In this short piece Mark discusses ‘relational leadership’ and what he learnt through his My Home Life England programme…

“Many people who find themselves in manager positions are those that have worked for a company, or within the sector, for a longer period of time and have climbed the career ladder.

However for many of us, the upskilling and training in leadership and management isn’t offered and this can lead to burnout and job failure.

‘Relational leadership’ is the process of bringing people together to accomplish change or make a difference. In this piece, I explore the three biggest barriers to this and some steps I learnt from my My Home Life England programme to overcome these.

Difficulty handling change

Change management can be challenging, but it is an essential skill for any manager or leader. I learnt from My Home Life that you need to be aware of the discomfort that many people have with change. Ensure you communicate effectively with the team about what is happening, what they can expect and any potential impact to them and the organisation. It is important to effectively listen, provide support and lead by example.

Through my programme I learnt how to celebrate small wins, praise staff when they are doing a good job and to be patient when managing resistance.

Inability to work well in a team

My Home Life teaches you great things about how to increase your ability to work well within a team, whether that is with your direct reports or with stakeholders and senior managers.

It taught me and the rest of my cohort about how to self-reflect and identify issues within yourself, how to constructively seek feedback, methods to improve communication and how to adapt your management styles when needed.

Poor interpersonal relations

Many of us are not extroverts, so overcoming the fear of having to be bold and standing out above the crowd does not always come easy! However as a manager it is one thing that we need to develop.

The My Home Life England facilitator from my programme taught me and the cohort I was in so much about stepping outside your comfort zone, as well as the importance of setting yourself goals, how to practice small talk and even how body language can come across.

The My Home Life programme is an amazing resource for managers – both newly appointed and those who have been in the role for a longer period of time – as it provides you with some real practical and tangible tips and tricks to engage with your team and to make a huge impact with the people you are supporting.

It doesn’t just stop at the end of the programme as, with the catch up sessions and the friendships/relationships you make with your cohort, you have a support team around you for the future.”

Thank you Mark! You can find and follow Mark on Twitter/X and LinkedIn.

The post ‘Relational authentic leadership can be messy’ appeared first on My Home Life England.

In this blog, David Unsworth, Charge Nurse at St Bartholomew’s Court, tells us how he recently used the cards from his programme in a session with care staff to promote team building, hear perspectives and connect emotionally.

Dave said:

“Prior to running the picture card session, I had spoken with a student nurse who I was mentoring. She was based on the South side within St Bartholomew’s Court, completing her Leadership and Management placement. She showed particular interest in the different approaches to leadership, taking special consideration of how these approaches work when in charge of the unit.

It was during this conversation that I mentioned that I had completed a My Home Life England leadership support programme.

I felt the programme had played a significant role regarding my own approach to leadership, whilst supporting employees and making them feel valued, in turn optimising patient care. I believe that demonstrating this approach on a day-to-day basis makes for a more positive workplace overall.

I decided to run a picture card session, to develop best practice together and focus on therapeutic staff relationships, thus creating an action centered learning environment and having caring conversations.”

Context

“The past week had been a very difficult time within our workplace. This was due to death of a long term resident, and also due to care staff sickness – some staff had worked overtime, or worked with one member of the care staff down.

I thought it would be a good opportunity to deliver a session that would promote team building, allow everyone to hear the care staff’s perspectives and also connect emotionally and empathically with each other. Plus the session would show how this positive approach can improve the working environment, and support care staff by allowing them time to express them their experiences, feelings, thoughts, opinions and any ideas they have to improve their working environment. This also supports and encourages their physical and emotional well-being.

The student nurse was also able to observe how this leadership approach could be put in practice, and the benefits of creating a positive working environment.”

Approach

“I laid out 20 Picture Cards which I thought would encourage care staff to express their thoughts and feelings. I explained that there were no right or wrong answers and everyone should pick one or two cards, then explain the reason why they chose them.

At first everyone just looked and studied the cards. I picked the first card and stated what I felt the picture made me think of and the reason why it stood out from the others to me. This gave everybody an idea of how the session would run.

All the care staff were really engaged and gave their views on what the cards meant to them. The cards opened conversations and enabled people to talk about their feelings, opinions, and their emotions that they had been experiencing over the past week.”

Following the session, the main outcomes were:

• “We recognized that, due to the service demand of residents, the way in which their needs were attended to was unevenly balanced. As a result of this imbalance, it was identified that there was scope to change the group dynamics. This ensured that, whilst still meeting people’s needs and ensuring optimal care, staff workload was evenly distributed and staff felt less strained.
• We identified that more support is required for all team members when dealing with bereavement following the death of a resident. Some care staff felt that it was not only them that felt the loss, but everyone within the work setting, i.e., Domestic, maintenance, kitchen and admin staff, also required support following the death of a resident.
• Some care staff were having difficulties in their personal lives and were made aware that they could be offered support with their mental health and wellbeing and with finances.
• We also identified that senior members of staff should reflect on how they approach prior to communicating with care staff.”

Conclusion

“I felt that the session had a very positive outcome with regards to creating a positive working environment.

It was very empowering for care staff – it had a focus of well-being and self-esteem, thus improving the therapeutic relationship amongst all members of the care team. Plus, of course, following the session, working practices were changed, thus letting care staff know that they had been listened to. It also gave the student nurse another leadership technique to utilise in her future career.

I realise how much the care staff enjoyed taking part because they were chatting among themselves on their lunch break, and they also discussed the session with the care staff on the North side of the home. Also, the Day Care Centre staff approached me and asked if they could utilise the picture cards for the residents who attend Day Care, as this would help them to express their thoughts and feelings and improve their therapeutic relationship with the attendees of Day Care.”

Dave Unsworth, said:

“I really enjoyed the My Home Life England programme that I attended. It made me look at myself and my management and leadership skills.

There are so many areas of the training that made me self-assess my approach towards leadership, but the part that I utilise is the ‘Focusing on Relationships’.

As stated during the training “the My Home Life vision recognizes the importance of a positive relationship between older people, relatives and staff, as well as between care homes. To achieve good relationships and quality of life in this context, it is suggested that we need to consider what gives everyone a sense of security, belonging, continuity, purpose, achievement and significance.”

Though utilising these stages, I have built better relationships with the staff within my setting, hence the reason I initiated the team building session with the picture cards.”

The post Using My Home Life Picture Cards in team building session to explore perspectives appeared first on My Home Life England.

On the third anniversary of the first COVID-19 lockdown (23rd March 2020), My Home Life England shares new insights from care homes about their experiences of the pandemic.

‘Rebuilding Together’ is a report based upon conversations with over 200 people from 34 care homes across England.

It offers insight into what support care homes received during the pandemic which they felt was valuable, in order to inform future responses to crises. It also explores what support care homes need right now, knowing that the pandemic is still evident in many care homes, both in terms of COVID-19 infection and the long-term trauma that it has left behind.

Report findings

Teamwork, loyalty, resilience, commitment and connection to one another were critical for people living and working in care homes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. When support was absent, particularly at the beginning of the pandemic, this led to people feeling alone and sometimes very scared. Care home managers expressed a desire to be recognised, supported and appreciated (on par with NHS colleagues), and for guidance and policy to be clear, consistent and timely.

They also identified a desire to sustain some of the positive changes experienced during the pandemic, for example greater knowledge of IT systems, infection control procedures and different forms of communication with families and community links.

The report concludes that there is a vital need for care providers, the wider health and social care system and local communities to invest in the wellbeing of care teams, to actively engage in open conversations with people living and working in care homes and to explore what would help them now and into the future.

Oluwafunmilayo Vaughn, report author, said:

“This report offers the privilege of delving into the rich lived experience of those who were at the forefront of a devastating pandemic. It captures stories of tenacity and grace, giving us insight into how care homes coped amidst such difficult times. Finally, the report highlights some positive ways to support social care into the future. We are immensely grateful to all those who have contributed to the creation of this report.”

Vic Rayner, OBE, said:

“The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the people living, working, visiting and dying in care homes. This report represents insights from people working in care homes across England at the time.”

Tom Owen, Director of My Home Life England, said:

“At My Home Life England, we continually learn from the people we work with in the care sector. We are conscious that, for many, the emotional and physical impact of the pandemic remains, and that COVID-19 and its impact has not gone away. This report reminds us of the commitment, care, courage and connections that exist in care homes.”

Oluwafunmilayo Vaughn is an associate of My Home Life England and has a research interest in frontline care staff, including developing and evaluating initiatives to improve wellbeing at work. Vic Rayner OBE is a widely respected expert in the field of care and has an honorary professorship at City, University of London. My Home Life England is part of City, University of London, based within the School of Health and Psychological Sciences.

The post ‘Rebuilding Together’ – Insights into how care homes coped during the pandemic appeared first on My Home Life England.

‘A New Dining Experience’

On 30th March 2022, Michael Dutton, Deputy Matron of St. Bartholomew’s Court Nursing Home attended a Quality Improvement (QI) workshop as part of the My Home Life England Leadership and Development Programme for Knowsley Care Home managers.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) are increasingly looking for evidence of quality improvement as part of their inspection processes, and QI workshops now form part of the My Home Life England Leadership and Development Programme.

Some of the key principles of QI tools and techniques, including the IHI (Institute of Healthcare Improvement) Model for Improvement, are covered in the workshop and managers are encouraged to undertake a QI project as part of the MHL programme.

This report outlines how St Bartholomew’s Court Nursing Home improved the quality of the dining experience for older people following the QI workshop in March 2022.

The following steps were followed:

1. Creating the quality improvement team
2. Gathering baseline data and setting the aim
3. Planning the project using quality improvement tools
4. Measuring the improvement and using of safety crosses
5. Testing out change ideas using PDSA cycles
6. Recognising and celebrating success

Step 1. Creating your quality improvement team

 

M Dutton was undertaking a clinical shift and noted that residents were being served in a disjointed manner. One lady was trying to give her meal to another because that person had no food. On investigation, he noted that residents were being served in menu order. This was not holistic and not conducive to a positive dining experience. M Dutton arranged a meeting with the kitchen team and senior care workers and everyone discussed the importance of positive dining experiences and the associated benefits:

• Quality of Life
• Enjoyment of foods and associated weight gains
• Social engagement and contribution to mental and physical wellbeing
• Patient safety

The team spoke with residents and observed meal times to identify what was going well and what could be improved. They also looked at the following resources:

 

My Home Life Bulletin: Food Glorious Food

 

Download

 

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Welsh Government: Creating a positive dining experience

 

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Food For Life: Enhancing the mealtime experience in care settings

 

Download

 

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The following Dining Standards were then agreed as essential elements of a ‘good dining experience’:

• Drinks Provided Before Meal
• Tables Laid
• IPC Guidelines Followed
• Residents Transferred as Necessary
• Presentation of Meal
• Residents Table All Served Together
• Environment Appropriate
• Residents Supported as Required
• Consistency of Nutrition (Person Specific)
• Menu & Appropriate Alternatives

Step 2. Gathering baseline data and setting your aim

 

Initial audit showed that there was room for improvement in the quality of the residents’ dining experience. Initial audits during mealtimes in both North and South Units were undertaken using these standards, and qualitative comments were also recorded to ‘capture’ examples of good practice and areas for improvement.
Baseline audit showed the following baseline % compliance with dining experience standards.

Quality of Dining Experience 17/05/2022
North Unit 64%
South Unit 77%
 
The team identified that the following was working very well:

• Residents were given the appropriate texture in diet and fluids
• Residents were served swiftly (although order was chaotic)
• Care team had excellent awareness of patient need
• Care team adapted their approach/gave assistance according to patient need on the day
• Independence was promoted
• Choices were given and flexibility by kitchen was positive

 

Areas for improvement noted were:

• Residents sat together should be served together
• Drinks were served after meals were
• Some residents had dropped food on their clothing
• There was no background music
• Presentation of meal could be improved
• Residents’ hands were cleaned on one unit and not the other
• Two residents feet were left on footplates (rectified by Deputy Matron)

 
An aim was set as follows:

SMART AIM: To improve the quality of the dining standards at St Bartholomew’s Court Nursing Home from current compliance status (64% North and 77% South) to 90% within the next 4 months.

Step 3. Planning your project using quality improvement tools

 

“We decided as a business to make some environmental changes and launch a ‘New Dining Experience’.

We selected some wallpapers and gave samples to the residents so they could choose which they wanted in both dining rooms. The same wallpaper was chosen by both sides; but in different colours. We also planned on getting new table menus, which were dementia friendly and have photographs on to allow people to know what they are eating.

We changed the menu order to ensure residents are served together at their table. Our care team asked for additional tabards/napkins to ensure we had enough for all meals throughout the day.

We also purchased some new plates, with colour and design specifically for people with sight and/or cognitive difficulties.

Once the dining rooms had been decorated and we launched the new dining experience, we had care team meetings to ensure they knew what was expected. Feedback was provided on how they had performed and we all reflected on how we continue and maintain the new improved standards.

Changing the order that people were served their meals was slightly easier due to COVID-19, as people have been staying in the same seats and groups of friends usually sit together. This was more difficult for the North Team as they have a much larger turnover of people due to Intermediate Care Service. Dinners being served were also changed from the kitchen leading the service to the care team leading. This is because the care team know where people are and who they are sat with, ensuring that residents that are sat together are served together. This also has the added bonus of a different table being served first each day.

I also spoke with my manger and arranged for two Alexas to be purchased, to allow residents to have some music playing, if they so choose.”

Step 6. Recognising and celebrating success

 

Mealtime audits continued throughout June and July to track progress with dining standards. Audits showed steady improvement in both North and South settings.

The Aim to improve the quality of dining standards to 90% was achieved!

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were displayed on the staff notice boards and shared with the Board of Trustees.

Sustaining the Improvement

The audit processes have continued. We have senior care workers and they have been involved in Improvement to Dining Experience Audits and will be continuing to monitor this and the progress. The Senior Care workers will undertake audits monthly to maintain standards initially with the hope to move to bimonthly/3 monthly if standards maintained. Should standards fall below 90%, audits will continue monthly, and if they fall below 75% audits will increase to fortnightly.

Resident Feedback:

“The food has always been fabulous, but mealtimes feel more relaxed and more like a restaurant. The care team work very hard and look after us very well.”

“I love the music, we choose some of our favourite songs and the Alexa thingy plays it, just marvellous. The decorating is really nice, lovely place to eat.”

“I love coming and chatting to new people. The social element is the most important aspect for me.”

Care Team Feedback:

“Mealtimes feel more organised. It is really rewarding to see residents enjoying their meals and plates are coming back empty which enhances my job satisfaction.” Chef

“The physical improvement in some of the older people is remarkable. They are more hydrated and more alert, more engaging. Weights have also increased so from a clinical point of view, things are much improved.” Nurse

“Meal times are much easier to facilitate. Residents are happier and the music has made a big difference to the atmosphere. We were always rushing and feeling under pressure but the new system has made things run more smoothly, we know what is expected and we are treating meal times more like a restaurant than a task that just has to be done.” Healthcare Assistant

Comment from Michael Dutton:

“The Quality Improvement session provided an excellent insight into how small changes can make a big impact on improving the Quality of Life for people living in care homes and provided the tools to formally assess, implement and maintain the changes needed.

The Action Learning Sets allowed care managers to share ideas, work through solutions to any challenges they may be facing. My Home Life does exactly what it says it will do: Improves the Quality of Life for those living, dying, working and visiting care homes by providing managers with skills, tools and confidence to implement constructive change in a person led way.”

The My Home Life England Action Learning Sets and Quality Improvement Session supported the development of this project in a variety of ways. Ensuring that residents had an input and were part of the decision making was fundamental:

“The wish to be involved in decision-making is likely to vary from one individual to another but where it is desired residents should be encouraged to participate in all aspects of decision-making in the care home. The fact that a resident has severe cognitive impairment does not mean that his or her views should not be sought, although it can be challenging to know how to do so.” (My Home Life: Quality of life in care homes).

Congratulations to the team at St Bartholomew’s Court Nursing Home on a successful QI project and thank you for sharing your achievements with us.

The post Quality Improvement Activity at St Bartholomew’s Court Nursing Home appeared first on My Home Life England.

Anna used her experiences from her MHLE programme to help her think about and evidence her Nursing Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

Here are her thoughts:

What was the nature of the CPD activity/ practice-related feedback?

“As part of the introduction to the My Home Life England course, we were asked to think about and discuss the highs, lows and learning over the past 2 years. It has been the most challenging time for not only the general population but particularly for those working in social care and the NHS.

What I discovered within health care is the resilience of staff. I had only been in post as Home Manager for 6 months when Covid hit the UK. It was a scary time, but I drew from what I had learnt IPC (infection prevention control) wise from previously working in a NHS hospital for 10 years and from completing a research module in my health studies degree. This helped me distinguish what was real evidence and what was scaremongering.

[There was] no real guidance to begin with but, looking back, we didn’t know what we were dealing with. I think as the months went on, then the support got better. Building relationships with Public Health and Health Protection, CCG and the local authority. I feel now, if I can deal with a pandemic then I can deal with anything, despite feeling overwhelmed, helpless, inadequate at times.”

What did you learn from the CPD activity and/or feedback?

“I learnt that there is support out there. I learnt from discussing it with others in a similar position that I wasn’t alone. Everyone was feeling scared, even those in larger care providers with numerous senior managers. I have more support networks now that I know that I can ask for guidance on for other issues.”

How did you change or improve your work as a result?

“Becoming more resilient myself, trusting in others, being more aware of statistics, trusting my clinical judgement – particularly when I did not always agree with easing of restrictions. Realising that being cautious pays off. I also became better at writing risk assessments!”

How is this relevant to the Code?

“I would say it is relevant to all aspects of the code in regards to prioritising people, preserving safety, promoting trust and practicing safely.”

By Anna, Home Manager

The post Using an MHLE programme to evidence Nursing CPD appeared first on My Home Life England.

This short article describes how a group of care and health leaders have developed new ways of working together at place. The people involved have worked together, built new collaborations and created space to build on the positive practice that occurs every day within care homes.

Background and context

In February 2020 we started to get a glimpse of what COVID-19 might mean. By June 2020 we were starting to understand in more detail that the pandemic was having a profound impact on people living and working in care homes, those who loved them and those who work with them. (1)

As the daily wave of requests for information and requirement to act began, Local Authority and NHS commissioners found themselves being asked to work differently with each other and with the care home sector. Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and its NHS partners were no different. Virtual meetings with long agendas were set up as a way of informing care homes. The agendas were not set by the council or the clinical commissioning groups, they reflected everything that was happening and what they were being asked to do.

During the summer of 2020, My Home Life England (MHLE) started working with the council to build a programme of support for some of the care home leaders working in Sefton. The programme started virtually in early January 2021, built around the 4 evidence informed frameworks (2) that connect the My Home Life movement. Through appreciative inquiry and action learning sets, the experience and expertise of the participants shaped the learning and development of the programme.

MHLE has a track record for supporting care home leadership, delivering transformational change across more than 2,000 care homes in England. Sometimes as an explicit branch of our work in a local area we are invited to broaden our remit to facilitate stronger connections between care homes and the wider community and across health and social care agencies. We were commissioned to do this in Sefton.

Content, Courage and Collaboration

While the programme was running, we were listening to and working with colleagues in the council and wider care and health system to find out what integration meant to them, coming at a time when structural integration was emerging as a theme from the pandemic. This process of discovery was focused on developing opportunities for care home leaders to support, influence and enhance integrated working across the system, agreeing some realistic and practical changes.

It is worth remembering that it is a ‘mainstream and ordinary’ way of working for people who work in public sector commissioning and delivery of care and health services to have a lot of meetings. They may have different perspectives and priorities at times, but they know each other, can work things out together, fall out sometimes and come back together.

Care home leaders, although often connected together through a great local association or linked through a managers’ network, rarely have the time or opportunity to come together to share ideas and celebrate what is working well and what they value about themselves, each other and the work they do.

The reasons for this are complex, varied and nuanced by local circumstance. However, a consistent factor is the breadth and depth in the role of a care home leader. It is multi-faceted and varied. The registered manager role encompasses leadership in areas that many organisations have whole departments to do. On a daily basis the care home leader is asked to behead of operations, quality, information, human resources, finance, strategy, estates, communications and engagement, contracts, hospitality, safeguarding, training and development, communities, and economic growth.

They also act as a leader of people, leader of change and innovation and leader of day-to-day delivery of complex care. They are an expert practitioner in health and social care, advocate, negotiator and mediator, responder to, writer of and implementer of all policies and procedures affecting registered care homes. They interpret and work with operational policies, procedures and guidelines relating to the multiple agencies that they are engaged with. They area stock taker, equipment checker and health and safety lead. They are the first point of contact for emergencies, out of hours issues, relatives, friends and are the external representative for social and health care meetings.

Commissioning systems for care homes, by definition, create competition, making it hard for people working in care homes to share innovation and positive practice. So, in the time care leaders do have to come together, they often focus on the problems they have in common or the inequalities they feel within the care and health system. For people participating in a My Home Life England programme there is usually:

“the natural creation of a supportive community of managers.” (3) / “I have seen other people on the programme gain in confidence and that has made me feel good, as I hope I have been part of that.” / “I learned that there are many different ways of managing things, and this encouraged me to try out things I wouldn’t have done naturally.” (4)

In Sefton, having a bedrock of collaboration and connections in place, combined with growing confidence in their leadership skills, meant the MHLE participants grabbed the opportunity to contribute to Sefton’s thinking about integration, and the impact it could have to promote quality of life for people who live, die, work in and visit care homes in the area.

In many ways, care homes form little hubs of integration every day. People who live and work in care homes connect the roles of NHS and Local Authority commissioning, whether that’s through debates about funding, supporting positive discharge from hospital or focusing on a strategy for people who have dementia and their families, friends and partners. They also connect the expertise of people working in the care home with that of other health and social care professionals, including general practice, social work, nursing and allied health professionals.

Through discussions with commissioning leaders and the care home leaders about areas we might focus on together, a common agenda emerged to explore what the potential of ‘integration’ might mean in a practical way, what was working well and what people could do more of together to improve everyone’s experience. The title ‘Making It Real’, was used for a summit in which care home leaders worked with the wider system to take the statements of policy and strategy, distilling them into what might feel different and what they could imagine for the future for people living in care homes that integration could support and enhance.

The term ‘summit’ emerged as the airwaves were full of the ‘COP26 summit’ in Glasgow as we were finalising our joint event. Those planning the event liked the definitions we found:

‘Any gathering of people who care deeply about the same topic’ / ‘A meeting or conference to conduct diplomatic negotiations’ / ‘A good summit generates new thinking and many next steps. A successful one can produce a range of outcomes’ / ‘A summit is a strategic conversation that brings different perspectives within a system together to talk about the big picture and the big questions’

The priority areas identified by the care home leaders were also priorities in the care home strategy including:

• Developing new ways of working together (a move from consultation to involvement)
• The enhanced health in care homes framework and discharge planning from hospital
• Using data and information provided by or collected about care homes in a more integrated way for everyone’s benefit

On the day, the summit felt different. The care home leaders were the ‘keynote speakers’, setting the scene. People made an ‘in person connection’ sometimes for the first time and connected with each other. Agreeing ‘ways of working together’ set the tone and style for the rest of our time together.

Everyone in the room engaged and actively listened to each other, a lot of assumptions came to light and some emotional connections were made. For many delegates who attended, spending time listening to the complexity of a care home leader’s role helped them to understand why responding to emails asking for the same (or slightly) different information from 4 different people might not always be a priority.

For care home leaders, it was enlightening to meet people from the local authority or the NHS and listen to the ideas and the commitment they had to support quality of life for people living and working in care homes. It was a very different experience to listening to them speak on a Teams meeting about another piece of guidance or a request to provide information. This time there was a common sense of purpose. Throughout the summit participants focused on being curious, what was real and possible and considered the perspectives of others, building on what was already working well. Delegates made clear promises to each other with a ‘what will happen next and who will do that’ focus.

While not all of the actions agreed on the day may have been followed through, there has been an explicit and real change in the main forum that connects Local Authority /NHS and care home leaders together in Sefton. Renamed the ‘Care Home Strategic Partnership’, the terms of reference have changed substantially with a focus on collaboration, learning together, celebrating positive practice and sharing of information and experience. The partnership is co-chaired by one of the care home leaders who attended the summit and attendance from care homes is developing again. Agendas are co-produced.

People often leave events /workshops or summits with sense that it was a nice day out, but nothing will really change. That’s not the case in Sefton. The word transformational is probably overused and like many words, means different things to different people, but this summit has led to a step change and the beginning of a new relationship between care homes and the wider system in Sefton. ‘It does feel different now’ (4)

So, what helped make this happen?

Clearly it started with a strong commitment from those within the council and wider system partners to support quality of life for people who live, work in and visit care homes. Their investment in the MHLE leadership programme helped support the participants to gain in confidence in their leadership, to connect as a team and develop the professional confidence to engage with wider agencies.

Six months on, the Care Home Strategic Partnership continues to develop and evolve, supported as a collaborative structure with ideas and developments brought by care home managers as well as the wider system.

“The offer from My Home Life England has helped to empower and equip Care Home Managers to face the challenge of delivering high quality effective care and support in the current climate and it’s been amazing to see the journey they have been on, and as part of our integrated Care Home Strategy delivery we hope to continue to build on this in the future.” (5)

– Author: Steph Thompson, My Home Life England, with the involvement of Heather Weekes (new co-chair of the Care Home Strategic Partnership), Neil Watson and Eleanor Moulton (Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council) and Mandy Hetherton, My Home Life England Associate.

1. Health and Social Care Committee ‘lessons learnt to date’ October 21
2. My Home Life : Developing Best Practice Together (NCHR&D Forum 2007), Focusing on Relationships (Reference – Nolan, M., Brown, J., Davies, S., Nolan, J., and J. Keady. (2006). The Senses Framework: Improving care for older people through a relationship-centred approach. University of Sheffield.), Being Appreciative (Reed, J (2007) Appreciative Inquiry. Research for Change, London:) Caring Conversations (Dewar B and Nolan M (2013) Caring about caring: Developing a model to implement compassionate relationship centred care in an older people care setting, International Journal of Nursing Studies, 50(9):1247-58)
3. My Home Life England Leadership Support Programme: Evaluation (Natalie Sanford and Janet Anderson September 2021)
4. Direct quotes from participants on the Sefton Leadership Support and Development Programme 2020-2021
5. Eleanor Moulton, Sefton Council Integrated Social Care and Health Manager

The post Working with Care Home Leaders to Support Integration at Place (Sefton) appeared first on My Home Life England.

By Alena Petrie, Manager at Cambridge Court Care Home, Sefton

A day in the life – A home manager’s story

It is half past six, rise and shine, time to get ready for new day,
Little face shouts mummy, I will see you later, okay?
Arrive to work, get changed, spring in the step and off I go
We will tackle all head on, well, so we are hoping so

Handover is always good to catch up with everyone
But when 2 out of eight staff don’t turn up, that is no fun
Cover it as soon as you can or get on the floor yourself, no authority
Phone calls and meeting will have to wait as our loved ones are priority

Phone is ringing, doorbell goes on, but we still smile
This day will probably take a while
Somebody rang in sick for tomorrow and somebody cannot cope any more
Counselling mode on, cuppa tea, break and listening as always opened door

No time to spare as bed is broke room 5, bulbs missing in room 10
So and so didn’t do the job properly, sling is missing, footplate of a wheelchair has gone again
Teamwork makes the dreamwork, but not always focused on own work
Let’s pick them up, let’s work together, let’s shake hands or talk

Train your people, it is the best way to move forward
And use the resources correctly which were finally ordered
Rota is done for next four weeks but 44 hrs to recruit for I know
Hopefully we find someone sooner then we will see snow

Mary has a temperature, Bill didn’t eat so much today
John fell and went to hospital, oh let’s keep ill health at bay
Covid swabs, covid paperwork, covid passes oh whatever else is coming my way
I will keep going, it is only noon, more to get through I say
Medication was just delivered, hand it to the nurse, but oh
It is not the correct one, so on the phone again I go

2 pm, time to stop, have a drink and bite to eat, great idea
Phone goes again, and family this time need a listening ear
We will sort it out, book a visit or two, yes you need the test before you come
I didn’t make it up, it is the rule, for everyone, not for some

Singer has arrived, let’s have a dance, sing song and some fun
It is good to remind ourselves why we are doing this on dull days or in the sun
Seeing happiness, smiling faces, everyone forgetting for a while
That virus out there is wiping people in a horrifying style

We received a cheque for our memory walk we did in September
So we need to plan what we will spend it on, but remember
No time to do it now as 3 audits are due today
Someone is knocking on the door again, my home time, now I will have to stay

Finishing list of things to do and write tomorrow or maybe the day after
Dot just came to tell me she needs to go home to cook the tea, I am fighting the laughter
I haven’t managed to do the supervision, or write up all the notes, who cares
In the car now, thinking about tomorrow, looking forward to see two little faces when I get home, upstairs.

Alena originally wrote this poem to present at the Making it Real summit in Sefton, organised by My Home Life England (picture above).

Thank you Alena for giving us your permission to share the poem more widely.

The post Poem: “A Day in the Life” – A Home Manager’s Story appeared first on My Home Life England.

Following a successful QI workshop as part of their My Home Life England Leadership and Development programme, Rodney House Care Home in Liverpool kindly sent us the following update on how they had put into practice some of the activities from the day and the impact it had.

One of these QI tools was the “Homer Simpson” activity – a fun exercise which can be used during Quality Improvement workshops to help staff to understand how to develop a plan (driver diagram) for their QI project.

It enables the team to:

• identify a SMART measurable aim for the project
• identify the primary areas they need to focus on
• think how they can break these down into manageable tasks to achieve the aim.

The use of the Homer Simpson example gets the group to think creatively about what kind of things that Homer (with his very unhealthy lifestyle) might do to achieve the aim of improving his health.

This approach can then be translated to any QI project that a care home is interested in undertaking.

In this case Rodney House were aiming to reduce the number of recorded incidents of behaviour which challenged and creatively used the Homer activity with different people to achieve this.

Lyndsey Green, Care Manager, said:

“The QI day was good and brought some good things to the home. I did the Homer Simpson project with some of our residents and they enjoyed it. One lady has learning difficulties and is diabetic. She learnt about her health and how to keep fit (see second video below).

The Homer Simpson project has been useful and everyone who I have done this with has enjoyed it. It builds up team activity and also has an outcome on people’s health.

I have also used the Homer Simpson project with our management team in a KLOEs training session that we recently had. They thought it was fun and also a good activity for team building. We are going to continue to use it as a team building activity at Rodney House and will do it with new staff members and new residents.

We have also used another tool from the QI day on monitoring behaviours which challenge. The idea was very useful so we can be more aware of behaviour and triggers. We have completed our own ABC chart to monitor this and we have recently completed a training day with all our staff on behaviours which challenge.”

Videos:

Thank you Rodney House for sharing this update with us. We’re really pleased to hear that the tools from the QI workshop have made a difference!

If you’ve also been through one of our programmes, we’d love to hear how you’ve continued to use any of the tools and materials from the programme and put into practice different techniques. Please get in touch with us – email: mhl@city.ac.uk

The post Homer Simpson and other QI tools have an impact at Rodney House appeared first on My Home Life England.

Through FaNs (Friends and Neighbours) Network Essex, My Home Life Essex Community Association have continued to do brilliant work keeping people living in care homes across Essex connected to their local communities, despite the pandemic and its restrictions. We’ve spotlighted some wonderful success stories from the past few months, inspired by the Wishing Washing Line:

Celebrating 4 years of the FaNs Wishing Washing LineTM

Have you heard of the FaNs Wishing Washing Line? If not, it’s exactly what it sounds like – a washing line full of wishes! It was born in Essex as an innovative way to connect care home residents to community members who share the same interests and passions, and to help enrich the lives of those living in local care homes who had specific wishes they’d like fulfilled. Pin the wish onto the line and wait for someone in the community to grant it. For example, Betty, 86, would like to see some ballroom dancing. Well Mary, 36, a local dance teacher is happy to help!

Wishing Washing Lines are hung in prominent places in the community, including supermarkets. The idea has now spread across the world, with thousands of older people’s wishes granted.

This year marks 4 years since the advent of the FaNs Wishing Washing Line. Tesco Highwoods in Colchester reflected on this brilliant achievement and some of the wishes they’ve made happen in that time. We love this quote from a community member reminiscing about the impact their Wishing Washing Line has had:
“I remember one of the early wishes granted was for Ying – she wanted to speak to someone in Cantonese. A Cantonese lady picked the wish from the Wishing Washing Line and visited Ying for a chat. Their friendship quickly developed and she visited her weekly to chat about things dear to them both. One small act of kindness by a member of the public enhanced Ying’s life.”

Mr Motivator gets people motivated!

Grab your neon clothing and your best dance moves, it’s time for an exercise session like no other!

Marion, aged 100, is a life-long fitness lover who can still get both her legs above her head! Marion’s Wishing Washing Line wish was to have a very special work out with famous fitness guru Mr Motivator (Derrick Evans). The FaNs team arranged for him to live stream a Zoom workout for Marion and others at her home, Down Hall Residential Home. Mr Motivator was very impressed with the level of Marion’s fitness – she could certainly keep up with everyone! Marion loved the session too and it also inspired her to hold and lead her own weekly fitness session at the home. Brilliant!

The FaNs team kept in touch with Derrick and back in April 2021 he live streamed another Zoom workout session, but this time it was for 70 care homes across Essex. About 2,000 people took part! There was a real party atmosphere in some of the participating homes, with it also being a lovely reminiscence exercise for those who remembered Mr Motivator from his previous fitness sessions in the 90s. Derrick was joined on screen by his wife Sandra, who adapted the moves for those with less mobility, meaning that it was accessible to everyone and a real boost physical and mental health.

Shelagh who took part said: “I thought it was lovely… the character of the man doing it was a lot to do with it, because you didn’t not do it! … He was very good!”

The event was organised by the Essex Friends and Neighbours Charity, alongside Colchester Borough Council and was featured on BBC Look East! You can watch the news report here. A second Zoom workout session also took place at the end of July.

Together We Grow At Home 2021

Cynthia lives in a care home in Clacton and for her Wishing Washing Line wish she dreamed of planting seeds to grow into beautiful flowers, to remind her of her previous work in a nursery.

Cynthia remembered the laughter and good times, and wished to be back in the garden, for fresh air and exercise and to keep her body and mind active and health. From this simple wish, ‘the seeds were sown’ for a big gardening project across Essex!

FaNs Network Essex partnered with Together We Grow At Home 2021 to provide ‘grow packs’ for older residents in local care homes across Mid and North Essex, to enable them to make a successful “mini plot” in their care home grounds.

4 different packs were created, which contain compost and all the necessary seeds to grow a culinary feast: pizza toppings, vegetable patch, salad patch and herb garden!

The project has been a real success so far, with residents enjoying planting their seeds and watching them steadily grow upwards. Hopefully they will enjoy eating them soon! It has also inspired a Zoom call with a local gardener, who talked to the residents about all the different seeds.

A special thank you to volunteer, Lee Pugh, who helped make the project happen by delivering packs to care homes all over Colchester, on his fabulous environmentally friendly e-bike!

These are just a couple of the many success stories made possible by the FaNs Network Projects from The My Home Life Essex Community Association over the past few months. Thank you for sharing these examples with us and for all that you do to improve the quality of life for older people in Essex care homes.

The post The FaNs Wishing Washing Line continues to bring joy to people in Essex care homes appeared first on My Home Life England.

At My Home Life England we are always learning about positive person-led approaches that support people living in care homes who have a form of dementia. We have had the privilege of working intensively with care home managers across the country during the pandemic, and this theme has shone through many of the stories and experiences people have shared with us over the last 18 months.

The pandemic has been extremely difficult for all those living and working within care homes, including people living with dementia. Practitioners have told us:

• How seeing friends and staff in masks and aprons created anxiety and reduced communication.
• How being approached with a Covid-19 Test-kit felt scary to for people living with dementia.
• How hard it was to be denied a kiss and a cuddle from those that loved them.
• How people living with dementia picked up on the panic and vulnerability felt by care teams when guidance was poor and PPE absent.
• How lost they felt when they had to isolate in their own rooms.

One care home manager was told by an older woman within the home that at least during the second world war people had each other. This was far worse.

However despite the horrific situations care teams have found themselves in, we have heard incredible stories of people undertaking innovative efforts to support people living with dementia to maintain a sense of security, belonging and significance.

Skilled care home teams demonstrated courage and insight into those that they were caring for. They found ways to keep connections going and offered reassurance, despite worries for their own safety.

We heard how, for those in the later stages of dementia, staff used soft, soothing voices to blur out the panic and distress which upset the home environment. Team members placed visual prompts around the home to support people to understand the new measures in place, as well as customising PPE with personal touches so it didn’t appear as clinical.  Recognising the importance of person-led care, others sang a person’s favourite song whilst supporting them to wash their hands and comply with infection control measures. Many others were supported to see familiar faces of friends and family on screens, when visitors were not allowed into the homes. For those at the end of their lives, staff members sat calmly alongside a person and offered comfort, often with limited external support.

The ‘enhanced health in care homes’ framework is also a change designed to support people who live and work in care homes and will hopefully lead to greater outcomes for people living with dementia.

It will be encouraging to see as an outcome of this framework a stronger sharing of expertise and innovation across care homes and the NHS to support individuals with a diagnosis of dementia, and also for more people living in care homes with dementia to have a diagnosis confirmed, recognised and recorded at their GP practice. Getting a correct diagnosis as early as possible is helpful for everyone involved in supporting an individual with dementia, including family, friends and paid carers, and gives the person the chance to explore what is available and begin planning for the future.

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