Dilnot's Review: will it spark the introduction of a social care 'quality criteria' ?

I was recently interviewed by www.careindustrynews.co.uk about the ‘state of the care industry’ and it got me thinking just how few incentives there are for the poor stock that is dragging the industry into further dismay, to buck-up their ideas to provide better care.

If we’re talking ways to save millions of government money that the sector is so desperate for; a scheme whereby funds are awarded based on a ‘quality criteria’ is something I'd like to see introduced after Dilnot's Review.

Andrew Dilnot has my full support in his attempt to drive change for the sector. I urge that ministers don’t drag their feet and action change before even more people are scared witless, are drained of their finances and ultimately are given the care that they deserve.

Here’s an excerpt of my interview regarding the ‘quality criteria’ that I'd like brought in:

The subject of contributed costs towards care paid by local authorities is something that Ideal Care Homes has very strong opinions about. Their policy of no top-up fees requires them to work diligently with the money they do receive from councils, but on what Lawrence interprets as an unfair system. “Some local authorities are more forward thinking than others and will reward quality. I don’t mind getting £400 a week from a council to fund an elderly resident’s care, but what I disagree with is the care home down the road getting the same amount when their facilities are not as good, their staff are not NVQ level 2 trained, they don’t have lifts etc. Pay them £200 per week, put them out of business if you have to, but pay them a base fee that incentivises them to increase their quality.

“If you look at Southern Cross, what was their incentive to increase the quality in their homes? There was none, other than to get more private clients. As most of their clients are local authority funded, there’s no incentive to train the staff better, to better the facilities. Why would you want to do that when you’re struggling on the fees you get? We’ve taken the view that what should come out of this is the government should look at it and say ‘there’s a base fee of £400’ or whatever the number is. ‘You get additional money for en-suite rooms, additional for a NVQ level 2 qualified staff etc’. So the local authorities are promoting good quality care or at least incentivising people to improve the level of accommodation.”

He also believes that the austerity measures currently in place across the country will force councils to focus on how much they are paying for care in their own facilities. “Authorities can’t justify paying what is sometimes three or four times as much money for what is relatively sub-standard accommodation. In Leeds we provide residential care for round about £465 a week with no top up fees. We believe that the cost to look after a client in a local authority home is a minimum of £700. We need to have better quality private accommodation so that the local authorities can use it. The councils are not then funding homes that are half empty. Instead, that risk is passed to me, the operator, again incentivising me to offer the highest standards so that the home is always full.”

Ideal Care Home now running Dementia Café for local community

Berkeley Court care home in Leeds is making steps towards educating the local community about the challenges of living with dementia by hosting a monthly Dementia Café in the Harehills based home.

Our home, which offers a home for 78 people – including 36 people living with dementia, is the first care home in Leeds to offer a dementia support group for both relatives and friends of its residents and people living in the local community.

Held on the fourth Thursday of each month, the Dementia Café follows guidelines in the ‘Living well with dementia – a National Dementia Strategy’ where it aims to promote a better awareness and understanding of dementia.

Attendees can get advice and support from carers at Berkeley Court in a relaxed setting where informal chats about the best practice for dementia are offered.

Varying styles of cuisines are on offer at the cafés – past cafés have served up Mexican and Spanish food with themed décor and menus making the café an enjoyable experience with more serious undertones.

Berkeley Court toured its Dementia Café last week as part of the Leeds Care Association Dementia Roadshow at Hillside, Beeston during national Carers Week. Members of the community were invited to drop by the day-long event in association with Leeds City Council and NHS Leeds. Stalls at the event included other specialists in the field of dementia including the Alzheimer’s Society and Stirling University.

Berkeley Court is one of 20 homes operated by Ideal Care Homes that is transforming dementia services by providing high quality individualised care for people living with dementia in purpose built environments which promote their independence.

The home, which is situated behind Morrison’s supermarket on Chatsworth Road - off the B6159, boasts 100% en-suite accommodation, landscaped sensory gardens and a hairdressing salon, with extensive views of the city’s landscape.

Providing quality care homes fills me with joy

It fills with me joy when within hours of opening an Ideal Care Home, its beds are full, and I know we've been able to offer not just a beautiful home, but quality care, to those who need it.

Only last Wednesday, carers at our newest care home in Wigan, Montrose Hall, showed off its specialist dementia facilities to members of the caring profession to mark its opening in the local community. It was a pleasure to have local care workers, district nurses, the Mayor of Wigan, Councillor Joy Birch and her Consort, Mr Albert Bradley, all in attendance.

Yesterday, we opened the home to members of the general public and within hours all beds were reserved. The staff are all smiles and it feels the home has been gratefully welcomed into the community, which is always as indication that we are doing this right.

It's a stunning care home by anybody’s standards and the team really did relish the opportunity to show off its facilities. Through both open days, the team were able to showcase just why our homes are a great place to live. We very much look forward to Montrose becoming an integral part of the local community.

Here's a snap of myself at the professional open day with the Mayor, Mr Albert Bradley and the home manager, Donna Norton.

You can read more about the home's arrival in Wigan on the Wigan Observer website

All Ideal Care Homes are part of the local community

This week, residents at our Greenacres care home in Meltham were blessed with a visit from Bishop Tony Robinson as part of his visits to community dwellings in his district.

Like all our homes, Greenacres has made excellent links with the local parish and Meltham Reverend Maureen Elizabeth Read who hosts regular services at the home.

Both Bishop Tony and Reverend Maureen spent the afternoon getting to know those who live and work at Greenacres and were met by Home Manager Trish Starr who had arranged a relaxed afternoon of tea and cakes in the home’s garden. Our Managing Director, Mark Greaves - former Director of Adult Social Services for Kirklees Council – also went along.

It fills me with warmth to know that our homes are accepted into their local areas and that they are seen to play a key role in offering local residents somewhere great to live. Bishop Tony said: “It’s a delight to see a residential home that is so much a part of the fabric of the community.”
Below is a picture of resident Wilfred Woodhead, carer Audrey Hunter, Bishop Tony Robinson, Home Manager Trish Starr, and resident Michael Morris from earlier this week.

Greenacres has provided first-rate residential and dementia facilities for Meltham since it opened in July 2010. The two-storey building situated on Huddersfield road offers a home for 64 people – 31 residential beds and 33 beds for those living with dementia.

Reverend Maureen commented how she sees Greenacres as ‘part of the community’ and that due to the popularity of her services in the home, she will now visit twice a month.

Its arrival was supported by Kirklees Council as part of our move to modernise services for older people in the area. Our construction company LNT Construction picked up the Partnership Award at the Local Authority Business Control awards last week for our outstanding relationship with the council.

LNT Group scoop Sunday Times Fast Track 100 Best Management Team award

The diverse range of companies housed in the LNT Group picked up an award this week for Best Management Team at the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 conference and awards dinner at the home of Sir Richard Branson in Oxfordshire.

Beating all other 99 companies in the Fast Track League Table, the award sponsored by the UK firm of international accountancy network BDO was presented to me by Corporate Finance Partner at BDO, Alex White, as Ideal Care Homes was recognised for its proficient team who are set to triple the number of private care beds we provide to 3,000 in three years.

I was delighted to receive such a prestigious award in front of 100 of the fastest growing companies in the UK. It endorses our open and inclusive style of social entrepreneurship where everyone in the group is a shareholder and benefits from its success.

Our group of companies has been recognised by the Sunday Times as the 28th fastest growing company in Britain and as the fastest growing company in Yorkshire for its 90% annual sales growth over three years. The annual league table celebrates the sales growth and sustainability of Britain’s private businesses and entrepreneurs: in 2011 the LNT Group will grow again and further climb the ranks of the table when next year’s results are published this December. Above is a picture of me and LNT Group Development Director, Andrew Long, grinning our heads off.

It's been a positive week for industry recognition for the LNT Group as LNT Construction and LNT Software were both finalists in the property and technology categories respectively, at the Health Investor Awards held at the Grosvenor Hotel on 2nd June. LNT Software provides care home management software to over 1,000 care homes in the UK with its innovative cloud based technology platform.