Dementia – The Learning Curve

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Kim Wilson

On 6th March Somerset Care played host to over 160 delegates at Dillington House, near Ilminster. The conference entitled ‘Dementia-The Learning Curve’ welcomed Somerset Care staff, Care Professionals and Commissioners to debate, exchange ideas and share current best practice in dementia care services.

Delegates heard keynote speeches from Sarah Pickup, President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and Angela Rippon OBE, Co-Chair of the Dementia Friendly Communities Champion Group.

The purpose of the conference was to share Somerset Care’s dementia services called ‘PETALS’, the unique service delivers dementia care and support services to people living in their own homes and within Somerset Care’s residential and nursing homes across the South West.

Speaking on the conference, Chief Executive, Alyson Martin MBE, said, “The conference was an excellent opportunity to share ideas and best practice on improving services for people living with dementia. We were delighted that many people who attended felt the day was inspiring and informative.”

Non-Executive Director Barrie Dale retires after 12 years

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Kim Wilson

A Non-executive Director and former Chairman of Somerset Care retired this week after 12 years service.

Barrie Dale joined Somerset Care in November 2000 as a Non-Executive Director and took over as Chairman of the group in April 2007. Within his career at Somerset Care, Barrie has contributed greatly to the success of the business, overseeing the opening of new care homes, the growth of our community services and developing new services such as PETALS dementia care. At the end of 2011 Barrie took the decision to step down as Chairman, and Chris Davies CBE DL, took over as Chairman in January 2012.

Somerset Care organised a leaving party for Barrie, inviting both present and former Managers and Directors of the company to wish him well, at the party Barrie was presented with a number of presents from the group, including a memory book featuring photographs and messages from the staff.

Speaking on Barrie’s retirement, Chief Executive, Alyson Martin MBE, said “Barrie has made a significant contribution to Somerset Care over the 12 years he has been Non Executive Director. As well as providing expertise and leadership as the Chair he has also supported staff and clients to ensure Somerset Care provides high quality services.”

Alyson Martin Receives ‘Outstanding Contribution to Social Care’ Award

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Kim Wilson

Somerset Care is pleased to announce that Chief Executive, Alyson Martin MBE, has been announced as a winner in this year’s Great British Care Awards, South West Region. Alyson attended the gala dinner on Friday 16th November at The Passenger Shed, Bristol, and was presented with the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Social Care’ award, for her commitment and dedication to the care sector.

Alyson has worked in social care for over 40 years, starting her career as a care assistant at the age of 16. Throughout her career she has undertaken a variety of roles including care home Manager and Director of Care Services, culminating in her appointment as Chief Executive of Somerset Care in January this year. Alyson’s outstanding depth of knowledge and experience has allowed her to have a significant impact on the social care sector, not only through her role within Somerset Care but also as a leading figure within the wider social care arena. She was awarded an MBE for her services to social care in the Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours list this year.

Alyson Martin, said, “I am delighted to receive this award. I would like to express my thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout my career, including the thousands of staff who provide care and support to our vulnerable clients.”

As a winner of the South West Regional Awards Alyson will be shortlisted to receive a National Great British Care award in 2013.

What is age related hearing loss?

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Kim Wilson

Over 9 million UK residents are thought to present some of the signs of age related hearing loss (based in a 2005 study by the RNID now ‘Action On Hearing Loss). As the population in the UK (and of course in the western world in general) continues to mature due to a healthier lifestyle and better care, experts believe that this figure will grow gradually and affect the lives of more and more individuals.

Modern health care does offer means to manage age related hearing loss often in an affordable and sometimes state sponsored manner such as in the case of hearing impaired services offered by the NHS. As you will read later on, there is no magical cure to rectify hearing loss of the age related type, but there are plenty of means that can make the condition negligible so that quality of life remains.

How Does Hearing Loss Happen?

There are several different types of hearing loss that can be averted, but unfortunately this is not the case for age related hearing loss. Most people will experience its affects in a variable manner of hearing loss from the age of 40, though it is more prominently seen in the over 65s. In some cases it is quite negligible so quality of life is unaffected as you simply take certain steps to overcome it (even without realizing), in many other cases the level of hearing loss does require further intervention. In fact on average, the gradual drop in hearing ability means that individuals often take between 7 to 10 years before raising their hand to admit the problem and seek further information.

Our hearing sense involves the workings of many interconnected organs that we take for granted. There are three main areas of the human hearing system. These are the outer ear that can be seen alongside the ear canal; the middle ear and finally the inner ear where sound is captured and processed before being transmitted to the auditory cortex in the brain for interpretation. Each of these three areas can be affected in different ways, and contribute to a hearing loss. In the case of age related hearing loss, hearing loss occurs when tiny hair-cells inside the inner ear die or diminish in quality. These hair-like cells are very important in the ability to capture certain frequencies of sound. How quickly and at what rate these hair-cells die or damage is influenced by various circumstances such as family history, medication, exposure to noise over years and so on. It is for this reason that age related hearing loss will affects individuals to a different degree, one that sometimes is insignificant, but in other cases life changing.

How To Manage Hearing Loss?

Inner ear hair-cells cannot regrow, therefore any treatment often revolves around managing the condition rather than ‘curing’ it. Currently there is no magical cure that can revert the process, though recently scientists and researchers have been looking at stem cell therapy as a means to regrow inner ear hair-cells. For now, your best options to discuss with your health provider are the traditional means that are tested and proven to help.

If you suspect you might be suffering from hearing loss you should book an appointment for a hearing test to find the precise reason for your hearing loss. While age related hearing loss is often the cause for hearing loss for the over 50’s, other causes such as an infection may be to blame and require a different solution, therefore a comprehensive investigation is required.

After the test, you will be presented with a number of options and treatments depending on the severity of your hearing loss. Modern technology offers a number of means to overcome hearing loss in a nonintrusive manner. By far the most common treatment is hearing aids. These are microcomputers that are housed in a small body and fit either inside your ear or just behind your ear. The device can amplify external sounds and deliver those into your ear canal.

Hearing aids types include:

BTE (Behind The Ear Hearing Aids) – The most widely used type of hearing aid. Consists of a large, banana shape hanging behind the wearer’s ear with thick tubing disappearing into a heavy mould.

ITE (In The Ear Hearing Aids) – Applies to everything that is not either Body Worn or Behind The Ear but the term tends to be applied to the large products that fill either the whole bowl (concha) of the ear of half of it.

ITC (In The Canal Hearing Aids) – Similar in size to ITE, these are designed to fit in the ear canal rather than the ear concha.

Body Worn Hearing Aids – These tend to be used for hearing loss in young children or for people requiring extreme power. Typically they are the size of a cigarette pack and can clip on to the user’s belt or fit in a shirt pocket.

Another popular group is called ALDs or Assistive Listening Devices. This group includes day-to-day devices that have been specifically designed for the hard of hearing. For example, instead of your normal alarm clock, which might be doing little to wake you up, an ALD alarm clock will include flashing lights, vibrating under pillow pad, amplified sound etc.

If you have any concerns about your hearing or the hearing of someone you care for, book to see your GP.

Bio: Article by Joan McKechnie, BSc Hons Audiology & Speech Pathology. Joan works for hearing company Hearing Direct. For more information on National Health Service hearing aids read the Hearing Direct blog.

Somerset Care Welcomes Australian Visitor

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Kim Wilson

Somerset Care played host to a visitor from Australia last week who came to learn about the company’s award winning PETALS dementia care, quality assurance system and the Gold Standard Framework Award.

Beth Davidson-Park, Director of Strategy and Business Development, works for Southern Cross Care (South Australia and Northern Territories) alongside Somerset Care’s former CEO Andrew Larpent.

During Beth’s time with Somerset Care she visited two of its care homes, Croft House in Williton and Oak Trees in Bridgwater. At Croft House she was shown the Archie Project, a recently launched programme which aims to make Williton a dementia friendly community. Whilst on her visit Beth was also involved with judging the company’s dementia artwork competition in preparation for a 2013 calendar which will be released later in the year.

Speaking on Beth’s visit, Jane Lynch, Assistant Director of Residential Services, said, “Somerset Care is extremely proud of the services we provide to people living with dementia and those people nearing the end of their lives. It was a wonderful experience to share our PETALS dementia care and Gold Standard Framework with Beth, and we hope this helps her with developing the care Southern Cross Care deliver in Australia.”

Alyson Martin – The Big Interview

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Alyson Martin

In January 2012 Somerset Care welcomed Alyson Martin as their new Chief Executive. We caught up with Alyson for Acacia Time’s Big Interview.

1. Alyson, you have had a long and varied career within Somerset Care, can you describe your journey within the company?

I started my career in Somerset in 1983 when I took over the Manager’s position at Sunnymeade in Chard. However my career in care started almost by chance at 16 years old when I was an Assistant Manager in a small family run care home that my “in laws to be” used to own in Bristol. I soon realised that although I had not deliberately chosen to come into care work I thoroughly enjoyed the role and therefore have remained in the care sector throughout my career. I had a brief spell in children’s services when we moved up to Derbyshire in the 1970′s, but as soon as the opportunity arose I moved back into services for older people.
In 1991 I was Manager at Sunnymeade when Somerset Care was set up, it was a time of uncertainty as this type of not for profit service had not been tried before. I have to say that it was the very best decision that Somerset County Council ever took! Over the years with Somerset Care I have held a variety of responsibilities from, managing care homes, taking the lead for Quality Assurance, writing policies and running training courses, so I feel I can understand the business from all angles. I became a Director for the company in 1992 and have seen its development over the years.

2. What have been your key memories whilst working within Somerset Care?

There have been many “people” memories. Having cared for and supported many older people over the years through the opportunities and challenges they faced throughout the 20th century, I feel that my life is a richer place for having been able to play a small part in supporting them, as many of them reached the end stage of life.
I have always been a strong advocate to develop my team and take a great pleasure to see others progress and make a success of their careers. As I was preparing for my recent interview I reflected back and remembered that I had played a part in nine of my staff progressing to be Managers of care homes or community bases.

3. What challenges and responsibilities do you expect to face as Chief Executive?

I feel that I am well placed to take the helm for the company, I have spent many years in senior positions within the company and I have a strong knowledge of the services we deliver and the challenges our teams face on a daily basis. The current economic climate that the whole country faces makes providing services a difficult environment in which to operate. But I do believe the breadth of the service base as well as the wider geographical spread has positioned the company to survive and be stronger for the future.

4. How do you expect the company to change in the future?

We will need to continue to expand our services, examples include diversifying our training, continuing the end of life services and extending the innovative PETALS services for people with dementia. Support services for learning disabilities will grow and we will continue to need to update our care homes. It will be increasingly important that we maintain quality services to both those who commission our services as well as those who are private customers. As well as promoting our services we need to ensure we continue to value our staff. I recognise that we have to continue to direct our efforts towards ensuring this means financial rewards as well as the other aspects of supporting staffing and providing excellent training.

5. What are your hobbies and interests away from Somerset Care?

Frank and I have 2 sons living away from home so trying to fit in visits to see them takes up a lot of our time, as well as supporting our 3 cats, a dog and 5 ducks (sadly no eggs). Walking and bird watching is also something I enjoy when the weather is good and trying to get fitter by regular slots at the gym.

Somerset Care – Integration Supports Growth Plans

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Alyson Martin

Somerset Care has announced that from 1st April its four care companies are combining into one larger provider offering services at Somerset Care Ltd. It is also forming a new company, called Somerset Care Support Services Limited, to assist in supplying aspects of our services. In particular this includes local authority care and support related work.
The decision to integrate has been taken to allow residents and customers receiving care across Southern England to access high quality services through one integrated care company. From its beginnings in Taunton in 1991 the company now provides services in 15 local authority areas and the use of one company name will allow for further growth, as well as the sharing of expertise throughout its businesses. Its training company Acacia Training and Development will continue to trade under that business name, reflecting its different market.
Alyson Martin, Chief Executive of Somerset Care, said, “Clients and staff will not be affected by the integration, as we will continue to provide the same high quality services using the same staff. The integration of our businesses is merely a way to simplify and streamline our processes, to increase strength in our increasingly competitive sector.”

Somerset Care embrace life histories with Forget Me Not Book

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Alyson Martin

Somerset Care and Forget Me Not Book are working together to enhance quality of life and service delivery by offering a new ‘Life History’ service, which involves creating a memory book.

The online memory book created at Forget Me Not Book allows the capture of personal, enlightening and fun stories or anecdotes which when combined with photos provides a rich insight into the life and character of a person. The content can then be printed into a beautiful book.

Jon Lale, Director of Forget Me Not Book said “We are very excited to be working with Somerset Care as they roll out the use of our website across their care homes, and look forward to working with both staff and families.

We didn’t coin the phrase ‘Person Centred Care’ but it quickly became evident that we had developed something that helped care homes deliver it. What’s been impressive about working with Somerset Care was how open minded they were and how hard they are working to integrate Forget Me Not Book into their processes.

It’s clear that Somerset Care are leaders in their field and we are confident our partnership will have a major impact on the well-being of those in care.”

If you want to create an online memory book for a loved one or even yourself visit www.forgetmenotbook.com or send them a tweet via Twitter @forgetmenotbook

Critchill Court celebrate Dignity Action Day

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Alyson Martin

On February 1st Somerset Care celebrated Dignity Action Day.

Dignity Action Day is a chance to raise awareness of the importance of dignity in care.

Critchill Court residential home in Frome celebrated with a Dignity Action Day party, full of activities for the residents, visitors and staff to enjoy. The residents made and decorated cupcakes, listened to a local musician and made bookings for the ‘wash and go’, a make shift car wash for zimmer frames and walking sticks.

As well as the fun activities Jess Symes, Critchill Court’s Dignity Champion and her mother made ribbons which they sold on the day. In total they raised £60 for their dignity fund, which is used to purchase items for the residents.

Dignity in care

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Alyson Martin

Somerset Care is supporting Dignity Action Day on 1st February.

Dignity Action Day is a national initiative led by the Dignity in Care Campaign and its key partners to bring staff and members of the public together to make a difference to those in care. The campaign is supported by Dame Joan Bakewell, Dignity in Care Ambassador, who wrote the foreword to Somerset Centenarians.
Critchill Court, one of our residential homes in Frome, Somerset, is holding a tea dance, cake decorating and manicures and pedicures. On the Isle of Wight our subsidiary Isle Care has been chosen to represent residential care at an event to demonstrate how dignity is applied for Residential and Learning Disabilities Care.

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