Care at Home & Housing Support Awards 2024 – Open for Entry!

Submissions are now open for the 2024 National Care at Home and Housing Support Awards! This prestigious event offers a great opportunity to acknowledge the accomplishments of our dedicated homecare workforce and supported individuals.

Scheduled for the 18th consecutive year on Friday 17 May 2024, at Radisson Blu, Glasgow, the awards ceremony will be hosted by Michelle McManus and our CEO, Dr Donald Macaskill. There are 10 award categories, including the new Care Innovation Award.

Nominations close on Monday 11 March 2024, at 5:00 pm. If you know of deserving individuals, teams, or services, please nominate them.

Find out about the awards and enter here.

Save the Date – Care at Home & Housing Support Conference 2024

We are excited to announce the upcoming 2024 National Care at Home & Housing Support Conference. This year’s event is titled “Care Revolution – Time to Act”, join us on Friday 17 May 2024, at the Radisson Blu in Glasgow.

More details and registration information will follow soon. Be prepared for insightful discussions, industry insights, and networking opportunities.

Save the date and be part of this transformative event shaping the future of care!

STV Expert Voices Media Training for Women Members

Calling all women members.

We are working with STV and their Expert Voices team to organise a free, in-person media training event, so please mark Monday 26th February, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm in your calendars.

The STV Expert Voices initiative is designed to increase diversity and representation in the media, providing media training to expert women, with the aim to improve gender equality in the news.

We are looking for around 50 members to attend this event which will be held at STV studios in Glasgow. The Expert Voices team will walk through the ins and outs of media training – from breaking down how an interview would work, how it is edited, and sharing some tips and dos and don’ts – this free event is open to all women members of Scottish Care but numbers are limited so save the date and register your interest on the Members Area of this website.

Winter Bulletin 2023

This year’s Winter Bulletin has now been published and is available to view online. It’s packed with insightful updates, valuable information, and heart-warming stories from the social care sector. We’ve dedicated a special section from pages 10 to 16 featuring festive activities and stories shared by our members. Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Your feedback and ideas are always welcomed. Feel free to share your thoughts or suggest topics for future bulletins by reaching out to us at [email protected].

Here’s to a joyous holiday season and a successful start to 2024!

Winter Bulletin 2023-compressed

Vitamin D Guidance in Care Home Workshop – Dec – Jan 2023/24

Workshops on new guidance on offering vitamin D supplements to eligible residents in adult care homes 14 December and 23 January

Dear colleagues

We are writing to invite you attend one of the workshops arranged by the Scottish Government for care homes and professionals who support care homes which will be held on Thursday 14th of December 2023 (3:00-4.30) and Tuesday 23rd of January 2024 (11:00-12.30) following the publication of the new Vitamin D guidance on 7th December. The joining links to the workshops are below.

Vitamin D is important for keeping bones and muscles healthy. Current advice is that everyone should consider taking a daily supplement of vitamin D, particularly during the winter months. However, groups at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, including people living in care homes, are advised to take a daily supplement all year round.

Guidance to support care home staff in offering vitamin D to residents has been developed by Short Life Working group (SLWG) following calls from the care home sector around the need for guidance on implementation. The guidance materials were piloted in some care homes Ayrshire and Arran who reported an overall positive experience in offering vitamin D supplements to eligible residents.

The workshops will provide information on vitamin D, the findings from the pilot in Ayrshire and Arran, how to use the guidance to support conversations around vitamin D and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. The content of both workshops will be the same, so there is no need to attend both.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Thursday 14th December: 3:00-4:30pm

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 381 780 582 889
Passcode: zbMqkn

Or call in (audio only)

+44 131 376 2847,,122762797#   United Kingdom, Edinburgh

Phone Conference ID: 122 762 797#

 

Tuesday 23rd January: 11:00-12:30pm

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 325 785 468 511
Passcode: evkMze

Or call in (audio only)

+44 131 376 2847,,1016923#   United Kingdom, Edinburgh

Phone Conference ID: 101 692 3#

Moving from Talk to Action on Bereavement – Online Event (23 January 2024)

 The Bereavement Charter Group and Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief  is organising an online event on ‘Moving from Talk to Action on Bereavement: Improving Signposting’.

Date: Tuesday 23 January 2024
Time: 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Location: Online via Zoom

This will be first in a series of events to discuss how we in the bereavement sector in Scotland can work together to achieve positive change.

The event is for anyone who feels they can play a role in improving signposting to available bereavement support in Scotland.

Find out more about the event and sign up on: Moving from Talk to Action on Bereavement: Improving Signposting Tickets, Tue 23 Jan 2024 at 14:00 | Eventbrite

Care Home Awards 2023 – Winners

The National Care Home Awards 2023 by Scottish Care took place on the evening of Friday 17 November 2023, hosted at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow. The event, hosted by Pop Idol Winner Michelle McManus and Scottish Care CEO Dr Donald Macaskill, was an eventful evening!

A big round of applause goes out to our well-deserving finalists and winners, and our heartfelt appreciation to all the Awards Sponsors. A special mention to The Nursing Partnership for generously sponsoring the Arrival Drinks and to the Hilton Glasgow for sponsoring the Hotel Stay Raffle Prize.

To discover more about our exceptional finalists, you can explore the details in our Awards Programme.

Five Nations Care Forum Communiqué 16 November 2023

Eight steps to a sustainable social care workforce

In this rapidly changing world, the demands on the social care workforce are also evolving. Our workforce is the backbone of the care and support sector, and investing in its capabilities and well-being is key to achieving our shared goals. Demographic and societal changes require a creative and innovative approach to how we deliver care and support in a sustainable way, which enables the person-led care and support we all deserve.

We recognize the need to support a workforce that is adaptable, innovative, and equipped with the necessary skills to address the complex needs experienced by individuals and communities. But this will require bravery across the whole social care system to address the implementation gap experienced to date and reinforced by bureaucracy and systemic barriers. The Five Nations Care Forum is calling for urgent attention on the following seven recommendations for a sustainable social care workforce.

  1. A valued workforce

A collaborative pledge to value social care as a career that is actively promoted and supported by the sector, civil servants and politicians.

  1. Continuous Training and Professional Development

Enable a system for knowledge exchange and co-creation across training and development.

Encourage and create the conditions for lifelong learning opportunities for all social care professionals.

Establish an interdisciplinary career pathway across health and social care.

  1. Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives

Implement initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion with the healthcare workforce, ensuring that our staff is reflective of the diverse populations we serve.

Foster a culture of respect and inclusion, providing training to address unconscious biases and create a supportive working environment.

Engage in a global conversation about the impact of economic migration.

  1. Mental Health and Well-being support

Develop comprehensive mental health support programmes for social care workers recognising the unique stressors they face in their roles.

Establish peer support networks and counselling services to address burnout and promote healthy work life balance.

  1. Technology integration

Invest in technology solutions that enhance the efficiency of social care and support delivery, reducing administrative burdens and allowing more time for direct patient care.

Provide training and resource to ensure all social care professionals can effectively utilize new technologies.

  1. Collaboration and interdisciplinary teams

Promote collaboration among different social care disciplines to create a more integrated and holistic approach to patient care.

Develop interdisciplinary training programmes to encourage effective communication and collaboration.

  1. Flexible work arrangements

Implement flexible work arrangements such as remote work options and flexible scheduling to accommodate the diverse needs of social care professionals.

Recognise and address the unique challenge faced by caregivers, providing tailored solutions to support their work-life balance.

  1. Recognition and Rewards

Establish a system for recognizing and rewarding outstanding contributions by social care professionals.

Develop incentive programmes to attract and retain top talent in the care sector.

These recommendations are intended to serve as a foundation for our collaborative efforts to strengthen the social care workforce across our nations. By prioritizing these initiatives, we can build a resilient and empowered workforce who are not only capable to providing the high-quality care and support that our communities deserve but experience the joy that working in this valuable sector can bring.

The 5 Nations Care Forum is an alliance of the professional associations representing the care sector across the UK and Ireland

-ENDS- 

This statement has been issued by Scottish Care on behalf of the Five Nations Care Forum, of which Scottish Care is a member.

About the Five Nations Care Forum

 The 5 Nations Care Forum is an alliance of the professional associations representing the care sector across the UK and Ireland. Through a collective commitment to information sharing, joint lobbying, shared learning and support, the aim of the 5 Nations Care Forum is to add value to members’ activity by promoting the interests of service recipients, staff and service providers. The Forum seeks to encourage the development of a joined-up approach to matters which have a UK-wide or European dimension.

For more information including membership: http://www.fivenationscareforum.com/

Autumn Bulletin 2023

This year’s Autumn Bulletin has now been published online and is available to view.

We are in the process of redesigning our quarterly Bulletins. If you have any feedback or ideas of what you’d like to see in the Bulletin, please get in touch at [email protected].

This edition is filled with updates, information and stories from the social care sector.

Autumn Bulletin 2023 final- compressed

View the bulletin here

Bereavement Charter Webinar “The Space Between: Understanding Anticipatory Grief” – Resources

“The Space Between: Understanding Anticipatory Grief” was a recent webinar hosted by Scotland’s National Bereavement Charter for Adults and Children Working Group. This session took place on 1 November 2023, and marked the fourth in a series of enlightening webinars exploring diverse aspects of death and bereavement.

The webinar delved into the topic of anticipatory grief, shedding light on this complex emotional experience faced by many. We were privileged to have speakers and experts who shared their valuable insights.

For those who missed the live session or wish to revisit the discussions, we are pleased to announce that the recording of the webinar is now available on: https://youtu.be/VNsJcIWVZJ8. Additionally, the presentation slides shared by our speakers can be accessed below:

The knowledge shared during this webinar promises to be a valuable resource for both professionals and individuals navigating the complexities of bereavement.