ...................................................................4-8
Diary......................................................................10
Letters..................................................................14
Product News ....................................................33
Building with Care....................................34-36
Business & property ...............................38-45
COMPANY INDEX
Anchor Care Homes .....................................4
Avery Healthcare Group............................38
Blackwood ......................................................8
Care UK ........................................................34
Country Court Care..............................38.42
Four Seasons Health Care ........................38
Hadrian Healthcare Group........................34
Hartford Care ..............................................34
Hutchinson Care Homes............................38
Kingsley Healthcare...................................38
Leyton Healthcare......................................38
LifeCare Residences ..................................34
Lifeways Group ...........................................40
LNT Group (Ideal Carehomes)..................38
Melrose Care.................................................16
Only Care......................................................36
Orchard Care Homes..................................38
Orders of St John Care Trust ...................34
Parklands Group .........................................36
Radfield Home Care...................................44
Spa Nursing Home Group .........................38
Townfield Care.............................................45
Inside this issue...
FIRE SAFETY
NATALIE PATRICK explains how
to make compliance easy .......18
THE EIGHTH
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THE WINNERS:
National Care Awards
2015 in pictures .......................24
SOCIAL CARE PRECEPT THREATENS
A ‘POSTCODE LOTTERY’:
Full report on George Osborne’s spending review .........4
CQC’s RATING: REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT?:
NEIL GRANT reports from the recent CQC Board meeting...10
REGULATION AT A CROSSROADS:
Could regulation be set for new directions? By BOB FERGUSON ....12
HOW CARE HOME OWNERS CAN MANAGE DEBT:
DAVID EDWARDS looks at how to contain a potential crisis...........39
A LIFETIME PASSION FOR CARE:
Healthcare leadership profile: Paul Marriner, Lifeways Group ......40
HOW TO SURVIVE A MINIMUM WAGE INSPECTION:
HANNAH MACKECHNIE shares her insights on the HMRC process....44
Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn January 2016
3

news
Social care precept threatens a ‘postcode lottery’
The social care sector has responded with one
voice to George Osborne’s Autumn Statement
about the Comprehensive Spending review at the
end of November: it’s not enough.
The key announcement the Chancellor of the
Exchequer made was a ‘social care precept’
allowing local authorities to raise new funding
exclusively for adult social care. Mr Osborne said:
“The precept will work by giving local authorities
the flexibility to raise council tax in their area by
up to 2% above the existing threshold. If all local
authorities use this to its maximum effect it could
help raise nearly £2 billion a year by 2019-20.”
Furthermore, he said that further funds would
be available from 2017, rising to £1.5 billion by
2019-20, for the Better Care Fund, intended to
shift resources in England into social care and
community services away from the NHS.
Mr Osborne said these policies “mean local
government has access to the funding it needs to
increase social care spending” and enable
councils to cover the costs of the National Living
Wage, expected to benefit up to 900,000 care
workers. His view was that “the Spending Review
sets out an ambitious plan so that by 2020 health
and social care are integrated across the
country”.
While the social care sector is not against the
2% council tax precept in principle, the general
reaction was that it may be too little, too late.
Editorial & advertising
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Dr Richard Hawkins
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Caring Times is published eleven times a year by
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Display advertising copy: 8 January
Product news copy: 8 January Editorial copy: 8 January
The views expressed in Caring Times are not necessarily
those of the editor or publishers.
Sector responds to the Comprehensive Spending Review
Professor Martin Green, chief executive of the
care providers’ body Care England, said the extra
money “will not deliver enough money, and it will
certainly not be in time to avert a crisis in some
care services”. He also warned that there was no
guarantee that every local authority would take
up the opportunity to add the precept, and the
policy risked creating an inconsistent approach to
funding care across the country. He further called
for a review of the Better Care Fund to ensure it
goes to front-line care.
His views were echoed by the National Care
Association, which said “the current rates for
social care, paid from local authority budgets, are
well below the 2.4 per cent annual increase
needed to keep pace with the costs of today’s
care home placements”.
Mike Padgham, Chair of the Independent Care
Group (York and North Yorkshire), described the
spending review as a “huge disappointment”.
“We will see a situation where the Government
thinks it has solved the problem by pushing
responsibility onto local authorities who simply
may not react,” he said.
The UK Homecare Association said the review
was “disheartening” and renewed its call for a
change in the VAT status of ‘welfare services’
away from being zero-rated to enable care
providers to reclaim VAT on the costs they incur,
as well as tax incentives for private individuals
funding their own social care. “It also risks a
postcode lottery of care,” she said.
Jane Ashcroft, the CEO of non-profit care
home provider Anchor, welcomed Mr Osborne’s
announcement of more money for specialist
housing but again agreed the 2% precept is
“woefully short of what's needed”.
Also in the Autumn Statement...
Des Kelly, the out-going executive director of
the National Care Forum, disputed Mr Osborne’s
claim that his plans would help closer integration
of health and social care, and that they “will not
help with the additional costs that providers are
facing with the National Living Wage, or pension
auto-enrolment or the rising costs associated
with recruitment and retention”.
Some commentators also questioned whether
the numbers would even add up as much as Mr
Osborne claimed. Phil Hall, Director of
Healthcare, Alternatives at investment
management firm JLL, observed: “If all local
authorities take advantage of their new-found
ability to raise council tax by up to 2% above the
existing threshold it could raise a further £2bn by
2019/20. However, there are some big ifs and buts
which lie in the way of delivering this extra sum to
the patients and residents who need it. The new
money may be ring fenced but presumably
existing spending is not. The devil as always will
be in the detail and that may take some time to
emerge, but in short the 2016/17 financial year is
likely to be a very tough challenge for those
social care operators focused on providing
elderly care to local authority funded residents.”
Mr Hall warned that “more defaults and
restructurings are likely in the lowest fee areas”.
Frank Ursell, chief executive officer of the
Registered Nursing Home Association, agreed:
“Many councils will think twice about putting up
local taxes. So for the Chancellor to bandy about
predictions of a
possible £2 billion a
year extra is a bit pie in
the sky. We’ll believe it
when we see it.”
In addition to the council tax precept and extra resources for the Better Care Fund, other
announcements in the Autumn Statement which may affect businesses, care staff and service users include:
• Planned changed to tax credits for lower-income working families were scrapped – this was widely received as the best news
from the Chancellor
• Further tightening to Housing Benefit rules, with implications for those living in social housing as well as for housing providers
• The basic State Pension will be increased to £119.30 a week from April 2016 (the rate for the new single tier pension coming in
from April 2016 was set at £155.65 a week)
• £600m additional funding into mental health services
• £500m more for the Disabled Facilities Grant by 2019-20, which will fund around 85,000 home adaptations that year
• An increase in the Minimum Income Floor earnings threshold, the level of earnings that a self-employed person has to earn in
order to be entitled to Universal Credit, which may affect some self-employed carers
• Widened eligibility for free childcare to working parents of three and four year olds from 2017
• The rates of stamp duty land tax will be increased by 3% for the purchasers of second homes and buy-to-let properties
• Small business rates relief was extended for another year
• Pensions tax relief proposals were deferred until next year
Mr Osborne also announced a 25% cut in the Whitehall budget of the Department of Health. This is intended to cut administration
costs, although Nigel Edwards, chief executive of health care policy analysts The Nuffield Trust, warned “the Treasury’s figures
show it actually represents a £1.5 billion cut in a single year to budgets that include training for doctors and nurses”.
4
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

news
Report warns of the ‘Care Collapse’
The independent think-tank ResPublica has
published initial results of its research into the
future financial viability of the residential care
industry.
The think-tank maintains that Britain’s
residential care sector is in crisis: “Providers
are being faced with an unsustainable
combination of declining real terms funding,
rising demand for their services, and increasing
financial liabilities. Our research projects a
funding gap of over £1 billion for older people’s
residential care alone by 2020/21, which could
result in the loss of around 37,000 beds. Given
the perilous state of the industry, there is no
private sector provider with the capacity to take
in the residents who would be affected by the
loss of other providers’ beds.”
ResPublica declared the worst outcome is
most likely: namely that the vast majority of
care home residents will end up on general
hospital wards. It projects that if all these lost
care home beds were to flow through to
hospitals in this way, the annual cost to the
NHS would total £3 billion.
It summarised further key factors in the
crisis:
• An ageing population: over 65s make up
about 18% of the population, is set to rise to
25% by 2050
• Acute conditions: 70% of the total health and
care spend in England, is on long-term
conditions, faced by only 30% of the overall
population
• Spending cuts: 90% of local authorities now
only provide funding for older people with
‘substantial’ or ‘critical’ needs. The result of
this has been that the number of over 65s
getting public money for social care has
fallen by 27%.
The Director of ResPublica, Phillip Blond,
said: “When Southern Cross failed the private
sector stepped in and cared for those left
homeless. Now, however, with the sector losing
money for every funded resident there is no
provider of last resort. We fear the worst case
scenario is the most likely, that these residents
will flood our local general hospitals costing £3
billion per year by 2020.”
The report’s author Emily Crawford added:
“The National Living Wage is a great step
forward. It is estimated it could help more than
6 million low paid workers. But for the care
sector, which is heavily reliant on its labour
force, it could be catastrophic.”
George McNamara, Head of Policy at
Alzheimer’s Society, responded to ResPublica’s
research: “We already know from local
government that the social care funding gap is
growing by £700m each year, so this report
only serves to highlight further the
devastating impact that these relentless
financial cuts are having.”
We need a new settlement for residential
care and one that crucially meets the care
needs of an ageing population. This needs
reform in the way we fund care, as well as how
it is delivered. The forthcoming spending
review provides a prime opportunity to
address this urgent need.
“By 2021 there will be over one million
people in the UK living with dementia, yet
significantly fewer options for care available to
them. Two-thirds of the cost of dementia is
already paid for by people with dementia and
their families or carers. Government-funded
support is a life line to many families and the
pressure will only increase if social care is cut
further and ultimately, pushed to the point of
collapse.”
ResPublica’s full report will be published in
early 2016. The research was conducted in
partnership with Four Seasons Health Care,
HC-One and the care workers’ union GMB.
The interim report is available at
www.respublica.org.uk/wp-content/
uploads/2015/11/ResPublica-The-Care-
Collapse.pdf.
Social care complaints to the Ombudsman on the rise
The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) has published its complaints statistics for adult social care 2014/15. In that
period, it received 2803 complaints and enquiries about adult social care, 18% more than received the previous year.
In those complaints where it carried out a detailed investigation, the LGO upheld 55% of cases by finding some
form of fault with the council or care provider. The areas most complained about within adult social care are:
assessment and care planning; residential care; homecare; charging and safeguarding.
The LGO continues to see a year-on-year increase in the number of complaints it receives about independent care
providers, where there has been no involvement from a council, but this remains only 10% of its entire adult social
care caseload.
Professor Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England, welcomed the report. He said: “We agree that the best
care is carried out in an open culture where complaints can be dealt with between staff, service users and families.”
The report is available from www.lgo.org.uk/downloads/special%20reports/2260-ASC-report-final.pdf
11 th
UK DEMENTIA
C O N G R E S S
1-3 November 2016, Brighton
For sponsorship and exhibition opportunities please
contact caroline@hawkerpublications.com
6
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

in a nutshell...
nuggets of news
For more news, go to:
www.careinfo.org
– Caring Times’ official website
Apprenticeship levy offers
happier news from Osborne
Another announcement in George Osborne’s
Autumn Statement gave details of the
Apprenticeship Levy, which is set to help
generate a £3 billion training fund to drive
much-needed skills development across all
sectors, including health and social care.
The levy, which is due to come into effect in
April 2017, will be 0.5% of an employer’s wage
bill, and will be paid by organisations with
annual wage bills in excess of £3 million. Every
employer will receive a £15,000 allowance to
offset against the levy and spend on
apprenticeship training.
For smaller social care organisations, which
will not have to contribute to the apprentice
levy but will still have access to funding, the
new plan represents a training budget boost.
Jill Whittaker, Managing Director of
Connect2Care, an apprenticeship supplier for
the health and social care industry,
commented: “The levy couldn’t have come at a
more opportune time for the sector, which is
crying out for skilled workers. It will support
the entire sector to develop and grow, and
ensure that all care operators – private and
public – are able to provide a high standard of
training to staff. It is key that care sector
managers make the most of the new levy.”
Further details on the levy proposals can be
found at www.gov.uk/government/uploads/
system/uploads/attachment_data/file/
482049/apprenticeship_levy_response_251120
15.pdf.
Survey confirms Living Wage impact
A snapshot survey of 55 care home owners in the West Country has
revealed that 82% of respondents believe the Living Wage will increase
their payroll costs.
Almost as many (80%) also reported that the new rules on autoenrolment
pensions will be complex for care homes, which have a high
level of part-time and short-term employees.
Asked whether they were concerned about government plans to
restrict migrant labour, 46% said ‘we are not reliant on migrant labour
and have no problem in recruiting staff’. However, 42% said that
increased immigration controls were of concern.
The survey was conducted by the care homes team at the
accountancy firm Bishop Fleming.
Meanwhile the Five Nations Care Forum, which represents the sector in
the UK and Ireland, has written to the Chancellor, George Osborne,
expressing is concern over the potentially “catastrophic” consequences
of introducing the Living Wage. “It is vitally important that the Chancellor
addresses this looming crisis as a matter of urgency,” the group said.
Care quality map and league
table for England unveiled
Herefordshire is the best county for care and
nursing services, according to a new
interactive map and league table of care
quality across England.
The data, derived from CQC's inspections of
care services, suggests the top three counties for
services including care and nursing homes and
homecare, are Herefordshire (97%), Warwick -
shire (94%) and Rutland (93%), while the lowest
ranked counties are Oxfordshire (81%), West
Yorkshire (81%) and the Isle of Wight (79%).
However, the research, compiled by
TrustedCare.co.uk, an online directory for
reviewing care providers, shows that quality
and price often bear no relation. For example:
Oxfordshire has the most expensive nursing
homes (average cost of £998 per week) and
fourth most expensive care homes (£754pw).
The data reveals that there are 13,209
providers still waiting to be inspected under
CQC’s new inspection process launched in 2014.
New tax guide published
Capital Allowances for Care
Homes is a newly updated
guide for care home
proprietors. It is designed
to help owners to
understand the issues,
and to avoid getting
stung by choosing the
wrong professional
advisers.
The book is published
by Claritax Books for
£25, plus £4 p&p. Caring Times readers can
order it with free p&p (worth £4) via
www.claritaxbooks.com using the code
CXFREEPOST.
Ageing social care worker pool could cause talent time bomb
The social care sector is heading for a
budgetary and skills shortage if it fails to
address current demand for older, experienced
and more costly workers over younger and less
qualified hires, according to labour supply
management specialist Comensura, which
recently launched its Social Care Index 2015.
Between the year ending March 2014 and
year ending March 2015, the Social Care Index
shows that the percentage of temporary social
care worker hires aged between 45 and 54 had
risen by 9.3%, to account for 32.8% of the
total temporary social care workforce. In
comparison the numbers aged 16 to 24 and 25
to 34 decreased by 21.8% and 6.1%
respectively in the same period.
The marked reduction of temporary
assignments offered to the under 34s means
those who have just entered the profession or
are developing a career are finding it harder to
adequately develop their skills in the
workplace. Comensura warned this could cause
a “skills shortage time bomb”, as older workers
will eventually retire from the profession and
leave it with an unskilled workforce.
Other findings from Comensura’s Social Care
Index show that around three quarters of the
temporary social care workforce is female, but
the number of people taking a TSCW role has
increased for both genders. There has also
been a 13.5% year-on-year rise in such workers
changing their employment status by moving
from PAYE to a ‘limited’ status, such as
becoming a limited company contractor.
Blackwood trials new smart system
A pioneering new smart care
system has been trialled
successfully at Broom Court, a
care home in Stirling run by
Blackwood.
Clever Cogs technology, which
can be installed in various
compatible touch screen
devices, influences everything
from the ability to open curtains
and switch on TVs, to ordering shopping and ensuring a constant
connection with family, friends and carers.
It also provides extra security with features that allow users to see
who it is at their door before they open it, as well as ‘alert’ and ‘help’
buttons which can connect residents to members of staff in seconds via
the video link system.
Blackwood is now trialling the system further in Dundee.
8
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

inspection & regulation/diary
CQC’s rating: requires improvement?
At Ridouts we advise care providers on
CQC inspection reports and ratings on a
daily basis. While there have been some
positive developments over the last two years at
CQC in terms of the exercise of its inspection
functions, there is still considerable room for
improvement.
What is apparent is that CQC is struggling to
meet its performance target to complete all Adult
Social Care (ASC) inspections by September
2016. At the CQC Board Meeting on 18 November
2015, brave statements were uttered about good
progress being made but, as Sir Robert Francis
QC pointed out, the underlying completed
inspection figures had deteriorated since the
September board meeting. The year-to-date gap
as at November stood at 25%, equating to 1505
comprehensive inspections that had not been
carried out. Furthermore, only 29% of ASC
locations had had published ratings by November
2015. It seems highly unlikely that the overall
target to inspect all ASC locations by September
2016 will be met although the true position
should be clearer by March or April 2016.
In the longer term, CQC will have to move to a
more risk-based model given the pressures of
having to inspect over 25,000 ASC locations
within a reduced state allocated budget. The CQC
consultation on the future of regulation due in
January 2016 will have to deal with the reality of
what is achievable in relation to inspection
frequency. That of course will not help providers
rated as ‘requires improvement’ who desperately
want a re-inspection. CQC should consider
reverting to desktop reviews rather than placing
its entire emphasis on site inspections. There has
to be greater flexibility on the part of CQC in
receiving information from providers after
inspections to ensure the public is given up-todate
assurance on the quality of care services.
CQC also requires improvement in relation to
the publication of inspection reports in a timely
NEIL GRANT, partner at
Ridouts solicitors, reports
from the November CQC
Board meeting and finds
there’s much to be done
fashion. As at November 2015, 59% of final
reports were published within 50 working days.
However, it should be remembered that the
current target of 50 working days is double that
which prevailed before ratings were introduced.
While the situation appears to be improving there
remain a significant proportion of reports that
are taking more than 50 working days to publish
with some taking more than 100 working days.
This is in the context of providers being given 10
working days to submit factual accuracy
comments. Even a delay of two and a half months
undermines the reliability of CQC’s reporting
function.
Time consuming
What is clear is that inspections are taking longer
than anticipated, with inspectors being required
to undertake time-consuming enforcement
action work alongside the day job. In quarter 2 of
2015/16, 136 providers entered special measures
bringing the total to 155 since special measures
were introduced in April 2015. A significant
amount of enforcement activity is also in
progress. As at October 2015, there were 343
enforcement actions in progress comprising 104
warning notices, 18 urgent cancellations, 104 civil
actions (undefined) and 117 non-urgent
cancellations. It was also noted at the November
board meeting that a number of prosecutions
were coming to fruition and would be reported on
in due course. One can expect more enforcement
action given the Board’s concern that there were
Seminars Conferences and Exhibitions
JANUARY
■ Five-day course - Conversations
that Matter - a validating approach in
dementia care
DATE: January 12-14 & February 24-25
VENUE:Nightingale House, London SW12 8NB
ORGANISER: 360 Forward
FEE: £695 (incl. refreshments)
E: transform@360fwd.com
■ Rolling out Personal Budgets in
Health & Social Care and next steps
for Promoting Choice
DATE: January 26
VENUE: Central London
ORGANISER: Westminster Healthcare
Forum
Tel: 01344 846796
W: www.westminsterhealthcareforum.co.uk
■ Practical Guide to Early Supported
Discharge
DATE: January 26
VENUE: Hotel Football, Manchester
ORGANISER: SBK
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Tel: 01732 897788
W: http://sbk-healthcare.co.uk/
■ How to Set Up & Deliver Your
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VENUE: Hotel Football, Manchester
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Tel: 01732 897788
W: http://sbk-healthcare.co.uk/
■ Developing the Health & Social Care
Workforce & Priorities for Health
Education England
DATE: January 28
VENUE: Central London
ORGANISER: Westminster Healthcare
Forum
Tel: 01344 846796
W: www.westminsterhealthcareforum.co.uk
FEBRUARY
■ Next Steps for Health & Social Care
in Greater Manchester
DATE: February 26
VENUE: Central Manchester
ORGANISER: Westminster Healthcare
Forum
Tel: 01344 846796
W: www.westminsterhealthcareforum.co.uk
an increased number of locations that had not
met one or more standards compared to the
previous quarter.
Figures presented to the November 2015
Board showed that 51.9% of providers either
strongly agreed (12.4%) or agreed (39.4%) that
their inspection judgements were fair. However a
substantial minority either disagreed (16.6%) or
strongly disagreed (8.5%). In part this is to be
expected given the measure is of the percentage
of providers who are in breach of a fundamental
standard, or rated as inadequate or requiring
improvement. However the fact that 25% do not
consider their judgements to be fair makes the
need for an effective rating review process all the
more important. No information was presented
to the November 2015 Board about rating
reviews. At Ridouts we have been waiting many
months for decisions on rating reviews with no
updates on progress. There is a lack of
transparency around the statistics and outcomes
of rating reviews which is most concerning.
Improved ratings
On a more optimistic note some 44% of ASC
reinspections result in an improved rating. The
picture is even better for services rated
inadequate overall where reinspections of 155
services led to 75 (48%) improving to requires
improvement and 27 (17%) to good. That left 53
(34%) remaining as inadequate. CQC will no
doubt interpret these figures as showing the
effectiveness of its actions.
By way of conclusion, if one were to apply an
equivalent overall rating to CQC’s performance, it
would almost certainly be requires improvement.
The challenge for the CQC Board will be to
improve performance to a good. It is telling that
in their most recent staff survey only 33% felt
that morale at CQC was good, an improvement
on earlier surveys but hardly a resounding
endorsement of the organisation. CT
Hawker Events
APRIL
■ 8th Annual Scottish Caring &
Dementia Congress
DATE: April 20
VENUE: The Alzheimer Scotland
Centre for Policy and Practice,
University of the West of Scotland
MAY
■ Care Agenda
DATE: May 10
VENUE: Heart of England Conference
Centre, Birmingham
For further information and
bookings, email
jessica@hawkerpublications.com or
visit www.careinfo.org/conferences
10
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

inspection & regulation
Regulation at a crossroads?
It was one of those watch-my-lips moments.
“WE. ARE. NOT. AN. IMPROVEMENT.
AGENCY.” As is often the way with dogmatic
declarations, the stockade David Behan erected
around CQC’s duty roster didn’t hold. Although
an improvement role was imposed, the regulator
has since embraced it with all the passion of a
convert – “offering almost all the leadership...
about quality improvement,” according to one
sage. And it’s had its critics.
Not that it’s a novel experience. While much of
the criticism is constructive, CQC must also
endure sporadic volleys of sniping from the
crackpot fringe. If it can treat that with contempt,
as it should, it cannot so easily dismiss objections
from the likes of the Professional Standards
Authority (PSA), the overseer of regulators of
health and social care professionals.
This authoritative voice has spoken out about
the downsides of embedding improvement in
CQC operations. It detracts from the primary
duty of maintaining standards; it blurs the line
between regulator and regulated, when the latter
is legally accountable for the quality of care; and
it puts the Commission at risk of being blamed
for failure.
In any case, PSA argues, it hasn’t done what it
says on the tin: “If regulation was going to
The recent ‘State of Care report’ from
the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
highlighted a varying picture of
health and adult social care in England.
Whilst more than 80% of GP practices, six
out of 10 adult social care services, 38% of
hospitals and just under half (46%) of nursing
homes inspected by CQC were rated good or
outstanding, the report found that “there
remains significant variation in quality and an
unacceptable level of poor care”.
It highlighted that 7% of acute, primary
medical and adult care services were rated
inadequate, with care standards considered
so poor that urgent improvements are
needed. Within adult care services, it was
nursing homes that were found to provide the
poorest quality of care than other services in
this sector, suggesting a great need for
improvement.
One of the biggest concerns from the
report relates to the safety of services in care
and nursing homes, with 10% rated
inadequate, and 33% requiring improvement.
The quality of leadership in nursing homes
was also brought into question with 8% of
services rated inadequate.
The report pointed to examples of this
inadequate care including a nursing home
improve care, it would have done it by now. So it’s
time to improve regulation.” Its solution –
replacing quality improvement with the
preventive force of quality control – is beguilingly
simple. But would Whitehall really countenance
such a turnaround?
The authorities of the Greater Manchester
decentralisation project are equally unhappy with
the status quo. Their original ambition to take
over regulation having been rebuffed, NHS
partners remain impatient for fundamental
change, specifically, shifting the focus of
regulation from “the statutory health of
individual organisations” to “the effective
operation of the system”. A prospect that is
unlikely to get a ministerial thumbs-up, though
operating both in tandem might just appeal.
As seems to be the case with CQC’s pilot
scheme, “Quality of care in a place”, which relies
on published assessments of the quality of health
and social care services within designated areas
to drive improvement locally. So far so good, but
this holistic focus will be like making bricks
without straw unless essential context is
routinely provided by extending scrutiny to
commissioning. From which, of course, CQC is
disqualified, having had that oversight scratched
from its dance-card.
where there was “an overpowering smell of
urine and mould on the walls” and
“medication not being administered properly
at a care home and that some patients had
their medicine delayed while others showed
overdose symptoms”.
Demand for social care is increasing, with
the numbers of people aged over 85 (those
most likely to need care) and older people
with a disability are projected to rise sharply
in the coming years. This is at a time when
financial pressures are immense. According to
the National Audit Office, statutory funding for
social care decreased by £4.6bn over the past
five years, a 31% real-term reduction in net
budgets.
One of the major problems in the care
sector is staff shortages and high staff
turnover rates. The report highlighted that
nurse vacancy rates can be as high as 20% in
domiciliary care and 11% in residential care. It
also reported that adult social care provider’s
agree that vacancy and turnover rates are too
high, and that there is an urgent need to share
and use best recruitment and retention
practices throughout the sector.
Whilst staff shortages can impact service
levels, there is no excuse for staff on the job
not being trained in the basics, or for
disregarding critical processes such as not
administering medicine properly, having
out-of-date medicine or not storing
medicines correctly; or essential checks of
equipment and the safety of the living
environment either not carried out or acted
on, or they are treated as a tick-box
exercise. Failing to adhere to systems or not
carrying out duties properly is
compromising patient safety.
A drive for more consistent standards of
care from health chiefs is needed and best
practice from care homes that are
performing outstandingly must be shared.
Indeed the report suggests a need to
“develop a culture of continuous
improvement – seeking to recognise,
celebrate and share good practice”.
In some cases it can be understood why a
back-to-basics approach is attractive in order
to prioritise staff training and development
and reinforce simple processes such as safety
checks, and completing records properly.
Amid rumbles of
criticism and the
emergence of
alternative
approaches,
could regulation
be set for new directions,
asks BOB FERGUSON
When David Behan was asked how, therefore,
his organisation could possibly take a truly
whole-system approach, he explained that it
would be able to “reflect” the quality of
commissioning even though it couldn’t “review”
it. In the absence of a Bletchley code-breaker to
decipher this doublespeak, it’s difficult to tell if he
was trying to keep his options open without
discombobulating his political masters or simply
running up the white flag. Enough ducking and
diving, David, it’s time to speak truth to power.
Providers probably feel conflicted about these
developments. Happy that regulation should be
improved, particularly if it brings commissioning
into play by joining the dots between care quality,
council prices and the impact of austerity’s
gastric band, but terrified that quality ratings
might fall casualty were improvement to be
decoupled from regulation. CT
CQC report is an opportunity to improve standards of care
By MARY CLARKE,
Chief executive, Cognisco,
www.cognisco.com, tel: 01234 757520
However, the
ease of access
to relevant
material, the
review of the internal culture and most
importantly, decision-making by staff in
critical situations are also key areas that need
addressing.
The competence and confidence of all staff
must also be assessed regularly to ensure
there are consistent standards of care
delivered to patients and that staff are
applying their knowledge in the right way on
the job.
Whilst the CQC report makes for
depressing reading for some, it is also an
opportunity for the care sector to address the
issues that have been uncovered and drive up
standards of care and safety. Providing a safe,
caring and compassionate service for
patients is critical and to do this, care home
providers must fully understand the
competency and confidence of their staff. CT
12 January 2016 www.careinfo.org

inspection & regulation/letters
CQC watch: Notices of Proposal to Cancel
Statistics disclosed by CQC show that whilst
there were only seven completed
cancellations (plus four urgent
enforcement actions) in Q2 2015/16, there are 117
cancellations in the pipeline. CQC is clearly
ramping up its high-end enforcement.
Providers have 28 days within which to make
representations on Notices of Proposal. In our
experience, by far the best chance for providers
is to make representations that show how the
shortcomings will be remedied. Ideally, those
actions should be well underway before the
representations are even submitted. Providers
which face Notices of Proposal, either to cancel
their registration or remove a location, should
seek legal advice quickly. There is every chance
to persuade CQC, but prompt action is essential.
CQC as parrot
A particular area for frustration for providers is
when CQC inspection reports include quotes
from others, without investigating the matter for
themselves. A typical example might be: “A
member of staff told us that there weren’t
enough staff.”
In some cases, providers have told us that
inspectors have asked the staff leading questions
to generate the quotes. A reply of yes to the
question “Do you think more staff would be
helpful?” becomes the quote set out above.
When challenged about such comments in the
factual accuracy comments (for example in the
case above, the provider shows that staffing
levels were perfectly adequate), CQC often
replies that the inspector had accurately
reported what it had been told, so there was no
factual error.
By JONNY
LANDAU, partner,
Radcliffe Le
Brasseur solicitors
jonny.landau@rlblaw.com,
tel: 020 7227 6704
The problem is that when CQC parrots what it
has been told in this way, those who read the
quotes are likely to consider that CQC agrees
with them. After all, why else would a responsible
regulator publish the quotes?
In the law of defamation, repeating a
defamatory comment constitutes publication and
is so actionable. Indeed, as one judge astutely
observed in a case in 1829, “the person who
repeats it gives greater weight to the slander”.
That is all the more the case when the repeater is
a public body tasked with dispassionately judging
services.
Plainly, inspectors should seek relevant
evidence from a variety of sources. Of course
they should speak to residents, relatives and
staff. However, what the inspectors are told
should be the start of the inquiry, not the end of
it. CQC as a statutory body has a responsibility to
make its own judgments based on all relevant
evidence.
That process includes considering the
weight to be attached to particular each
piece of evidence. For example, staff will
always want there to be more staff available
as that means less demand on current
staff members. A member of staff
Letters
Hybrid roles can give nurses more time
On page 8 of the December issue of Caring Times, under the heading ‘Moratorium on overseas nurses ban applauded’ it says
that Care England is pursuing a hybrid staff role sitting somewhere between a carer and a nurse.
Well, here at Palm Court we have devised what we call an ‘assistant practitioner’ role. Basically this person is a carer that
has received training so that they can undertake a number of tasks that traditionally have been carried out by nurses in
nursing homes. So, giving out medication, doing minor dressings, taking blood glucose readings and caring for a range of
pumps (PEGs, PEJs and apomorphine pumps etc) are some of the things that our APs are doing.
We took the decision to go down this route because in our 35-bed home it was taking a nurse several hours to adminster
drugs in the morning; not quite so long at lunchtime, but again a couple of hours at tea wasn’t unusual, and then there were
the night time drugs. Initially we thought that the way to cope with this extra burden on nurses was to try and employ more
of them. But that’s easy to say but then you face the reality of trying to find these extra nurses. And then there is the
additional cost, because nurses do not come cheap. And anyway, we need our nurses to be care planning and to get involved
in staff training and to liaise with GPs and the increasing number of other outside professionals that come to see the more
and more complex people we take in the home. Just doing drugs and dressings doesn’t cut it in today’s nursing homes.
So, we have done what many hospitals do, namely we take some of our talented carers, give them the appropriate training
and let them ‘fly’ – and what a difference it has made to our Home. Carers can see that they can develop themselves, the
people in the assistant practitioner role feel much more fulfilled and they give our nurses that really important commodity of
TIME – time to spend with residents and their families, time to plan, time to think. We are planning to write up what we are
doing in more details, should others be interested.
– Nigel Morris, Manager, Palm Court, Dawlish
commenting that they would like there to be
more staff should, alone, not carry too much
weight.
How can providers challenge such parroting
when they encounter it in their draft reports?
CQC’s procedures suggest that the factual
accuracy process can include representations
about judgments, not just factual corrections.
You should therefore seek that opportunity to
meet the implied criticism head on. If the
comment is about staffing, for example, you may
want to provide copies of the tools used to
determine staffing levels, show that there had
been few complaints about delayed delivery of
care and provide records of the response times to
call bells. You can also ask CQC to supply the
inspection notes, which may show that CQC has
not made its own enquiries about the matter.
The factual accuracy letter can be used to
remind CQC that it (not others) is responsible for
everything it states in the report and that its
judgments must be reliable and proportionate.
It is also worth checking whether the report
includes a fair reflection of what it was told on the
day. CQC often uses the phrase “people told us”.
Sometimes that may only be a couple of people,
and the majority of people may have given
contrary views. The inspector’s notes may help
here, as will taking notes about what happened
during the inspection and what was said in the
verbal feedback.
It is important that providers do raise this
issue with CQC whenever it arises. CQC is
charged with an important and
responsible role and should be
reminded that it cannot abrogate that
and play parrot. CT
Do the numbers work?
I have been looking at December’s Caring Times and on Page 4 you
quote Jeremy Hunt as telling a fringe meeting that “we would need
37,000 more care home beds by 2020… That would mean 100 care
homes opening every single month between now and the end of
parliament in 2020”.
If we do the maths based on 54 months until the end of
Parliament in 2020 this would be 5400 care homes opening which
would surely provide more than 37,000 beds – are the figures
quoted correct? If we assumed a new home had 50 beds this would
provide 270,000 more places based on 100 per month, many more
than Mr Hunt thinks we need. Of course he might be assuming that
we are going to lose 233,000 beds in the same period as providers
leave the sector and sell their land for development which is
obviously more important to the Government than caring for the
elderly and vulnerable.
– Dan Gorvin, Wenham Holt Nursing Home, Liss
Caring Times welcomes your letters.
Please keep them brief
and email them to: caringtimes@foxpound.co.uk
14
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

end-of-life care
The Gold Standards Framework in care homes
With three times more beds than
hospitals and 80% of their residents
expected to die within a year, care
homes should be at the forefront of high quality
end-of-life care provision. Many are providing
their residents with compassionate, personcentred
care right up until the end of life. But care
home residents make up a disproportionate
number of A&E admissions (40-50% more than
for the wider population aged 75+) and almost
half of these are people in the last months of life.
What care home residents want is coordinated,
individualised care, particularly as they approach
the end of life. The Gold Standards Framework
(GSF) Care Homes programme developed in
2004 from grass-roots experience into a national
programme to provide homes with the tools and
structure to deliver quality care for all of their
residents until the end of life. It has led to a stepchange
in the quality of care for many thousands
of older people as well as recognition of the
importance of end-of-life care in care homes and
significant NHS cost-savings through reduced
hospitalisation.
In the last 11 years, almost 3000 homes have
completed the GSF training of which about 500
have been accredited. CQC recognises the
achievements of GSF accredited care homes, the
programme is accredited by the Royal College of
Nursing and the awards are endorsed by all major
care homes’ organisations and the Skills
Academy for Social Care.
GSF training programmes help all those
providing end-of-life care to ensure better lives
for people and recognised standards of care. It is
the largest national programme to help improve
care for patients approaching the end of life,
helping health and social care professionals
provide coordinated, personalised care for
patients and their families, and it reduces hospital
admissions.
Martin Green, Chief Executive of Care England,
describes GSF as, “delivering the essence of the
Care Act: training and educating the workforce to
improve the quality and integration of end of life
care”.
Flexible approach
The GSF Centre recognises that not all homes are
ready to take on the full programme, so it has
developed other options. They include the
Foundation Level, which is already being used by
a number of homes as a stepping stone to the full
programme and accreditation; the Blended
Learning approach, which includes interactive
workshops and in-house sessions; the Fast Track
to Accreditation tailored programme for those
who have already undertaken some training (to
assess progress and support them to achieving
the quality hallmark award); and Refresher
Workshops and a filmed programme for homes
Louise Bruce of Melrose care home receives the Gold
Standards Framework Care Home of the Year award
that have completed the training but require an
update to help ready them prepare for
accreditation.
Best practice
Melrose, a 26-bed home in Worthing, with a 70-
strong workforce, was named GSF Care Home of
the Year in September, after it was reaccredited
for a second time and scored 100%.
Manager Liz Seymour, who has worked at
Melrose for more than 20 years, says involving all
the staff was a key selling point of the
programme for her when she attended an initial
taster session. “I could see that even if you didn’t
have a nursing background, GSF was
straightforward to follow,” says Liz. “I was also
impressed by the emphasis on listening to
people’s wishes and preferences and on living
and dying well. It wasn’t that we weren’t already
doing this, but I could see it would give us a safe
framework on which to hang it.”
Now, Liz says, the impact of GSF is plain to see
in all aspects of the operation of the home. “I
think it has influenced everything we do. It’s key
to the make-up of who we are – even though not
everyone is in the dying phase. We now provide
the right care to the right person, in the right
place, at the right time.”
What’s involved?
The idea of the programmes is that they are
experiential, action based and peer supported.
Many of the homes are already providing high
quality care for their residents as they approach
the end of life. However, it is less common for
them to have a systematic and coherent
structure in place to ensure that the right person
is receiving the right care in the right place, at the
right time every time.
Among the key elements covered in the
training is needs-based coding to identify the
stage of life of all residents. Identifying people as
they approach the final stage of life with any
conditions in any setting is the crucial first step
and lays the foundations for the two subsequent
steps of assessing needs and planning care.
These form the basis of the Gold Standards
Framework.
Communication skills form another critical
part of the training. Initiating Advance Care
Planning conversations about what is important
to residents, and their wishes and preferences,
can be difficult at times. But it is important to
normalise and integrate the process as standard
practice to better listen to the needs of people
and provide care in alignment with their wishes.
The Advance Care Plan then forms the basis of
the care the resident receives right up until they
die.
Other areas covered by the programme
include collaboration with GPs, care in the final
days, care for people with dementia, dignity
enhancing care, ways to reduce hospitalisation
and spiritual care.
The step-by-step modular approach, with
learning outcomes related to 20 accreditation
standards, is interactive and work-based, with
action planning between each workshop.
Following the workshops, it is up to the home’s
GSF lead to share the learning with their
colleagues and over the course of the next
months embed it into all aspects of the care they
provide before being assessed for accreditation
against those 20 standards.
Positive impact
Accredited homes have demonstrated significant
quantified and qualitative benefit. They have
halved the number of inappropriate hospital
admissions and doubled the number of people
dying in their preferred place. The most recent
cohort of homes to be accredited submitted data
for over 2000 beds and 1047 resident deaths.
Many achieved a 100% home death rate, the
average for all of these homes being 85% of
residents dying in their care home.
In terms of qualitative benefits, staff in
accredited homes also report improved
confidence to complement their newfound
competence in providing good quality care. This
in turn has helped their communication with the
GPs, district nurses, palliative care teams and
local hospitals with whom they work.
End-of-life care is everyone’s business and,
because all members of staff in a home are
involved in the wellbeing of the residents, GSF is
fully inclusive. Homes report that it may well be a
domestic or care assistant who spots signs of
decline which helps their nursing colleagues
identify a significant change in condition. CT
■ For more information contact:
Sophie Caine 01743 291898 or via email
sophie.caine@gsfcentre.co.uk or go to
www.goldstandardsframework.org.uk/
care-homes-training-programme
16
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

Hearing the voices of people with dementia
This year’s annual conference on dementia
and end of life organised by the National
Council for Palliative Care had as its title
‘See the ‘ME’ in deMEntia’. Half way through the
day I had the thought that that ME was actually
wrong: it should have been ‘See the ‘I’ in
DementIa’. People do things to ‘me’, but ‘I’ take
initiatives.
Each of the sessions was headed by a
statement from the Prime Minister’s Challenge
on Dementia – such as ‘I know that services are
designed around me’, ‘I have a sense of
belonging’ and, most crucially in this context, ‘I
can expect a good death’.
Dementia is clawing its way up the slippery
pole of political priorities – more research (from a
ludicrously low base), more diagnoses (rates
doubled in five years), more community
awareness (hundreds of dementia-aware
communities, thousands of dementia friends),
and more public understanding (‘death’ and
‘dementia’ are no longer no-go words, even used
in the same sentence). The sad and inexcusable
absence from this list is residential care, where
the trend is much more ambiguous.
Graham Stokes of BUPA gave us some key
statistics: 300,000 people live in care homes;
80% of people in homes have dementia or
New head of compliance at QCS
PROMOTION: Quality
Compliance Systems (QCS)
has appointed Ed
Watkinson as their new
Head of Care Quality and
Compliance. Ed has
experience across a variety
of roles in the care sector. He has
been a registered manager, area
manager, care manager, and
senior commissioner. He has most
recently worked as a Regulation
Manager for Barchester
Healthcare.
Ed was central to the
development of the Care Quality
Commission’s new inspection
methodology and the
fundamental standards whilst
working on secondment as part of
their Policy Team last year.
Ed has also served as a
Planning and Commissioning
Manager for Buckinghamshire
County Council and as
Methodology Developer and
Regulatory Inspector for the
Commission for Social Care
Inspection.
severe memory problems; 60% of deaths from
dementia occur in homes. The truth is that many
people with dementia – however timely their
diagnoses, however caring their carers, however
accepting their communities – eventually
gravitate to a home because in the end that’s the
only place where their disruptive behaviour can
be contained.
Is that too bleak a view of what homes are
charged to do with dementia sufferers
approaching death? Providing humane palliative
care to people who have severely damaged
cognitive faculties is a skilled and timeconsuming
business, and in many homes such
skills and sufficient time are in short supply.
The conference keynote speaker, Colm
Cunningham of HammondCare, told some
horrific stories of the failure of staff to pick up
what residents were telling them. Dorothy was
said to be ‘wandering’ and ‘physically aggressive’;
the wandering turned out to be her attempts to
escape high noise levels and the so-called
aggression arose from her grabbing at people for
support when she stood up because she was
experiencing acute – but treatable – foot pain.
Mary kept her mouth clamped shut and narrowly
escaped anaesthetic to explore a suspected ulcer,
but she happily opened wide when played
Alan Rosenbach, chair of
the QCS Quality and
Compliance panel had this
to say about Ed’s
appointment: “We are
fortunate to have Ed on
the team at QCS. He has an
extensive knowledge of regulation
as well as a deep commitment to
supporting high quality, safe care
and support for people using
services and their families.”
Sheila Scott OBE, Chair of the
Care Providers Alliance and Care
Strategy Consultant for QCS, said:
“I am delighted that Ed is joining
us at QCS. He brings a wealth of
experience and insight into the
fundamental standards which will
benefit all of us including the
users of the system.”
Ed will serve as part of the
Senior Management team at QCS.
He will lead the development of
new quality assurance,
compliance and care management
policies and procedures.
■ For more information, please
visit: www.ukqcs.co.uk
By JEF SMITH
end-of-life care
soothing music. To interpret
what Dorothy and Mary were
trying to communicate took
an expensively flown-in
expert – literally flown in, as this was Australia –
but shouldn’t care workers be trained to pick up
such messages?
There was much talk at the conference about
the importance of ‘early conversations’; people
with dementia need to have the chance to
express views about the sort of care they want
before ‘the capacity to communicate is lost’. My
quarrel with this is that it could discourage care
workers and others from making the effort to
understand what people in the late stages of the
disease are still trying to tell them. Do I really
know now what I’m going to need when I’m close
to death? Services develop and circumstances
alter. Might I not have changed my mind and
indeed myself changed? Like most others, for
example, I would in principle like to die at home,
but if I’m in excruciating pain I might at the time
prefer to be in a hospital with ready access to
pain control. My plea, as a potential dementia
sufferer, is this: don’t just listen to me now – go on
listening, to the very end. CT
Join us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn January 2016
17

legal matters
Inquests: a brief guide for care providers
Inquests are undertaken by the coroner
whenever a person dies of unexplained or
unnatural causes or whenever a person
dies in state detention. With inquests
becoming more and more common in the care
sector, following the Chief Coroner’s guidance
that any person subject to a deprivation of
liberty (DoL) dies in state detention, it is now
more important than ever that appropriate
advice is sought before an inquest takes place.
During the inquest it is the coroner’s job to
ascertain who the deceased was and where,
when and how the person died. Although the
coroner is limited to only considering these
four discrete questions, the inquiry is rarely
that simple and it can be full of potential
hazards for the unwary.
If, during the inquiry, information comes to
the coroner’s attention (which may have
nothing to do with the four questions above),
which gives rise to a concern there is a risk
that other deaths will occur, the coroner has a
duty to make a ‘report on action to prevent
other deaths’. In order to comply with this
duty, the coroner will issue a report to anyone
that has the power to take action to prevent or
reduce the risk of further deaths occurring.
These reports can therefore be issued to any
number of bodies including the CQC and the
provider itself. These reports can also be
published by the Chief Coroner and so can
have far reaching consequences if a provider
has breached its duties or has somehow
caused or contributed to the death.
fire safety
David Behan, CQC’s chief executive, has
confirmed CQC’s commitment to improve its
engagement with Coroners, which is reinforced
by a proposed Memorandum of Understanding
between CQC and the Coroners’ Society in
order to ensure that CQC receives all coroners’
reports from inquests relating to the provision
of health and social care. With CQC’s increased
commitment to analyse and respond to
Coroners’ reports and the ability for them to be
publicly shared, providers should do all they
can to avoid them being issued at all.
Further pitfalls can arise when conclusions
are issued and, without the right facts,
coroners can make adverse findings which
could otherwise have been prevented if the
right information had been brought to light.
One finding that can be reached is that
neglect contributed to the death and this can
be particularly damaging for care providers.
Although the meaning of neglect in the
context of an inquest is very different and far
narrower than the ordinary meaning of
Fire safety - making compliance easy
Do you know what to do when
there is a fire? Research shows
that 14% of people would see
what everyone else was doing and ‘go with
the flow,’ with one in 20 saying they would
ignore the alarm unless told otherwise.
Those responsible for fire safety in their
place of work were also asked if they were
aware of their legal and safety obligations.
46.5% stated they either did not know
what they were or were unclear.
Fire safety can be seen as a
complicated issue. There is a lot to think
about with laws, regulations and measures
that need to be put in place. It can baffle
anyone. But it doesn’t have to be, it can be
simpler.
The most common fire safety hazards
include:
■ Poor evacuation procedures
By NATALIE PATRICK, marketing administrator,
Fireco, www.fireco.uk, tel: 01273 320650
■ Exposed wires
■ Blocked fire exits
■ Faulty fire doors, and
■ Fire doors being wedged open.
Hazards like wedged open fire doors are
occurrences we come across frequently.
Fire doors are one of the most neglected
components in fire safety and most of us
wouldn’t consider how much we rely on
them. In the event of a fire, they are the
first line of defence in preventing the rapid
spread of flames, heat and smoke. But to
save lives, they must work.
Fire doors are meant to be kept closed
to provide protection in the event of a fire.
Failing to meet this requirement can result
in loss of business, big fines and even a
prison sentence.
In 2013/14 there was 527 fires in care
homes and sheltered accommodation in
London, resulting in two deaths and 34
injuries. One of the main issues was fire
doors being wedged open.
For many, being able to keep fire doors
open makes daily life easier by enabling
freedom of movement through busy
buildings. It also improves ventilation and
reduces the risk of injury from handling a
heavy fire door. The need to hold fire doors
open is recognised by fire inspectors
across the UK, who recommend solutions
such as door retainers which can keep fire
By PETER GROSE
& ALISON WOOD
solicitors,
Lester Aldridge
www.lesteraldridge.com
tel: 01202 786135
neglect, its connotations can be harmful and a
finding such as this can have a detrimental
effect, not least on the care workers affected.
Care workers who may be called as witnesses
can find the process particularly difficult but it
is important to remember that an inquest is a
fact-finding exercise and coroners are not
allowed to make findings of civil or criminal
liability. However, a coroner’s findings can have
a significant part to play in a subsequent civil
or criminal case.
If an inquest has been listed and there are
concerns over poor care, it is important that
appropriate specialist legal advice is sought
early in order to minimise the effect it may
have on the provider. In these circumstances,
providers should always seek ‘interested
person’ status to allow them to address the
coroner on the law and to ask questions at the
inquest ensuring that all the relevant
information is drawn out at the hearing.
Advance disclosure should also be sought in
order that a provider can be fully prepared. CT
doors open safely and legally, without
compromising on safety.
Compliance with fire safety regulations
doesn’t have to be difficult or timeconsuming.
Make sure exits are clear, fire
doors aren't wedged open and evacuation
plans are up-to-date. These help provide a
safer environment. CT
18
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

#careawards
Main
Sponsor
Drinks
Reception
Sponsor
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Sponsor
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We would like to extend our thanks
to all our amazing sponsors
Category sponsors
If you are interested in getting involved in sponsorship for the next Care Awards – which will
take place on FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2016 – please email caroline@hawkerpublications.com

legal matters
To close or not to close?
The care sector is under pressure as never before
and the financial demands on councils and
providers continue to intensify. Figures published
last year showed that, in the last three years, two care
homes have closed for each one that had opened.The
average size of the care homes that have closed is 27 beds,
while newly opened homes have approximately 58 beds.
Anecdotally it appears that these smaller homes, run by
small private providers and charitable organisations, are
being squeezed out of the market, as they are not able to
benefit from the economies of scale that can be delivered
in larger ‘factory-style’ care homes.
For any provider, faced with the current economic
pressures and the looming increase in national living wage,
the decision to close a home will be a difficult one and will
literally be life-changing for your residents. There have
been some helpful studies produced by ADASS and others
which are essential reading for any board of trustees
contemplating closure. There is no doubt that a planned
and controlled closure is in the long term a better outcome
for residents and families than a forced closure.
For charitable providers, however, they not only need to
have regard to the requirements of the CQC, their duties as
employers and liaise carefully with their local authorities.
They also need to be aware of their overriding duties as
charity trustees and ensure that they meet the standards
expected by the Charity Commission.
Laser Learning’s Care
Certificate launched
PROMOTION: On 1st April 2015,
Skills for Care launched the Care
Certificate, and it is now the
expected evidence of competency
for new support workers across
England.
The Care Certificate introduces
new staff to the responsibilities of
their role as a social care worker,
and aims to benefit all workers as
well as care users. The standards
for the certificate cover a wide
range of knowledge, skills,
behaviours and attitudes which
are essential for all staff to ensure
a competent and confident
workforce.
Care Certificate by Laser
Learning delivers the Care
Certificate course online using the
highly praised Laser® learning
programme, which blends high
quality filmed tutorials, reading,
and quizzes for each standard and
learning outcome of the course.
Charity trustees were reminded of the role of the Charity
Commission in this process, through the recently published
Case Report into Scope, the national cerebral palsy charity.
Following its decision to exit 11 of its 35 care homes, the
Charity Commission received a flurry of complaints. Given
Scope’s high profile and the significant impact that the
closure would have on disabled residents and their families,
the Charity Commission wrote to the trustees. The
Commission asked the Board to explain the steps that they
had taken to ensure that they had consulted with their
beneficiaries and asked for evidence to show that their
decision making process was robust.
In response the Board of Scope was able to show the
Charity Commission that they had put in place a proper
consultation process. This included full consultation with
beneficiaries, facilitated by an independent advocacy
service to enable people with disabilities to express their
views and increased levels of support for staff and
residents at each home. They were able to point to a
comprehensive plan that demonstrated how they would
communicate with all stakeholders and external partners.
They had also worked with an external agency to evaluate
their communications strategy so that they could make
improvements as things moved forwards. Importantly, all
of this, together with regular updates was communicated
to trustees, and the minutes of meetings recorded
discussions and the key decisions taken.
Learners can access their learning
on multiple devices and organise
their learning around their own
schedule or commitments.
Managers and business owners
can also use their own account on
the Laser® learning programme
to track the progress of staff
enrolled on the Care Certificate
by Laser Learning, giving them a
breakdown of information for
each member of staff, as well as
an overview of learners across
multiple sites or locations.
■ To find out more about
Care Certificate by Laser
Learning, please visit
www.lasercarecertificate.
co.uk, or contact
info@laserlearning.co.uk for a
free demo login to see the
Laser® learning programme
in action. @LaserLearningUK,
01753 584 112
The decision is yours, but
make it well or the Charity
Commission could become
involved, says JO COLEMAN,
Partner, Charities Team,
IBB Solicitors
Good decision making in this type of situation is not just
about taking the decision in the right way, although of
course that is critical. Charity Commission guide CC27
provides helpful guidance on how to take a good decision
within your powers, with all relevant information,
appropriate advice and discounting irrelevant factors. It is
also just as important to record those decisions properly.
The Charity Commission is becoming increasingly robust in
its regulation. Unfortunately, it also appears to be concerning
itself too often with publicly unpopular decisions, no matter
how appropriate, sensible or lawful they may be. Since home
closures so often prompt a wave of criticism and occasionally
campaigning from local residents, families and residents,
charitable providers need to be prepared for the worst, and be
clear that if they were called on by their Regulator to explain
themselves, they would be able to do so as Scope has done. It
is also generally a good idea to notify the Charity Commission
of your decision. Ultimately it is for the Board of a charity to
determine how a charity carries out its objects but they must
have followed a proper decision-making process. CT
20
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

promotions
Bringing the future of eyecare home
Specsavers Healthcall has introduced a cutting
edge new way of selecting and fitting customers’
glasses, using imaging software on tablet devices.
The mobile opticians, who conduct home care
and care home call-out services, now offer Digital
Precision Eyecare, which ensures everyone
receives the very best professional care and
advice in frame selection and dispensing for their
prescription, vision and lifestyle needs.
Maurice Livesey, director of Specsavers
Healthcall says: ‘This is very clever kit and has a
real wow factor for customers. It’s a quick and
easy process which ensures a perfect fit every
time.’
Following an eye examination, the optical
assistant will help customers to select their
preferred glasses. Imaging software on a tablet is
then used to take an image of them wearing the
glasses, which in turn captures a range of
essential dispensing measurements. These are
unique to the customer and their chosen glasses.
Maurice adds: ‘The tablet can also be used to
show you what you look like wearing a range of
different glasses to help you make your choice.
The intelligent software also helps you choose by
any lens options you might want, by
demonstrating what they do in real time.’
Digital Precision Eyecare is also available in all
Specsavers stores in the UK and Ireland.
Maurice adds: ‘Digital Precision Eyecare is all
about providing a highly professional service in
as convenient a way as possible for our
customers. All our staff are fully qualified and
trained in using this new equipment, and their
expertise remains a pivotal part of the service.
‘So far the feedback we have received from
customers has been very positive. Put simply,
everyone that wants glasses can be confident in
being provided with a pair that looks fantastic
and fits perfectly.’
Specsavers Healthcall consultants have over
180 pairs of glasses for customers to choose
from, starting from just £25 to the latest designer
styles from £99 to £169. All glasses come with
PENTAX single vision lenses and a scratchresistant
treatment.
■ Log onto www.specsavers.co.uk/home-eyetests
or call 0800 198 1132 to find out more
Santall Horn, Excelcare Home Manager
at the 17th Annual National Care Awards
On the 27 November 2015 at the Hilton London
Metropole, Santall Horn, an Excelcare Care Home Manager at
Etheldred House in Cambridge, was judged Best Care Manager.
This prestigious event was supported by Christie & Co; as
the main sponsor and marked by a gala dinner to accompany
the celebration of the very best talented care managers in the
care sector. Judging took place before the event and judges
commented that contestants deserved high acclaim for the
phenomenal standards achieved to reach the final selection
event. The host for the National Care Awards 2015 was Hugh Dennis, who appears in the TV
series, Mock The Week, and stars as Pete Brockman, in Outnumbered.
The shortlisted finalists were announced before the event but the winners were only
revealed at the Gala Night. Santall was overwhelmed with happiness when her name was
announced as the Care Manager Winner for 2015!
Excelcare Chief Executive Osman Ertosun praised Santall and her team at Etheldred House
on this very special award and said that Santall richly deserved to have her skills and talent
recognised as she is an inspiring and caring manager to her team and is always prepared to go
the extra caring mile for the 82 people who receive care services at her home.
Ozzie went on to say that everyone involved in the care industry recognised the challenges
that faced care providers over the last few years and he was very lucky to have a great team
working for him, who really did put Excelcare services before their own personal interests.
Ozzie added that Santall has a great ambassador in her Regional Director, Louise Jones.
The Cambridge region staff work exceptionally well as a team and would all be feeling be very
proud of Santall’s award.
Well done Santall, a proud moment for everyone as you gain public recognition of your
qualities as an exceptional care home manager, able to provide exceptional quality care,
giving attention to the satisfaction of people living at Etheldred, the morale of staff and
promotion of excellent service standards.
CARE HOME MANAGER
Anglesey Ynys Môn
We are a well established private Care Home,
registered for 45 elderly residents.
Our home is situated in a beautiful part of Anglesey,
overlooking Red Wharf Bay.
We are looking for a Manager with a professional,
but friendly attitude & the ability to commit
themselves in attaining the same high standard and
amazing atmosphere at present achieved.
Candidates should have a Registered Managers
qualification. Other Nursing qualifications would be
advantageous but not essential.
There is a modern 3-bedded bungalow available for
the successful applicant.
Salary to be discussed, dependent on
qualifications & experience.
Apply with C.V. to :
Angela & Robert Corbould
Director, Springholme Care(Anglesey)Ltd
Red Wharf Bay, Anglesey. LL75 8EX
Or telephone 01248 450665
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January 2016 21

activities
Adding sparkle to person-centred care
CHRIS HARDING, founder and managing director of
The Daily Sparkle, talks to Caring Times about the
activities culture in care homes and the move towards a
‘Whole Home’ ethos.
years ago, when I started working
in the healthcare industry, activity coordinator
were a rarity,” says Chris “Twelve
Harding. “Now they are in more than 90% of
care homes. Person-centred care was not the
norm but now it is the standard to which the
care industry aspires, and to which it is making
great strides.”
In 2009 Chris Harding launched The Daily
Sparkle – a daily reminiscence newspaper
designed to stimulate and engage care home
residents.
The 68-year-old father of four had worked
as a psychotherapist for 22 years, specialising
in helping healthy, normal individuals to be
happier. He began thinking about the
psychological wellbeing of elderly people when
a fellow therapist and friend was placed in a
nursing home with a muscle-wastage
condition.
“His mentality was perfectly normal and he
was always a bright, vibrant and intelligent
man,” said Chris.
“Over three months I witnessed his mental
functioning deteriorate dramatically, to the
point of being semi-comatose. Observing him
and other residents I came to a clear
conclusion that a high level of the residents’
deterioration was caused by a lack of
stimulation. I gave up my psychotherapy
practice soon after this and committed to
doing whatever I could to bring regular
stimulation, interest, enjoyment and fun to
older people and people living with dementia
who lived in care settings.”
Over the following year and a half, Chris
worked to develop the concept of The Daily
Sparkle and did a lot of market testing with
care homes in his local area.
“From my work as a positive psychology
therapist I had learned that one of human
beings’ greatest needs is for human
connection – a feeling of relatedness and
belonging. I also observed that a reliable and
powerful trigger for self-esteem was recalling
happy and/or fond memories.
The Sparkles were formulated to 1) facilitate
conversation – getting people connecting with
one another, building relationships, 2) trigger
happy and/or fond memories, as these
invariably result in people being happier, and
3) be easily useable by residents and care
staff. Chris also wanted The Daily Sparkle to
provide regular (daily) stimulation, interest,
enjoyment and fun.”
“Since the launch of The Daily Sparkle the
goals have stayed pretty constant but we have
got clearer about some elements that bear
upon the effectiveness of the Sparkles to
achieve their goals:
■ We need to find ways to maximise the
amount of time activity co-ordinators spend
with residents (the human connection
element), and
■ We need to find ways of having non-activity
staff engage with residents (likewise
enhancing human connection).”
Ready to use
Ensuring that all the Sparkle resources were
ready to use has addressed the first point with
independent research showing that activity
co-ordinators saved an average of 4.5 hours
each week by using Sparkle resources).
“Getting non-activity staff engaging with
residents has proven more challenging,” said
Chris.
“There is clearly an established culture
within a great many care homes that holds
that everyone should stick with whatever is in
their traditional job description – care staff
only attend to care duties, catering staff only
attend to kitchen duties and so on.
“The next ‘revolution’, I predict, will be
instilling the ‘Whole Home’ ethos across the
industry. No one single action can bring about
anything like the qualitative change that the
Whole Home approach can achieve. Having
lone activity co-ordinators expected to provide
meaningful human connections and activities
to 40-plus residents, by themselves, is never
going to work.
“Attempts to force the Whole Home ethos
onto such cultures is doomed to failure. People
resist having the home’s culture changed. It is
fraught with worries and anxieties as the
culture of ‘this is how we do things round
here’, is the bedrock of the home’s existence.”
Entrenched cultures notwithstanding, Chris
believes things are beginning to change.
“We have just got the results back from an
independent market research company which
show that The Daily Sparkle is succeeding in
getting care home non-activity staff engaging
with residents,” he said.
“The average number of care home staff
using the Sparkles to engage with residents is
9.3 per home. The average of the 10 best
performing homes is 39 staff, with some
reporting that 95% of staff are using them. I
visit a lot of care homes myself, around 100 so
far this year, and I can verify from personal
observation that I have seen huge levels of
engagement from non-activity staff. However,
to have this confirmed by independent
research has been wonderful.”
Chris made the point that the independent
research company, Marketing Means, were
members of the Market Research Society.
“They work to very strict guidelines to
guarantee the quality of objective research,”
he said.
Trojan horse
“I think the Sparkles are a bit like the Trojan
Horse – they make their way into a care home’s
culture in a very unobtrusive way. They are
simple, and interesting, so many non-activity
staff read them like they would a regular daily
newspaper. Then in their normal duties they
easily and naturally talk about the articles with
residents. The activity staff themselves need
not do anything to make this happen, although
I have seen that where they do support the
Whole Home ethos, the results are quicker and
more comprehensive.
“The average levels of non-activity staff
engagement is very encouraging. When you
look at the results from the top 10 performing
homes though, the real potential is there to be
seen. The Sparkles are phenomenally effective,
and with the right sort of support, every home
can achieve the figures that those top 10 get.”
Chris and his team are now drawing up plans
to support all Daily Sparkle subscribers to gain
optimum results and are engaging a leading
dementia specialist to design a light-touch
support programme which does not run foul of
a home’s existing culture but subtly makes
engagement easy, personally rewarding, and
enjoyable. CT
■ For more information, go to:
www.dailysparkle.co.uk
22
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

promotion
Prior’s Court School for young people with autism
invests in Miele Professional for laundry upgrade
Prior’s Court is an independent special
school for young people with autism.
They accommodate students aged
between five and 19 and also provide support
for families of the children. Their primary
focus is to build independence and social skills
in their students.
Before the recent laundry installation,
Prior’s Court already had a good relationship
with the esteemed German brand, having used
Miele Professional machines on site for over 15
years. Colin Seatter from Prior’s Court
explains that they ‘invest in Miele Professional
machines because they are so good. They
really are the best that money can buy!’
Having previously had two small laundries
installed with Miele Professional Little Giants,
the team at Prior’s Court decided that they
wanted to upgrade the laundry facilities. After
considering the various options that Miele
Professional offers when it comes to onpremise
laundry solutions, they decided to
invest in barrier washer-extractors. This was
the best option as they were particularly
concerned with infection control, an issue of
paramount importance when dealing with
children with special needs. An old unused
changing room on site was repurposed to
become a brand new laundry room and was
fitted with three barrier washer-extractor
machines (2 x 16kg and 1 x 20 kg) and three
commercial tumble dryers.
Installation
Having decided to invest
in a whole new on
premise laundry, Prior’s
Court turned to Gillman’s
to conduct the
installation of the Miele
Professional barrier
washer-extractor
machines. Gillman’s
spent a year planning
and executing the
project and were able to
carry out the whole
process from design to
installation and service.
They also gave the
cleaning team at Prior’s
Court advice on all
aspects of a best
practice laundry.
Gillman’s were delighted
to be involved in a
project with Prior’s
Court School.
Speaking about how
the recent installation
has benefited the school,
Colin Seatter explained: “The new machines
have been fully operational for 4 months now
and the whole laundry process runs 100%
better than it did before – there is no doubt
about it! We are very happy with the service
we received from Gillmans, and the cleaning
staff absolutely love the new laundry. Now we
have so much more space which makes such a
difference. The barrier washer-extractor
machines provide us with peace of mind and
we now have optimal infection control.
Improved efficiency
“The new installation has also meant that we
have been able to improve efficiency. The
laundry is staffed between 7am and 3pm.
Laundry is collected in the evenings and is
returned back to the children the next day. We
now have plans to use the old laundry as a
training site for the children; the machines will
remain operational so they will be able to learn
how to use them which helps teach essential
life skills.”
When asked if he would recommend the
German brand, Colin commented: “Of course
we would recommend Miele Professional. Our
site has always used Miele machines and we
would never change that.”
■ For more information on
Miele Professional’s products
please call 0844 8936907
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January 2016 23

national care awards 2015
#careawards
Meet this year’s
winners!
Main
Sponsor
Drinks
Reception
Sponsor
Photobooth
Sponsor
Twitter Wall
Sponsor
Entertainment
Sponsor
Programme
Sponsor
The National Care Awards Gala Presentation Night was
held on 27 th November 2015 and was the biggest yet.
The awards, now in their 17 th year continue to
highlight excellence in all parts of the sector and
reward those who work tirelessly to provide
consistently outstanding care.
The fabulous evening was sponsored by Christie +
Co, who have been sponsors for 17 consecutive years,
and held at the prestigious London Hilton Metropole,
the same venue for the last 17 years. Head of
Healthcare for Christies, Richard Lunn welcomed the
guests and reminisced about how much he enjoyed
being involved with the awards.
The champagne reception was sponsored by
Fowler UK and almost 800 guests flocked to the
Kings Suite to enjoy a glass! There was a Twitter wall
featured for the first time, sponsored by Sky
Business, and it went down a storm with guests
posting pictures of themselves to be in with a chance
to win two wonderful prizes for best dressed man and
best dressed woman!
The evening’s host was the fantastic Hugh Dennis
who entertained the room famously. Hugh made his
name as one half of Punt & Dennis. He and Steve Punt
still appear together on Radio 4’s The Now Show,
while Hugh also captains his team on Mock The Week,
and stars as Pete Brockman, the father in the
wonderfully inventive semi-improvised sitcom
Outnumbered. Hugh made the winners feel very
welcome as they collected their trophies to the
sound of rapturous applause.
The evening closed with two light-hearted games
of heads or tails which raised thousands of pounds
for the Care Workers Charity which helps carers who
have fallen on hard times through no fault of their
own. This year the charity is also donating money to
a little girl called Georgie, daughter of an employee
of Shaw Healthcare, in need of an operation.
The party continued with entertainment
sponsored by Pinders including music from the wellknown
band ‘Co-Stars’ who entertained the guests
until the early hours! The photo booth made another
appearance this year thanks to sponsors Compass
Associates and was a huge success with queues out
the door!
The National Care Awards is the longest
established and biggest Care Awards by a significant
margin. Its vigorous and personalised judging
process, along with its glamour, make it the Awards
most people want to win. Look out for the start of
next year’s National Care Awards when nominations
start in June. The winners, once again, will be
revealed in November 2016 at another exciting night
of celebrating the best people in the sector!
24
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

Carer
Care Registered Nurse
national care awards 2015
Care Team
Nicola Davis, Milford Care Group
Presented by Avnish Goyal, Hallmark Care Homes
Care Manager
Susan Povey, Hallmark Care Homes. Presented by
Jeremy Nixey, Shaw Healthcare Susan was unable
to attend so her award was picked up on her behalf
Special Needs Manager
3L Care Limited
Presented by Caroline Heath, Specsavers
Healthcall
Dementia Care Manager
Santall Horn, Excelcare
Presented by Lisa Soper, Avery Healthcare
Care Operations Manager
Eileen Champion, Hesley Group
Presented by Peter Hill, Caring Homes
Care Activities Co-ordinator
Donna-Louise Cobban, EMDASS
Presented by Pete Calveley, Barchester
Healthcare
Care Housekeeper
Angela Boxall, Majesticare
Presented by Compass Associates, Sam Leighton-
Smith
Gemma Jones, Majesticare
Presented by Ed Watkinson, Quality Compliance
Systems
Carol Martin, Colten Care
Presented by Simon Hart, Miele Professional
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January 2016 25

national care awards 2015
Care Chef
Care Home of the Year
Dignity & Respect Care Home of the Year
Judith Powell, Avery Healthcare
Presented by Carol Schofield, Purchasing Support
Services
Care Apprentice
Galanos House, The Royal British Legion
Presented by James Misselbrook, The Consortium
Care
Resident Engagement
St Leonards Residential Home, B&M Care
Presented by Paula Keys, HC-One
Care Leadership
Jade Facey, The Old Vicarage
Alison Simpson, Lifetime Training
Care Home Group
Kelly Henderson, Community Integrated Care
Presented by Mel Knight, Your Care Rating
Lifetime Achievement in Care
Cath Murray-Howard, Community Integrated Care
Presented by Richard Lunn, Christie + Co
Care Personality
Anchor
Presented by James Tweddle, Sky Business
Helena Jeffery, Caring Homes Group
Presented by Bobby Kalar, Yü Energy
Avnish Goyal, Hallmark Care Homes
Presented by Tim Hammond, Four Seasons Health
Care
26
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

national care awards 2015
Scenes of celebration
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January 2016 27

national care awards 2015 guest list
Acock, Barry ...................................Rosebank Care Home
Acock, Mandie.................................Rosebank Care Home
Adams, Mandy..........................................Riversway Care
Adams, Richard ........................................................Bupa
Adams, Sharon .............................Porthaven Care Homes
Adan, Grace....................................................Forest Care
Aggarwal, Mala...............................Hallmark Care Homes
Aggarwal, Khsbhu...........................Hallmark Care Homes
Aggarwal, Ameet............................Hallmark Care Homes
Ahmed, Nassir ...............................Specsavers Healthcall
Aitchison, Kerry .............................................Colten Care
Aitchison, Mark..............................................Colten Care
Aldridge, Jeanette ..........................Sunrise Senior Living
Aldridge, Erika ...................................Alzheimers Society
Alexopoulos, Spyros ....................Pearl Healthcare Group
Alexopoulos, Elefdheria...............Pearl Healthcare Group
Allen, James...............................................Caring Homes
Allen, Anita .................................................Bespoke Care
Allen, Ben.......................................Hallmark Care Homes
Alston, Paul .............................................The Jawa Group
Amir, Muhammad ...........................................Colten Care
Amor, Joyce ..........................Leonard Cheshire Disability
Arkinstall, Andrew .........................................Colten Care
Ashbrook, Sharon ...................Greensleeves Homes Trust
Atherton, Chloe .............................................Amore Care
Backhouse, Anna.........................................Hesley Group
Bagurske, Ieva...................................Sonnet Care Homes
Baigrie, Elaine ............................................Downing Care
Bailey, Geraldine ..........................Porthaven Care Homes
Bailey, Kelly..........................................................3L Care
Bainbridge, Paul ............................................Mentaur Ltd
Bales, Nicola ..................................................Amore Care
Ballantine, Sharon ................Community Integrated Care
Balmaceda, Flora ...........................................Forest Care
Bancroft, Diane ..............................Hallmark Care Homes
Bang, Phil.................................Four Seasons Health Care
Barcial, Josie ...........................................Sanctuary Care
Barker, Caroline ...................................................Ridouts
Barratt, Libby..................................Sunrise Senior Living
Beaney, Micheala..................................................PJ Care
Beany, Julie..........................................................PJ Care
Beaumont, Louise........................................Hesley Group
Beecham, David..........................................Caring Homes
Begum, Dela ....................SweetTree Home Care Services
Bell, Dianne...................................................Vishomil Ltd
Bell, Aaron ....................................................Vishomil Ltd
Bell, John......................................................Vishomil Ltd
Belmonte Hibell, Silvana .......................................Anchor
Berry, Matthew ............................Porthaven Care Homes
Biggane, Siobhan ..................Community Integrated Care
Biggs, Mike .................................................Caring Homes
Biodun, Tijani ...........................Four Seasons Health Care
Bird, Michael............................National Care Association
Bird, Mark .............................................Avery Healthcare
Birley, Paul .........................................................Barclays
Birley, Sandra .....................................................Barclays
Bishai, Neil.....................Quality Compliance Systems Ltd
Boughanmi, Mabrouk.....................Specsavers Healthcall
Bowern, Caroline .........................................Caring Times
Bowman, Jane.................................Sunrise Senior Living
Boxall, Angela................................................Majesticare
Boyle, Mike ............................................Shaw Healthcare
Braithwaite, Daniel ..................................Pinsent Masons
Breton, Marc..................................Specsavers Healthcall
Brett, Kate.............................................Lifetime Training
Brewer, Jordan...............................Hallmark Care Homes
Brewer, Maureen ............................Whiteoaks Rest Home
Brewin, Elaine..................................................B & M Care
Briens, Helen .....................Eastview Healthcare Services
Britton, Karen ..........................................Riversway Care
Bromley, Josh .......................................................Anchor
Brown, Ellen .........................................................Apetito
Brown, Pamela...............................................Majesticare
Browne, Debbie.....................................................Anchor
Brownlie, Linda ..............................................Colten Care
Brownlie, William ...........................................Colten Care
Brunsdon, Nick ......................................Shaw Healthcare
Bruton, Trinna..................................................B & M Care
Bruton, Paul ....................................................B & M Care
Buckland, Kim ..............................Porthaven Care Homes
Buczkowska, Dorota ..........Eastview Healthcare Services
Burke, Michael ................................Sunrise Senior Living
Burmingham, Vince.............................Hendra Healthcare
Burmingham, Gill ................................Hendra Healthcare
Burton, Keith.........................................................Regard
Burton, Una...........................................................Regard
Burton, Keith.........................................................Regard
Burton, Laura........................................................Regard
Burton, Keith Paul.................................................Regard
Butler, Yvonne ......................................................PJ Care
Butler, Mark..........................................................PJ Care
Butler, Andrea........................................Shaw Healthcare
Button, Jason.................................Hallmark Care Homes
Buxton, Susan................................................Majesticare
Buxton, Clive .................................................Majesticare
Cagnasso, Teresa ...........................Whiteoaks Rest Home
Cahill, John......................................................B & M Care
Cahill, Nicky.....................................................B & M Care
Calveley, Pete...............................Barchester Healthcare
Calveley, Jo ..................................Barchester Healthcare
Canavan, Shaun............................Porthaven Care Homes
Candy, Maggie..........................Four Seasons Health Care
Carpenter, Christine..............................................Anchor
Carpenter, Sarah....................................Shaw Healthcare
Carrigan, Amy .......................................................Anchor
Carrington, Annette.................National Care Association
Carter, Ann ..............................National Care Association
Carter, Adam...........................................Carter Schwartz
Cartmell, Ian .........................................................Regard
Carver, Rosie............................Four Seasons Health Care
Cashmore, Jeremy.........................................Chistie + Co
Castro, Herculano .............................................Menataur
Catchpole, Catherine .................Stowlangtoft Healthcare
Caton, Celia ...................................................Amore Care
Cavan, Michael ............................................Hesley Group
Champion, Phil ............................................Hesley Group
Champion, Eileen.........................................Hesley Group
Chan, Danielle.......................Community Integrated Care
Chapman, Jon ......................................................Pinders
Charlton, Ann.................................Specsavers Healthcall
Charlton, Jayne..........................The Royal British Legion
Chellan, Saranya .....................................The Jawa Group
Christie, Gemma..................................Miele Professional
Cleave, Anne..................................................Amore Care
Clews, Anna .......................Eastview Healthcare Services
Clinton, Julia .....................................Sonnet Care Homes
Cobban, Donna Louise........................Alzheimers Society
Cochram, Alan ............................................Caring Homes
Collins, Jayne ...........................The Care Workers Charity
Collins, Rachel.....................................Miele Professional
Collins, Jordan .............................Porthaven Care Homes
Colocott, Gill.........................................................Apetito
Constable, Ian .......................Leonard Cheshire Disability
Conway, Janet.....................................Somerset Care Ltd
Cook, Paula......................................................B & M Care
Cooper, Rose ..................................................Forest Care
Cooper, Karen.........................Greensleeves Homes Trust
Cooper, Julie............................................Sanctuary Care
Cooper, Thea .......................................Miele Professional
Cooper, Stephen.........................The Royal British Legion
Coppard, Mark ......................................................Apetito
Corbiere, Jenny.....................Leonard Cheshire Disability
Cormack, Derek..........................................Caring Homes
Corrigan, Jason ............................Barchester Healthcare
Coulter, Graham ...................................................Pinders
Cowap, Vicky....................................................Norsecare
Craig, Jackie ............................Four Seasons Health Care
Crawford, Neil ................Quality Compliance Systems Ltd
Crisford, John ............................The Royal British Legion
Crosby, Jo .........................................Sonnet Care Homes
Cross, Stuart ..........................Greensleeves Homes Trust
Crossley, Jen...................................The Consortium Care
Culley, Mark..................................Barchester Healthcare
Cullis, Karen .............................Four Seasons Health Care
Cundy, David ..................Quality Compliance Systems Ltd
Cunningham, Anita................................................Anchor
Curd, Alison................................................Caring Homes
Currie, Craig .....................................................Castleoak
Curtin, Mike .....................................................YU Energy
Daniel, Sohail .................................................Colten Care
Daniel, Samia .................................................Colten Care
Davey, Jackie ......................................Somerset Care Ltd
Davies, Sheilla..........................Four Seasons Health Care
Davies, Natasha ...........................Porthaven Care Homes
Davies, Russ...................................................Colten Care
Davis, Nicola .................................................Milford Care
Davis, Deondera....................................................Anchor
Davy, Mark ....................................................Vishomil Ltd
Davy, Gillian ..................................................Vishomil Ltd
Daw, Martin ...................................................Chistie + Co
Dawson, Mike...................................................B & M Care
Dawson, Ham...................................................B & M Care
Dawson, Sarah.....................................Miele Professional
De Silva, Maria ...............................................Colten Care
Debourne, Theresa .......................Porthaven Care Homes
Delaney, Lisa ........................................................Apetito
Dennis, Hugh.............................................................Host
Denny, Caroline..............................................Amore Care
Densley, Stephanie ...................................Impact Futures
Desmond, Kate......................................................Anchor
Dixon, Daphne.................................Rosebank Care Home
D'mello, Martin.....................................................Apetito
Domingues, Ana ................................................Menataur
Donescu, Elena................................Sunrise Senior Living
Dontoh, Gladys.........................Four Seasons Health Care
Douglass, Angie .....................................Shaw Healthcare
Downie, Kerrie..............................Porthaven Care Homes
Drain, Helen ..........................................Christies Care ltd
Drake, Marian ........................................Shaw Healthcare
Drewett, Zahra......................................................Regard
Duffey, Claire .......................................................Pinders
Duffy, Yvonne.....................Eastview Healthcare Services
Dun, Durga Maya ............................................Forest Care
Dunlop, Eileen ..........................Four Seasons Health Care
Durant, Mr............................................................e-foods
Durant, Mrs ..........................................................e-foods
Dutton, Carl......................................Compass Associates
Dwight, Greg................................................Caring Times
Earrey, Sue.....................................Hallmark Care Homes
Ebbage, Mick ...............................Pearl Healthcare Group
Ebbage, Sue.................................Pearl Healthcare Group
Edmondson, Helen ..............Purchasing Support Services
Edwards, Paul...........................................................Bupa
Edwards, Louise .............................Whiteoaks Rest Home
Elford, Daryn..........................................The Old Vicarage
Elford, Rebecca......................................The Old Vicarage
Elliott, Graham............................................Downing Care
Elliott-Pears, Rosemary..............................Downing Care
Ellis, Anne..........................................Winash Rest Homes
Elmer, Linda...............................Stowlangtoft Healthcare
Elton, Jane .....................................Hallmark Care Homes
Emmott, Julie ....................Eastview Healthcare Services
Erpelo, Mavic..................................................Forest Care
Evans, Bryony......................................Miele Professional
Evans, Sam ..........................................................Abacare
Facey, Jade ............................................The Old Vicarage
Fairhurst, Michael .......................Redwoods Dowling Kerr
Fardon, Richard ..........................The Royal British Legion
Farnell, Patricia............................Porthaven Care Homes
Farrer, Elaine..................................................Colten Care
Farrer, Julia....................................................Colten Care
Ferguson, Myles..................................Hendra Healthcare
Finn, Mr................................................................e-foods
Finn, Mrs ..............................................................e-foods
Flack, Harry.................................Pearl Healthcare Group
Flanaghan, Rita.....................................Avery Healthcare
Flawn, Jan ............................................................PJ Care
Fogarty, Frank ................................................Forest Care
Forbes, Jade.....................................Compass Associates
28
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national care awards 2015 guest list
Forrester, Marie............................Barchester Healthcare
Forsyth, Matthew......................Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd
Forsyth, Gillian..........................Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd
Fowler, David ....................................................Fowler UK
Foxall-Smith, Sandie .............................................Regard
Frankum, Maggie ..........................Porthaven Care Homes
Fransen, Mindy ...............Quality Compliance Systems Ltd
Freeth, Sue.................................The Royal British Legion
French, Ruth ..............................Stowlangtoft Healthcare
Furniss, Tim .....................................The Consortium Care
Gardiner, Marion...................................................HC-One
Gardiner, James....................................................Regard
Gardner, Peter ......................................................PJ Care
Gaskell, Hannah.............................................Chistie + Co
Gaskell, Cathe .................................The Results Compant
Gibbons, Lorraine ..................................Shaw Healthcare
Gibbs, Claire .............................The Care Workers Charity
Gibbs, Carl ................................The Care Workers Charity
Gillespie, Angela ...................................Ontex Healthcatr
Gilliland, John..........................National Care Association
Gilroy, Kathleen...............................................B & M Care
Godfrey, Kym ......................................Rushcliffe Care Ltd
Godfrey, Karen................................Rosebank Care Home
Goldsby, Beth ...............................Porthaven Care Homes
Goodard, Caroline.............................................Excelcare
Goodwin, Becky....................................................3L Care
Goodwin, Denise.........................The Royal British Legion
Gould, Martin.................................................Chistie + Co
Goyal, Anita....................................Hallmark Care Homes
Goyal, Avnish..................................Hallmark Care Homes
Goyal, Ashish..................................Hallmark Care Homes
Goyal, Ram .....................................Hallmark Care Homes
Goyle, Nathan ..............................................Caring Times
Grace, Joni .......................................................Excelcare
Grange, Kate ....................................................Norsecare
Granger, Brent.......................Leonard Cheshire Disability
Granger, Sarah ......................Leonard Cheshire Disability
Green, James......................Purchasing Support Services
Grenger, Hayley...................................Miele Professional
Griffith, Pete ....................................Compass Associates
Griggiths, Dan................................................Chistie + Co
Gue, Paula ...........................................Somerset Care Ltd
Hadley, Barbara .....................................Shaw Healthcare
Hall, Karen.......................................................B & M Care
Hammond, Jodie ...................................Ontex Healthcatr
Hammond, Joan.....................................Shaw Healthcare
Hammond, Tim .........................Four Seasons Health Care
Hancock, David ...........................Redwoods Dowling Kerr
Hand, Mike...................................ACH Woodbridge House
Hand, Mike ............................................................Regard
Hanwell, Christine ................................................Apetito
Harding, Chris..............................................Daily Sparkle
Hardman, Fiona .............................Specsavers Healthcall
Hardwick, Matthew...............................................Apetito
Hare, Sophie..............................................................CMG
Harman, Jessica ..........................................Caring Times
Harper, Diane...........................National Care Association
Harriman, Georgina..................................Riversway Care
Harris, Jane...........................................Shaw Healthcare
Harris, Charlie.......................................Avery Healthcare
Harris, Jermaine ............................Hallmark Care Homes
Harrison, Jayne .....................................Shaw Healthcare
Harrison, Nikki ..........................................................CMG
Hart, Derek ....................................................Majesticare
Hart, Simon .........................................Miele Professional
Hart, Erica .....................................................Majesticare
Hartigan, Jeremy....................................Tersus Equip Ltd
Hassan, Yul..............................................The Jawa Group
Hatwood, Victoria...............................Rushcliffe Care Ltd
Hawkins, Lois...............................................Caring Times
Hawkins, Kit.................................................Caring Times
Hawkins, Alison.....................................Christies Care ltd
Hawkins, Rosie ...................................Hendra Healthcare
Hawkins, Richard .........................................Caring Times
Heaney, Deena..............................Barchester Healthcare
Heath, Caroline..............................Specsavers Healthcall
Helman, Guy .............................................Impact Futures
Henderson, Kelly...................Community Integrated Care
Hendon, Philippa ........................The Royal British Legion
Henry, Shelly........................................................e-foods
Henry, Rob ...........................................................e-foods
Hepall, Paul............................................Lifetime Training
Hew Jones, Victoria ..................................Somerset Care
Hewat, Emma...................................Support in Dementia
Hewit, Holly................................The Royal British Legion
Heywood, Rachel .....................................Riversway Care
Hickman, Melody...........................................Milford Care
Hill, Julie .........................................Bidvest Food Service
Hill, Eve ......................................................Caring Homes
Hill, Shaun......................................Bidvest Food Services
Hill, Peter ...................................................Caring Homes
Hill, Martin................................The Care Workers Charity
Hodgson, Tim.................................................Majesticare
Holloway, Amanda................................................3L Care
Horn, Santall.....................................................Excelcare
House, Heather..................................Winash Rest Homes
Houseman, Donna ...............................Miele Professional
Houseman, Victoria .............................................Care UK
How, Alistair.............................Four Seasons Health Care
Hubbard, Chris.................................The Consortium Care
Hughes, Lynn ..................................Rosebank Care Home
Hughes, Bill .....................................................B & M Care
Hughes, Brendan .............................................B & M Care
Hughes, Suzanne ...................................Shaw Healthcare
Hunt, Andy.............................................Shaw Healthcare
Hunter, Tony...................Quality Compliance Systems Ltd
Hurley, Shaun......................Purchasing Support Services
Hurley, Stewart ...................Purchasing Support Services
Inch, Caroline ..................................................B & M Care
Jackson, Richard ..................................................Regard
Jackson, Jane....................................Winash Rest Homes
Jackson, Karen...................SCA Hygiene Products UK Ltd
Jackson, Andy..............................................Caring Times
Jackson, Trish..............................................Hartwig Care
Jackson, Charlie ............................................Chistie + Co
Jaco, Lynda ................................The Royal British Legion
Jarvis, Val..........................Eastview Healthcare Services
Jawaheer, Sonia ......................................The Jawa Group
Jawaheer, Rishi.......................................The Jawa Group
Jawaheer, Sherine...................................The Jawa Group
Jawaheer, Roy.........................................The Jawa Group
Jeffery, Robert...........................................Caring Homes
Jeffrey, Paul...............................................Caring Homes
Jeffreys, Mike...................................Compass Associates
Jenkinson, Darren ...........................................B & M Care
Jenner, Steve .............................................Chandler & Co
Jenner, Gill ...........................................Broomfield Lodge
Johnson, Irene.............................................Caring Times
Johnson, Donna .......................Four Seasons Health Care
Jones, Gemma ...............................................Majesticare
Jones, Nicola ...............................................Caring Times
Jones, Anthony..............................................Majesticare
Jones, Gemma ......................................................Regard
Jones, Wendy ..................................Sunrise Senior Living
Jones, Louise....................................................Excelcare
Kaggawa, Derrick...............Eastview Healthcare Services
Kalar, Bobby.....................................................YU Energy
Kalar, Jinny ......................................................YU Energy
Keating, Pat ...................................Whiteoaks Rest Home
Kelly, Grace..................................................Caring Times
Kelly, Amanda ................................................Majesticare
Kemp, Jodie .....................................Compass Associates
Kennett, Janet.................................................B & M Care
Kenny, Nicky ..........................................Lifetime Training
Keys, Paula ...........................................................HC-One
Kidd, Nyree...............................Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd
Killingback, Mandela........................................B & M Care
King, Tracey....................................................Forest Care
Kingsley, Tracey.....................................Lifetime Training
Kingston Minnis, Wendy..................Whiteoaks Rest Home
Kirkpatrick, Angela..........................................B & M Care
Kitson, Julie ..................................................Chistie + Co
Knight, Melville.................................................Castleoak
Knowles, Steven...........................................Caring Times
Kuczkowski, Lojciech ........................................Excelcare
Kurvieva, Vaska ...............................................B & M Care
Lache, Mariana .........................Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd
Lampard, Annie ............................Porthaven Care Homes
Lanceley, Debbie .........................................Hesley Group
Latreille, Claire .....................................................Anchor
Lavender, Vanessa ..........................Rosebank Care Home
Lawrence, Simon...................................Avery Healthcare
Le Mesurier, Paige Rose ........................................Regard
Le Mesurier, Lena..................................................Regard
Le Mesurier, Beth..................................................Regard
Leach, Jackie ..................................................B & M Care
Leighton-Smith, Sam ........................Compass Associates
Lewin, Keith ...................................................Brunswicks
Lewin, Judith..................................................Brunswicks
Lewis, Lee......................................................Amore Care
Lewis, Scott ................................Redwoods Dowling Kerr
Linao, Anrica.....................................................Excelcare
Livermore, Helena......................................Caring Homes
Livermore, Clive .........................................Caring Homes
Lovelace, Susan........................Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd
Lovelace, Keith .........................Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd
Ludlow, Davina ........................................carehome.co.uk
Lumley, Marin .......................................................HC-One
Lumley, Philip .......................................................HC-One
Lunn, Richard ................................................Chistie + Co
Macaulay, Anthony .....................The Royal British Legion
MacDougall, Marlyn......................Porthaven Care Homes
MacKay, Laird .............................................Caring Homes
Mackay, Lesley...........................................................SCA
Manka, Marianna ....................Greensleeves Homes Trust
Manton, Jane ...........................................Lifeways Group
Marlborough, Nadene ......SweetTree Home Care Services
Marston, Lynn....................................Sonnet Care Homes
Martin, Katie..................................................Colten Care
Martin, Carol..................................................Colten Care
Martisikova, Eliska .........................Whiteoaks Rest Home
Mason, Glen..........................................................HC-One
Mason, Julie ...............................................Caring Homes
Massie, Tom ...........................................Shaw Healthcare
Masters, Karen.........................National Care Association
Mboko, Godwin .....................................................PJ Care
McCole, Mark..................................Hallmark Care Homes
Mcfall, Steve ........................................................e-foods
McGrath, Carol...................Eastview Healthcare Services
McKenzie, Verna ..........................................Caring Times
McLean, Sue ................................................Hesley Group
McNamara, Ron...................Purchasing Support Services
McNamara, Michael.............Purchasing Support Services
McPhee, Sarah ............................................City & County
McSharry, Sally ...........................................Hesley Group
McSharry, Chris...........................................Hesley Group
McTeir, Shirley ......................Community Integrated Care
Mellor, Kevin........................................Somerset Care Ltd
Miller, Mathew.............................Redwoods Dowling Kerr
Miller, Paul ..................................Redwoods Dowling Kerr
Miller, Dean...........................................................Apetito
Miller, Carolynne.......................Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd
Millward, Jan .........................................The Old Vicarage
Millward, Colin .......................................The Old Vicarage
Milne, Michelle .....................................................3L Care
Misselbrook, James.........................The Consortium Care
Miteva, Sylvia ..................................................B & M Care
Mizen, Janet ........................................................e-foods
Mizen, Paul...........................................................e-foods
Molly, Romey..............................The Royal British Legion
Moore, David ..................................Hallmark Care Homes
Moore, Jo ..........................................Sonnet Care Homes
Moore, Glenn ...............................Pearl Healthcare Group
Moore, Tina..................................Pearl Healthcare Group
Morton, Laura.............................The Royal British Legion
Morton, Brian...................................................YU Energy
Morton, Janet ..................................................YU Energy
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January 2016 29

national care awards 2015 guest list
Morton-Carr, Jill ...................................................HC-One
Muchingaguyo, Clemence...........Nightingale Hammerson
Mukherji, Shekar ...........................................Mentaur Ltd
Murphy, Allison.....................................................3L Care
Murray-Howard, Cath............Community Integrated Care
Musgrave, Paul .....................................................Apetito
Mynes, Liam ...............................................................SCA
Nandagopan, Maddie......................Whiteoaks Rest Home
Nandagopan, Givon ........................Whiteoaks Rest Home
Nash, Andrew ...........................Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd
Navarro, Elieza........................................The Jawa Group
Neil, Jennifer ......................................Gateshead Council
New, Pat.........................................Whiteoaks Rest Home
Newton, Steve..........................................Riversway Care
Nicholson, Dawn ...........................Barchester Healthcare
Nightingale, Katie...........................Hallmark Care Homes
Nilne, Craig...........................................................3L Care
Nixey, Jeremy........................................Shaw Healthcare
Njenga, Veronica................Eastview Healthcare Services
Noble, Margaret .............................Whiteoaks Rest Home
Noon, Robert......................................Rushcliffe Care Ltd
Notton, Sarah...........................................Riversway Care
Oakes, Emma..............................................Caring Homes
Oakes, Steve ..................................................Majesticare
O'Connor, Eddie...................Purchasing Support Services
O'Hare-Connolly, Gavin ..................................Amore Care
O'Reilly, Mike ...........................Four Seasons Health Care
Osborne, Luke ..................................Compass Associates
Otterman, Tracey...............Olivia Josephine Care Limited
Owens, Natalie ............................Redwoods Dowling Kerr
Pace, Louis .......................................Compass Associates
Page, Christine................................Sunrise Senior Living
Pallett, Rachel...............................................Mentaur Ltd
Pancott, Adrian..............................................Amore Care
Parker, Imogen.................................................YU Energy
Parker, Nick .....................................................YU Energy
Parnell, Shanice ....................................................Regard
Pask, June...................................Pearl Healthcare Group
Pask, Ged.....................................Pearl Healthcare Group
Patel, Davesh ........................................Avery Healthcare
Patel, Mahesh .................................Pathways Care Group
Paxman, Eunice .......................National Care Association
Pearman, Janie..............................................Colten Care
Pearson, Kate ....................Eastview Healthcare Services
Penfold, Simon..........................Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd
Perez, Jonathan...........................Porthaven Care Homes
Pewa, Mary ..............................Four Seasons Health Care
Pickering, Tony...........................................Caring Homes
Pickernell, Andy ..............................The Consortium Care
Pike, Terri ..........................................Sonnet Care Homes
Pincott, Sara .........................Leonard Cheshire Disability
Pinfield, Joyce.........................National Care Association
Pink, Marva ..................................Porthaven Care Homes
Pintelli, Lonella ............................Porthaven Care Homes
Pitkin, Jeremy ..................................................Fowler UK
Player, James ...................................................Castleoak
Pointer, Sarah.........................Greensleeves Homes Trust
Popham, Claire ..................................Sonnet Care Homes
Potter, Janet ........................................................3L Care
Poulain, Janet .............................................Hesley Group
Poundall, Lorraine.........................................Milford Care
Povey, Sue......................................Hallmark Care Homes
Powell, Nigel .........................................Avery Healthcare
Powell, Judith .......................................Avery Healthcare
Pratap, Roger ................................................Majesticare
Prentice, Verity ..............................Hallmark Care Homes
Preston, Jackie ..........................................Caring Homes
Quantrill, Marie................................................Norsecare
Quill, Sue ........................................Hallmark Care Homes
Radoicovici, Magda.........................Hallmark Care Homes
Raja, Asif .................................National Care Association
Rankin, Katie.........................................................Anchor
Ranson, Mike ..............................................Caring Homes
Rashid, Sam......................................................Fowler UK
Ravula, Raj ..............................................The Jawa Group
Rayner, Sarah ...........................Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd
Rea, Jayne.......................................................B & M Care
Rees, Alex......................................................Colten Care
Rees, Lindsay.................................................Colten Care
Reid, Eileen ...................................Specsavers Healthcall
Ren, Natasha........................................................3L Care
Rhodes, Simon .................................................YU Energy
Richards, Stephen..................................Shaw Healthcare
Richardson, James...................................................Bupa
Robb, Fiona..................................................Caring Times
Robinson, David ....................Leonard Cheshire Disability
Robinson, Paul ......................................Ontex Healthcatr
Rogers, Barry ..................................................B & M Care
Rogers, Rachel ................................................B & M Care
Rolls, Grace .....................................................B & M Care
Rolph, Laura...................................................Colten Care
Rolt, Cheryl .....................................Sunrise Senior Living
Roman, Anca.....................................................Excelcare
Rosenbach, Alan.............Quality Compliance Systems Ltd
Rouke, Martin............................................................CMG
Rullamas, Rose...............................................Forest Care
Russell, Neil..........................................................PJ Care
Sadowski, Jane..................................Sonnet Care Homes
Salawi, Omotolani ....................Four Seasons Health Care
Salt, Kayleigh........................................................Anchor
Salt, Tracey ...........................................................Anchor
Salt, Nigel .............................................................Anchor
Santos Melo, Isabel ...........................................Menataur
Schofield, Nigel ..........................................Caring Homes
Schofield, Daniel .................Purchasing Support Services
Schofield, Carol...................Purchasing Support Services
Scott, Sheila...................Quality Compliance Systems Ltd
Seal, Tim.......................................Barchester Healthcare
Sevenoaks, Gerry .......................................Downing Care
Shah, Vishal....................................Hallmark Care Homes
Sharp, Amanada ........................................................CMG
Shell, Theresa...............................Barchester Healthcare
Sheperd, Viv...................Quality Compliance Systems Ltd
Sherriff, Mark .............................................Caring Homes
Sherwood, Nikki ..........................Pearl Healthcare Group
Sherwood, Sally .......................................Riversway Care
Sherwood, Gary...........................Pearl Healthcare Group
Shittu, Hadjai ...........................Four Seasons Health Care
Sibanda, Norah ..................Eastview Healthcare Services
Sibanda, Albert..................Eastview Healthcare Services
Simpkins, Chris...........................The Royal British Legion
Simpson, Alison .....................................Lifetime Training
Singh, Sujjata .................................Hallmark Care Homes
Sinnott, Ian ............................................The Old Vicarage
Sinnott, Annie ........................................The Old Vicarage
Skelcey, Tracy.............................The Royal British Legion
Smart, Louise .............................The Royal British Legion
Smith, Chris ........................Purchasing Support Services
Smith, Carol ...............................The Royal British Legion
Smith, Richard .................................................Norsecare
Smith, Anne .................................Brilliant Care Solutions
Smith, Mr .....................................Brilliant Care Solutions
Smith, Frank..........................................................Regard
Smy, Iris................................................................Anchor
Sokolnik, Maria ..............................................Colten Care
Soper, Lisa ............................................Avery Healthcare
Southall, Jessica ..........................Porthaven Care Homes
Spencer, Megan-Riley.......................Compass Associates
Sromousley, Lubo...........................................Forest Care
St Pierre, Louise ..........................................Caring Times
Staines, Gayl ......................................Alzheimers Society
Steen, Andrew.............................Redwoods Dowling Kerr
Stephanescu, Tanta .........................Sunrise Senior Living
Stephenson, Shirley.......................................Majesticare
Stevens, Bob ..............................The Royal British Legion
Stevens, Gail.........................................................PJ Care
Stewart, Lesley........................National Care Association
Stobbs, Marie ...........................Four Seasons Health Care
Stollery, Michael...........................Barchester Healthcare
Stone, Lesley ........................................................Anchor
Storey, Rob..............................................The Jawa Group
Stutt, Jayne...................................................Amore Care
Stutter, Emma ..................................Compass Associates
Swarbrick, Lindsey ................Leonard Cheshire Disability
Swithenbank, Paul .............Olivia Josephine Care Limited
Tarrant, Juliette ...................................................3L Care
Tasker, Mary...........................................Shaw Healthcare
Tasker, David..........................................Shaw Healthcare
Tayag, Louie .............................................Sanctuary Care
Taylor, Holly .........................................................3L Care
Taylor, Jane...................................................Milford Care
Tembo, George ................................................B & M Care
Thomas, Alun .........................................Shaw Healthcare
Thompson, Louise .................................Avery Healthcare
Thompson, Laura ..............................................Fowler UK
Thorn, Mark ................................................Marches Care
Thorn, Mandy ..............................................Marches Care
Thorne, Toni ....................................Sunrise Senior Living
Thorpe, Elaine .................................................B & M Care
Toop, Danny..................................Porthaven Care Homes
Torres, Teresa .......................................Avery Healthcare
Tothne, Aniko...................................................B & M Care
Trow, Kevin .......................................................Castleoak
Tuck, Jane ..................................The Royal British Legion
Tucker, Terry...................................Hallmark Care Homes
Vadana, Raxvan............................Porthaven Care Homes
Valentine, David.......................National Care Association
Valerio-Tayag, Raisa .................................Sanctuary Care
Van Zyl, Johann ....................................................PJ Care
Vasey, Jo..................................Four Seasons Health Care
Vickery, David ........................................The Old Vicarage
Vickery, Kelly .........................................The Old Vicarage
Vickery, Mark .................................................Forest Care
Vickery, Jacqui...............................................Forest Care
Walding, Jeremy.........................................Inox Equip Ltd
Walker, Steve........................................................e-foods
Walsh, Bernadette ................................Mears Care Group
Walsh, Kieron..................................Hallmark Care Homes
Walvin, Gina...................................................Milford Care
Ward, Martyn..................................Hallmark Care Homes
Ward, Kingston.......................................The Old Vicarage
Warren, Teresa.................................................B & M Care
Watkins, Nigel...................................................Castleoak
Watkinson, Ed.................Quality Compliance Systems Ltd
Watson, Karen ....................................Rushcliffe Care Ltd
Watson, JP ...............................Four Seasons Health Care
Webster, Tina .............................Stowlangtoft Healthcare
Weeks, Sue ............................Leonard Cheshire Disability
Weidl, Max .....................................................Chistie + Co
Wellsby, Mark ........................................................Regard
Westall, Paul......................................Sonnet Care Homes
Wheat, Paula..................................................Majesticare
Wheat, Phil.....................................................Majesticare
Whitehead, Jakki......................................Riversway Care
Whittingham, Mat ...........Quality Compliance Systems Ltd
Wilkins, Bernie ...............................................Colten Care
Wilkins, Jan..............................................Riversway Care
Williams, Roda ................................Hallmark Care Homes
Williams, Kay..........................................Shaw Healthcare
Williams, Beverly........................The Royal British Legion
Wilmington, Julie................................Rushcliffe Care Ltd
Wilson, Jo-anne..........................The Royal British Legion
Winstanley, Andrew ..............................................Apetito
Woodhead, Hilary.............................Support in Dementia
Woods, Peter...............................Redwoods Dowling Kerr
Wooller, Maria..................................................B & M Care
Wright, Kevin........................................................Ridouts
Wright, Claire ...................................................YU Energy
Wynne, Bernard .............................................Chistie + Co
Yapp, Amy .................................................Somerset Care
York, Richard....................................Compass Associates
Young, Craig..........................................................Anchor
30
January 2016
www.careinfo.org

FIND THE LATEST DETAILS AT CAREINFO.ORG/EVENTS
or email events@hawkerpublications.com
EIGHTH
Murrayfield Stadium
Edinburgh
20 April 2016
Organised by
In association with:
Keynote speakers:
• Preventing Dementia: A stepped approach
towards 2020, Professor Craig Ritchie, Professor
of the Psychiatry of Ageing, Centre for Clinical
Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh
• How Scotland can lead the way in dementia care:
transforming the lives of people with dementia
and those who care for them in Scotland, Henry
Simmons, Chief Executive, Alzheimer Scotland
• The Scottish Dementia Working Group – people
living with dementia and family carers
Sessions include:
• Finding your way: symposium on design, signage
and the environment for dementia care
• Person-centred care in the acute hospital setting
– new research and guidance
• Transforming the traditional care home:
achieving personalisation and modernisation
• Risk and resilience in dementia: new research and
guidance
• Dementia Palliare: positive practice development
in advanced dementia and at the end of life
• Music and the arts in dementia care, including
Playlist for Life
• Knowledge and skills of the dementia care
workforce
• Tensions and dilemmas in carer assessment
• Improving dementia care: update on the
developing role of the Care Inspectorate in
Scotland, including the SOFI system of inspection
and the King’s Fund environment audit tool
• Personalised activities in care homes: arts,
music, poetry, individual interests
• Responding to stress and distress in dementia
• Personal outcome planning for people living with
dementia and their families
FOR EXHIBITION AND SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
CONTACT CAROLINE@HAWKERPUBLICATIONS.COM

product news
The elegant curves of the Matrix Angle Basin
The Matrix Angle is an elegant,
curved corner basin, designed by
Pressalit Care to offer ease of
movement in a bathroom where
accessibility for less-abled users is a
pre-requisite.
Its sweeping curved front edge
and configuration that allows for
fitting in a right or left facing
corner, means that the full size
basin can be accommodated in a
smaller bathroom without losing
valuable manoeuvring space for wheelchairs.
Even when a WC is situated on an adjoining wall, the curved front and shallow bowl of
the Matrix Angle provides maximum space for access.
The Matrix Angle’s shallow bowl provides wheelchair room beneath, while the extralong
integrated grip handles make it possible for users to move around securely and rise
to a standing position from a chair with maximum safety and support.
Clear space at the front and sides of the basin surface provides an ideal area for
additional leaning support, with the tap in easy reach. Even more flexibility can be gained
with the installation with a rise/fall height adjustable Pressalit Care bracket.
Produced from the highest quality crushed marble, and with the design flair and
expertise of Pressalit Care who have been providing specialist, top end sanitary ware for
over forty years, every aspect of the Matrix Angle has been considered and tested from
material, surface, design and function.
The Pressalit Care Angle Matrix basin is available with a range of accessories, including
taps, modular shelves and baskets, and can be used alongside Pressalit Care’s extensive
range of grab rails and support arms.
■ For more information and stockists for Pressalit Care’s range of Matrix
washbasins, visit www.pressalit.com or email uk@pressalit.com
The Wrapmaster Compact – perfect for smaller kitchens
In any kitchen no piece of light catering equipment is perhaps more widely used than cling
film and aluminium foil, which is why catering professionals should be using a professional
kit when it comes to dispensing – you wouldn’t fillet a fish with a bread knife and the same
goes for cling film with cardboard cutter boxes.
Cardboard cutter boxes are not only wasteful – with more cling film ending up in the bin
than protecting food – but they can really impact on efficiency, which can be disastrous
during a busy service.
A professional kitchen calls for professional catering equipment, the award winning
Wrapmaster offers improved kitchen efficiency, less packaging waste and a 35% reduction
in product waste for big cost savings. Quick and easy to use, it can help increase
productivity in the kitchen and – being shatter resistant and dishwasher proof – is also the
safe and hygienic choice for caterers.
What should caterers consider before buying new equipment?
There are three key considerations when it comes to light catering equipment – efficiency,
minimising wastage and above all cost savings. By using the Wrapmaster, caterers can avoid
tangled and ripped cling film which means not only a more efficient operation but also a 35%
reduction in product waste, helping to save money. Space can often be limited in kitchens,
the Wrapmaster Compact is perfect for those smaller kitchens with limited space, taking up
the same area as a traditional 30cm cutter box – it’s the portable and easy to use unit, with
all the great qualities that have made Wrapmaster the trusted choice.
Since 1975, Wrap Film Systems has been supplying the catering and hospitality sectors
both here in the UK and internationally. Based in Telford – with a world class
manufacturing and warehouse facility –
Wrap Film Systems is the award winning,
market leader in cling film and aluminium
foil that is trusted by catering professionals
and chefs.
■ For more information please visit
www.wrap-smart.co.uk
The fast, forceful, four-burner Falcon F900
Falcon’s latest product offering is the gas-powered
F900 four burner Range. Part of the new F900
series, and available with a choice of burner sizes, it
combines rugged performance with good looks,
making it ideal for busy catering kitchens, whether
back or front of house.
The standard unit’s hob has four 9.5kW twin
flame burners, ensuring fast heat up times. Falcon
also offers 4.2kW burners as an alternative. The
Range can be configured with a mix of the two
burners, to suit customer requirements. All burners
feature individually protected pilots to minimise energy wastage.
Falcon’s heavy duty construction means that the Range is both practical and tough.
Examples include the one-piece pressed hob with sealed burner wells, which mean the unit
is easy to keep clean and that spills are contained. The individual cast iron pan supports
easily cope with the knocks of a busy kitchen environment.
The Range’s oven is 2/1 gastronorm and has five shelf positions, with two shelves
supplied as standard. A metal to metal door seal delivers the best possible closure,
minimising energy wastage by keeping the heat where it’s needed, inside the oven
chamber. The piezo ignition is reliable and efficient while the oven’s 7.5kW burner ensures
it quickly reaches temperature, to a maximum of 280°C.
The Dynamic Link System (DLS), developed by Falcon for the F900 series, means the
Range can be tightly joined to other F900 units quickly and easily, giving all the flexibility
and cost-effectiveness of a modular line with the looks and hygiene benefits of a one-piece
top.
The Range measures 900mm deep by 900mm high and 800mm wide. It can be
converted quickly and easily on-site for use with natural, propane or butane gas. All Falcon
products are available through dealers nationwide. List price for the F900 four burner
range starts at £3750.
■ www.falconfoodservice.com
Intelligent bedside pressure monitoring from Sidhil
Introducing a ground breaking development in the fight against pressure ulcers,
healthcare specialists Sidhil have launched the Monitor, Alert, Protect (M.A.P) system,
the UK's first continuous bedside pressure monitoring system. M.A.P can be used in
conjunction with almost any mattress system to provide 24/7 data on pressure levels
developing between the patient and the support surface.
Reducing the prevalence of pressure ulcers plays a vital role in improving patient
outcomes and reducing the costs associated with treatment - estimated at between
£1.4 and £2.1 billion per year for the NHS. Whilst developing dynamic therapy mattress
systems have already made an important contribution here, nursing staff do not
currently have a tool capable of distinguishing accurately between high and low
pressures, or assessing the effectiveness of their interventions.
M.A.P changes all that. This intelligent pressure distribution monitoring system
uses a pressure sensing mat to identify high and low pressure areas between the
patient and the support surface. The outer layer of this mat consists of a medical
grade biocompatible material which houses thousands of sensing points capable of
accurately imaging the body of the patient lying on the support surface.
This information is sent to a monitor attached to the mat, where it is displayed as a
real time, colour coded high resolution image, with areas of high pressure clearly
delineated in red and orange, and lower pressure areas showing as green and blue.
This real time visual ‘pressure map' gives care staff accurate detail on each
individual patient, enabling them to alter the patient's position accordingly to reduce
pressure and therefore reduce the potential for pressure ulcers. Micro movements can
reduce pressures dramatically, which is particularly effective for patients where full
body repositioning or even turning may be restricted.
The M.A.P system is available both for sale and for rental from Sidhil. The purchase
price is believed to be less than the cost of treating one Grade 1 pressure ulcer.
■ For a demonstration of Sidhil's M.A.P system, please contact:
T: 01422 233 000, www.sidhil.com
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January 2016 33

uilding with care
Castleoak begins ground works at Care UK’s Horsham project
Care UK and specialist construction partner
Castleoak have celebrated the start of work on
a £6m care home in Horsham, West Sussex.
With 82 en-suite bedrooms the facility will
provide residential care, specialist dementia
care, nursing, and short term respite care and
is scheduled to welcome its first residents in
October 2016. Featuring a cinema, hairdressing
salon and café, the home will also have wheelchair
friendly landscaped gardens.
Hadrian Healthcare Group opened its latest
care home in November. The Manor House in
Knaresborough is the company’s tenth purpose-built
care development in Yorkshire and
the North East since 2008.
The £7.3m home at Hambleton Grove is close
to the town centre and will provide both residential
and dementia care.
The Manor House has 75 spacious furnished
rooms each with private facilities, landscaped
gardens, residents’ bar and restaurants, hair
and beauty salon, spa and wellness suite, library
and shop. Hadrian says a team of inhouse
cooks will prepare all the catering using
locally sourced fresh produce, and a lifestyle
The layout of the building will also facilitate
the creation of close knit communities and will
be configured into a series of individual suites
with a dedicated lounge and dining room. Each
bedroom will have an en-suite wet room, together
with a flat-screen television, adjustable
profile bed, and a 24-hour nurse call system.
Castleoak chief executive officer Craig Currie
said the project marked the 1000th care bed
Castleoak had delivered for Care UK.
Hadrian’s Knaresborough home opens
co-ordinator will organise relevant social activities
for each resident. All accommodation is
arranged in small living groups creating a
homely environment.
Hadrian’s managing director Jas Gill said his
company’s aim was always to provide high quality
person-centred care in a luxurious, carefully
designed setting.
“The Manor House is right in the heart of the
community and we look forward to becoming an
active part of the community too,” said Mr Gill.
“Over the course of our 17 developments for
Care UK we’ve established a collaborative approach
to delivering projects that we know
works well,” said Mr Currie.
“This scheme will be testament to our excellent
working relationship and will bring so
much to the local area.”
Justin Daley and Craig Currie on site
of the £6m care home now being
built in Horsham, West Sussex
Go ahead for nursing home at Grove Place retirement community
Computer image of Hadrian Healthcare’s
£7.3m Manor House in Knaresborough
Hartford Court tops-out
Hartford Care celebrated its new £6m care
home in Portsmouth being one step closer
to completion with a traditional ‘Topping
Out’ ceremony in late September..
Construction of the 60-bed Hartford
Court, which will offer residential and dementia
care, began in March of this year and
is scheduled to open in the Spring of 2016.
Hartford Care is part of a family-owned
business established more than a century
ago in 1908 and features a collection of
twelve individual care homes located
throughout the South and South West.
Planning permission has been given to build a
54-bed nursing home in the 27-acre grounds of
Grove Place retirement community in Romsey,
Stepnell starts work at Trowbridge
Construction work has begun on The Orders of
St John Care Trust’s (OSJCT) care centre in
Trowbridge, Somerset.
The £6.1m 64-bed care centre, set for completion
during Winter 2016, will include two
floors providing residential and specialist dementia
care and will comprise four 16-bed
households, each one complete with its own
kitchen and communal living space.
Linking the two households on the ground
floor will be a central destination area, called
the Street, featuring a cinema, corner shop,
hair-salon and a garden room/café.
Secure landscaped gardens will be accessible
from each of the ground floor households,
along with a communal landscaped garden
Hampshire. The new LifeCare Residences facility
will have a 20-bedroom dedicated dementia wing
and gardens, and is due for completion in 2017.
accessible from the garden room/café.
The home is being built by Stepnell in partnership
with The Orders of St John Care Trust,
which will provide the care in the new home.
Computer rendition of OSJCT’s £6.1m care home
now under construction in Trowbridge
34
January 2016
www.careinfo.org – Caring Times official website

uilding with care
Highlands Business Awards recognise Parklands growth
An independent care home company has been
recognised as one of the best performing businesses
in the Scottish Highlands.
Parklands Group, which operates seven care
homes across Moray and Highland, was named
Outstanding Performing Business (25+ employees)
at the Highland Business Awards.
The company has announced plans to build
two new 40-bed care homes, one at Grantown
on Spey, for which it has already received plan-
New building rules create new role of Principal Designer
On 6 April 2015 the Construction
(Design and Management) Regulations
2015 came into force replacing the
existing 2007 regulations. The purpose of the
new regulations is to ensure that health and
safety issues are adequately addressed and
integrated during the design, build and
operation of domestic and commercial
construction projects.
The new regulations are intended to improve
on what were perceived to be unnecessary bureaucratic
measures under the 2007 regulations.
In particular, one of the key changes was
to remove the role of the Construction Design
& Management (CDM) co-ordinator and replace
it with the new role of a Principal Designer. This
was because of concerns that the CDM co-ordinator
was not being truly integrated into the
design process or being involved early enough
in order to be able to influence design.
Employer clients on construction projects
must now, where there is more than one contractor,
appoint a Principal Designer to plan,
Dunstable town mayor Liz Jones; Only Care
regional operations manager Chris Ashton, Only
Care director Amit Dhamecha and LNT Group
development director Nick Broadbent mark the
topping-out of Rosewood Court near Dunstable.
ning permission, and another in Fortrose, for
which planning permission has just been submitted.
It is hoped both homes will open by the
end of next year, at a cost of £3.5m each.
The new facilities will be modelled on Parklands’
modern care homes in Tain and Muir of
Ord, opened last year. As well as residential
care, the new homes will provide respite and
convalescence care.
Rooms will be significantly larger than the
manage and monitor the pre-construction
phase of any project and co-ordinate matters
relating to health and safety to ensure that, so
far as reasonably practicable, the project is carried
out without risks to health and safety,
seeking to eliminate or control foreseeable
health and safety risks to those carrying out
construction work. The client must ensure that
the Principal Designer appointed has the relevant
skills, knowledge and experience to undertake
the role. If the client fails to appoint a
Principal Designer then the client itself will be
required to fulfil that role.
The new regulations included a transitional
period allowing those operating under the
2007 Regulations to continue to do so until 6
October 2015. As of 6 October the client must
now have appointed a Principal Designer or undertake
the role itself. This requirement has
caused some disquiet in the industry. An existing
CDM co-ordinator cannot simply change
‘hats’ and become a Principal Designer. The
Principal Designer needs to be a designer with
LNT tops-out Rosewood in Dunstable
Rosewood Court, a new care home being built
by LNT Construction in Dunstable, recently
celebrated a landmark stage in the build with
a topping out ceremony.
When complete in early March, Rosewood
Court will be operated by Only Care Ltd to provide
a home for 66 older people.
The home will provide residential, nursing
and dementia care with 100% en-suite accommodation,
landscaped sensory gardens and its
own cinema room and café.
Established in 2007, Only Care is a
family-owned business established in 2007
with four homes in Derbyshire, Cambridgeshire
and Yorkshire.
minimum standard set down by the National
Care Standards.
Parklands managing director Ron Taylor said
the recognition by the Highland Business
Awards was fundamentally about the staff.
“We employ almost 500 people across the
Highlands and Moray, many of whom have been
with us for over a decade,” said Mr Taylor. “I am
grateful to all of them for their hard work and
commitment to our residents.”
By
TOM
COLLINS
Associate,
Weightmans
Tel: 0151 242 6939
tom.collins@weightmans.com
the necessary skills, knowledge and experience.
The most likely candidate will be those who
have responsibility for design such as the architect
or perhaps the design and build contractor.
However, on design and build projects
where the architect is often novated over to the
contractor the client no longer has a direct link
to the architect.
It is the client itself which should make the
appointment. That means that the client has to
enter into a new retainer with the architect to
act as the Principal Designer.
There has been a resistance in the industry
to take on the role, whether for reasons of lack
of resource, experience or indeed the will to
carry out the role. Alternatively, design consultants
may be appointed by the client but subcontract
out the requirements to specialists or
responsibility may be placed on the contractor
to act as Principal Designer if it is commercially
possible to amend the contract.
There is as yet no commonly accepted practice
to appoint the Principal Designer in such
circumstances but, with the 6 October 2015
deadline having passed, clients who have not
appointed a Principal Designer will have to take
steps to do so or fulfil the role themselves if
they are content to continue to do so. CT
36
January 2016
www.careinfo.org – Caring Times official website

usiness & property
Embattled Four Seasons closes
seven homes in Northern Ireland
Four Seasons Health Care has announced the
closure of seven of its 69 homes in Northern
Ireland, where it is the leading care provider.
Two are in Belfast, with the others in Antrim,
Garvagh, Craigavon, Ballynahinch and
Armagh, together employing 393 staff caring
for 254 residents. The closures are expected
to be completed by February and follow in the
wake of an earlier Four Seasons closure in
Northern Ireland in October, after which the
company appointed advisers to undertake an
emergency financial review.
A spokesman for the company, which is
owned by private equity firm Terra Firma, said:
“The principal reason behind this decision is
that each of these homes is operating at a loss
and they are no longer viable. The fee income
that the homes receive is below the cost of the
care they are providing… The decision to close
any home is not taken lightly.”
Orchard Care Homes acquires Leyton Homes group
Orchard Care Homes, a provider of residential elderly care homes
across the UK, has completed its acquisition of 21 homes from the
Leyton Healthcare portfolio.
Paul Mancey, Chief Executive of Orchard Care Homes commented:
“We are pleased to announce the news of the purchase of Leyton
Homes, which are mainly located in the Midlands and the north of
England. Orchard has a strong track record in taking on home portfolios
and we’re looking forward to working with the Leyton home teams. The
most important thing is to ensure the continuity of care. There are no
changes envisaged to the management and staff at the homes”
The purchase is part of an ongoing expansion of the Harrogate-based
care group.
Avery under fire over
pay for female staff
The care workers union GMB has begun legal
action against Avery Healthcare Group over
claims that its female staff are not paid
equally to men.
GMB has instructed law firm Leigh Day to
seek equal pay for 62 female members of staff
in caring roles across Avery’s 15 homes, to put
them on a par with the mostly male
maintenance and caretaking staff.
Chris Benson, a partner at Leigh Day,
commented: “While it is recognised in some
sectors that women are undervalued and
underpaid I did not expect to see this happen
in care homes.”
A letter from Leigh Day to Avery warned:
“Our clients intend to pursue claims in
respect of breaches of their contracts of
employment.”
GMB, the union for care home staff,
responded: “GMB is seeking an urgent meeting
with the [Northern Ireland] health minister
Simon Hamilton along with senior management
in the wake of the company announcement.”
After the announcement, Mr Hamilton said a
consultation process over the potential
closure of 10 state-run care homes in Northern
Ireland would be put on hold.
Four Seasons faces £50m of interest to
service a £500m debt. In an interview with the
Guardian, Four Seasons chairman Ian Smith
criticised George Osborne’s 2% council tax
precept and the Better Care Fund, and said
care homes need an increase of 6-10% in
council funding “just to stand still”.
At the time of going to press, Hutchinson Care
Homes had expressed interested in buying
Antrim Care Home and Spa Nursing Home
Group was interested in Oakridge, Ballynahinch.
County Court Care acquires
three Lincolnshire homes
Alykhan Kachra, Managing Director at Country Court
Care, with Nick Chambers, CEO of LACE Housing
The future of three Lincolnshire care homes
employing 160 staff has been secured after
they were transferred from current owners
LACE Housing to specialist care provider
Country Court Care.
Eccleshare Court near Hartsholme Country
Park in Lincoln, Ruckland Court in north Lincoln
and Neale Court in North Hykeham are now
owned and managed by Country Court Care.
Kingsley Healthcare expands in Cheshire
Care home operator Kingsley Healthcare has acquired two premium
properties in Cheshire. The multi-million-pound purchase of Redwalls
nursing home in Sandiway, Northwich and Sharston House nursing
home in Knutsford adds 92 beds to the company’s portfolio.
Kingsley’s CEO Daya Thayan said: “Kingsley is looking to acquire
further quality homes in prime locations as well as moving forward with
a new build programme to complement our property portfolio.”
The sale was assisted by Coutts bank and Wetherby-based property
agent Lamont Johnson. Mr Thayan said his company’s new-build
programme was also progressing with a specialist dementia care home
in Partington, Greater Manchester under construction.
Ideal Carehomes: exceeding Living Wage is a ‘no-brainer’
Ideal Carehomes, part of the LNT Group, has begun paying all its staff above the Living Wage,
despite inflation being near 0% for the past year. The lowest paid staff member in the organisation
will now be paid £7.50p/h – a 15% increase on Ideal’s former lowest wage. The National
Minimum Wage reached £6.70p/h in October 2015.
Newly appointed chief executive Matt Lowe said Ideal had a strong family feel and has long
offered excellent additional benefits to staff such as iPhones, shopping discounts and childcare
vouchers. “The introduction of the Living Wage has given providers like us the opportunity to
demonstrate our dedication to a quality care offer and recognition of how hard our staff work
to create such great places to live,” said Mr Lowe. “Offering an above-Living Wage, never mind
Minimum Wage, rise is a no-brainer for us and puts us ahead of the curve in the sector.”
Sarah Colling, Ideal head of HR, said that while the Chancellor’s announcement to introduce
the Living Wage from next year had been met with caution by many in the sector, Ideal believed
the raise would help them improve their offer to residents.
“The decision to make the introduction at this early stage, reflects Ideal’s understanding
that quality care requires motivated and committed staff,” said Ms Colling.
“Ideal wants to recruit and retain the best staff. We believe that this raise in hourly pay will
show our staff how committed we are to their roles. It’s not all about wage, however, and we
believe that providing our staff with full training, regardless of their role, is vital to creating
the right caring environment. Their achievements as carers are central to our achievement as
a provider.”
38
January 2016
www.careinfo.org – Caring Times official website

Investigations by the Observer have revealed
an escalating financial crisis in the care home
sector. Chai Patel, the chairman of HC-One,
one of Britain’s largest care home operators,
recently stated that half of Britain’s care homes
could soon go bust.
There are concerns that the new National
Living Wage and moves to pay transport costs to
carers will increase the costs of care. Local
authorities have also suffered funding cuts of
more than 40% since 2010 and are struggling to
offer attractive contracts; therefore many
providers are turning to the private sector.
In light of this, solicitors have received
numerous queries from care home owners asking
how to deal effectively with mounting debts.
If you are a care home owner faced with this
problem, you will need to:
■ Work out how much is owed
■ Work out if you have enough money to pay off
your debts
■ Contact your creditors and make proposals to
pay them back
■ Work out your options if you don’t have
sufficient funds to repay the debts.
Once you have worked out how much money is
owed, it is important to understand that different
types of debt can result in different types of
enforcement action being taken:
■ Mortgage or rent arrears. Failure to pay these
could result in you losing your place of business.
■ Electricity and gas arrears. Failure to pay could
result in your care home being disconnected.
■ County Court Judgements (CCJs). Failure to
pay a CCJ could result in the creditor
instructing bailiffs to seize your property,
obtaining a third party debt order (this allows a
creditor to take the money you owe them
directly from whoever has the money, for
example a bank or building society) or securing
a charging order over any land or assets that
you own. If a charging order is obtained, in
order to realise the judgement debt the creditor
would have to go on to obtain an order for sale.
■ Income tax or VAT arrears. You can be sent to
prison for non-payment of income tax or VAT.
It is also important to be wary of creditors
threatening to invoke insolvency proceedings. If
you operate as a company and a debt is worth
more than £750, then insolvency proceedings or
the threat of them, via the service of a statutory
demand, may be served on you. If you operate
business & property
How care home owners can manage debt
DAVID EDWARDS, head of the healthcare sector team at
Harrison Drury solicitors, looks at how to contain a potential crisis
your business as a sole trader or partnership, the
insolvency threshold is £5000. However the
courts tend to discourage the use of insolvency
procedures as a debt collection exercise and, if
the debt is genuinely disputed, then the courts
may not only dismiss petitions, but also penalise
those bringing them.
It is also important to note that even if you
don’t have sufficient funds to pay off your debts,
it may still be possible to negotiate a deal with
your creditors. For example it may be more cost
effective for a creditor to accept a reduction in
the amounts owed to them than take action to
enforce the debt. Also if there is a lack of money
in your business generally, the likelihood of
creditors receiving all money owed in the event of
them taking enforcement action is likely to be
slim. Therefore a negotiated deal may be the
most cost effective solution. CT
■ If your care home is struggling with mounting debts, you can
get advice from David, who specialises in the care home
sector. He can be contacted directly on
david.edwards@harrison-drury.com or 01772 208 507.
DEMENTIA
National
CARE AWARDS
FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR EITHER OF THESE GREAT EVENTS PLEASE
CONTACT CAROLINE@HAWKERPUBLICATIONS.COM TO REGISTER INTEREST
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39

usiness & property
Lifeways leader has a lifetime passion for care
Suhail Mirza’s healthcare leadership profile: PAUL MARRINER, LIFEWAYS GROUP
Paul Marriner is CEO of Lifeways Group,
which is one of the UK’s leading providers
of support services for people with
learning disabilities and other diverse and
complex needs in community settings. The
business, established in 1995, currently supports
more than 6000 tenants and individuals,
employs more than 10,000 staff and has a
turnover in excess of £230 million.
“It’s been a busy year for the business and I
guess the acquisition of the learning disabilities
business of Care UK (which turned over more
than £50 million) was a significant milestone,”
Paul explains.
Lifeways clearly seems to have taken that on
board with its service offerings and its history of
high profitability – partly thanks to the lessons
put forward by one of the most influential
business books of the past decade, Blue Ocean
Strategy (W Chan Kim & Renee Mauborgne,
Harvard Business Review Press 2005). Its
authors argue most companies compete in a ‘red
ocean’, ie in an overcrowded market where
margins are continually driven down. Kim and
Mauborgne suggest that to succeed the key is to
differentiate one’s offering by establishing a
presence in an uncontested market (the ‘blue
ocean’) where margins are greater.
“Supported living is the core and largest part
of our business and within that we have been
different as the first provider to successfully
develop and deliver a new model of purposebuilt
supported living services for people with
diverse and complex needs,” says Paul. “We have
also branched into more specialist segments of
the market, including acquired brain injury as
well as a wide range of mental health services.”
Sporting background
Today Paul is widely recognised across the social
care sector for his contribution, not least
advocating innovation. And yet his initial career
aspirations were not related to social care at all.
“I grew up in Yorkshire in a working class
family passionate about sports. I played rugby
league semi-professionally, football, badminton,
and my real passion was table tennis. During my
A levels I wanted to be a policeman. I applied but
was told I had to wait 18 months for
commencement of training and then the miner’s
strike was looking likely.
“I was very close to my late grandfather, John
who, particularly later in his life, was severely
physically disabled. In the late 1970s I used to
attend a day centre with him in Pontefract, which
during the day was a centre for people with
learning disabilities. My aunt said I would make a
good nurse given my empathy and ability to
interact with people, so I thought ‘why not?’.”
He duly qualified as a nurse and then in
mental health (“back then we were called mental
handicap nurses!”). Having spent over nine years
in the NHS, including the last four as a
community nurse in Leeds, he joined the
independent sector in 1993 with what was then
Northern Life Care. This move had a lasting
impact on his professional career.
“I was blessed to have a superb mentor there
in Dorothy Jarvis Lee, who was an innovative
thinker in the world of social care. Back then,
more than 20 years ago, we were providing
supported living almost exclusively. Indeed, one
of my first roles was to work towards closing
down a 17-bed residential care facility. The
business was ahead of its time. My time there
added to my inspiration to make a difference and
think differently.”
Paul flourished and was promoted to Regional
Manager and then became Head of
Development. He found time, in 1994, to
complete a degree in health and social care in
the process too.
Roles at Lifeways
He eventually joined Lifeways in 2000 (having
ignored the entreaties to meet the founder for
more than six months) and moved to Devon
(with his wife Tracie and then baby daughter
Caitlin). At the time Lifeways had just 100 service
users and 150 staff. By 2007 Paul had been
promoted first to Development Director and then
combined Development & Operations Director.
During this time the business had experienced
explosive growth and now served 900 services
users and employed 1500 staff.
“I worked hard and had faith that supported
living models offered real opportunities to
service users to live and be connected with a
community and realise their self-worth. The
supported living model also offered value for
money for commissioners and I was confident
that, commercially, due to demographic trends,
there was a great opportunity to grow the
business”
At this juncture the founders of the business
wished to retire and Paul took up the
opportunity to realise his vision and lead an
management buyout with the backing of August
Equity. This proved a spectacularly successful
meeting of minds.
“August Equity shared my deep passion for
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usiness & property
quality. It was the item that led all board
meetings and we knew that this, together with
innovation, would distinguish our business.”
Over the next five years Lifeways, through
both organic growth and acquisitions, grew
exponentially. By the time OMERS PE (the
private equity arm of one of Canada’s largest
pension funds), backed a secondary
management buyout led by Paul, Lifeways
served 3000 service users and had more than
5000 staff.
Paul highlights that the deal was good for
both August Equity and OMERS PE, with August
doing exceptionally well after five years. He
further mentions OMERS PE’s passion for quality
and financial strength as key enables of growth
they have enjoyed since 2012.
Paul’s mastery of the numbers matches his
encyclopaedic understanding of care.
“I have an affinity with numbers, did an A level
in maths and also fancied being an accountant. I
did complete an MBA in 2004 but left being a
qualified accountant to my wife Tracie!”
Strategy for growth
The last three years have witnessed a
continuation of Lifeways’ impressive growth and
this includes several acquisitions, culminating in
the Care UK transaction of earlier this year.
John Kotter, a Harvard Business School
scholar, has emphasised that truly outstanding
leaders need to have a clear vision in which their
colleagues have belief and be able to inspire
them to continually make the changes needed to
realise it. Paul personifies those ideas.
“My leadership team shares my passion for
empowering all our service users to receive the
best person-centred care and support that
enables them to make choices about their lives
and to live as independently as possible. In fact,
the senior leadership team has been with me
since 2008 and having that continuity has been
key to our growth.”
And how does Lifeways seek to establish itself
as a leader in its markets?
“Quality of service is paramount. This has
always been so but, particularly in light of recent
scandals, the scrutiny of independent sector
providers has never been greater. In that regard
we have Quality Focus Groups that meet
regularly and we also ensure the individuals we
support are also involved in our quality team’s
independent audits of services. This ensures all
have optimal involvement in the delivery of care.”
He adds that equally important is the culture
and values of staff in any care organisation
“We have adopted a Recruitment Toolkit
which ensures there is a nexus or bond between
staff and service users in that its aim is to ensure
nobody is recruited without some input from
people who receive support.”
Paul is a champion of community-based care
provision and his days within the NHS have
provided him with an empathy to the challenges
facing commissioners.
“We have long advocated a move away from
silo-based thinking,” he says. “We welcome
adoption of a holistic, whole-systems model of
care and support where, through transparency
and collaboration, providers and commissioners
can join up health and social care delivery. This
promotes service user choice and also offers
best value; critically important at a time of
restraint on the public purse.”
Forging partnerships
Paul remains driven to improve the extent of
choice and control vulnerable adults have about
their models of care: “Too many adults are not
getting the care and support they deserve and live
in inappropriate settings. To redress this Lifeways
has partnered with investors and housing
associations to deliver a purpose-built flat scheme
model that works for both some of the most
complex individuals or individuals who require
small amounts of support each week; Lifeways
delivers the 24/7 care and support and the
scheme makes full use of assistive technology.”
Paul may be the CEO of a £230m turnover
business with aspirations to grow much further,
but he remains very much hands on and spends
time every week in services “rolling up my
sleeves and being close to where care and
support is delivered”. The spark that was lit in
Pontefract looking after his grandfather all those
years ago clearly burns brightly today. CT
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41

usiness & property
Chandler & Co supports Country Court Care
as it secures future of Lincoln care homes
PROMOTION: The future of three
Lincolnshire care homes has been secured
after they were transferred from LACE
Housing to ‘Residential Care Provider of
the Year’ Country Court Care.
Eccleshare Court, near
Hartsholme
Country Park
in Lincoln,
Ruckland
Court in North
Lincoln and Neale
Court in North Hykeham are now owned
and managed by Country Court Care.
Country Court Care is already a major
employer in Lincolnshire, employing over
700 staff and they are committed to a
continued program of investment in the
industry with plan for growth across the
country.
As an award winning care provider with
strong family values, Country Court Care
will be able to achieve greater efficiencies
without affecting the quality and standard
of care provided. All three of these Care
Homes will receive significant investment
to ensure that existing and future
residents experience the very best care
and accommodation.
Al-karim Kachra, Corporate Finance
Director, commented: “We are delighted
with the purchase of these three care
homes from LACE Housing. This is
Country Court Care’s
second
transaction with
Chandler and Co
and they have
provided exceptional
service and we are looking forward to
working with them again in the future.
“We were already aware of LACE and
these assets for some time and we knew
that they were good operators. Having
done previous deals with two other
housing associations, this was a natural fit
for us and with having similar values to
LACE, we are pleased with the outcome.”
Mark Hickman, Partner at Chandler & Co
commented, “It is always a pleasure to
work with Country Court Care and we have
built a strong relationship over the last
five years. We look forward to working
together on the next project.”
Carterwood win Property Consultants of the Year
PROMOTION:
Carterwood have
won the prestigious
title of Property
Consultant of the
Year at the
LaingBuisson
Awards. Ben Hartley
and Matthew
Drysdale received
the award from
presenter and
former politician
Michael Portillo.
The volume of nominations this year was phenomenal according to
LaingBuisson. Judges were, when choosing the winners, to look at a
number of key areas: the core values and aims of the organisations;
project outcomes; the longevity of their projects; the opportunities
given to both staff and clients; and the importance of the provider
within the context of the independent sector framework.
Commenting on this achievement, Amanda Nurse, director, said:
“We’re thrilled to win Property Consultants of the Year. This is a new
category this year and to be up against some long established
companies and to win is absolutely fabulous. However this is very much
a team effort, and on top of an excellent year where we have achieved
our largest agency deal to date and had a tremendous increase in our
consultancy reports, 2015 is shaping up to be our best ever!”
■ For information about Carterwood’s services and approach,
please telephone 08458 690777 or email info@carterwood.co.uk
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usiness & property
Accessing a diverse market
As local authority funding dries-up,
myCareSupermarket’s co-founder
STEPHEN SLOSS says providers need to
look at other ways of reducing their
dependence on state-funded clients
Running a well-managed
care home is expensive
and with the
announcement of the National
Living Wage it’s not about to get
any cheaper. However, relying
solely on the Government to
make up for any financial shortfall
isn’t a viable way forward. For the
good of the sector and our users
we need to diversify and make
social care more sustainable.
That’s why I think we need to see
greater use of self-service service
technology to attract more
business from self-funders.
Right now around £14bn of the
money spent on social care each
year comes from local government,
with £10bn provided from private
sources. In any
other line of
business, having
more than half of
your revenue
associated with a
single customer
is a cause for
concern. This is
particularly true
if that customer
is very publicly experiencing
financial difficulties. Why should
care be any different?
To put care homes on a better
financial footing we need to grow
substantially the share of income
that derives from private sources.
That means being visible not only to
local authorities who commission
services, but also to individuals and
their families. Increasingly this
means being highly visible online
where those in need of care and
their families are likely to research
the available options.
It also means offering
innovative services that attract a
wider potential market. For
example, there are interesting
scenarios to be considered
around housing market equity
release to fund alternative living
‘To put care homes on a
better financial footing
we need to grow
substantially the share
of income that derives
from private sources’
arrangements in housing that is
more suited to care.
This need for innovation is
another reason why we must
reduce our reliance on local
authority commissioning, which
inadvertently disincentivises care
home owners from trying new
things. Procurement asks for
added value and often claims to
put quality above price, but so
often it seems that price wins over
quality. It feels like box-ticking and
exacerbates difficulties in
recruiting nurses and care
workers. If it’s not attractive to
work in the kind of care settings
we are perpetuating, then how
much less attractive must it be to
live there too? I do not aspire to
end my days in
residential care in
its current guise.
In line with the
aims of the Care
Act a better way
forward is to
enable every
citizen and their
family to become
a private
commissioner of care, with much
more say over which care
services best fit their needs. How
might this work in practice? With
so much confusion in the market
we need better signposting so
that care users and their families
can get a better understanding of
what is available.
A prerequisite for this is a
central marketplace where any
individual can log-on to see what is
available in their area. However,
encouraging the take-up of direct
payments could also help to tip the
balance, enabling the care sector
to reduce its dependence on local
authority business in favour of
securing revenue from a more
diverse base of users. CT
■ www.mycaresupermarket.com,
01772 535 683
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43

usiness & property
How my homecare business survived an HMRC minimum
wage inspection and what you need to know
Dr Hannah MacKechnie, founder and director of Radfield Home Care Ltd, has
recently been through the process of a National Minimum Wage compliance
inspection by HMRC. Here she shares her valuable insights gained during this process
to benefit other UK homecare providers
My company, Radfield Home Care, was
recently ‘randomly selected’ for a
National Minimum Wage compliance
inspection by HMRC. As this is a hot topic in the
social care sector, with HMRC focusing its
attention on domiciliary care for many of its
compliance inspections, I thought it might be
beneficial to others to share my experience and
some of the useful pieces of information that we
gleaned from having successfully gone through
the process.
How does HMRC select which
domiciliary care providers to audit?
Firstly, the selection of our company to be
inspected was not as random as the initial letter
suggested, but as a response to HMRC targeting
providers operating in locations where the local
authority pays a lower than average rate for the
care that they commission.
While this is clearly a useful strategy for HMRC
to adopt to try to focus in on those more likely to
be in breach of the National Minimum Wage law,
it does feel somewhat heavy handed to
specifically target those who are trying to make
business ends meet in areas where they have
little influence over the rate that they are paid.
In England, local authorities pay on average
£13.77 per hour to domiciliary care providers,
whereas according to the UK Home Care
Association (UKHCA) the minimum sustainable
price of UK Care is currently around £16.16 per
hour and will increase to £16.70 in April 2016
when the Living Wage comes into effect.
Homecare providers are therefore having to
uphold the UK Government’s minimum price for
wages, but the Government is not having to
uphold the minimum price that care actually
costs to deliver.
This imbalance is a serious threat to a
sustainable home care system that is good for
employees and good for those receiving care.
Without greater action, the sector is at
significant risk of failure – that recent figures
gathered from a survey of 492 homecare
providers in the UK suggesting that 11% of
domiciliary care providers in the UK felt that
they would ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ have
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usiness & property
stopped trading within the next 12 months is
testament to this.
How does the process work?
The inspection itself was straightforward but very
thorough. It broadly followed this format:
■ Stage 1: Standard issue HMRC letter
■ Stage 2: Face-to-face HMRC inspection visit
■ Stage 3: Removal of records for HMRC auditing
■ Stage 4: Outcome of HMRC inspection
communicated.
The initial letter advised that records dating
back three years needed to be available for the
inspection team to review. The inspection visit
was undertaken at a mutually agreed date and
time and at our premises. The inspector was
accompanied by a trainee and, as our inspector
informed us, HMRC is actively recruiting and
growing its National Minimum Wage inspection
team at the moment, I imagine having a trainee
present during the meeting will be fairly standard
practice.
With regard to the auditing process, the
inspectors have the right to take away any
documentation that they feel is relevant to their
investigation and this usually includes, at the
minimum: carer timesheets, rotas, rates of pay
and payroll information. HMRC takes this
information away to undertake its own audit to
establish if there are any instances of noncompliance.
When the external audit is completed, HMRC
will communicate its findings back to the
company; in Radfield Home Care’s case this was in
the form of a letter stating that we were found to
be compliant with National Minimum Wage
legislation.
Points of interest
During the inspection meeting in September 2015
we were asked a lot of questions about our
employment processes, which ranged from how
we undertake staff interviews right through to the
more expected specific questions on how we
structure travel pay. Having become familiar with
the online guidance produced by HMRC for travel
time pay, pay for waiting time and breaks,the
inspectors’ approach to these areas on some
points seemed to be more specific than the basic
How to comply
■ Ensure that your basic pay rate is at least at the level
of the National Minimum Wage
■ Ensure that you are paying carers for any gaps between
care calls that are less than 30 minutes in duration
■ Ensure that you are paying carers for their time spent
travelling at least at the level of the National Minimum
Wage (special care needs to be taken here for
providers who use a rolled-up rate to pay carers, ie
paying them a higher rate for time spent with clients
but no additional travel time pay)
■ Remember that travel time is work time and workers
are entitled to holiday pay for this
■ Do not rely on enhanced rates of pay or night work to
boost average pay to meet the National Minimum Wage
■ Familiarise yourself with the National Minimum Wage
Manual (www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/nmwmanual/) to
ensure compliance across all areas.
guidance available online.
For example, it states on the HMRC website
“the average hourly pay has to be at least the
National Minimum Wage, worked out over the
period each pay packet covers”. This would imply
that you can take the total earnings over a pay
period and divide this by the number of hours
worked to check that the employee is being paid
the Minimum Wage. However, in reality the actual
approach taken by HMRC is more detailed in that
any enhancements to pay are discounted for the
purposes of calculating minimum wage
compliance.
So if you pay an enhanced rate for work
undertaken in the evening or at weekends, this
enhancement is not included when calculating the
average pay over the pay period – HMRC will use
the standard rate of pay for work undertaken to
be the rate upon which it makes all calculations.
This means that if a homecare provider
happened to pay below Minimum Wage for any
aspects of work, this rate would be that upon
which all pay is calculated and they would
immediately be in breach of the National
Minimum Wage legislation.
There is more in-depth information available on
enhanced payments – it forms part of a lengthy
National Minimum Wage Manual guidance
document, which is available online.
Our inspector also stated that work undertaken
at night is considered as a separate issue and is
therefore not included in calculations for Minimum
Wage compliance. Any night work done by carers
will therefore not be included in any audits.
Are workers’ breaks included?
Another area where I feel that the guidance
provided by HMRC is not clear enough is in regard
to breaks for workers. HMRC has examples on its
website about how to manage breaks in work and
when a break must be paid for, but it does not
explicitly state how long a break must be in order
for it to be considered an unpaid break. The
inspector stated to us that an unpaid break must
be at least 30 minutes in duration – any break
shorter than this is considered to be waiting time
and therefore must be paid for.
Knowing that Radfield Home Care is legally
compliant of course provides peace of mind but I
feel that it is important to share the information
and help others avoid the potentially far-reaching
consequences that non-compliance can have on
their business. CT
■ Hannah MacKechnie, 01939 291692,
www.radfieldhomecare.co.uk
Homecare business news
Potens acquires Olive Tree: Social care provider
Potens has expanded its operations in north-west
England with the acquisition of Blackburn-based Olive
Tree Domiciliary Services, in a deal advised by Business
Partnership Corporate, business brokers based in
Northwich, Cheshire. Olive Tree is a specialist in
providing domiciliary care for adults with learning
difficulties and has enjoyed substantial growth since
being established in 2011. Birkenhead-based Potens runs
a network of 52 services, from Torquay to Newcastle.
Family firm expands home care service: Lancashirebased
Townfield Care is set to significantly expand its
homecare service, creating up to 100 new jobs. It will
also establish its own in-house training academy as
part of the planned growth. Over the next 12 months
Townfield aims to increase the homecare hours it
provides to around 2500 per week.
To advertise or discuss sponsorship
opportunities in Caring Times
please contact Caroline Bowern
caroline@hawkerpublications.com
or download our media pack at
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