AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2016 KIRSTY FROM COMMUNITY TACKLES SKYDIVE In aid of SSPCA Kirsty Reid from Community Team office managed a skydive in Strathallan on September 17 th. Kirsty was raising funds for SSPCA and raised at total of 530! Kirsty decided to raise funds for the SSPCA as she is a huge animal lover and already gives them a monthly donation. They sent her a letter asking if she would be interested in doing a sponsored activity to raise extra money. Kirsty said the adrenaline junkie in me decided Skydiving was the way to go! Kirsty was thrown out of an aeroplane, attached to an instructor, several thousand feet above the ground. Kirsty states the jump itself was amazing, 30 second freefall was scary but as soon as the parachute opened, it was totally different, just gliding through the air taking in the view! Well done from Aberness! xxx
TRAINING Current Updates on Staff Training AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2016 E-Learning we continue to use Osmosis for our E-Learning and ask that all staff are trained on 2 yearly basis. Audits continue on monthly basis to ensure all staff are up to date at all times. Personal Profiles - All staff have personal profiles with all their training dates, NMC or SSSC registration details and personal details i.e. full name, date of birth, area they reside and employment role. This information needs to be accurate and up to date. It is given to Clients on request. Boots Medication Administration Training at Dee Street 6 th September 0930 1130 with Emma 20 th September 0930 1130 with Emma Moving & Handling we organise training every month for staff who require updates, please ensure you are up to date at all times. Dates for updates are: 8 th September 1100 1500 with Pamela Gabbriellini 22 nd September 0830-1230 with Pamela Gabbriellini 22 nd September 1300-1700 with Pamela Gabbriellini 12 th October 0830 1230 and 1300 1700 with Pamela Gabbriellini 20 th October 0830 1230 and 1300 1700 with Pamela Gabbriellini 10 th November 0830 1230 and 1300 1700 with Pamela Gabbriellini 24 th November 0830 1230 and 1300 1700 with Pamela Gabbriellini Please contact the office for bookings Adult Support & Protection training organised on a regular basis to ensure all our staff have the opportunity to attend: Tuesday 25 th October 1000 1200 with Helen Morrison Tuesday 29 th November 1000 1200 with Helen Morrison Dementia Courses we have recently subscribed to the Skills Network to provide all our staff with Level 2 in the Principles of Dementia Care. All staff will obtain a recognised qualification in this course. The direct link is http://tsnmoodle.co.uk/abernesscareltd/courses.html Administration of Medication, Train the Trainer Dawn and Gillian attended a 2 day course in Glasgow in August. We will be able to offer training updates to all nurses, senior support workers and care in the community staff once we have put together a learning pack as this was not part of our training. We will also continue to do clinical supervisions of staff whilst administrating medications in the work place. Dates to follow.
FEEDBACK ON BOOKINGS 6 Monthly Questionnaires MONTHLY STAFF MEETINGS Drop in Session for staff AUTUMN NEWSLETTER 2016 The staff and client questionnaires have been audited and copies of report will be sent out this week. Thanks again to all those who contributed and actually completed the survey. We would have liked a lot more responses and if anyone has any ideas as to how we could get more completed, please let us know. Your feedback is so important to us so that we can continue to improve on all our services. Gillian Black, agency office manager has commenced 3 monthly staff meeting for any staff who wish to come and chat with the office team about any issues and concerns, ways of improving current services and systems, ideas and general brain storming etc. We would encourage as many staff as possible to attend these meeting as they prove to be very successful if well attended. Your opinion matters. Dates for next meeting will be Thursday 15 th September. Hope to see a good turnout. ABERNESS CEILIDH Saturday 28 th January Hoping to give all our staff and clients plenty notice for this year s Aberness Ceilidh. The event will take place at the Park Inn Hotel on Saturday the 28 th January. All staff and clients of Aberness are invited to attend. We will have our usual drink on arrival followed by a 3 course meal and ceilidh band. Every year is such a great success and we would delighted to see more clients attending. The Aberness Team offices will be organizing the whole event and will let you know in advance the time the venue will commence and also copies of the menu. This year our fund raising raffle will be split into two. One half will be used for a care home that use us regularly. We will put all their names in a hat and lucky winner will receive all monies raised for their resident s funds. The other half of the funds will be used for our community clients. The Community team are going to be discussing where they would wish their funds to go. Further information on raffles and event will be send out in due course. Hope to see many of you again this year. We need everyone to get back to us at the Dee Street office before 23 rd December so that we have exact figures for attendance.
STANDARDS FOR THE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF PRESSURE ULCERS Published by Healthcare Improvement Scotland The standards are the first in Scotland to apply across all health and social care and supported by the Care Inspectorate. The standards have been developed to support staff and organisations to ensure the highest standards of pressure ulcer care are achieved, and each standard identifies what it means for organisations and staff. However, each standard also details what people receiving care, their representatives and the public can expect of healthcare and social care services in Scotland following implementation. The aim of the standards is to make sure that anyone with a pressure ulcer, or at risk of developing one, receives high quality care and support no matter where they receive the care for example, hospitals, care homes or at home. 6 standards have been developed in relation to the prevention and management of pressure ulcers: Standard 1 Leadership and Governance Standard 2 Education, training and information Standard 3 Assessment of risk of pressure ulcer development Standard 4 Reassessment of risk Standard 5 Care planning for prevention and treatment Standard 6 Assessment, grading and care planning for identified pressure ulcers Awareness and understanding of the new standards will be beneficial for continuing professional development and underpinning knowledge for those working with the prevention and management of pressure ulcers. We have ordered some publications for the Aberness offices but you can also download them from: http://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.org/our_work/patient_safety/tissue_viability_resources/pre ssure_ulcer_standards.aspx NEW PREMISES FOR ABERNESS TEAM Kingseat, Newmachar We have now obtained the keys for Kingseat offices. Joiners and electricians are working hard to get premises fit for work from the 28 th of October. There will be front reception area, new large open plan for all office staff, interview room, small E-Learning room and large training room. We are very excited and hope all our shire staff will benefit immensely from this. The Aberdeen city agency office will continue in Dee Street in the meantime and this will be reassessed at the end of our lease agreement at the end of 2017. We are aware that the city office is easy access to staff within the city and those who are south of Aberdeen.
CHANGES TO SVQ QUALIFICATIONS SQA CHANGING SVQ TITLES The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), have introduced a titling change to Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQ). In September 1 st 2016, SQA have commenced a gradual change to SVQ titles, however this may take a few years before all titles are changed. The SVQ level will no longer be part of the qualification titles and only the Scottish Credit Qualification Framework (SCQF) level will remain. For example: SVQ3 in Health & Social Care Level 7 will be SVQ in Social Services and Healthcare at SCQF Level 7 The SCQF is Scotland s national framework which aims to help learners, employers and others to understand the range of Scotland s qualifications. With greater use of the SCQF and the increasing number of qualifications and learning programs it is important that learners, employers and others are clear about qualification titles. Removing the SVQ level makes no difference to your qualification. It is the way that they are recorded that has changed. The changes have been made to promote knowledge and understanding of the SCQF and to remove potential confusion with multiple levels in qualification titles. SSSC REGISTRATION Three year period changing to five year period for managers As of the 1 st November 2016, the registration of all SSSC registered workers will be 5 years, with the exception of social workers, whose 3 year registration will continue. Registrants changing from a 3 year to a 5 year that are relevant to Aberness include: Managers of care at home services our community office team Your annual fee will continue each year as before and post registration training and learning (PRTL) requirements will stay the same as in your original registration. Your registration will change to 5 yearly after you have renewed your current registration. SSSC REVISED CODES OF PRACTISE From 1 st November The SSSC have updated the Codes to reflect the many changes to social service policy and practice since they were first published in 2003. They did this by consulting with a very wide range of people, including workers registered with the SSSC, employers, people who use services and carers, trade unions and others. The changes in the Codes include changes to how they regulate, which also starts on 1st November. The new approach, known as fitness to practise, means that when concerns are
raised about a worker they look at whether they are fit to practise rather than whether they can prove misconduct. You can find out more about this at www.sssc.uk.com/fitness-topractise There are Codes of Practice for Employers. These set out what we as an employer are expected to do to support our workers and their learning. The Care Inspectorate will make sure employers are following the Codes. The SSSChave sent to registered workers a copy of the Codes. They are trying to encourage a shift to a digital approach and don t intend to issue hard copies to employers. The Codes are on Kindle and ereader or you can download a copy and save it on your smartphone, tablet or PC. You can find out more on their website www.sssc.uk.com/codes ABERNESS SQA APPROVED CENTER Calling all trained SVQ assessors and verifiers! We are currently looking into developing our own SQA Approved Centre for our staff so that we can help you with the conditions that apply to your SSSC registration. To apply for registration, we need to have at least one assessor and one verifier in place. If anyone out there is interested in being part of this exciting new center, please contact Dawn at your earliest convenience on 07525860604. We will keep you updated with progress. NMC REVALIDATION First 3 months of Revalidation a success! Over 35,000 (91 percent) nurses and midwives due to renew their registration, have now completed the revalidation process. The first report from the NMC examines data for the first three months of revalidation which shows that renewal rates are in line with expectations and there is no evidence of revalidation having an adverse effect on the register. Across the four UK countries, revalidation rates are very similar, ranging from 91 percent to 94 percent. The number of those revalidating varied in line with the size of the geographical areas, with nurses and midwives in England representing the largest group (80 percent); followed by Scotland (9 percent); Wales (5 percent); Northern Ireland (4 percent), and the remaining 2 percent from those living outside the UK. Revalidation is the biggest change to the regulation of nurses and midwives in the NMC s history. It was introduced by the NMC in April 2016, fulfilling a key recommendation from the Francis report into the failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust. The new process means that the UK's 692,000 nurses and midwives now have to demonstrate on a regular basis that they are able to deliver care in a safe, effective and professional way.
NURSE LAURA SIMMERS GETS MARRIED! Marriage in Cyprus Laura Simmers and her partner Christopher Dunn got married on the 6 th of September at Elias Beach Hotel, Limassol, Cyprus. The marriage took place at the beach along with family and friends. An amazing day had by all. Congratulations from the Aberness team xxx BABIES GALORE!!! Aberness Staff babies Kerry Middler one of our Ellon Support Workers gave birth to a beautiful baby boy Rubin on the 27 th of July. Rubin weighed 7lbs 6oz. RGN Lauren Smith had Baby, Olivia Marie Smith 08/08/16 @ 0933 weighing a whopping 9lb 7oz. Congratulations from the Aberness Team xxxx THANKS TO ALL OUR CLIENTS AND STAFF
DAWN & MAIRI XXX If you would like to add anything or be involved in the development of our next Newsletter, please contact Dawn or Mairi to discuss.