New faces and places at St Jude's Care Weymouth

St Jude’s Care of Weymouth, continue to grow from strength to strength by increasing their workforce, expanding services and investing in new equipment and vehicles.  In 2018 St Jude’s Care moved their head office operation from Granby Court on the Granby Industrial Estate to new office premises at Stavordale Road in Weymouth.  St Jude’s Care had outgrown their Granby Court office and desperately needed a new kitchen for their catering service plus new offices for their ever growing admin and business team.  The St Jude’s Catering kitchen now occupies the former office building at Granby Court and the new office suite was found in Stavordale Road in the building formerly occupied by Betterment Properties and before that Lloyds Bank Commercial.

Ben Andrews, Managing Director of St Jude’s Care said “It has taken a lot of investment and hard work to get to where we are today, but we could not be happier with our new catering facilities and new offices.  St Jude’s Care is now in a fantastic position to offer first class care facilities and “meals on wheels” facilities to our customers. We have big plans for 2019, one of them is to expand the catering facility.  We will continue to deliver the food and provide a five star catering service from our new facilities.”

St Jude’s Care offer a range of services from 24 hour live-in care to companionship and reassurance as well as offering support when patients are discharged from hospital or simply want a little help with domestic tasks, a freshly prepared meal via the meals on wheels service, or shopping.  

If you would like to know more about St Jude’s Care and Catering services please call 01305 779888 or visit their website www.stjudescare.co.uk

Apprentices are a key part of the St Jude’s Care Team

At St Judes Care & Catering in Weymouth, Apprentices are a fundamental part of the care team.  Apprentices are earning and learning specific industry knowledge simultaneously during their apprenticeship.  There are a range of different apprenticeships available within the care industry with a starting point at a Level 2 apprenticeship in Business Administration.

This year St Jude’s Care & Catering are employing a new Business Administration apprentice who will study at Level 2 with Weymouth College.  Amelia Townsend aged 16  joined the St Jude’s Care team at the beginning of September and is based at the St Jude’s Care head office on Granby Industrial Estate .  Amelia recently completed her GCSE’s and applied to St Jude’s Care when a business administration apprenticeship became available.

Amelia Townsend , Apprentice said “The Business Administration apprenticeship provides me with a general overview of business, business skills, customer service, social media and marketing.  I am very excited about starting my apprenticeship at St Jude’s”.

Ben Andrews, Managing Director of St Jude’s Care said “We are looking forward to having Amelia as part of our ever growing team.  Amelia’s main role will be looking after the administration and business operations.   At St Jude’s the apprenticeship programme has had mutual benefits for both the young person and employer.  The skills and knowledge obtained through the apprenticeship programme is essential for career progression in the care industry”.

If you would like to know more about St Jude’s Care please call 01305 779888or send us an email via our contact form. 

Choosing the right care

Choosing a care package for yourself or a loved one can be very confusing at times. Search the Internet and you will soon realise people use all sorts of terms to describe different types of care To help cut through the confusion, here are the main types of elderly care available, ranging from a full-time nursing home to just a little home help.

Domiciliary Care

Domiciliary Care – sometimes known as Home Care is provided by a carer, rather than a family member and generally involves helping someone with daily tasks around the house. Domiciliary Care can cover a wide range of care requirements and be used as short term care, for example a few hours a week, or longer term care and even full-time live-in care.

You might take advantage of domiciliary care when you need help with cooking or preparing meals, general nursing care, housekeeping or companionship.

Domiciliary care is a very popular care package as individuals can still live at home maintaining their independence, safe in the knowledge that help is never far away and the day-to-day tasks will always get done.

Respite Care

Respite care is designed specifically to give carers a break from caring, giving them the chance to look after their own health and wellbeing. During respite a skilled care professional would take over the care provision responsibilities for a predetermined amount of time.

Respite care can range from a few hours to a few weeks and might mean an overnight stay in a residential care home or a couple of hours at an adult day care centre.

Day Care

Adult day care can be an ideal care package for those that are unable to stay at home on their own, even for short periods. Generally offered in a group setting, adult care offers supervised care within a safe and secure environment.

One would typically expect to have your meals provided, take part in social and recreational activities whilst having a care assistant close at hand.

Retirement Villages and Sheltered Housing

Retirement village living has become a popular care choice for many elderly people who don’t necessarily need round-the-clock care, but would like the reassurance of having an environment that is easy to manage and care is on hand if necessary.

Sheltered housing usually includes 24-hour emergency help (through an alarm system) and communal areas for socialising and activities.

A retirement village on the other hand will usually have the care resources and services that can be found with sheltered housing, but there is a greater emphasis on communal facilities and activities to increase happiness and wellbeing among residents.

Residential Care

Residential care can generally be split in to two categories – one that provides nursing care and those that don’t. Care homes generally provide more support than sheltered housing with the emphasis on helping with practical tasks such as getting up, washing, getting dressed, eating and taking medication.

If you need to organise care for a loved one, a residential care home (often referred to as a nursing home) may be a suitable option. Many care homes have a registered nurse on site at all times and are therefore able to offer a high level of medical attention should you require it. You may find individual care homes are able to cater for specific disabilities and needs such as dementia care.

Live-in Care

Live-in Care is a relatively new type of care package but has become very popular in recent years as an alternative to residential care homes.

As its name suggests, live in care combines high levels of in home care services with the added independence of life at home.

The benefits of home care extend beyond the physical, so much so that a recent ‘Better At Home’ report showed people receiving live-in care have higher levels of happiness. Simple things like home-cooked meals, independence and maintaining a sense of freedom all contributed to a higher level of happiness.

Sadly most residential care homes are not able to accommodate pets, so one surprising benefit of having homecare is the huge benefit of getting to stay with a beloved pet.

You might think that live-in care is expensive compared to residential care however, fees are comparable – particularly when you are looking at caring for a couple in their own home. Live-in care also provides a much higher level of value, because there is so much dedicated, one to one care.

Hospice Care

Hospice care offers care and support for those nearing the end of their life. The whole aim of this type of care is to focus on reducing suffering rather than curing a condition. It can offer different types of care helping individuals and their loved ones deal with physical, spiritual, social and emotional needs.

Hospice care can include pain medication, therapy and counselling.

Rehabilitative Care

Rehabilitative Care is a simple care solution that is designed to help people suffering from an illness, injury or disease, get back on their feet. Services often take place after a stay in hospital and can offer different types of therapy such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and even speech therapy.

It is the perfect care package to help individuals get back to full strength or adjust to everyday life.

When it comes to care, it is so important to look at all of the options available, hopefully the list above gives you a insight in to the types of care available. If you are looking for a care home in Dorset or would like more information about our live in care options as an alternative to a residential care home please contact us on 01305 779888.

Live-in care, the perfect alternative to residential care

The concept of live-in care – where a carer lives with a loved one in their one home – as an alternative to residential care is not new. In fact St Jude’s Care has been providing such a service for many years. However, this type of care is still not really considered mainstream and it is surprising how many people are unaware of the live-in care as an option – thinking that moving into a care home means leaving home for good.

How Live-in Care differs from a Residential Care Home

Live-in care is where a professional, qualified and vetted carer comes and lives in your loved one’s home, providing the care and support they need to live life the way they choose. If there is a requirement for round the clock care, the carer is seamlessly rotated with another in order to provide continuous support. These rotational patterns are tailored specifically to your loved one’s needs.

The most obvious difference between live-in care and a residential care home is that your relative can remain living in their own home; meaning no upheaval, no move to new or unfamiliar surroundings. They can also continue to keep their much-loved pets as many residential care home can’t accommodate them. Life for all intents and purposes can continue as normal as links with friends and family are also maintained.

The real benefits of live-in care are recognised when you consider the 1-2-1 care that is provided. A live in carer will provide dedicated one-to-one care whereas in a residential care home many carers work on a rotational basis. Being supported by one carer promotes a depth of professional relationship that enables a carer to respond instantly should the need arise. They can recognise any signs of possible decline in condition, changes in mood, rapid onset of health deterioration as well as fully understand what makes a difference in the client’s day, e.g. what makes them laugh and smile, what relaxes them, are there any general routines that make life as good as it can be.

You will find that there is funding available for both care options. Live-in care is comparable in cost to a residential care home and is a much more cost effective care option to the more elite care homes. In many instances one live in carer can provide care for a couple, which is far more financially viable than the cost of two beds in a residential care home.

If you would like more information about our live in care options as an alternative to a residential care home please contact us on 01305 779888.

St Jude’s Care Receive “Impressive” Care Quality Commission Inspection

St Judes are delighted with the results of their recent Care Quality Commission inspection where they have received a rating of “Good” in all five areas of scrutiny including, safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness and leadership.

Ben Andrews, Owner and Director of St Jude’s Care said “We are delighted with the results.  The whole team has worked very hard to improve standards in all areas of the service.  Recently St Judes Care was nominated as a finalist in the Dorset Echo Industry Awards in the Customer Service category and this type of recognition of our efforts really helps to motivate the team at St Judes.  We are very pleased with the rating of “good” awarded to us by the Care Quality Commission; however, we will all be working towards an “outstanding” grade on our next inspection.”

The report recognised that clients and relatives felt that St Jude’s staff had the sufficient skills and knowledge to support them.  St Judes Staff also understood how to support people to make choices about the care they received, and encouraged people to make decisions about their care.   The CQC report concluded by saying that relatives and staff spoke positively about the management of the St Jude’s service.

A quote from the report stated that   “A person told us that staff “take great care and getting the right medicines at the right times".    Some people had medicines which were 'as required'.   The person confirmed that staff always checked with them whether they wanted this medicine.  This resulted in St Jude’s Care receiving a “good” rating in the safety of the service and a high quality of care was noted.  The report also recorded that St Jude’s Care had a “no missed calls” rating which means that the St Jude’s Care team always arrived at the stated time to the client.

St Jude’s Care continues to expand and is always looking for new team members.  Full certificated training is given to new members of staff and a buddy system is always used to introduce new staff members to our clients.

St Jude’s Care looks after clients all over Dorset from Portland to Maiden Newton and Charmouth, Wareham, Poole, Bournemouth and Yeovil.    St Jude’s Care has recently invested in a new fleet of vehicles to ensure that their care employees were able to drive safe reliable vehicles whilst attending clients all over Dorset.  The CQC report noted the vehicles in the following statement : “Staff had access to pool cars which were owned and maintained by the service. If staff were undertaking visits to people in the community, they were able to book a pool car to complete these. Each car came with a fuel card which staff could use to re-fuel if needed and the maintenance of the vehicles was managed by the service. Staff felt this was a real positive of working for St Judes and one staff member explained that they had put excess miles on their own vehicle in a previous job and really appreciated that they no longer needed to use their own car for work. The nominated individual explained that they were able to ensure that all cars were in good mechanical order and that staff were not responsible for any outgoing costs for fuel because this was pre-paid by the service.”  This statement was recorded by “Good” by the CQC.

A recent addition to the St Jude’s service are freshly cooked meals on wheels, prepared locally and delivered on a china plate, hot and ready to enjoy.  Many of the existing St Jude’s care customers enjoy the variety of freshly prepared meals that are on the menu.  Many customers like to give themselves a treat a couple of times a week or simply don't want to cook on a Sunday. St Jude’s Catering also provide catering services to social clubs if they have a special gathering.   

Download a copy of the latest St Jude's Care CQC report here.

The Benefits of Home Care

Moving into a care home can be a stressful experience for your loved one and often comes with a tremendous financial burden. A report published by the Live-In Care Hub contains research and evidence that proves one-to-one care provided by qualified carers in a patient's own home is often far more effective and much less costly than a move to a residential care home.

The Financial Benefits of Home Care

The average yearly cost of residential home care in the UK is £29,270, however, this can increase substantially depending on the needs of the patient and the location of the care home. Patients who require dementia or nursing care face average yearly costs of over £39,300 and it's important to consider that whilst someone might not require nursing care initially it may be required in the future and the average yearly cost of residential home care will increase accordingly. 

When given a choice the majority of people would choose to stay in their own home for as long as possible. The costs of receiving home care vary but are significantly less expensive than the cost of staying in a residential care home. Home care can be tailor-made to suit the needs of an individual and whether they require a short visit once or twice a week or a full-time live-in carer St Judes Care will be able to provide them with the type of care they need. For further information please visit https://www.stjudescare.co.uk/types-of-home-care-at-st-judes-care.

The Overall Health Benefits of Home Care & The Decreased Risk of Hospitilisation

Home care provides numerous health benefits over a residential care home and this contributes to an increased quality of life. The risk of incidents such as falls and trips is significantly lower with live-in care than it is at a residential care home or other institutional care settings. Falls and their associated injuries are a serious issue for people over the age of 65 and 50% of people over 80 suffer from a fall at least once a year. Research has shown that the number of falls suffered by people receiving live-in care is almost one-third less than those in residential or nursing homes. 

This results in a decreased risk of hospitalisation and significant savings to the NHS. Live-in care also means that even if someone has been in hospital they will be discharged quickly and be able to undergo any required rehabilitation in the comfort of their own home. This is less traumatic than an elongated hospital stay and also reduces the chance of a hospital acquired infection. 

Independence, Dignity and Way of Life

Live-in care provides the least restrictive care environment for people as they age and as no-one is the same home care is personalised to the individual to increase their quality of life. Studies have shown that simple things such as food and drink, favourite activities and a sense of independence become increasingly more important as people get older. Each day is planned around the client and carers truly get to know the people they are looking after and adapt to their client's routines and preferences. 

One-to-one care can have a tremendous effect on someone's life and people receiving live-in care often retain a strong sense of independence and dignity with minimal disruption to their way of life. The Live-In Care hub conducted research into their client's happiness and the results showed that clients who received live-in care were much happier than those in residential and nursing homes. 99% of clients said the live-in care they receive allows them to have a better quality of life and 81% of clients said they get the food and drink they want. In comparison, only 52% of those in nursing homes said they received the food they liked and 53.5% of nursing home residents also said that they never leave their home, compared to just 21% of live-in care clients. 

The personalised nature of live-in home care provides clients with a higher quality of life, increased happiness and increased levels of care that often result in a better standard of overall health. Live-in care clients keep their independence and dignity and receive their care in a comfortable and familiar environment with dedicated carers that provide healthcare, friendship and peace of mind. 

Sources:

Live-In Care Hub Better at Home Report

Laing & Buisson Care of Older People UK Market Report 2014/15 

St Judes Care – http://www.stjudescare.co.uk

How to get a care asessment?

If you have care and support needs and find it difficult to look after yourself, your local authority may be able to advise you and provide you with some help.

The best way to get help from your local authority is to ask for a care and support needs assessment. You can do this by contacting the local authority adult social services department.

When you get assessed by the local authority, as a minimum you may be given information and signposting to other services, and ways that you might find funding to pay for them. However, if your needs meet the national eligibility criteria, your local authority will have to meet these needs. 

The local authority will involve you throughout the assessment to identify what your needs are and how these impact on your wellbeing. They will also discuss with you how you wish to live your life and whether there are certain aims you would like to achieve but you are unable to do so because of your care and support needs.

The assessment will start to consider how your care needs might be met. This could include identifying how preventative services like simple aids (such as devices to open jars and tins more easily), adaptations to your home (such as handrails) or information about support available in the community might meet your need.  It will also identify if you have a higher level of need where you may need help in your own home or care in a care home.

The assessment should be carried out in a way that ensures your involvement and that takes the right amount of time to capture all of your needs.

If you have a friend or family member looking after you as an unpaid carer, they can have a carer’s assessment to see if they need support to carry on their caring role.

The local authority must give you a copy of your needs assessment or carer’s assessment.

What are the national eligibility criteria for care and support?

The eligibility threshold for adults with care and support needs is based on identifying how a person’s needs affect their ability to achieve relevant outcomes, and how this impacts on their wellbeing.

Local authorities must consider whether the person’s needs: 

• arise from or are related to a physical or mental impairment or illness
• make them unable to achieve two or more specified outcomes
• as a result of being unable to meet these outcomes, there is likely to be a significant impact on the adult’s wellbeing

An adult’s needs are only eligible where they meet all three of these conditions.

The specified outcomes measured include:

• managing and maintaining nutrition, such as being able to prepare and eat food and drink
• maintaining personal hygiene, such as being able to wash themselves and their clothes
• managing toilet needs
• being able to dress appropriately, for example during cold weather
• being able to move around the home safely, including accessing the home from outside
• keeping the home sufficiently clean and safe
• being able to develop and maintain family or other personal relationships, in order to avoid loneliness or isolation
• accessing and engaging in work, training, education or volunteering, including physical access
• being able to safely use necessary facilities or services in the local community including public transport and recreational facilities or services
• carrying out any caring responsibilities, such as for a child

Local authorities do not have responsibility for providing NHS services such as patient transport, but they should consider needs for support when the adult is attending healthcare appointments.

Local authorities' duty to carry out a needs assessment

Local authorities have a duty to assess a person who appears to need care and support. They may need care and support because of serious illness, physical disability, learning disability, mental health problems or frailty because of old age.

The local authority is obliged to carry out a needs assessment when they become aware that someone may be in need of care and support.

This may mean that an assessment is offered even if it has not been specifically requested. Alternatively, you can contact your local social services department and ask them to arrange a needs assessment.

Normally, an assessment is carried out before a service can be provided by the social services department of a local authority. If you need care urgently, the local authority may be able to meet these needs without carrying out the assessment.

Local authorities' duty to carry out a carer’s assessment

Local authorities have a duty to carry out a carer’s assessment where a carer appears to need support.

The carer’s assessment will consider the carer’s need for support and whether they can continue to care without help.
The assessment can be offered even if the carer has not asked for one.

Needs assessments and local authority funding

Once a local authority has established that a person has needs that meet the national eligibility criteria, it has to make sure that these needs are met. The first step will be to draw up a care and support plan, or in the case of a carer with eligible needs, a support plan.

If you have eligible needs, the local authority will check that you normally live in their area. Social care is not free and you may have to contribute towards the cost of meeting your needs. Local authorities will do an assessment to see if you have to contribute and how much that would be.

The local authority should not refuse to meet eligible needs on the grounds of cost, although if there is more than one option, it is allowed to choose what it believes is the most cost effective one.

If your needs do not meet the national eligibility criteria, the local authority still has to give you information and advice on what support might be available in the community to support you.

Alternatively, you may want to consider funding your own care and support to help with the needs identified as a result of the assessment.

If you disagree with your needs assessment or the care and support plan, there are ways that decisions can be challenged or you can make a complaint.