Chief Executive's Blog

News update

2012-02-09T10:18:00.000Z

I was surprised to read this on the Financial Times website yesterday. I would be interested to know what you think.
Sheila

8 Feb 2012 2:50am

Four Seasons races to refinance £780m in debt
Kate Mackenzie

Four Seasons, the UK’s largest care-home operator, will seek to raise up to £230m in new equity from existing shareholders and private equity groups, as it tries to refinance £780m in debt before a September deadline, reports the FT. The company became the UK’s market leader after the collapse last year of Southern Cross, taking 140 homes from its defunct rival. Unlike Southern Cross, Four Seasons owns most of its homes, which means it is less vulnerable to rent increases and pressure on fees. However, a similarly aggressive expansion strategy before the financial crisis left it burdened with debt of £1.6bn, which was halved in 2009 through a debt-for-equity swap. The reduced net debt of £780m, which falls due in September, is still too much to refinance in the current weak debt market, said Pete Calveley, Four Seasons’ chief executive. Although the company intends to pay off the existing debt in full and on time, it believes it will be able to raise only a significantly smaller amount of new debt.

Agenda Today

2012-01-17T10:19:00.000Z

Off to a meeting of the Care Provider Alliance at 11am. First on the agenda, meeting with Department of Health senior official from the Better Regulation Department. I will have a lot to say.

Full report in Update to our members on Friday.

Campaigning: 2012

2012-01-12T14:59:00.001Z

I spent the day yesterday in Kent with our Chairman Nadra Ahmed planning our campaigning for the first 6 months of 2012.

First stop will be a paper for MPs about the number of organisations that can now inspect or assess care providers and following on from that the number of extra organisations that the Government has announced will also be involved such as Monitor, Health Watch and of course NICE too.

What care homes need right now is clarity, not more and more complexity.

Meeting with Care Providers Alliance & CQC

2012-01-10T16:15:00.000Z

Yesterday I went to a meeting between the Care Providers Alliance and the Care Quality Commission at their headquarters.

Cynthia Bower the Chief Executive of CQC was there.

As always my blood pressure was raised from time to time and I guess that will continue!

More of that to members in an e mail at the end of the week.

Letter in Daily Telegraph: 3rd January 2012

2012-01-03T14:03:00.000Z

There is a disappointing letter in today’s Daily Telegraph signed by 72 organisations involved in social care mainly in the voluntary sector.

The letter talks about the threat to the provision of social care unless a concensus can be reached around the funding of long term care.

We believe that one of the biggest threats to the future of social care is the failure to care and support for the care home sector.

Care homes are an essential part of the continuum of care, caring as they do for the frailest and most vulnerable older people.

That failure to support the care home sector in the coming year could cause even more instability to social care than anything else and that instability could put more pressure on the NHS than it could tolerate.

Our message for the New Year to the Government and the 72 organisations that signed today’s letter is “It is imperative that the CARE HOME Sector is recognised as part of the solution to this funding conundrum. Splitting the sector will weaken the impact and fail the frail and elderly population we serve".

Social Care in the News

2012-01-03T10:05:00.000Z

Despite the holidays, there has been a great deal in the press and on the TV and radio about social care.

Yesterday it was about the government announcement of 150 million new money for domiciliary care - good for domiciliary care, but what about residential care which is suffering very badly too?

Meeting: the National Skills Academy for Social Care

2011-12-14T14:18:00.000Z

Yesterday afternoon I went to a meeting at the National Skills Academy for Social Care, looking at the role of the Registered Care Manager. It was really interesting to focus on this key role in Social Care and the Academy will be issuing a short questionnaire about the role of the Registered Manager in due course which we will of course circulate to everyone.

Meeting with the Minister / Our Seminars in Brighton and Croydon

2011-11-22T20:03:00.001Z

This evening, Nadra and I are having dinner with the Minister, Paul Burstow MP.

I had a really helpful meeting with him last week. It was an opportunity to speak about our ideas for making care homes a resource for the whole community.

Last week we also held 2 National Care Association seminars. These were well attended and we were able to consult with members about the Care Quality Commission’s consultation on changes to inspection and enforcement.

We are now writing our response and will let our members see it as soon as possible.

Age UK Conference & Day Care

2011-11-10T15:17:00.000Z

Yesterday I spoke at a conference in Shrewsbury organised by Age UK Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

It was a wonderful Conference and I was asked to speak about choosing a care home. This is always something I enjoy doing.

One of the key questions I was asked afterwards was from a lady who lives in sheltered housing in Shropshire where consultations are going on about the warden service being removed.

We know this is going on up and down the Country and this reminded me of the number of times I have heard recently about day centres being close down.

If this is happening in your area, have you thought about providing some day care within your own care home?

I am writing an information sheet for members about this at the moment and it will be emailed to members within the next 2 weeks.

Bureaucracy!

2011-11-03T10:14:00.001Z

I spoke at a care conference in York yesterday afternoon. The delegates had had a long day but the majority of them stayed to the very end of the Conference.

The thing that struck me both as I was speaking and when people spoke to me afterwards is their concern that the sheer volume of bureaucracy and paperwork is taking them away from their caring responsibilities.

We all know that there has to be proper recording of essential paperwork but …… I know that care providers too often feel that they are being asked to complete paperwork for no good reason.

I am going to a meeting with Cynthia Bower the Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission at the beginning of December and I will raise this issue with her then.

If you have any examples of being required to keep records unnecessarily please let me know.

CQC Inspections

2011-11-02T09:19:00.004Z

I would be very interested to hear from anyone what is happening with inspections at the moment. Are you still being asked by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to complete Provider Compliance Assessments (PCAs) of some of the Essential Standards? I know that other people are having unannounced inspections. I would be really pleased to hear what is happening in your area.

The unannounced inspections (instead of being asked to complete PCAs) are part of the current CQC consultation which ends at the beginning of December. You can take part in the consultation. For more information click here.

Am off to speak at a conference in York this afternoon.

National Care Association Annual Conference 2011 - Part 2

2011-10-05T11:43:00.003+01:00

Thanks for all your feedback on the article posted yesterday.

Before part two, a quick reminder to please visit the members section of our website for photos, slides and presentations, which I'm sure you'll find helpful.

Following Dame Jo Williams CBE on the second day was Ann Macfarlane OBE, an ’Expert by Experience’ for the Care Quality Commission and service user. She captivated Conference with a powerful plea for the needs of the seriously disabled to be heard. She enlivened her talk by demonstrating how disabled people benefit from personalised individual care budgets, yet warned that people with high support needs are rarely heard. She also voiced real fears about some of the Dilnot proposals, particularly emphasising the distinct differences between a person with a lifetime of disability and someone who becomes disabled in later life.

ITV News Correspondent Chris Choi chaired a lively and successful ‘Question Time’ session that brought together Dame Gillian Wagner of the Residential Forum - who reviewed social changes since the Wagner report, published twenty years ago. Her analysis of current trends echoed the thoughts of other speakers, identifying a need for enhanced training and the encouragement of greater involvement by relatives, friends and the voluntary sector, in the context of current pressures on income and costs in residential care -.and Peter Hay, President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services - who urged NCA delegates to contact him to contribute ideas and opinions to shape the current consulation being undertaken by the Department of Health. He emphasised that involvement in the Engagement Process was essential. The Coalition Government had recognised the need to reform the financing of care and was the first Government to commit to such a radical reform with a timetable for delivery.

The following Q&A session produced lively questions from the floor that led to some passionate exchanges with the panel, expertly handled by Chris Choi who kept proceedings moving applying his skill to the vibrant and diverting discussions.

Sir Andrew Dillon Chief Executive of NICE spoke about the standards that NICE writes for the Health Service currently and explained that part of the Health Service reforms was expected to include similar standards being written for social care. This prompted many queries, with concerns expressed about the amassing of more layers of standards. The Conference felt that clarification was desperately needed.

NCA Chief Executive, Sheila Scott OBE, in her closing address announced that the political campaign would continue although the issues might change. Amongst the issues identified at Conference to campaign on were the continued downward pressure on fees without a recognition of the impact by the Commissioners of services. Other areas to be addressed in the coming months included fair and equal access to care for people with a learning disability and making sure that the provider view was heard in the Department of Health’s consultation on the future of long term care.

Nadra Ahmed OBE, Chairman of National Care Association concluded by calling on all providers of care to join National care Association in their next campaign as the last six month’s campaign had demonstrated the real impact that the care sector itself could have by working together.

National Care Association Annual Conference 2011

2011-10-04T14:02:00.003+01:00

We had an incredible Conference last week in London Docklands and the following is the first half of an article that we have prepared for the press, which I hope you find of interest.

If you do, come back to my blog tomorrow, I'll be adding the second part then!

NCA 2011 Conference

How ironic to be discussing the effects of the credit crunch on the Care Sector in the shadow of London’s Canary Wharf; symbolic icon of the World’s leading financiers.

The unseasonably hot weather certainly mirrored the temperature inside the conference venue with many delegates I spoke to getting hot under the collar about a number of issues. In particular, the unrealistic expectations to keep delivering a service operating to the highest standards whilst having to cope with crippling across-the-board cost rises and below inflation fee increases.

This year’s two-day conference at London’s Docklands Britannia Hotel, brought together an incredible array of top draw speakers from across social care and Government. On the first day, following opening speeches from Lord Popat and NCA Chairman Nadra Ahmed and Dept of Health Social Care Director General David Behan, Conference divided into three different work streams; Dementia Care; Learning Disability Care and Nursing Care. Delegates were spoilt for choice with such a rich variety of expert speakers covering such a diverse range of subjects.

In opening Conference Lord Dolar Popat remarked that having been elevated to what he called ‘the best day care home in the country’ disguised the fact that his is an important appointment for the care sector and a sign that the contribution made by care home providers would now receive greater recognition.

Jeremy Hughes, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Society focused on the growing, important challenge posed by Dementia Care, highlighting far too many cases of loss of dignity and respect. The RNIB’s Julia Barrand, speaking on Dementia and Sight Loss, widened the debate by showing how loss of sight for older people can impact on their wellbeing and coordination.

An exclusive announcement of an NCA programme to improve the quality of life of service users with Dementia was made by National Care Association Chairman Nadra Ahmed OBE and Chief Executive Sheila Scott OBE.
The NCA programme, which is currently in development, will have seven principles underpinning it; Personalisation, Prevention, Protection, Partnership, Plurality, Productivity and People. The programme will instigate a culture change and training system in care putting service users and their families at the heart of the delivery of care.

Prof Alistair Burns, Dept of Health Clinical Director for Dementia and a practising psychiatrist, delivered an excellent overview of facts about dementia; Dementia dwarfs other diseases such as heart disease, cancer and strokes, yet research budgets are not comparable; 25% of hospital beds are occupied by dementia patients, while in the last 2 years people using memory clinics have increased by 56%!

The conference’s second day started where day one left off… with a broad side from Nadra Ahmed, who did not pull any punches when pointing out the crippling hike in costs to care homes, an undisguised cri de cœur aimed at the CQC’s inspection charge increases, CRB checks, the minimum wage, and fuel rises. This was not whingeing, she said, but justifiable concern at being told to deliver a quality care service for less. Under such duress, something had to give!

She reported that it was concerns about funding that had led to National Care Association launching a political campaign to bring those concerns to the attention of MPs and Peers. Concerns about CQC had also become part of the campaign. There had been external issues too such as Southern Cross and Winterbourne View which had bought social care to the top of the political agenda and lately opposition to the CQC Excellence Award Scheme.

CQC Chair, Dame Jo Williams CBE’ promised that significant responsive changes would be made to the regulatory model. Dame Jo Williams also said that she saw no prospect of the Excellence Award scheme going ahead after it had received a “universal thumbs down” by provider bodies and organisations such as the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services during the recent consultation exercise but she stressed that the final decision would be made by the Minister. Dame Jo also made a commitment to working more closely with the National Care Association.

2011-07-29T11:48:00.004+01:00

Last night over dinner we were able to talk at length with Erin about all we had seen during the day and the large differences we have noted between the American model of care and the British model.

I saw a similar disparity when I was on holiday in Australia in February.

Compared to the size of American and Australian care facilities British ones are much smaller so if we are going to find a model of care that will make a real difference to service users and staff then it must reflect that difference.

The homes we went to yesterday all had teams of activities staff.

We do not think this is impossible though but it will need a great deal of thought and planning.

We have also heard about European models based upon small units of residents.

The important thing we have seen is that the difference that can be made to residents even with advanced levels of dementia by connecting them with their past.

I am trying to get more photos from Erin which will demonstrate what we are saying.

2011-07-28T15:16:00.005+01:00

Some of you will have been at our Conference in October last year and heard Erin Bonitto speak about the programme that she was implementing in parts of America which included the dementia lounge. There were other parts to the programme but the "lounge" was certainly the element that grabbed everyone's attention.

Many providers were keen to implement something similar in their own facilities.

After that trip to England we had intended to continue discussions with Erin about how something similar could be introduced in England.

That did not happen because within weeks of Erin and her husband Chris returning to America they heard that their dream of adopting two children would soon become a reality. At the beginning of April this year they were able to bring home from Ethiopia a 5 year old daughter and an 18 month old son.

We did not want to allow any more time to elapse so Nadra and I have come to America to visit three facilities for dementia and in particular to witness the Life Enrichment Programme that has been implemented in the facilities by Erin and her colleagues.

On Tuesday we began our Study Tour here in Albany which is the capital of New York State and where we will be staying until our tour ends on Thursday. Erin met us this morning and the three facilities that we are to be spending time in are part of a charity called the Eddy Foundation.

We have visited 2 homes today and have seen so much and heard so much that I am feeling quite overwhelmed but positive that I have already seen some things that enhance the quality of life all residents.

Whether or not his programme would easily transfer to the UK I need to reflect on. The facilities here are much bigger than most in England and of course all on one floor because there is so much land available.

We are going out to dinner now so it will give me the chance to ask loads of questions and I will keep updating the blog as much as I can.

Concerns about the Care Quality Commission

2011-07-18T12:19:00.003+01:00

The following is a press release we have sent out this morning. We have done this because at National Care Association we have come to the conclusion that there are steps that can be taken to restore our member’s confidence in the regulator.

As we have said many times recently we need to have a robust regulator who is also a critical friend. We are also of the absolute opinion that the Excellence Award scheme needs at the very least to be deferred.

----

This is the press release:

National Care Association Addresses its Members Concerns about the Care Quality Commission

National Care Association having reflected on the widespread concerns of its members about the performance of the Care Quality Commission wrote to the Minister Paul Burstow at the beginning of June identifying what the Association believes has gone wrong in the last 18 months and suggesting some first steps to begin to restore the confidence of social care providers in the regulator.

The letter was signed by the Chairman of National Care Association and the Chief Executive.

The Chairman Nadra Ahmed OBE said today: “All responsible providers want a robust and challenging regulator but also one that is a critical friend.

The broadcast of the Panorama programme and the disclosure that CQC has 300 staff vacancies have added to the view of so many within the social care provider sector of a failing organisation.

Having reflected and consulted with our members on what they believe has gone wrong in the last 18 months we have identified 3 key issues:

• There does not appear to be a strategic direction towards social care within CQC and our members believe that the regulator is “health led”.
• There are six members of the Board of CQC and only the Chairman would seem to have experience of Social Care. The other five Board Members are from a health or related background. It cannot be expected within the normal workings of a Board that the Chairman would be able to take a strong lead with regard to social care.
• National Care Association believes that although the Care Quality Commission carries out consultations these are not consultations that hear and react to what the provider sector is saying and particularly the private sector. The independent social care sector is a sector which believes its voice is not heard by the regulator.

Much has been made about the regulations being the same for health and social care but that cannot realistically be the case. The outcomes should be the same but the delivery is different and that must be recognised.

National Care Association proposes that the following action is instigated by the Government immediately:

• The social care sector needs to be separated away from health within the Care Quality Commission and then to be led by officers who are experienced in the work of social care.
• The Board of the Care Quality Commission needs to be strengthened with more Social Care expertise including from a stakeholder in the private sector.
• Strategic Direction in the Social Care field needs to be given to the Care Quality Commission by a Committee made up of representatives from stakeholder groups (this committee needs to reflect the fact that the majority of social care is provided by the private sector).

It is essential that the sense of disarray that providers have about the regulator at this time is addressed without delay.”

12th July - Examining the Issues

2011-07-12T17:40:00.004+01:00

We all know that ‎2010 proved to be yet another year of major changes for the care sector, and this is clearly continuing in 2011. We are holding another series of regional seminars in August to examine some of these issues, including:

• How to demonstrate compliance with CQC’s Essential Standards of Quality and Safety
• Headlines from the Dilnot Report
• What next for the CQC?

There are so many issues to discuss at the moment but also a great deal of practical assistance that we can offer to care homes and domiciliary agencies.

So please, if you're anywhere near Blackburn (9th August), Bolton or Manchester (both on 10th August), and Uttoxeter or Derby (17th August), then do consider attending.

You can contact the office on info@nationalcareassociation.org.uk, asking for a programme and a booking form or phone them on 0207 831 7090. It's only £20 a ticket (and less for Association members).

I do hope that you're able to join us for the day and take the chance not just to meet with us but also with homeowners from your area.

8th July 2011 - Making Our Voice Heard

2011-07-08T15:14:00.002+01:00

It has been a very busy week yet again.

It started with the launch of the launch of the Dilnot Report. This is a report that is well worth reading. We are studying it and reflecting on the proposals and intend to issue a response by the end of August.

On Tuesday I spoke at a really successful event organised by Barclays at their headquarters in Docklands. The speakers that were there were from Barclays, a solicitor from Bristol, a speaker from CQC and myself and it was a well balanced afternoon.

I reminded the care providers there that the consultation on the Care Quality Commission Excellence Award closes on 1 August so it’s time to think about we are all going to say. National Care Association’s position is clear the proposal is “the wrong scheme at the wrong time”.

This is particularly true because providers of care will be expected to pay significant sums of money to be assessed for the award and we believe that there is already too much financial pressure on many providers. You can find the consultation papers at www.cqc.org.uk/yourviews/consultations/excellenceaward.cfm

On Wednesday we met Baroness Jill Pittkeithley at the House of Lords and briefed her about latest developments in the sector.

Yesterday we briefed two more Members of Parliament Mark Lancaster the MP for Milton Keynes South and Iain Stewart the MP for Milton Keynes North. We were very pleased when we were able to agree to organise a meeting for them in Milton Keynes to meet with Care Providers in October.

I have worked at National Care Association for a very long time now and I have never known such a fast moving agenda around social care. I think there is a real will to make the whole system work. It is really important that our voice is heard as well as the purchasers of care and the regulators of care.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Sheila

Monday, July 4, 2011: Dilnot and the CQC

2011-07-04T13:22:00.001+01:00

Hopefully now we are in July there will be some respite and we will all have the chance to catch up.

Last week was busy for us with social care as a whole seeming to move from one crisis to another. We issued a press release about the Care Quality Commission in which we identify what we believe are gaps in the management of CQC and which we then make suggestions about how the gaps might be filled. We did write to Paul Burstow (the Minister) about this at the beginning of June but we haven’t had a response yet (a copy of the press release is linked below).

In a few hours, the Dilnot Commission will be publishing July its report: ‘Dilnot Commission on the Funding of Long Term Care’.

As expected, there was a build up to the publication of the report in the papers over the weekend and the National Care Association will be giving a series of interviews if the last few weeks is anything to go by.

I have already had one interview recorded which was aired on the Radio 4 Today programme this morning. Actually, it was the most charming interview I have ever done. The BBC took me to a care home in North London where I was interviewed by a 92 year old resident Diane Athill.

Obviously, keep watching this space, I’ll be blogging about the events of this week over the next few days - but right this second, I’m heading over to the launch of the Dilnot Commission Report!

http://www.nationalcareassociation.org.uk/story_detail.asp?story=news&id=666

Happy New Year!

2011-01-10T14:45:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

I do hope that everyone has had a peaceful Christmas.

After what was an exceptionally busy year for us here at National Care Association and more importantly for each and everyone of you I do hope that 2011 will be a year for consolidation and an opportunity for you to ensure that all the new regulations are firmly embedded in your home and that you have the time to concentrate and what is really important your service users.

At the end of 2010 the Department of Health published a revised copy of the Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance.

The Code of Practice has been revised by the Department of Health to take into account the services which will have to be registered by April 2011 which include dental care and ambulance services.

The helpful thing is that the Department of Health has tried to further clarify the point that not all criteria will apply to every regulated activity.

You may wish to download the latest version of the Code of Practice which you will find at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_122604

27th October 2010

2010-10-27T10:43:00.003+01:00

For those of you who didn't see her, Nadra was on ITV News last night talking about Dementia Care.

The Home Office has released this morning the terms of reference for the review of CRB checks: http://www.crb.homeoffice.gov.uk/

I am on the way to Leamington Spa to chair and speak at a small seminar for care home owners, more about that tomorrow.

Twitter

2010-10-27T10:40:00.002+01:00

National Care Association now has a Twitter account, to keep up to date with Nadra and Sheila's day to day activities and the latest information, please follow them at : http://twitter.com/nationalcareasc

26th October 2010

2010-10-26T16:44:00.001+01:00

It has been a strange day today.

Overnight the Care Quality Commission issued a consultation document on the annual bed fees paid by registered providers. On first reading it seems to me that there is something deeply unfair about the proposals but I will read it again tomorrow.

This morning Nadra went to a breakfast meeting in London of the Dementia Action Alliance of which National Care Association is a member. Paul Burstow was at the breakfast and he and many others including Nadra signed the National Dementia Declaration.

I hope that she is at the moment being interviewed by ITN for the 6.30 news. More information about this and a photograph to follow hopefully tomorrow.

26th October 2010

2010-10-26T16:41:00.000+01:00

Yesterday morning we arrived back in the office after all the exertions last week of staging one of our most successful conferences in recent years. Attendance was up and the quality of the speakers was very high. For the first time ever we ran two simultaneous conference on the first day one about care of people with a learning disability and the other about dementia care.

Peter Grose our solicitor was able to make an important announcement about the outcome of a Court Case about Mental Capacity and Supported Living. Peter entitled his presentation “Local Authorities and Supported Living Providers Beware”.

Members of National Care Association should contact us for a briefing document.

At the dementia conference we had invited a speaker from the United States of America, Erin Bonitto who mesmerised the delegates with her presentation about the work she is doing with care homes in the United States through an Alzheimer’s Dementia Lounge.

Amongst other things the programme is reported to significantly reduce the use of psychotropic medication. National Care Association has agreed to work closely with Erin Bonitto in the coming years to bring the benefits of her programme to the United Kingdom.

Again for a copy of Erin’s presentation please contact the office.

More about both these items to come in newsletters and emails.

Opportunity to help improve care services for adults with autism

2010-07-29T15:32:00.001+01:00

Dear Members,

Today the Department of Health launched a consultation to help improve care services and healthcare outcomes for adults of autism in England.

I think that as a provider your views will be an important voice in shaping how the needs of adults with autism are to be met.

It will be you and your staff who will be delivering services to adults with autism and so I strongly urge you to contribute.

This consultation as well as the draft guidance document can be viewed below.
Fulfilling and rewarding lives:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_113369
Opportunity to help improve care services for adults with autism:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Consultations/Liveconsultations/DH_118058

15th July 2010

2010-07-15T09:17:00.001+01:00

The end of last week and the beginning of this week have been very busy with meetings, seminars etc.

Last Friday I attended a Social Care Institute for Excellence seminar in London about innovation in Social Care. Those of you who have heard me speak in the last year will know that I believe that innovation and modernisation may be part of the future for many care providers and that I think the introduction of the new regulator may allow more flexibility in the way services are provided in care homes.

This Friday Nadra will be spending the day working on briefing papers etc to be submitted to Ministers, MPs and other opinion makers about this and several other issues. As we release them we will also put them on the website so watch this space!

On Monday I went to the launch of The State of the Ault Social Care Workforce in England 2010 report. The report collates and analyses the information collected by the NMDS-SC project and makes interesting reading.

The report is available on the Skills for Care website:

www.skillsforcare.org.uk/research/research_reports/annual_reports_SCW.aspx

25th June 2010

2010-06-25T14:22:00.001+01:00

The event in Birmingham yesterday was excellent, a great deal of emphasis on dementia care which is as it should be I think.

I’ve had a meeting here at the office with our staff about our annual conference on 20 and 21 October this morning. This year for the first time we are splitting up the Conference into two quite separate days. The first day was what we were concentrating on this morning. On that day we will be holding two separate conferences, one about dementia care and one for providers of services to adults with a learning disability.

It was the conference about dementia care that we sorted out today. We have managed to agree the conference programme and now need to hope that everyone we have invited to speak is able to attend. We have already had expressions of interest from as far away as America.

I am away from the office now for just over a week but if anything significant happens I will manage to publish an update.

Have a good weekend.

Sheila

24th June 2010

2010-06-24T14:15:00.001+01:00

I have driven to Birmingham today for the National Care Congress. This afternoon I will be chairing the final session of the conference. I have been able to spend the morning constructively engaged. I have visited a number of exhibitors talking about new products and I have also been able to talk to Cheryl at length about our plans for the summer.

More a out that later!

22nd June 2010

2010-06-22T09:20:00.001+01:00

I am off to a meeting in 1 hour with the new Minister. Not just me of course but with 20 other people. It should be an excellent event scheduled to last for 3 hours and I ought to come away with a much better impression of where Social Care sits within the new Government agenda .

18th June 2010

2010-06-18T15:50:00.001+01:00

I have spoken at 2 conferences over the last week. The first was the West Yorkshire SC Partnership Conference where I spoke to more than 100 providers about the future of social care for providers.

Last night I spoke at a seminar organised by Barclays Bank alongside a speaker from CQC. This was a good event with a large number of providers and others such as accountants and solicitors present.

It made me realise we must look to the future now. There is an ever increasing number of people needing care and we must look to deliver a modern service.

But... as I said last night, Government - both local and national - and the regulator cannot continue to expect more and more services unless they have money to pay.

Vetting and Barring Scheme Announcement

2010-06-17T15:13:00.002+01:00

I wasn’t surprised to hear that the Home Office had decided to delay (?) the introduction of the Vetting and Barring Scheme but it was certainly very late in the day.

Many members will want to know what the arrangements are now with the CRB and which form etc. to use. All information is in the CRB section of the National Care Association Website.

http://www.nationalcareassociation.org.uk/crb.asp

The big question is “is the end of the Independent Safeguarding Authority?” For once I have no idea!

National Care Association and Boots.

2010-06-14T10:09:00.001+01:00

We are delighted to announce that Boots and National Care Association have agreed to continue their partnership.

Boots will be speaking at the Dementia Conference on 20^th October 2010 – click below….. and watch this space for more information.

http://www.nationalcareassociation.org.uk/conference.asp

Survey of providers of Learning Disabilities services

2010-06-11T10:42:00.003+01:00

I am really grateful to all those providers of services to people with Learning Disabilities for returning our Survey. If you haven’t can you please try to complete and return to us as soon as possible. If you haven’t received a copy of the survey please follow the link below:
http://www.nationalcareassociation.org.uk/

We are going to analysis responses in mid-June. We will share the results initially with all those who responded and we will use the report in discussions with Government. We will formally launch the report at our Learning Disabilities Conference, 20th October 2010 in London. http://www.nationalcareassociation.org.uk/conference.asp

CQC - Revised Enforcement Policy and Consultation Document

2010-06-09T15:40:00.001+01:00

Dear Members,

Please see link below which takes you to two downloads on the revised enforcement policy and consultation document.

http://www.cqc.org.uk/getinvolved/consultations/enforcementpolicy.cfm

2010-06-09T10:33:00.001+01:00

Wednesday 9th June 2010

Dear Members,

At last we are having a quieter week in the office giving us time to catch up with some items and also to plan for the future particularly around seminars and Annual Conference.

We are currently working on a joint meeting with the Kent Care Homes Association in Canterbury on 21 July and a seminar in Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire on 28 July.

Annual Conference will be held in London on 20 and 21 October. We are having a different format this year to make it easier for people to attend.

There will be a modular structure to the conference - designed to give busy care professionals the opportunity to attend either one or both days, depending on their schedules and subjects of interest.

The developing programme will include a Dementia Care Conference and a Learning Disability Providers Conference running simultaneously on 20 October and the National Conference featuring a number of major speakers on the 21st.

The Conference will be held at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel & Conference Centre, Kensington London.

Today I am off to a Residential Forum workshop entitled “Residential care – After the Election” so more news about that tomorrow.

5th June 2010

2010-06-07T10:30:00.001+01:00

I went to the Great British National Care Home Awards on Saturday night which was held at the Guildhall in the London. It was a magnificent event and I presented one of the awards (Dignity in Care).

There were many people there that I hadn’t seen for years and one was an official from the Department of Health. I took the opportunity to speak to him briefly about the latest developments with CQC and re registration. I have this morning sent him an email and I hope to have a response soon. I will of course keep you informed.

Photo below is of the winners of the dignity in care award with Fiona Philips on the left and me on the right!

2nd June

2010-06-04T15:39:00.002+01:00

I was grateful that Monday was a bank holiday which gave me time to recover from the busy schedule Nadra and I had last week.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I went to a prevention of infection conference held by the Department of Health in London. I think it was helpful but there was some divergence of opinion amongst the speakers.

The implementation of the Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infection is clear that regulation needs to be proportional for social care providers. That is why we are working with Peter Hawkins of ReQuired Systems to come up with a manual that is appropriate for social care providers.

More about that in a few weeks.

1st June

2010-06-04T15:31:00.003+01:00

Last week was a very busy week for Nadra and myself. It began on Sunday 23 May when Nadra and myself travelled to Leeds in preparation for a seminar we had arranged the following day. The seminar was again about the Care Quality Commission and the re registration process and it went very well.

We then set off for Manchester where we stayed the night before another seminar the next day. We hadn’t been to Manchester for several years and this was a really successful seminar. In passing I think I should say how grateful we are to Skills for Care, the National Skills Academy for Social Care and our sponsors for supporting us at all 12 seminars we have held already in 2010.

We haven’t finished yet and are currently planning more, the next one likely to be in Beverley in Yorkshire and one later in the year in Brighton. We are also arranging a meeting in Kent in July with the Kent care Homes Association.

When the seminar in Manchester finished Nadra and I headed off to Heathrow in preparation for an early morning flight on Wednesday to Sweden. We went to attend the Conference of the European Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (EAHSA) of which National Care Association is a member. In future we will tell members about the conferences so that you can attend if you would like to.

These conferences are immensely useful for both learning from delegates from other Countries about what is happening in social care around the world and also EAHSA examines closely technological and innovative advances which I think we need to take much more notice of.

We enjoyed the conference and at the end we were able to spend a few hours as tourists in Stockholm

2010-05-21T09:17:00.003+01:00

Tuesday 18th May 2010

Dear Members,

After the daily updates that we began in April, issues around re registration seem to have calmed down a little and I thought it is time I got back to my blog and kept you updated with all the other things that are going on with the social care agenda as well as with the Care Quality Commission.

First of all I guess there is the general election. The Coalition has appointed the Liberal Democrat MP Paul Burstow to be the Minister of State responsible for Social Care.

The Minister is someone we have got to know well since he was elected to Parliament in 1997. He has always taken a close interest in Social Care so we hope that we will be able to work with him in the coming months and years to ensure that Social Care is recognised to be as essential as Health Care.

Thanks Sheila

2010-05-21T09:13:00.001+01:00

20th May 2010

Dear Member,

I think most of you will know by now that Paul Burstow,the Liberal Democrat MP has been appointed the Minister of State for Social Care in the Department of Health.

National Care Association has known Paul since he was first elected to Parliament in 1997. Since then he has taken a very close interest in Social Care and although we haven't agreed on everything we have always worked together.

I am please to tell you that I when I answered my mobile at twenty minutes to nine last evening it was Paul Burstow calling to say that he was looking forward to working with National Care Association in the future and outlining some of his thoughts, we spoke for more than 4 minutes.

We are all delighted to have had that early contact with him and are writing to ask him to speak at our annual conference in October.

CQC re-registration

2010-03-02T16:59:00.001Z

I am very concerned, as I am sure you are, that we still have no definitive information about the Care Quality Commission re-registration process due to commence on 1 April and close at the end of September.

I have just spoken to one of our solicitors, Jeremy Allin, and after discussion I have asked him to write me a briefing paper setting out the position regarding re registration from a legal point of view.

He has agreed to do this and I expect to have the letter by Friday at the latest and I will get it out to you as soon as I receive it.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2009-12-16T15:56:00.000Z

17 December.

I leave today to spend Christmas with my family. I want to take this chance to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

If you need to contact us over the holiday period please call the office and the answer phone will direct you to the on call number.

Get Connected and Care First Careers

2009-12-16T15:46:00.003Z

16 December 2009

Today I have been at a meeting of the Get Connected Reference Group at SCIE. The Get Connected Project is a huge opportunity for care providers to receive grants to help with getting both service users and their families connected to the internet and also to connect staff to e training. For further information please visit the SCIE website:
http://www.scie.org.uk/workforce/getconnected/index.asp

Care First Careers

The Department of Health and Department of Work and Pensions are working together with employers to help them get the talent they need in the adult social care sector.

A new scheme, Care First Careers is launching nationally at the end of January following a pilot programme in four Jobcentre Plus districts; South Tyne and Wear Valley, Cheshire, Halton and Warrington, Coventry and Warwickshire and South West Wales.

Under Care First Careers, employers in the adult social care sector will be encouraged to take on young jobseekers by receiving a £1500 subsidy for every 18-24 year old that they employ who has been receiving Jobseekers Allowance for more than 6 months. This is part of DWP’s Young Person’s Guarantee that promises from early 2010, everyone in between the ages of 18 and 24 who has been looking for work for a year will get an offer of a job, work experience or training lasting at least 6 months.

The scheme is administered by Jobcentre Plus whose front line advisors will be primed to promote adult social care as a key route into work for long-term unemployed 18-24 year olds.

To support the introduction of Care First Careers a series of 11 regional launch events will take place in January and February across England, Scotland, and Wales, where adult social care employers from each region will be invited to learn more about employing young people and encouraged to participate in the scheme.

Care First Careers aims to stimulate wider interest in adult social care and attract a younger and more diverse workforce, with talent being spotted early on and helped to develop. Nurturing the potential core employees of the future from an early point in their careers can lead to more sustainable employment and help grow the workforce of the future.

Employers can visit www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/carefirstcareers to find out more about Care First Careers and how to get the subsidy.

BBC Documentary: Can Gerry Robinson fix dementia care homes?

2009-12-16T15:42:00.002Z

11 December

Well this has been another busy week.

On 8 December 2009 the Care Quality Commission published guidance for all health and adult social care providers on meeting new essential standards of quality and safety that will apply across the care sector. (i.e. to replace National Minimum Standards). These documents are going to take us several days to read and comprehend fully. You can access the documents at:
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=35743&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&usecache=false

That evening there was a programme on BBC2 called “Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes?” I am only too aware of how much this programme upset so many of our members. It is not acceptable to have a programme made about some of the most frail and most vulnerable which is light entertainment.

The next morning I was stunned to find on the Care Quality Commission’s website a press release entitled BBC documentary: Can Gerry Robinson fix dementia care homes? and with the opening line:
The Care Quality Commission helped the BBC in the preparation of this evening’s programme on BBC2 (9pm), Can Gerry Robinson Fix Dementia Care Homes? We provided statistics and background information:
http://www.cqc.org.uk//newsandevents/newsstories.cfm?cit_id=35745&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1&usecache=false

I cannot believe this press release. What were they thinking about?

It is just another concern about their practice that is chipping away at our confidence in them as the regulator.

Nadra has written to the Minister about this and I have written to senior Civil Servants.

Strategy Days and CQC

2009-12-16T15:33:00.001Z

4 December 2009

This has been another very busy week for us all but nothing I suspect compared to all of you as you prepare for Christmas in your businesses.

We held a two day Board meeting on Wednesday and Thursday where the Board planned the direction of the organisation for the coming year. There are obvious areas that we will be concentrating on particularly around the implementation of the re-registration of all care provision with the Care Quality Commission and the implementation of the new regulations and the accompanying compliance guidance also to be implemented next year.
We also intend to do a significant amount of work in the Learning Disability field (more about that in the first week of January).

On the Wednesday evening Barclays Bank very kindly hosted a reception for us at their head office in Docklands. This was a very happy evening with guests from National Care Association, some of our members and some distinguished guests from legal circles, SCIE, Skills for Care etc.
On Thursday evening I attended the Skills for Care Accolades event in central London. This was another very happy event with care providers from across the sectors rewarded for their commitment to training and the workforce. I was very pleased to see several of our members represented at the event.

There was a great deal of talk at the event about what was going on with the Care Quality Commission and what impact the criticism that they were receiving would have on the morale of the sector.

I went off to Leeds the next morning to deliver a speech about the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. On the train on the way back I met a very senior official from the Department of Health and was able to have a bit of a moan to him about the uncertainty in the sector about the Care Quality Commission.

By Saturday morning it was announced by the Care Quality Commission that Baroness Young was to step down as Chairman of CQC (nothing to do with me!)
I hope that this will give the Care Quality Commission some breathing space.

Care Quality Commission

2009-12-11T09:50:00.000Z

1 December 2009

Well we have just witnessed a significant few days when the Care Quality Commission has been the subject of unprecedented criticism following their announcement that “Healthcare regulators are taking action to address concerns around leadership and quality of care at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.” This was followed of course by criticism by other agencies of other hospitals.

The media has been questioning exactly what the Care Quality Commission’s role is in all of this. I think I agree with the media, the Care Quality Commission has a responsibility to ensure the health, safety and well being of people receiving care within regulated premises.

National Care Association has always maintained that the regulator should not be using their reports to take the headlines but should be working in partnership with providers to ensure a consistency of services throughout the Country.

I went to a breakfast meeting this morning organised by the regulator to announce that the latest State of Social Care report will be published sometime this week. From the few statistics that we heard I am not expecting that the headlines from the Care Quality Commission to the press and media about both social services record and about care homes will be positive.

Our experience of these reports has always been negative and in view of what has happened this last week I don’t expect this one will be much different.

The other bit of news that was announced at the breakfast was that the new standards will also be published sometime this week.

Care First Careers

2009-12-11T09:49:00.001Z

24 November

I have become very heavily involved within the Department of Health with workforce related issues in the last few months, so involved in fact that I was recently invited to be the Co Chairman of the Recruitment, Retention & Career Pathways Working Group which I was pleased to accept.

Yesterday I attended a meeting of the Adult Social Care Strategy Board Meeting and there are some key projects underway being led by the Department of Health to help all care providers to recruit and retain staff:

Care First Careers

Care First Careers is a new government initiative to support employers to recruit young people into jobs in adult social care.

Attracting a younger and more diverse workforce will enable the identification of talent early on, nurturing potential core employees of the future from an early point in their careers.
Focus is on sustainable employment with recruitment activity promoting adult social care as a sector of choice and generating more interest in this sector.

Promoting sustainable employment will lead to reduced staff turnover, generating savings and reducing waste.

£1500 is available to the employer if the jobseeker stays for 6+ months and works for an average of 16 hours per week.

Young people bring into the workplace potential new ideas, energy and enthusiasm.
Lots of young people are eager to get into the workplace and demonstrate their high quality skills and attributes. By recruiting from this age group and taking advantage of the ongoing training and support available for young people, you can realise their potential and build your future workforce.

The initiative will be rolled out in all areas from January 2010.

National Recruitment Campaign

· National Care Association has agreed to support the National Recruitment Campaign which will be carried out on TV, radio and other media opportunities in the Spring next year. We hope that it will increase the number of applicants to work in social care either through the campaign or directly to your business.
· We will keep you posted with latest developments as they emerge.

The two projects above involve large financial investment into the social care sector and I hope that you will be able to take advantage of both schemes during 2010.

2009-12-11T09:46:00.001Z

19 November

This morning I went to the House of Commons along with Nadra to give evidence to the House of Commons Health Committee. In August we had received an invitation to submit evidence on the following points:

future funding of long-term residential and domiciliary care for older people and people with physical or learning disabilities;

personalisation of social care services;

more effective, consistent and user-friendly social care services.

The evidence that we submitted can be accessed via this link:

http://www.nationalcareassociation.org.uk/story_detail.asp?story=news&id=253

The Chief Officers of two other officers also gave evidence to the Health Committee at the same time.

The session clearly went well because it lasted for more than an hour and a quarter. I was certainly pressed on some of the points we had made in our evidence but all in all the committee was extremely interested in all we had to say.

As soon as the Committee’s report is published I will let you know.

I was surprised a few days later to hear from several people that the session had been extensively reported on the Parliament Channel late one night.

Annual Conference 2009

2009-12-10T10:16:00.011Z

16 November

We are just back from a highly successful conference and exhibition in Swindon.

The conference bought together some of the most significant decision makers in social care today, most notably Cynthia Bower, Chief Executive of the Care Standards Commission and David Behan, Director General of Social Care in the Department of Health.

All the presentations delivered at Conference are on our website.

http://www.nationalcareassociation.org.uk/story_detail.asp?story=feature&id=248

The exhibition was magnificent with both old and new companies taking part.

Equally important for many of the delegates are the social events and the networking opportunities.

I’m pleased to include a few photos from the 2 days.

Responses

2009-10-23T11:07:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I went to the outskirts of Coventry to meet with Debbie Le Quesne the Chief Executive of the West Midlands Care Association and we were able to finalise arrangements for a closer working relationship between our two Associations. I think it is quite clear that the active working between a local or regional Association and a national Association benefits all parties and I know that the Board of National Care Association is delighted to have reached a formal but flexible working arrangement with the West Midlands Care Association.

Today is quite different. I am trying to complete first drafts of a number of responses to Government consultations.The first is a draft paper about the Independent Safeguarding Authority and that response has gone in. I have now completed the first draft of our response to the Green Paper which will go out to the Board for their comments this evening. Any member of National Care Association who would like to be part of this consultation, please email us and I will let you have a copy for comment.

By the end of the day tomorrow I want to have our draft response to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice for health and adult social care on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance and, Prevention and control of infection in care homes out for comment to the Board. This is likely to be a much more robust piece of work as we strive to make sure that requirements to be imposed on our members are pertinent and affordable.
Once our responses have been finalised they will be published on the website.

We have also published on the website today the latest update from the Department of Health about the vaccination programme for front line social care workers whatever sector they work in.

Annual Conference 2009

2009-10-16T12:46:00.002+01:00

15 October 2009

There are only a few weeks now to go before our annual conference. Tomorrow we are going to spend most of the day working on the details of the conference and making sure that is plenty of information available to make the conference an essential event not to be missed.

We know that there will be some important announcements made at the Conference and hope that this is an event you would not wish to miss.

National Skills Academy for Social Care Launch

2009-10-16T12:46:00.001+01:00

13 October 2009

The National Skills Academy for Social Care was launched today in Westminster by two Ministers; Kevin Brennan MP from the Department for Business, innovation and Skills and Phil Hope from the Department of Health who was had done a re recording as he was unable to attend in person.

I have been on the steering group of the Skills Academy and am now a member of the Board of Trustees. I was very pleased to be invited to say a few words at the launch and I will keep you informed of progress in the coming months. What I can tell you is that there will be a number of initiatives in the next few months which will bring added value to small and medium sized registered providers of care in the coming year, so I guess it is a case of watch this space!

Board Meeting

2009-10-16T12:45:00.002+01:00

Today is a Board meeting day and before that a small group of us held a meeting with Peter Hawkins from ReQuired Systems to discuss and plan what manuals might be needed to meet the new expectations of the Care Quality Commission. Any manuals that we produce will need to reflect the change of emphasis from National Minimum Standards to Conditions of Registration and the Care Quality Commission’s declared intention that they will be monitoring outcomes and not inputs.

We had a good meeting and Peter is going to begin work around the areas we discussed while we wait for the final decisions from both the Government and the Care Quality Commission.

At the Board meeting the Board ratified the guide to negotiating fee levels with Local Authorities co produced by our solicitors Brunswick and ourselves.

This important guide is now available to download as a members benefit. Anyone wanting a copy should email us here and he will email the guide back by return.

The Board also ratified National Care Association’s submission to the House of Commons Health Committee. The Committee had called for evidence on The Future funding of Long Term Residential and Domiciliary Care for Older People and People with Physical or Learning Disabilities.

Protocol of the House of Commons decrees that we may not publish submitted evidence and that in due course the Health Committee itself will publish. If a member would like to see the evidence please send me an email I will oblige.

Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practise for Health and Adult Social Care on prevention and control of infections

2009-10-16T12:43:00.001+01:00

6 October 2009

This afternoon I attended a meeting at the Department of Health convened to consider the draft Health and Social Care Act 2008 Code of Practice for health and adult social care on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance and, Prevention and control of infection in care homes.

There were about 15 people there and I had the chance along with others to make some major points about the difference between NHS facilities and social care facilities. As it happened the meeting went well but there is still a great deal to do to get our response to these important documents into the Department of Health by 6 November.

I would welcome comments from members about the consultation documents.

16 July 2009

2009-07-23T15:56:00.000+01:00

I sit on the Steering Group of the Skills Academy for Social Care which hopes to be officially launched in October and I attended a regular meeting of the Steering Group today.

The Skills Academy hopes to be able in the future to be proactive in directing and assisting care providers to deliver the best of training. From time to time the Academy also hopes to be the conduit between Government and the sector for the delivery of funds to be spent around the training agenda.

Watch this space because come the Autumn I hope there will be a great deal of good news around the time of the launch of the Academy.

14 July 2009

2009-07-23T15:54:00.000+01:00

14 July

I went with Nadra this afternoon to the launch of the Green Paper by Andy Burnham, Phil Hope and David Behan so we finally managed to get our hands on a copy of the Green Paper.
You can too if you go to:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_102338

We will be doing a piece in the next newsletter about the Green Paper but for care home providers the key point is that the proposal is that Government would pay for care and the individual would pay for “board and lodgings”. In principle this sounds acceptable but as always the devil may be in the detail so as we develop our response I will keep you informed via the blog.

The Green Paper

2009-07-14T11:12:00.001+01:00

The Green Paper on the future funding of Long Term Care will be launched this afternoon in the House of Commons.

I know I am showing off but I have been to a breakfast meeting this morning with the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Health and the Minister for Social Care to discuss the Green Paper. I still don’t know what is actually in the Green Paper but the indications are that the Government is looking to create a National Care Service.

The thoughts that are in my mind of course are about:

“Will there be any new money?”

Indications are that there will not but further information will be available later this afternoon.

I said at the meeting that members of National Care Association will enter into the debate. The consultation will last until late in November.

I am going to a launch event at 2pm along with National Care Association Chairman Nadra Ahmed and I will post another note before 10 am tomorrow and hopefully tonight.

Back to work....

2009-06-16T14:15:00.003+01:00

Back to work this morning after a happy week's holiday visiting my daughter in Qatar. Straight into a meeting at 9am with a small sub committee of members of the Care Providers Alliance (CPA). A significant grant has been made to the CPA through ECCA by the Department of Health to raise awareness around the personalisation agenda.

At the meeting this morning the project plan was agreed and by the end of the year a report should be well under way to inform you about personalisation.

It is hoped that further funding will be available next year to continue with this work and to help independent sector providers to concentrate on the person centred approach to care.

Care Quality Commission

When I got to the office very early this morning I found on my desk a copy of the Care Quality Commission's Consultation Document 'Guidance about compliance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Registration Requirements) Regulations 2009'. It was lucky I went into the office to check my post because by 11am I was in the Care Quality Commission's office in the City for a scheduled introductory meeting with Roxy Boyce who is Head of National Provider Relationships. We had a useful discussion for almost an hour and agreed to stay in touch.

The consultation document can be found at:
http://www.cqc.org.uk/getinvolved/consultations/consultationonnewregistrationstandards.cfm

National Care Association will of course be responding but I hope you will want to as well.

National Skills Academy Steering Group

2009-01-29T11:26:00.003Z

On 20 January I went to the latest meeting of the National Skills Academy Steering Group. The National Skills Academy will formally come into being in April this year ( i think) and I am keeping a very close eye on developments because I think that there will be some early projects that will bring real benefits to small and medium sized care providers.

On 21 January I went to a hotel in Gatwick to a meeting arranged by David Waters of Care Homes Insurance Services. There was a wide ranging group of people there including a banker, a training provider, 2 or 3 medium sized care providers and the Chief Executive of a local Association. David was keen to hear everyone's views of likely developments during 2009.

I think all of us were of a similar view point. Trading is not going to be easy this year because of the world wide financial situation and there will be pressure on fees both in Local Government contracting and also for people who are unable to sell their homes. Having said that everyone who was there was optimistic about the future.

On 22 January I went to Swindon to meet with Richard Harris one of our Board member and to visit two hotels for potential use for Conference 2009. An announcement will be made shortly!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-21T10:04:00.003Z

Happy New Year! I hope that you, your staff and the people you care for had a peaceful Christmas and that you are able to look to the New Year with confidence.

The first few weeks of January are usually a time for catching up here in the office, and to reflect on our plans for the coming year. As many of you know by now we successfully tendered to Skills for Care for a contract to assist members to complete the National Minimum Data Set (Social Care) The data that is collected is stored confidentially and it is an invaluable source of information for lobbying purposes. I know that many of you have already completed NMDS-SC but anyone that hasn't is welcome to contact us at the office and we will be pleased to assist.

There are advantages to you in completing the NMDS-SC:

1. With your consent CSCI can access the data held for your establishment and that saves you from having to complete the staffing section of the AQAA
2. Accessing some of the TSI funding is dependent on having completed NMDS-SC

I was very disappointed last week to see articles in The Times about care homes. In one of the articles the Minister had been interviewed and he was quoted as saying that he intended to raise standards in care homes but the sector could not expect any "new money"

The following is the letter that we submitted to The Times but it was not published:

Dear Sir,

Your leader and articles yesterday ('Who Cares?')
addresses a crucial problem we raised at our National Care Association annual conference late last year. Time and time again our conference speakers pointed out that Government and care homes regulators must take some of the responsibility in those instances where the provision of care fails.In your articles today the Minister is saying that he will raise standards of care but he cannot offer more money to fund the raised standards. Almost 70 percent of people in receipt of care in care homes are funded by the State. So if there is to be no more money but the standards are to be raised how is that to be paid for within the financial climate businesses are operating at the current time? This is not a new question. For many years the fee increases awarded by local authorities have so often failed to keep up with inflation and in some instances last year there was no increase at all and I know that many of our members fear the same this year. This is a shortfall borne by independent care home owners. Nationally the majority of providers are rated excellent or good by the regulator. There must also be a question around the competence of the regulator who receives millions of pounds a year in fees from care providers to monitor their responsibility to the frail and vulnerable. It is of course extremely disappointing for the responsible providers we represent to hear reports of poor provision when they work so hard within tight financial constraints to provide the best possible care for the frail and vulnerable. We would urge the Government, the Regulator and Commissioners to make sure that they are fulfilling their side of the contract to the old and frail as well as the people they so freely criticise. Until this mismatch is remedied the viability of the Independent Care Sector is under threat.

Nadra Ahmed
Chairman

Consultations

2008-11-04T09:59:00.000Z

3 November 2008

There are three important documents on my desk this morning two of which are consultations:

· Ministry of Justice

Reviewing the Mental Capacity Act 2005: forms, supervision and fees
This consultation is specifically looking at Lasting Powers of Attorney forms, Supervision by the Public Guardian and the Office of the Public Guardian and Court of Protection fees.

You can access the consultation documents at www.publicguardian.gov.uk/

The consultation ends on 15 January 2009.

· Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Enforcement policy and guidance for trusts on registering in relation to Healthcare Associated Infection (HCAI)

This is a consultation exercise for the NHS and private hospitals but it is well worth us looking at it to form a view of the position of the Care Quality Commission on enforcement.

www.cqc.org.uk

The consultation ends on 16 January 2009.

· Commission for Social Care Inspection
CSCI have issued a review of the eligibility criteria for social care called “Cutting the Cake Fairly”. A document worth reading I think.
www.csci.org.uk

Any feedback that you wish to give to us can be emailed to info@nca.gb.com.

National Care Associations Annual Conference and Exhibition

2008-11-04T09:56:00.001Z

3 November 2008

Here at the office we are just back from our annual conference. We really enjoyed the conference and we hope that everyone who attended did too.

We had 27 exhibitors including our sponsors (check out our sponsors page http://www.nca.gb.com/sponsors.asp). Our exhibitors included Barclays Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Boots, Hextalls and 3663. For a full list visit our website http://www.nca.gb.com/.

The highlights of the conference included a visit by the new Minister of State Phil Hope MP. I was very interested to hear what he had to say and I certainly got the impression that he wants to hear our point of view. I am delighted to say that he agreed to meet a delegation of our Learning Disability service provider members. If you wish to know how to become part of our delegation please send an email to us at info@nca.gb.com.

We were also pleased to welcome to Conference Baroness Barbara Young the Chairmen of the Care Quality Commission. She gave an outline of what she is hoping CQC can achieve and we certainly enjoyed meeting her. For more information on the CQC visit http://www.cqc.org.uk/.
A very welcome speaker was Peter Hay, the Director of Adult Social Services for Birmingham and the Treasurer of the Association of Adult Social Services. We certainly appreciated his style and look forward to meeting him again in the near future.

There was so much going on at Conference and you can check out some of the speeches by going to our website http://www.nca.gb.com/. These can be found in our features section.

We also held two social functions, the first at the eve of conference event, where we were raising money for the Marie Curie Hospice in memory of a long serving member of staff. With the help of our amazing sponsors, exhibitors and delegates we raised a whopping £500.

On the following evening we held a fantastic dinner dance and due to the number of prizes donated for the charity fundraiser we had a second raffle and we raised an additional £1100. Thank you again sponsors, exhibitors and delegates alike for all of your contributions and congratulations to all the winners. A list of all the prizes and winners can be found on our website http://www.nca.gb.com/.

On the first morning of conference our Chairman Nadra Ahmed launched our new logo which you can see on the home page of the web site. We look forward to welcoming you to National Care Association’s new website. We have redesigned the website to make it easier for users to find their way around. The web address is still the same but the content just a little different. Check it out at http://www.nca.gb.com/.

My presentation at Childford Hall Vineyard on 17th September 2008

2008-09-25T16:14:00.002+01:00

Following on from my presentation at Chilford Hall Vineyard on 17th September 2008, the following link is for the speaking notes that I used as requested by members of the audience.

http://www.nca.gb.com/ See NEWS FLASH.

If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me on info@nca.gb.com.

Sheila

June 2008 Update

2008-07-11T15:19:00.000+01:00

· On the 2nd of June I attended the launch of National Care Homes week organised by Caring Business. The launch was held at the Marriott Hotel in Central London. There were many familiar faces at the launch and a panel of speakers including Ivan Lewis MP, Stephen O’Brien MP, Norman Lamb MP and Dame Denise Platt.

I know that many members of NCA held events during the week and raised awareness of the excellent care provided in care homes.

· On the 3rd of June I met with Yoonoos Jeetoo who is a member of the Board of Directors of NCA. Yoonoos provides care for younger adults with a learning disability and he and I met to discuss the number of issues that many providers of services for younger adults are currently facing. Many of these issues of course relate to funding. We also hear from members providing these specialist services about the pressures being placed on them to deregister as a provider of care in a home and become a provider of supported living services.
Yoonoos and I agreed to organise a seminar in September aimed at bringing together a group of 50 providers of services to younger adults to discuss the challenges that are being faced by providers, whether this could lead to a detrimental impact for service users and if necessary to agree an action plan to raise public awareness of the impact of public policy on care for service users with a learning disability.

If you are interested in attending the seminar please contact NCA on 02078317090.

· On 5 June I attended and spoke at the conference of the Kent Care Homes Association held in Ashford. I have been invited to speak at this conference every year for the last 5 or 6 years and it is a date that I very much enjoy especially as I meet old friends as well as meeting people I have never met before. As always this year’s conference was excellent and well attended with an audience of people keen to learn about the latest developments from a wide variety of speakers.

· On 6 June I attended the first meeting of the CSCI National Quality Board. This Board which I was pleased to be invited to be a member of reviews the outcomes of the quality ratings system launched by CSCI this year. Part of the remit of the Board is to look at statistics relating to star ratings and to review the outcomes of appeals etc. I enjoyed the first meeting at which the majority of attendees were from CSCI. I robustly put forward the view that there may be concerns for smaller providers about complaining or appealing a decision of CSCI due to concerns about what might happen next.

We did agree to consider this at a future meeting so I would be very interested to hear member’s views about (in confidence of course).

· On 9 June I was invited to lunch by Jeremy Huband of the Royal Bank of Scotland at their corporate dining room at Childs Bank in the Strand. Banks are renowned for their hospitality but on this occasion I had to be restrained as I was recording an interview with BBC Radio a little later. The programme was File on 4 and was about the use of drugs in care of people with dementia and was broadcast on a Sunday morning. I have been amazed at the number of people who heard the programme.

My position on this subject is quite clear, care homes handle medication but it is Doctors that prescribe medication and the ongoing criticism of care homes in relation to drugs and dementia care is I believe unfair. It is Doctors that should be questioned about prescribing practices.

· On 11 June NCA held its last regional seminar of the tear in Northampton. Although it was a relatively small gathering I know that we all really enjoyed the day working with a group of well informed home owners and managers.

· On 12 June I attended the 40th anniversary reception of RNHA. I was really pleased to have been invited and to have the chance to meet so many old friends. Congratulations to RNHA!

· On 18 June I had a meeting with Darren Lockley and his colleague from Electrolux. As I am sure you know one of the Conditions of Registration within the new Health and Social Care Bill will relate to the prevention of infection and Darren and I had a first exploratory meeting to discuss how we and other colleagues can work together to help our members to meet this condition of registration. I will keep you informed of the progress we make.

· On 22 and 23 June I visited with representatives of the NCA affiliated Association in Bolton and on the 23rd spoke at a conference organised by the local authority about Dignity in Care. Providers, service user representatives, the Council and the PCT have joined together to do a great deal of work to ensure dignity fro service users in receipt of both health and social care.

May 2008 Update

2008-07-11T15:17:00.000+01:00

A lot of our time lately has been taken up with organising National Care Association’s Annual Conference and Exhibition which is being held at the Thistle Hotel in Brighton on 29 and 30 October. Everything feels very right about this venue which is on the sea front and the hotel facilities are very good including the pool!

Cheryl, Claire and I have had to go back to the hotel more than once to identify more exhibition space due to the high level of interest in the event from commercial organisations.
We have just heard that the Minister for Social Care, Ivan Lewis MP has agreed to speak at Conference for the third successive year. We are of course delighted because, with so much going on particularly with the new Care Quality Commission due to become operational in 2009, we want to hear his latest thinking.

I returned on 15 May from a week’s holiday in Spain. I went with a friend to practice our newly learnt golfing skills but it rained most of the time we were away while the UK basked in a heat wave so it’s good to be back!

Today Nadra, Peter Grose our solicitor and I went to meet with the Chairman of the Houses of Parliament Joint Human Rights Committee, Andrew Dismore MP. This was not an easy meeting and certainly Mr Dismore and ourselves whilst wanting the best for people in receipt of social care are a very long way apart on how that can be achieved.

On 20 May 2008 I flew to Vienna with Nadra and Christine Ferrier to attend the second European Conference of the International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (IAHSA). NCA is a member of IAHSA and as always all three of us really enjoyed the conference but it is the contact with people from other Countries that is the real success of such Conferences.

Nadra and I had attended the first European Conference in 2006 and this year it was notable that there were many more delegates from the Eastern European Countries. Learning of the many challenges that they face certainly puts into perspective developments here in the UK.
A Date for Your Diary. The next international conference of IAHSA will be in London on 19 - 22 July 2009. Both Nadra and I are part of the organising committee and it is going to be a huge event with more than 1000 delegates expected.

April Update

2008-05-28T09:38:00.002+01:00

On 15 April we held a seminar at the Dagenham and Redbridge football club.

We had an excellent turn out at the seminar and were able to continue our consultation with providers about the star rating system. We have collected a huge amount of comment now and I will begin work on a report at the beginning of July. Needless to say the lack of consistency between inspectors is one of the headline stories.
We were delighted at the end of the day when we were asked to return at an early opportunity.

On 17 April we held a meeting between our Board of Directors and Alan Buckle from our new PR company. This was a very fruitful meeting with a strategy identified for the coming year.

On 22 April I had a day of real contrasts. During the day a Board meeting took place here in the London Office and then at 5pm I had been invited to a seminar at the BMA. The seminar was looking at the role of carers (all carers paid and unpaid). The seminar was chaired by the Princess Royal and attendees included Ivan Lewis MP (the Minister), Fiona Phillips and many other major players in care. I was challenged by the discussion that took place particularly how family carers can be trained to deal with the many challenges that they face in caring for a family member. I would be very pleased to hear from anyone who has any ideas about this particular challenge.

The next day I spoke at a seminar in Eastbourne organised by Barclays Bank. This was a very well attended event with a high level of interests in all the latest developments.

I had been invited to attend this event by Care Asset Management who NCA has worked closely with for many years. Advisers at care fee funding specialist, Care Asset Management are among the first to be awarded the new for their skills in advising older people.
The new accreditation aims to recognise advisers with the necessary qualifications and empathetic skills to understand the needs of older clients and the specific financial issues which affect them.

Continuing Care and the Annual Conference

2008-04-17T09:33:00.000+01:00

On 7 April I attended a meeting at the Department of Health with David Behan the Director General of Social Care. The Chief Officers of the other three national associations were also present.

This was a robust meeting with strong feelings expressed on all sides much to my surprise. Continuing Care was one of the important issues raised and I had the opportunity to raise NCA’s concerns about what is happening in the Learning Disabilities sector around contracts.

Wherever we have gone this year we have encountered care home owners caring for people with learning disabilities who are extremely anxious about changes that are being made to contracts without the degree of consultation that they or NCA believe to be acceptable.

I am currently looking at arranging a national conference for this care group to give them a platform for a clear understanding to be gained of exactly what is going on around the Country in the learning disability field. It would also helpful I think to arrange for someone to come from the Department of Health so that we can hear their message and perhaps more importantly so that they can hear our message.

More news about this within 14 days.

On Monday morning I received a letter from the Minister Ivan Lewis’s office telling us that he had accepted our invitation to speak at Conference in Brighton in October. I am absolutely delighted. There is so much going on in social care at the moment particularly around the new Inspectorate and with another Green Paper due to be published in early summer.

On 10 April I met with Dr Keri Thomas from the Gold Standards Framework which seeks to enable a “gold standard” of care for all people nearing the end of their lives.

This was an extremely constructive meeting where we discussed the work that has been achieved so far and how care homes can become involved. Up till now the work has been undertaken primarily with GPs and nursing homes.

I invited Dr Thomas to speak at our Conference in Brighton at the end of October when we hope she will be able to bring us up to date with her framework and all care homes.

Care Show

2008-04-14T10:52:00.000+01:00

On 31 March we made final preparations for the Care Show in Bournemouth. We always participate in this exhibition. I then set off for Bournemouth as I had been invited by the Care Consortium to a dinner at the Royal Bath Hotel.

There were about twelve people at the dinner. I sat next to Martin Green. Also there was Sylvie Silva from the National Association for Providers of Activities for Older People. Discussion at dinner was led by Funmi Majekodunmi the editor of Caring Business.

This was a really interesting event as well as a delicious dinner. We not only talked about what is going on at the moment in the care sector, we also discussed our hopes and aspirations for the future.

The next morning the Care Show started. NCA shared a stand with our sponsors Fireco, CHIS and IPA purchasing. We had a really successful two days with crowds of visitors coming to the stand.

I led a seminar on the first morning about the latest developments in social care. Events such as this give me a real opportunity to meet many of our members and I really enjoy that.
When I went to Australia last year I met the founders of the Aged Care Channel. This is a TV channel that provides training for the care sector in Australia. The guys from the channel had asked to see me as they were considering extending their work to the UK. I was very impressed by the channel in Australia and thought that there might well be a market in the UK.
The two directors of the company came to the UK in February to try to gauge a possible level of interest. They appear to have been very encouraged by the reception they received and one of them is in the UK now meeting more people. I was able to have dinner with him in Bournemouth. If anyone is interested in receiving information about the Aged Care Channel please let us know and we will put you in touch with a representative.

On the second day of the exhibition I met some more Learning Disability providers along with our solicitor Peter Grose to try to agree a plan of action to engage with Councils about contracts.
There seems to be a growing number of providers of services for people with a learning disability who are unhappy with proposed new contracts in their area. The major area of discontent being that new contracting arrangements are being arranged and proposed without the engagement of providers of care. I hope that we are going to be able to find a way forward that is acceptable to everyone.

Mental Capacity Act Awareness Raising Conference and SCIE Seminars

2008-04-14T09:27:00.001+01:00

We held another Mental Capacity Act Awareness Raising Conference on 26 March in Leeds. Although the weather on the day was atrocious and several people called to say they couldn’t make it because of accidents and hold ups on the roads in many ways this was the most interesting of the conferences that we delivered for the Department because of the level of engagement and discussion there was between the presenters and the delegates.

Some really significant discussion took place about the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards which are due to be introduced in the coming year. The debate reflected the level of concern there is in the sector. I do believe that it is the advice of the legal profession that will decide the view that the sector takes on this issue. I think the Department of Health are going to have to give much clearer advice than they have given so far.

I left Leeds to travel to Gloucester for a conference there the next day. The weather was appalling as I travelled on the Manchester ring road when I received a call from the Minister. I don’t want you to think that I regularly receive phone calls from Ministers because I most certainly do not. It must be at least 5 years since I had a phone call from a Minister last. The Minister rang to tell me about an announcement he was to make the next day about Human Rights legislation and care homes. I most certainly welcome the clarity which I hope will be bought to the situation. It remains clear to NCA that Human Rights legislation is intended to protect people from abuse by the State (public authorities). We believe that should remain the case.

On 27 March I spoke at the Gloucestershire Care Providers Association Conference at a most beautiful country house hotel. There was a very good turn out of care providers. In the afternoon the conference broke down into seminars dealing with the various categories of care.
I was part of the Learning Disability seminar. This was the fourth meeting I have had with Learning Disability providers this year and at each of the meetings I have struck by the level of concern and anxiety about contractual changes being proposed by local Councils where there has been a failure to consult in a meaningful way with the providers. This is really disappointing but we will continue to support providers wherever they are based to achieve a fair solution to the challenges they are facing.

Introduction

2008-03-25T14:17:00.002Z

I guess I should say “welcome to my blog” but I feel rather a fraud because until recently I had no idea what a blog was!

Anyway this is the NCA blog and NCA intends to use it to keep you up to date with everything that NCA is doing on behalf of its members.

Last week for instance on Monday Nadra Ahmed, NCA’s Chairman and I were in Brussels at a European meeting about the prevention of abuse of older people.

We were invited to attend by the European Union and as happens on these occasions the EU were extremely generous in paying all the costs of our visit to Brussels.

There were about 100 representatives at the Conference from all parts of Europe and it was extremely interesting to hear the approaches taken by the various countries. We were the only care provider representatives from the United Kingdom that attended the conference as far as I could tell.

One of the suggestions that we made was that there should be a uniform approach to CRB checks throughout the European Community. The conference was extremely useful as well because we had the chance to talk to a number of people from the UK that we might not otherwise have met.

The following day we were at a Mental Capacity Act awareness raising seminar that we held for the Department of Health at Bath Racecourse. This event was very well attended.

NCA is a member of International Association of Homes and Services for the Ageing (IAHSA). One of the real benefits that we have found since becoming a member two years ago is the understanding of what is happening in social care in other countries.

For instance when I was on holiday in Australia last year I was able to meet people that I had first made contact with at a conference in Malta.

The thing that always strikes me is that there is much to learn from each other but so many of the challenges that we face are same wherever we are in the world especially issues around funding.

IAHSA’s next international conference will be held in London on 20-22 July 2009. I am part of the organizing committee and last Thursday there was a meeting at the QE II conference centre in Westminster.

A minimum of 700 delegates are expected to attend in 2009 so this will be quite an organizational feat.

In the meantime the IAHSA European Conference will be held in Vienna on 22-23 May 2008. For more information about the Conference go to www.iahsa.net/ and follow the links on the right hand side.

You may remember that in a recent newsletter we mentioned the opportunity of care staff or manager exchanges with other members of IAHSA. That offer remains on the table and if anyone is interested please contact me direct at the moment.

Within a few days I hope to be able to post photos on this site as well as text.

I will be very happy to receive your responses to any report on this site.

NCA Annual Conference to be held at the Thistle Hotel Brighton

2008-03-13T15:45:00.003Z

Watch this space for uptodate information on NCA's Annual Conference. Can you afford not to be there?.................... Go to www.nca.gb.com for information on last years annual conference and to register your interest please send an email to: info@nca.gb.com.

NCA's regional seminars

2008-03-13T15:43:00.000Z

Watch this space for information on National Care Association's regional seminars...........................

Coming soon Sheila Scott OBE's Blog

2008-03-11T14:12:00.000Z

Watch this space for up to date information from National Care Association's Chief Executive Sheila Scott OBE about what the NCA is doing within the sector.