Over the last 4 months debates have raged about whether or not carers should be vaccinated to do their job, and by extension if they refuse should they be dismissed.  On the 11th November 2021 staff in care homes must be dismissed if they are not double vaccinated (without a medical reason), and this is to be extended to the NHS and home care in April 2022.

Everyone has an opinion, ……if you work with vulnerable people part of the job is to protect them and it should be “no jab, no job”.  Others cite human rights, that the vaccine effects are unproven, and why care home staff 4 months before the NHS.  It is likely that to work in care people will have to have had 3 jabs in 10 months.  I had one in January, one in April and one in November.  A booster each year is acceptable – but going forward I don’t fancy three jabs every year.

Whatever your view on vaccinations, another danger has emerged over the last 4 months – chronic care staff shortage.  In truth a lack of people wanting to work in care has gathered pace for at least the last 5 years, probably 10 years.  For whatever reason, the NHS and care sector are just not getting job applicants, so to dismiss staff through no vaccine can only put more pressure on the sector and also puts vulnerable people at risk.

As Winter approaches it is suddenly dawning on the Government that if care homes, and home care cannot help people due to a lack of staff then people have no other place but to stay in hospital, and this is turn stops others being admitted from an Ambulance, or having their long planned surgery.  This week it was announced 6 million people are on the waiting list for an operation, and it rises by 100,000 each month.

As the owner of a home care business I will leave mandatory vaccine decision making to the Government.  However, we would like to know when the Government states “no jab, no job” who they will provide to cover the work of carers who choose not to be vaccinated, and how they will tackle the lack of candidates for care jobs.

Over the last week the news is full of how social care will be funded going forwards.  According to the newspapers it will be paid for by adding 1% on National Insurance.  This approach has its supporters (a poll suggests the public agrees) and its opponents (part of the Cabinet).  Even in social care National Insurance is a cost to employers and employees so the result is likely to be higher care costs to cover National Insurance rises.

As a care provider the most worrying statement is that the money raised for social care which will go initially to the NHS to clear the backlog of operations, which without funds will rise from 5.5 million to 13 million.  The point is that despite all the publicity no money is coming to social care, and given the volume of operations it is unclear when it will.  This is probably because the NHS is more political, and headline grabbing.  The question is what does social care do in the meantime?  Companies are already finding it hard to recruit, and rising costs are making care unprofitable for some.  In addition, when people have had their operation who will care for them is the social care sector is still underfunded?

The owner of Independent Living (Mark Booker) commented “yet again social care is being put behind health and the NHS.  People do not seem to understand that health and social care go together.  Good care means less people will get ill, and those who do get ill can recover at home – thereby clearing capacity in hospitals.  Using funds to clear operation waiting lists could mean no extra funding in social care for 3-4 years at least.”

According to the press all adults over 50, and those with immunity issues will have a third booster jab in the next few months.  It is hoped 32 million will receive the vaccine which will help protect them in the forthcoming Winter.  The doses will be delivered by 2,000 community pharmacies so the NHS can concentrate on the 5.3 million backlog of treatments.  It is anticipated that 250,000 will be delivered each day.  Given the current vaccination rates the figures are seen as realistic.  Discussions are taking place as to which vaccines will be used.  It has been suggested that people will receive a different vaccine from last time.

At the present time the backlog of 5.3 million treatments is also causing deep concern.  Private Medical Health Facilities are seeing a massive demand for procedures with people reportedly paying £20,000 for a heart bypass in order to avoid waiting on the NHS.

Independent Living Owner (Mark Booker) commented “the booster will offer reassurance for some of the people we care for.  Whilst many people are enjoying their returned freedoms vulnerable people fear it puts them at greater risk.  It must also remembered that vaccinations help but they do not stop in everyone getting COVID.  However, additional vaccines will help older people who receive home care, and hopefully thee people can have fuller lives doing activities which have been restricted in the last 18 months.”

It has been announced in the press over recent days that a new drug to combat Alzheimers has been approved in America.  It is the first to be approved in over 20 years, and it is the only one on the market believed to slow down the disease.  The drug is manufactured by Biogen and will be marketed as “Adulem”.  It is claimed it reduces proteins in the brain which cause Alzheimers and reduces cognitive decline by 22%.  The drug is delivered by intravenous infusion and sites will be made available to do this throughout America.

The drug is not without its critics.  Some believe it is not effective, or not as effective as is claimed.  If it does prove ineffective the licence can be removed by the regulator.  A major worry is that elderly people spent $56,000 on a course of treatment only to find out it does not work.  However, others say it will lead to further research and improvements.

Independent Living Owner (Mark Booker) commented “we care for people with memory loss and it is a devastating illness.  Over the 10 years we have been been in the care sector their is no doubt the number of the people with the disease is growing – probably due to an ageing population.  Anything which gives people realistic hope must the welcomed.  Clearly the price of Adulem is high and it needs to come down if it is to be accessible to everyone who could benefit”.

Read more about memory loss and Alzheimers here.

If you or a loved one is in need of help due to Alzheimers, please don’t hesitate to give us a call, or contact us through the website.  Our friendly team will help however we can, even if you don’t become a client of ours.

The Leyland Rotary Club are holding their annual duck race this May Bank Holiday.  Given the COVID19 situation it is with a twist!  The duck race is not this year on the River Lostock but is a virtual online race which takes place over the entire Bank Holiday weekend.  It is starting on the 28th May and finishing on Bank Holiday Monday at noon.  The ducks can be tracked over this time to see who is winning, and who wins.  The ducks cost £2.50 each and all proceeds will go to St Catherines Hospice, Derian House, and Cancer UK (Leyland).

Independent Living owner (Mark Booker) commented “as a former member of Leyland Rotary Club I am delighted to endorse this event.  We have purchased a number of ducks.  I know how much effort goes into this event.  Along with the Leyland Festival and the Christmas Supermarket Collections it is a major annual fundraiser.  Please go on the Leyland Rotary Club website and support the duck race.”

We now have a timetable for opening up society and it seems in June 2021 we should have some normality back in our lives.  Whatever your age group we have all been hit by COVID19.  For many older people loneliness and isolation are a big issue and our carers visiting their home has provided a lifeline.  It really hit home to me last week when I spoke to a customer who is having to shield, he told me he had left his home just three times all year, and two of those times had been to get his COVID19 injection.  I think most of us would have suffered mental health problems coping with this.

However, my customer was positive and told me he had faced similar experiences when in the army.  He had used a IPAD extensively and had been able to do some gardening.  We had helped him and his wife by ensuring that rather than having 2-3 carers for the period of the pandemic we had been able to reduce it to just one person.

The whole COVID19 situation has shown the immense value of the care sector.  Our carers make sure someone has had human contact when the rules prevented families meeting for weeks on end.  Our customers have phoned the office regularly and it is clear they enjoy speaking with someone.

Let us hope when the COVID19 situation improves people will also remember those outside the NHS who also worked hard at this difficult time to help older and vulnerable people in the community get through this.

Today marks the beginning of the end of lockdown.  From today one person can visit a resident in a care home.  Having taken a former customer a Christmas present at a care home in late December I was able to wave through the window.  It brought it home to me just how upsetting it must be for relatives not able to visit their loved ones for months on end. Hopefully with the vaccinations and todays lifting of restrictions things will rapidly improve.

Care homes have had a very difficult time, and at the start of COVID19 they witnessed a high number of deaths where the virus spread uncontrollably throughout the care home.  Many staff have performed heroically, and in the national press we saw carers living in the premises to stop the spreading of COVID.  However, despite this Care Homes have generally had a negative press.

Coming down the tracks is rising costs for Care Homes.  We have seen the NHS offer staff a 1% pay raise.  Most care homes will face a wages rise of at least 2.2% when the minimum wage takes effect on the 1st April.  But perhaps of equal concern is the hidden costs, over the next 18 months what will happen to the price of: care insurance, PPE, uniforms, stationery, utility bills, computer equipment…….?

We expect better times ahead in care, but someone will have to pay for these and after the budget it is still unclear who this will be.

As a care company today’s big task was to phone around our customers and find out who has had a COVID19 jab.  This is required by the local authority, and presumably the government.  Encouraging most of our customers have had at least one jab.  The conversations at first were…. Who has had a jab, and who is still waiting?”  The conversation with our clients and their families has now moved onto “Whether you had the Astra Zeneca, or the Pfizer jab!”  and “Did you have any side effects?” I’m sure the next question will be “When are you having the second jab?”

What all this means of course is that the older groups the government targeted first for a vaccine appears to have worked well.  Our phone around suggested that most of our customers have already had at least one vaccination.  The main difficulty seems to have been people who are largely housebound because the Pfizer vaccine could not be used as it  needs to be stored at -70C, this led to worry as people they knew others who could get out and had better health got vaccinated before them.

After a short delay our carers have also been offered a vaccination.  We have all had to travel to the Preston Royal Hospital this week.  Whilst its a bit of a drive none of us have been too concerned because we know it is important to protect ourselves, and this in turn helps protects our customers through lower transmission.

For those who really want to know…. I had the Pfizer vaccine!

Back to work again after the Christmas and the New Year.  It is has been a strange and difficult Christmas- some people have sadly spent Christmas alone, or without the people they really wanted to spend it with.  Just before Christmas I dropped off a present to a former customer who resides in  care home.  Although I regularly telephoned the lady  it was the first time I had been to the care home since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place last March.  I found it quite upsetting just only being able to go to the window and wave – it brought it home to me just how difficult it has been for older people, and their next of kin.

As I write, the Oxford vaccine is being rolled out today which is great news.   However, I don’t know about you but often the media do not help the situation – a few days ago the newspapers were full of stories that there wouldn’t be enough vaccine, then the companies came back and said there was!  The latest negativity is whether or now the vaccine will stop the so-called “South African Strain” of COVID.  However, it does seem there will be enough vaccine so lets hope that by Easter we are starting to see some positive results.

I do think that many more people in the future will consider taking home care.  Many people have appreciated the carers both providing them with practical help, and company when their relatives cannot visit due to COVID19 rules.

Hopefully by Easter we will all be able to visit friends and relatives in care homes (and elsewhere) safely!

Stay Safe

Despite COVID 19 having a huge impact on every day life as we know it, our services are still operating as normal as possible throughout the pandemic. The safety of all our clients and care staff remains of upmost importance, and this will not be changing at any point.

We have dealt with cases in which our services are limited due clients being at a higher risk than others, but also dealing with cases in which the need for our services have increased due to clients getting less general interaction with friends or family.
With an increased worry in elderly relatives being kept at care homes, despite the new rollout of the vaccine, many people are wary of the situation and are now turning to home care services instead.

We offer a great range of services, from bathing or making meals for clients, to overnight care and/or 24 hour care. We also have very strong experience helping with memory loss/dementia support and other illness orientated services.

It’s clear to note we are equipping all our staff with the required PPE to keep both themselves and the ones they are supporting safe, in order to keep providing our high quality services despite all the problems currently circulating across the country. We understand, especially now, how it’s difficult to anticipate the level of support you may need. That is why we offer a flexible service plan which means you can change your given plans to tailor for different needs.

Get in contact today and we will be sure to help in any way we can.