A unique, person centred home care service is coming to Stoke-On-Trent and North Staffordshire. Cream Home Care will offer personal care, waking nights, live in care and a range of further services such as companionship, cooking, cleaning, help with shopping, social activities and access to the community including medical appointments.
Cream Home Care is the brain child of Jenny, the managing director behind the hugely successful local health and social care agency, Cream Health Care.
Jenny noticed there was a gap in the home care market when a close friend of hers was at crisis point with her mother, and was desperately looking for help and support to enable her mother to live safely in her own home. She knew she could do better!
Jenny Clarke, Managing Director of Cream Home Care explained, “My friend rang round several home care agencies and she said none of them were particularly helpful. Some said they would call her back but never did, others were unsympathetic to her situation and others just wanted to look after her mother’s physical needs. She said nobody wanted to get to know her mother or could meet any of her other needs.”
“We all deserve more than our basic needs met. That was when I realised that I could use the same philosophy and values of integrity, compassion, care, dignity and respect that we have in Cream Health Care and use our 10 year experience in recruiting passionate, professional social care staff to make a true difference to the home care market in Stoke-On-Trent and North Staffordshire by offering a tailor made, person centred home care service.”
“From that very first enquiry, we want to understand and support both the client and their family to give them the very best support, tailor made to their circumstances and personality. To support them to live independently and in their own homes. We don’t just want to maintain their quality of life, we want to improve it!”
Using the vast, 10 year experience in social care Cream Home Care will be offering a truly unique, person centred, professional home care service across Stoke-On-Trent and North Staffordshire.
We are committed to supporting people in their own home, helping them to maintain independence and quality of life. We understand that everyone is different and everyone has different needs and we pride ourselves on delivering tailor made home care with dignity, compassion and respect.
We will focus on getting to know our clients and also their families. By matching the personalities of our support staff to the personalities of our clients and assigning the same support staff to our clients, then not only do the clients gain continuity of care but our support staff are able to build, deep and meaningful relationships with our clients so we can truly get to know them and therefore offer unique, person centred care.
If you are looking for unique, person centred care for yourself or your family, then please call us today on 01782 262731.
The government has published their long awaited white paper on Adult Social Care reform. The white paper, People at the Heart of Care sets out an ambitious 10-year vision for how the adult social care sector will transform support and care in England.
The government’s vision for Adult Social Care puts people at its heart and revolves around three objectives:
1. People have choice, control, and support to live independent lives. 2. People can access outstanding quality and tailored care and support. 3. People find adult social care fair and accessible.
Person-centred care is a key theme running through the vision. Genuine choice and control about personalised care and support can enhance quality of life and promote independence in a way that matters to individuals.
The Care Act 2014, particularly its focus on wellbeing, provides a strong foundation for the white paper however the Government also recognises that the ambition of the Care Act has not consistently been achieved in the way they would have liked. New measures currently going through Parliament will strengthen how care and support is delivered and ensure care is delivered to both the letter and the spirit of the Care Act.
The document sets out a range of policies that will be implemented over the next three years. These include:
At least £300 million to integrate housing into local health and care strategies, with a focus on increasing the range of new supported housing options available. This will provide choice of alternative housing and support options.
At least £150 million of additional funding to drive greater adoption of technology and achieve widespread digitisation across social care. Digital tools and technology can support independent living and improve the quality of care.
At least £500 million so the social care workforce have the right training and qualifications, and feel recognised and valued for their skills and commitment. We want the workforce to also have their wellbeing prioritised.
A new practical support service to make minor repairs and changes in peoples’ homes to help people remain independent and safe in their home, alongside increasing the upper limit of the Disabilities Facilities Grant for home adaptations such as stair lifts, wet rooms and home technologies.
Up to £25 million to work with the sector to kick start a change in the services provided to support unpaid carers.
£30 million to help local areas innovate around the support and care they provide in new and different ways, providing more options that suit peoples’ needs and individual circumstances.
A new national website to explain the upcoming changes and at least £5 million to pilot new ways to help people understand and access the care and support available.
More than £70 million to increase the support offer across adult social care to improve the delivery of care and support services, including assisting local authorities to better plan and develop the support and care options available.
These proposals are backed by the new Health & Care Levy announced in September this year, of which £5.4 billion is being invested into adult social care over the next three years. Beyond the next three years, an increasing share of funding raised by the levy will be spent on social care in England.
Why 10 years?
The government recognises that some of the challenges in social care cannot be quickly fixed. Therefore, over the months and years ahead, they will continue working with a range of voices from across the care and support landscape to deliver the changes that we all want to see. This will include working closely with local authorities and supporting them so they have the right tools and capability to deliver the right care and support that puts wellbeing and personalised support front and centre. They will also engage with a diverse range of organisations and people, including those who draw on care and support or provide unpaid care, to consider how we can measure success of our 10-year vision.
This is a journey
Commenting on the White paper, the Right Honourable Sajid Javid,Secretary of State for Health and Social Care said, “I stress that it is a journey. The proposals outlined will not solve all of the problems, but they are a significant step in moving us towards a new vision for social care that the whole of government is committed to.”
“To deliver on this vision I want to encourage investment and innovation right across the sector, to shift away from a reliance on residential care and offer people genuine options for drawing on outstanding care at home and in the community. The new funding for our workforce, housing and innovation are just a handful of the proposals that will start to make our vision a reality.”
“This vision is a shared vision shaped by national and local government, care providers, care staff, the NHS, and those who draw on care and support and their carers. I am immensely grateful for the input and support that these groups have provided in developing our vision and the policies within this white paper. I look forward to continuing to work with these groups over the months and years ahead.”
Reactions from the Social Care Sector
The white paper, People at the Heart of Care, should be seen as a first but highly significant step on a journey of transformation, according to ADASS, a charity whose members include directors and other senior staff in local authority adult social services departments.
Stephen Chandler, ADASS president said: “I am really pleased to see this publication, it represents a foundation stone for which we have been waiting for 20 years or more. By its own admission the white paper is just a starting point and I look forward to continue to work with government to make its ambitions a reality”
“This is going to be a 10-year programme of transformation and its success will depend on the continued and growing involvement of groups representing all those who commission, provide and, most importantly, draw on care and support,” Chandler said.
“The white paper sets out strong values and principles and has great ambition. But there is much detail to fill in and much more funding to find. Clearly the sums identified so far can be no more than pump-priming.
“The white paper paints a promising picture of a more professionalised care workforce in the future. What we urgently need now is a bridge to that brighter future, to address the immediate crisis and ensure that everyone gets the care and support they need this winter.”
Jane Townson, CEO, Homecare Association believes the aspirations within the white paper are great however she has said, “These aspirations will, however, remain just aspirations unless the vision, plan for implementation, and investment are aligned. And this is where our concerns lie.”
Dr Jane Townson CEO, Homecare Association also said: “It is very encouraging that home-based support and care is at the heart of the vision for social care articulated in the Adult Social Care Reform White Paper. This is what we wanted to see.”
“Building on the principles of the Care Act 2014, the paper talks about listening to people receiving support; personalisation; prevention; choice and control; information to help navigate the health and care system; support for informal carers; support for the professional workforce; innovation and technology; and oversight of the system.”
“All of these are great aspirations that resonate with those receiving and giving support and care. We are grateful for the widespread consultation and opportunity to contribute. It is our genuine hope that this vision will become a reality over the next 10 years.”
“Whilst the proposals contain welcome additional funding for a range of areas, including housing (£300m); innovation (£30m); technology (£150m); informal carers (£25m); workforce (£500m); and testing new ways of providing information (£5m), which will be valued by many, they do not address underlying systemic issues.”
“Government continues to pour billions into the black hole of NHS acute hospitals. There’s no sign of a meaningful shift in investment towards supporting people in the community, addressing inequalities or tackling the social determinants of health. Homecare receives only 4% of the amount invested in the NHS.”
You can read the Homecare Associations full response here.
“The Government has been ambitious with its vision and now needs to match this ambition with the necessary funding, to turn it into reality.” – Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board
Cllr David Fothergill, also said: “This much-anticipated white paper sets out a positive vision for the future of adult social care and it is right that it has been co-produced with and alongside people who draw on care and support. It is also encouraging to see the Care Act is the foundation upon which these reforms will be built, particularly the emphasis on housing, greater recognition of the workforce and skills, and prevention, action on all of which will improve the quality and experience of people who draw on social care.
“We need to balance the aspirations and expectations set out in this paper against the wider reality of the funding backdrop against which councils and care providers are operating, which is insufficient to meet current and rising demand. While councils share the Government’s ambition and want nothing more than to deliver it, they will need a substantially bigger share of the new Health and Social Care Levy for that to happen.
“Addressing unmet and under-met need, tackling rising pressures, retaining hard working care staff, and investing more in prevention are all areas which need investment now, if we are to significantly bolster core services. This is the essential platform which is needed to fully realise the long-term positive vision set out in this white paper.
“Unless these can be urgently addressed as an immediate priority, any long-term proposals for social care – including those in the white paper backed by funding to kick-start change and innovation – will be set up to fail because core services themselves will not be available or sustainable. Without such investment, public expectations will be unfairly raised.
“Questions also remain about whether the funding allocated for the various major charging reforms, including for the introduction and running of the care cost cap and councils paying providers a ‘fair rate of care’, will be enough. Funding shortfalls impact directly on those who draw on care and support now, as well as those who will do so in future. The Government has been ambitious with its vision and now needs to match this ambition with the necessary funding, to turn it into reality.”
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said:
“This top level visionary White Paper sets out the Government’s direction of travel for the reform of adult social care. Care England stands ready to help the government deliver this strategy by identifying and dismantling some of the barriers standing in the way of delivering this vision.
“Delivering this White Paper is going to be very difficult because of some of the major challenges facing the care sector, but we are all committed to starting on a journey that will deliver better outcomes for citizens and long-term sustainability for social care providers”.
Skills for Care CEO Oonagh Smyth said:
“Much of the workforce elements in the white paper are measures we and others have been asking for. The commitment to invest in our workforce’s professional development, and in our key leaders like registered managers is something we have been talking about for some time, and I am sure will be welcomed by employers and those who work for them.”
“There is no doubt that the last couple of years people who work in social care have had really rewarding experiences and built great relationships with the people they support but they have also been through some incredibly tough times. This white paper is the start of recognising that people who work in social care are skilled, compassionate professionals and we look forward to working with the government on what future investment will look like, and to support making the ambitions set out in the white paper a reality.”
principal actions that local authorities, NHS organisations and social care providers across all settings (including those in the voluntary and community sector) in England should take this winter
key elements of national support available for the social care sector during winter 2021 to 2022
Its aims to ensure that high-quality, safe and timely care is provided to everyone who needs it, whilst continuing to protect people who need care, their carers and the Social Care Workforce from COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses.
The plan applies to all settings and contexts in which people receive adult social care. This includes people’s own homes, residential care homes, nursing homes and other community settings.
You can read the full Adult Social Care: coronavirus (COVID-19) winter plan 2021 to 2022 here.
Staff working in home care organisations will continue to have free access to both symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID testing after 1st April however people being cared for in their own home will no longer have free access to testing unless they are eligible for community COVID-19 treatments.
The Government made this announcement as they outlined their next steps of living with COVID that will come into effect on 1st April.
Under the latest plans
Free symptomatic testing will be provided for:
Patients in hospital, where a PCR test is required for their care and to provide access to treatments and to support ongoing clinical surveillance for new variants;
People who are eligible for community COVID-19 treatments because they are at higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19. People in this group will be contacted directly and sent lateral flow tests to keep at home for use if they have symptoms as well as being told how to reorder tests;
People being discharged from hospital into care homes, hospices.
People living or working in some high-risk settings. This includes:
Staff in adult social care services such as homecare organisations and care homes
Residents in care homes and extra care and supported living services
NHS workers
People working and living in hospices
Prisons and places of detention (including immigration removal centres), where infection needs to be identified quickly to minimise outbreaks.
Asymptomatic lateral flow testing will continue from April in some high-risk settings where infection can spread rapidly while prevalence is high.>
This includes:
patient-facing staff in the NHS and NHS-commissioned Independent Healthcare Providers
staff in hospices and adult social care services, such as homecare organisations and care homes
a small number of care home visitors who provide personal care
staff in some prisons and places of detention and in high risk domestic abuse refuges and homelessness settings.
In addition, testing will be provided for residential SEND, care home staff and residents during an outbreak and for care home residents upon admission. This also includes some staff in prisons and immigration removal centres.
The latest guidance for COVID-19 testing in adult social care can be found here.
Most visitors to adult social care settings (unless providing personal care to residents) and visitors to the NHS, prisons or places of detention will no longer be required to take a test.
A number of changes and new guidance for Adult Social Care have also been announced including:
From 1 April, those working in adult social care services will also continue to receive free personal protective equipment (PPE). Priority vaccinations and boosters for residents and staff will also continue.
Designated settings will be removed. These were initially set up to provide a period of isolation to COVID-19 positive patients before they move into care homes and before routine point of care testing for COVID-19 was available.
Restrictions on staff movement within adult social care residential settings will be removed
Outbreak management periods in care homes, which can include visiting restrictions, have been reduced from 14 to 10 days
People aged 75 and over, residents in care homes for elderly adults and those who are immunosuppressed are now eligible to receive a Spring booster jab to top up their immunity to COVID-19. Around five million people will be eligible for a Spring booster around six months after their previous dose, and the NHS has contacted over 600,000 people inviting them to book an appointment. Anyone who has not yet had a COVID-19 jab continues to be encouraged to take up the ‘evergreen’ offer.
Updated hospital discharge guidance will be published setting out how all involved in health and social care will work together to ensure smooth discharges from hospital and people receive the right care at the right time in the right place
Updated guidance on infection and prevention control measures have been published to set out long-standing principles on good practice, and support consistency across the adult social care sector. This will include details on future measures for COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses to ensure providers have the latest information on best practice which will include information on admissions, visiting and PPE.
Community Infection Survey delivered through the Office for National Statistics will continue to provide a detailed national surveillance capability in the coming year so the government can respond appropriately to emerging developments such as a new variant of concern or changing levels of population infection.
Infections in health and care settings will also be monitored through bespoke studies including the Vivaldi study in residential care homes, the SIREN study in the NHS, and RCGP surveillance in primary care.
The government has retained the ability to enable a rapid testing response should it be needed, such as the emergence of a new variant of concern.This includes a stockpile of lateral flow tests and the ability to ramp up testing laboratories and delivery channels.
The government’s Therapeutics Taskforce and Antiviral Taskforce will also be merged into a single unit which will continue to focus on securing access to the most promising treatments for COVID-19.
Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said:
“As we learn to live with Covid, we are focusing our testing provision on those at higher risk of serious outcomes from the virus, while encouraging people to keep following simple steps to help keep themselves and others safe.”
“The pandemic is not over and how the virus will develop over time remains uncertain. Covid still poses a real risk to many of us, particularly with case rates and hospitalisations on the rise. That is why it is sensible to wear a mask in enclosed spaces, keep indoor spaces ventilated and stay away from others if you have any symptoms of a respiratory illness, including Covid.”
“Vaccination remains the best way to protect us all from severe disease and hospitalisation due to Covid infection. If you have not yet come forward for your primary or booster I would urge you to do so straight away – the NHS vaccine programme is there to help you and the sooner you are vaccinated the sooner you and your family and friends will be protected.”
The Government announced yesterday that all health and social care workers, including volunteers who have face to face contact with service users, will need to provide evidence they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to continue to work in a forward facing health or social care setting from 1st April.
The regulations will apply to health and social care workers, including domiciliary care workers, doctors, nurses and dentists who have direct, face-to-face contact with people while providing care, unless they are exempt.
The regulations will cover the whole CQC-regulated health and social care sector including ancillary staff such as porters or receptionists who may have social contact with patients but are not directly involved in their care.
The measures will help ensure that the most vulnerable patients gain the greatest possible levels of protection as well as protecting workers against COVID-19.
The requirements will come into force in the spring, subject to the passage of the regulations through Parliament. There will be a 12-week grace period between the regulations being made and coming into force to allow those who have not yet been vaccinated to have both doses. Enforcement will begin from 1st April, subject to parliamentary approval.
These regulations follow similar regulations laid in Parliament on 22 June 2021 and were made on 22 July 2021 under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021 (‘the Regulations’) which means that from tomorrow, 11th November 2021, it will become law that anyone entering a care home to work must have had a complete course of an authorised COVID-19 vaccine unless they are under the age of 18 or medically exempt.
Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care Deborah Sturdy said:
“We know that vaccines save lives which is why earlier this year we set out our plans to make vaccines a condition of deployment in care homes to protect those who are more vulnerable to this virus.”
“Today’s announcement to extend these regulations will ensure all those who access regulated social care are afforded maximum protection from COVID-19.”
“I encourage anyone working in social care who has not yet had their vaccine to come forward as soon as possible to protect yourselves, your colleagues and those you care for.”