Tis the season to be jolly, spread cheer and eat plenty! The festive period is the perfect chance for some fun-filled Christmas activities. We have put together a list of suggestions for your seasonal celebrations! 

If you are looking for more activity ideas, all year round, make sure you check out our monthly Activity Planners! 

Get yourself in the spirit by decorating your home. There are creative ways to work around the varying abilities of the people you support, such as asking those who spend a lot of time in their bedroom to choose a decoration or using aids such as wheelchairs to enable the people you support to get involved. Host crafting sessions to create your own fun decorations as well!  

Look into local groups and try to arrange musical guests to come for a seasonal show! Local youth groups, community choirs and theatre troupes often have special shows at this time of year. Ask if they will come to perform at your home 

A Christmas classic can always be a delight. This season is timeless so you can enjoy films from across generations. With so many options to choose, from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ to ‘Love Actually’ there are options for everyone! Add an extra layer of comfort with snacks and hot chocolate. 

Design and make your own Christmas cards to share with your circles of care. Festive activities take many forms and sharing cards is the perfect way to express your creativity. Plus you can send some heartfelt messages to the important people in your wider community!

Christmas jumpers come in all shapes and sizes, just like care communities. Share your brightest (and boldest) Christmas jumpers! Local schools and business community groups may be hosting their own Christmas jumper days, see if you can share your best pics! 

It’s not a holiday without treats! Host baking sessions where people can participate in making cookies, gingerbread houses, or decorating cupcakes. The scents of freshly baked goods evoke nostalgia and create a warm, homely ambience. 

Gift-giving is a fundamental part of the season and one of the most enjoyable festive activities. The joy and love we share with each other can lift our spirits on the shortest days. Organise a Christmas shopping trip for a fun day out. Then come home and make sure you wrap them up well! Secret Santa is a fantastic way to make sure everyone is involved and excited.  

Christmas quizzing is a modern British tradition! They are a brilliant way to keep the mind active and engaged. You can shape your topics to the knowledge of your community and give everyone a chance to show off in each round!  

Change is an uncertain thing by design. We grow and improve through change, but that does not mean we always know exactly how. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is in a transitional period. A period whose challenges reverberate across the social care sector and beyond, raising hopes, but also questions. We recently hosted a CQC webinar where Chris Day, CQC’s Director of Engagement, answered the most prominent questions submitted by Nourish Care users. As put to him by our Director of Customer Success, Ruth Norman.  

We learned of an organisation adapting to the needs of its community and building for the future. An organisation with enough self-awareness to recognise the mistakes it’s made, and the vision to correct them in the continuing pursuit of their person-centred, technology-enabled, ambitions.  

“The next steps of this journey for us is very much working with you so you and our colleagues who inspect have a really clear and collective understanding of what good looks like.” – Chris Day, Director of Engagement, CQC 

The CQC webinar was exclusively for Nourish users. We selected some of Chris Day’s most prominent insights below.  

If you are interested in joining Nourish and working with regulators, commissioners and communities to build the future of social care together, book a demo today. 

At the heart of the new inspection framework is a realisation. The CQC felt they were too focused on processes, not outcomes. The new approach focuses on outcomes, on the voice of the people and using the service and the staff supporting them. ‘I’ statements are designed to reflect what an individual expects from their service, and the ‘We’ statements illustrate how a service responds to those expectations. The CQC are eager to connect the dots between services with their new assessment framework. However, they acknowledge the work needed to refine how ratings translate across the 18 sectors they regulate and want to work with providers to address this. 

Chris highlighted the importance of re-establishing the link between providers and their local inspectors. He admitted the CQC overlooked the importance of these relationships when establishing the single assessment framework. The quality of these local relationships is crucial for building trust. They will launch a series of pilot programmes for local inspector hubs in October 2024 and will share further information for attendees through Nourish. The CQC want to give people the ability to talk to their inspectors without an inspection. To know and understand their inspectors through continued engagement. To build trust at a local level and share best practise.   

“A manifestation of care planning reality,” said Chris.  The biggest delineator of ratings comes down to the extent providers understand the issues they face. Including those outside their control, and crucially, what they are doing to address them. They want providers to show the relationship between the care planning, the training, the way observations are taken and the way support is given. It is important to give your team the confidence to connect data and information with people’s lived experiences. And the comprehension to explain those connections to inspectors. It’s not about providing a wealth of raw data. Care plans are more than a box-ticking exercise. How you tell the narrative story matters.  

Specifically, during our CQC webinar, Chris advised providers to use ‘edge’ or ‘outlier’ cases. Rather than a uniform overview of similar care plans. The new framework focuses on how a care plan reflects how you deliver care. How the person utilising support and their family experiences the care and how the specifics of your service’s context shape the care. Show the journey.  

First and foremost, it is important to understand the portal has several different functions. Chris spoke about the registration, notification and assessment functions during our CQC webinar. Fundamentally, the technology behind the portal isn’t working in the way they wanted. While notifications are functioning and will continue to do so, registration and factual accuracy checks are not. The CQC recognise how important it is to keep these services running, and so will be reverting to the pre-portal approach for both. Those who have completed or nearly completed their registration through the portal will not need to redo it in the old fashion, while those earlier in the process will be supported to switch methods. They are building out their registration team to expedite this process. Further information will be shared with Nourish users shortly.  

“I think we’ve let you down in terms of the time it takes to process registrations and take forward inspections,” said Chris. Addressing this swiftly is the key motivator for moving back to the older systems. They will be able to increase the number of registrations and inspections they conduct by returning to systems they are familiar with.  

The CQC looks to divide registrations between complex and ‘transactional’ needs, to help resolve simpler registration requests quickly. They will still use the quality statements for inspections, rather than key lines of enquiry, with the older process. “We know we had higher productivity pre covid with the inspection approach we took,” explained Chris. 

 The priority of inspections going forward for the CQC is ‘to form a view of the quality that someone who is going to use that service can expect’. They are currently undertaking modelling for inspection timelines and rates and are expecting to finish the modelling in November. Once the modelling is completed the CQC will share it with Nourish and providers. 

Naturally there was apprehension in our chat about the order of urgency of inspections. While the priority will be on addressing known harm, uninspected newly registered services and services ranked poorly who have had time to improve, Chris acknowledges the need to focus on inspections that show the positive changes providers have implemented. They are growing teams and their use of clinical experts to increase their inspection capacity. 

For those uncertain about how long this will take it is important to remember, when key lines of enquiry were first brought in, the CQC inspected every service in their charge over three years.  

Currently there are a range of experience and comfort levels with care technology in their workforce. A major part of inspector training is to ensure they understand the technology available to providers. Something they are eager to work with Nourish on developing.  Chris acknowledges the significant role technology can play in helping the CQC establish a ‘common view of quality in adult social care’.  

Data is a huge opportunity for care. Normally data is centred on the NHS. Access to real time information increases the understanding of care and service performance. Which in turn drives positive change. Bringing commonality to how data defines quality care is no easy feat, and there is a journey still to go on. However, Chris knows from previous work that data information is often at the heart of positive changes organisations have made and it has an important part to play in shaping the future of health and care. Including conversations about the long-term funding of health and care. 

As the hour drew to a close we posed a selection of questions from the session to Chris. Here is a brief overview of his responses. 

The CQC plans to review their inspection ratings in the near future. Their goal is always to triangulate data to get a full picture of the quality of a service. The primary goal being to establish these ratings as a more narrative description of the care you can inspect, rather than simply a ‘score’. 

The provider ‘handbook’ for inspections was recently approved. Over the next four to eight weeks the CQC will engage with providers to develop it. 

Understanding risk is crucial to justifying it. With specific regard to concerns over how the CQC will review potentially risky activities that increase quality of life for people drawing on support. This reiterates the need to rebuild trust between providers and inspectors Chris discussed earlier in the CQC webinar.  

Their ambition for Local Authority inspections to relate to provider inspections. The CQC are committed to providing further context for provider inspections by better understanding the worlds in which they operate.  

“That’s my ambition,” concluded Chris. “It’s not where we are at the moment, but I’d really like to do that. I’m happy to come back and talk about the Local Authority stuff moving forward.” 

The CQC are building for the future. But in order to do that they know they have to rebuild trust with the adult social care sector. There remains a great deal of work ahead of all of us to achieve the ambitions of the regulator and providers alike. Ultimately, we are all unified in our vision of better, more person-centred, care.  

Nourish are committed to working with everyone involved in the process, so we can change with confidence and drive better outcomes as a result. Join Nourish today to avail of future CQC webinars, integrated innovations and community led care technology.

Care Show Birmingham is the biggest show in the social care calendar. The bright lights of the NEC illuminating a sector alive with possibilities. For two days in October every year great minds, generous hearts and novel innovations emerge and are celebrated. 2024 was the biggest yet and reflected a growing sector with plenty to discuss. Across several stages, throughout vibrant thoroughfares, and on two floors people gathered to share their experiences, and their aspirations, for social care. 

This year we wanted to make our stand a welcoming place for our users, as well as an inviting one for new customers.  

Our upper deck was reserved for meetings between Nourish Care users and their dedicated Success and Account Managers. A relaxing space above the noise of the show to have in-depth, in person, discussions over tea and biscuits.  

On the ground, we created a space for learning and experience sharing. Featuring special guests from the Nourish Partnership Programme including Altra, e-reception book and Professional Records Standards Body as well as sessions exploring our Insights functionality and CQC preparation. 

We also had a space for carers to relax and receive a complimentary hand or foot massage. So, folks could take a break from the thoroughfare. 

The Leaders in Care Awards are a standout celebration in the social care calendar. The event brings the glitz, glamour and gratitude to the night before Care Show Birmingham every year. 

This year several Nourish users were up for awards and we were delighted to be cheering them on. A huge congratulations to all the nominees and winners at the events 

Kingsway Care who won ‘Innovation in Homecare’ 
Samantha Crawley of Bracebridge Care Group who won ‘Executive of the Year’ 
The Northam Care Trust for winning ‘Care Home Provider of the Year’ 

We also want to extend our sincere celebrations to the other Nourish nominees on the night: Barchester Healthcare, The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT), Sanctuary Care, Four Seasons Health Care, CareYourWay and Abicare Services. 

Nourish sponsored two awards at the event. ‘Frontline Carer of the Year’ in home care and ‘Registered Manager of the Year’ for Care Homes. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to both winners. 
Quality Life UK‘s Leanne Smith-Bodycot for ‘Frontline Carer of the Year’  
Care UK‘s Tony Sturgess for ‘Registered Manager of the Year’  

Congratulations to all of the winners on the night! Also, thank you to Apollo Care, Community Integrated Care, Sanctuary and National Care Group for joining us at our tables and sharing in the festivities! 

We sponsored the Care Keynote stage as part of this year’s festivities. The shared conversations and sessions covered a range of topics. Helping to spread experiences and insights across the social care community.  

Several talks looked to the future of social care. Skills for Care’s Dr Jane Brightman took us through their state of social care and workforce report. Detailing the numbers of care, the people behind them and the potential we all have. Prominent leaders took to the stage to explore what the future holds for care under a new government. The regulator was naturally a popular subject for discussion, with a range of speakers sharing their insights into continuous improvement and preparing for inspections. We also had the CQC themselves join us for an update.  

The second day of Care Show Birmingham ended with the inspiring 30 under 30 Awards. It was incredible to see the future leaders and present champions of care together on stage. We want to send a particular shout out to our friends who were nominated.  

Faizan Broughton, Service Leader for Community Integrated Care 
Elizabeth Court, Company Secretary for Nexus Care Services  

At Nourish it is not in our nature to stand by and let the important conversations happen without us. We took to the keynote stage on each day of the show to share the perspectives of our team and users on digital care technology.  

Our Chief Product Officer Matthew Stewart led this panel. He was joined by:  
Gary Laville, Group Quality and Governance Director – Salutem Care 
Laura Brooks, Care Quality Director – Order of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) 
Mike Cleasby, Chief Quality and Risk Officer – National Care Group 

The panel discussed the transformative impact of digital tools like Nourish on care quality. Some of the key points discussed focused on improved staff behaviour, enhanced report writing, and the benefits they’ve experienced since shifting from paper to digital platforms. With specific reference to positive outcomes for reduced acute care, improved quality of life, and significant changes in clinical outcomes, such as managing epilepsy through data-driven interventions. The panel also talked about what their future plans held. Their ambitions for AI integrations for predictive analysis, developing dependency tools, and enhancing family engagement through the family portal. The discussion emphasized the ability for digital tools to free up time for caregivers and improve overall care efficiency. But it also went into the importance of real-time data and transparency, and how they can drive incredible changes in care delivery processes. 

On the second day our Chief Customer Officer Paul Barnes took to the Care Keynote stage. Kingsley Healthcare’s Co-Chief Operations Officer, Debbie McGovern, joined Paul to discuss the benefits of changing your digital platform.  

Kingsley, a family-run business with 38 homes, is a digital innovator. They began their digital journey in 2011, moving to Nourish last year after spending 6 years using their previous system.  They have since improved their care plan management and data accuracy, reducing contradictory information and CQC issues. The migration involved transferring data and devices. An understandable concern for any digitised provider as it is akin to ‘changing the tires on a moving car’. Kingsley were able to transition systems in a smooth fashion with support from the Nourish team. Now they are working well with Nourish and have plans to further innovate their information oversight. Showing digital transformation is an active endeavor, and one with many benefits for circles of care and wider care communities.  

If you’d like to read more about Kingsley’s journey with Nourish, check out our Case Study! 

Our Chief Marketing Officer Lee Gilbert and our Clinical Lead Carrie Taylor joined The Outstanding Society Learning Lounge for two of their sessions as well. 

Lee took part in a roundtable on diversity. A spirited exchange of ideas and experiences. The shape of the setup reflected the nature of the conversations minorities are so frequently left out of. The shape of the conversation reflected just how much we are all losing out as a result.  

Carrie Taylor took part in a discussion on ‘Enhancing clinical governance through effective data management’. Samantha Crawley, Director & CEO – The Outstanding Society and Bracebridge Care led the discussion. Ruth French, Operations Director of Stow Healthcare and Tandeep Gill, Head of Business Development for Painchek joined alongside. The talk centred on how data can be more effectively applied in care. With a wealth of information available to us, we need to discern the best places to apply it. Clinical governance is a crucial part of quality care and information is power. The panel concluded data can play a key role in the future of clinical governance, but we must be precise and understanding in how we move forward. 

Care Show Birmingham is always worth a visit. This year we at Nourish wanted to focus on our users and create spaces and conversations we would all grow from. We are delighted with the results and are heading home both tired from the exertion and energised by the experience. See you at the next one!  

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The biggest show of the social care calendar is right around the corner, Care Show Birmingham. The biggest show attracts the biggest names for the most important conversations. This year we are sponsoring the Care Keynote Stage and we are so excited!  

We have a wealth of experience and insight on display throughout Thursday. Of course, the best is saved for the Care Keynote Stage. We contacted the speakers taking to the keynote stage for some sneak previews of what they will cover. From present challenges to future opportunities, there are many great talks, and only one place to see them. 

While you’re visiting the show make sure to come say hi to us on stand G40!

Here’s our Nourish insight into the speakers on the Care Keynote Stage on Day 2, Thursday 10^th October. 

10:15 – 11:00 
Speakers
Karolina Gerlich, CEO, Care Workers Charity 
George Appleton, Head of External Affairs, Social Care Institute of Excellence 
Vic Raynor, Chief Executive Officer, National Care Forum 
Nadra Ahmed, Executive Chairman, National Care Association

2024 is a year of change in the UK. With a new Labour government in power it is natural for us to wonder what form those changes will take for the social care sector. Between election promises, King’s speeches and party conferences, we have heard many people from outside social care talk about what the future holds. Join this panel of prominent social care leaders as the discuss what this future might hold for us. 

“As the new government begin to make good on their manifesto commitments. None are more important than securing a sustainable social care system. Social care is a critical part of our national infrastructure. Securing its sustainability is in the national interest with more people requesting support. But fewer getting the help they need.” – George Appleton, Head of External Affairs – SCIE 

“In terms of the future of social care with the new government in place. We need to support efforts to reform the sector. With a strong focus on the workforce and ensuring care workers’ voices are heard. For me, the future of social care is all about empowering the people who do the job. Allowing them to excel and feel well in themselves. When care workers are supported and well, they deliver their best work.” – Karolina Gerlich, CEO – The Care Workers’ Charity 

11:15 – 11:45 
Speaker
Paul Barnes, Chief Customer Officer, Nourish Care

Digital social care records are a common sight in care providers across the UK. A testament to the success of the Digital Social Care led Assured Solutions List initiative. Now that the dust is settled on the rapid digitisation of the sector, providers can look to their horizons with clarity and ask themselves, am I set up to succeed in the future? Our Chief Customer Officer Paul Barnes will be leading a session that details how joining Nourish has transformed care provider’s approach to care, with specific examples from our customers.  

“Digital care systems offer a range of possibilities to care providers. At Nourish we have been working with providers for over a decade to help shape our system and improve their outcomes. We delight in working with care providers and producing solutions that help improve the lived experience of care for everyone in their community. Join me on the Care Keynote Stage as I detail how Nourish Care drives improved outcomes, care quality and delivery, with examples and evidence from our users.” 

12:00 – 12:45 
Speaker
Jane Brightman, Director of Workforce Strategy, Skills for Care

This year Skills for Care led the charge in developing, for the first time ever, a workforce strategy that is designed by the care sector itself, bringing together key figures and findings from across the sector. Adult social care needs a workforce strategy to ensure we have enough of the right people with the right skills to provide the best possible care and support for the people who draw on it. Three months on from its official launch the director of the workforce strategy Jane Brightman will be taking to the Care Keynote Stage to share the impact, and ambition, of the strategy. 

“I’m going to be talking about how we got here. The thinking and development that took place and how we got to the launch of the workforce strategy. I’ll also go through what the last 3 months have been like since the launch and how we plan to continue forward with our implementation of the strategy.”  

13:00 – 13:30
Speaker
Ian Pritchard, Chief Executive Officer, Alternative Futures Group

Alternative Futures Group is a leading North West health and social care charity that delivers exceptional person-centred support. Operating two established businesses in learning disability and autism services, and specialist mental health rehabilitation, the organisation is going from strength to strength. Their Chief Executive Officer will be taking to the Care Keynote Stage to share their journey and their plans for the future. The session will focus on: The charity’s turnaround strategy, with a specific focus on workforce engagement, enhanced service quality and modernisation. How AFG has navigated to take the charity into a consistent, sustained surplus position to facilitate investment. Ian will close with an explanation of how the charity aims to deliver its growth strategy despite the ongoing (and potential future) sector challenges. 

13:45 – 14:30 
Speaker
James Bullion, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Integrated Care, Care Quality Commission

The CQC is always a subject of popular discussion in social care. The best source for information is a primary one. So, don’t miss out on this opportunity for an update directly from their Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Integrated Care James Bullion.  

14:45 – 15:45
Host  
Big Ian Donaghy

Hosted by Big Ian, the 30 under 30 awards are a celebration of the rising stars and emerging talent in social care. The award show is always an entertaining and encouraging experience and is a fantastic way to close the Care Keynote Stage. 

“The Care Show is proud to host the Thirty under 30 awards at Care Show Birmingham in October. Highlighting the amazing youth within the sector is key to firstly acknowledge the great work they are doing consistently as these will be the leaders of social care in the future.” Matthew Moore, Show Manager – Care Show Birmingham 

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The biggest show of the social care calendar is right around the corner, Care Show Birmingham. The biggest show attracts the biggest names for the most important conversations. This year we are sponsoring the Care Keynote Stage and we are so excited!

There is a wealth of experience and insight on display on the Keynote Stage in Birmingham. Day 1 is loaded with leaders, lessons and laughs. We contacted the speakers taking to the Keynote Stage for some sneak previews of what they will cover. From state regulators to self-regulation there are several great talks, and only one place to see them.

While you’re visiting the show make sure to come say hi to us on stand G40!

Here’s our Nourish insight into the speakers on the Keynote Stage on Day 1, Wednesday 9^th October.

10:30 – 11:00 
Speakers
Mark Topps, Co-Founder and Director, The Caring View 
Adam Purnell, Co-Founder and Director, The Caring View 
Caroline Barker, Legal Director, Healthcare Regulatory 
Julie Garrity, Independent Health and Social Care Advisor

The Caring View is a well-known and highly regarded source of useful information and important conversations in social care. Join the hosts, Mark Topps and Adam Purnell as they welcome Caroline Barker, Julie Garrity and the entire care community to a cool-headed conversation on one of the hottest topics in our humble sector, regulation.  

“The focus of our conversation with be, ‘how can we ensure compliance with the regulator with regards to care quality?’ So, we’ve got Julie Garrity, who’s an ex CQC inspector and social care advisor, and Caroline Barker from HCR law joining us. We’re going to talk around. Obviously, we know that there’s loads of confusion out there around the single assessment framework. Plus we’re all waiting for Dr Penny Dash’s full report into the CQC. HCR law has seen an increase in people contesting the outcome of their reports. Julie and other consultants have said they’re inundated with providers that need support. Our goal is to triangulate everything that’s going on, all these different sources of information and experience, to focus on how providers can actually just look forward, be streamlined, and leave the framework as it is with all the changes that are going on.” Mark Topps, Co-founder and Director – The Caring View

11:05 – 11:35 
Speaker
Matthew Stewart, Chief Product Officer, Nourish Care 

Our own Chief Product Officer, Matthew Stewart, will be treading the Keynote Stage boards on day 1. With an extensive background that covers a range of sectors, Matthew understands the crucial moment care technology has reached. There are huge opportunities for care providers and digital suppliers to come together and co-produce effective solutions for everyone in care.

“I love a good challenge. Throughout my career the challenges I faced were consistently about transformation. I worked in many different sectors, but always at the same moment, when there is the opportunity for change, for an industry to take the next step and move forward. As Chief Product Officer for Nourish I recognise that same point in social care. Now is the time for us to face the challenge of utilising digital care systems effectively and take the next big step in quality care. It will not be simple, and it will rarely be straightforward, but we already see positive examples emerging across social care. Join me for an open and ambitious conversation covering what we have achieved already, and what more we can achieve together.” 

11:50 – 12:20 
Speaker
Dr Ant Webb, Founder, Switched on Thinking

Dr. Ant, also known as the Brain Whisperer, empowers people through the art of positive mind practice. In a world of constant stress, pressure and responsibility it is no surprise so many carers are facing burnout. Join Dr Webb for an inspiring keynote on stress management and mindset empowerment, designed specifically for the care sector.  

“In this session, I will introduce my powerful Switched on Thinking® methodology, showing how caregivers can shift from reactive to proactive mindsets. I can help carers learn how to identify emotional triggers, manage stress before it escalates, and foster collaboration within their teams to enhance resilience. Through practical tools like the Circle of Awareness®, attendees will leave with actionable strategies to improve their own well-being while enhancing the quality of care they provide. This is a must-attend talk for those looking to build a stronger, more supportive care environment while preventing burnout and enhancing team cohesion. Don’t miss this transformative session!” 

13:30 – 14:00
Speaker
Big Ian Donaghy, Chair

The sweet tooth from chocolate city, Big Ian Donaghy will be the Chair for the Keynote Stage. He will also be taking to the stage himself just after lunch to talk about how we can all benefit by supporting neurodiversity in care. 

“My talk is about why we need to embrace the neuro divergence population into care. If we want things to stay the same, then we need to be bringing people into care who just think the same and do the same and are happy to do the same. Whereas, if you want to create change, you need somebody who looks at things differently. Someone who does things differently and someone who maybe treats people differently. We need people in care who are different, not worse. People in care who are different, not less. We need people who are magnificently different to create change, to make care better. So, I’m doing a big thing about why we need to go looking for the people who view things differently so that we can revolutionize care.”

14:15 – 14:45 
Speakers
Vikki Beckwith, Managing Director, The Affinity Care Group Limited 
Tiffany Nelson, Operations Manager, The Affinity Care Group Limited

Regulators are a common source of consternation in care. Inspections are always going to involve stress; it is a natural part of the process. Providers know how important it is to put their best foot forward in these situations, but do you know how? With recent reforms and reports there remains an air of uncertainty when evidencing to the CQC. An air that Affinity Care Group are looking to help providers dispel with their informative and actionable afternoon talk.  

“At the Care Show Birmingham this year, we’re covering a topic that I believe many care providers will find valuable. Evidencing for a CQC inspection is a major challenge for many in the sector. As a business, you may be doing everything right, but if you can’t evidence it properly, your rating could be impacted. Last year, we focused on navigating the CQC’s new Single Assessment Framework, but this year, we’re shifting to a more actionable topic. Our hope is that attendees leave with the confidence and knowledge to excel in their next CQC inspection.” Vikki Beckwith, Managing Director – The Affinity Care Group Limited 

15:00 – 15:30 
Speakers
Angela Boxall, Chief Executive Officer, Majesticare Luxury Care Homes 
Diane Danzebrink, Consultant, Speaker, Educator & Author, Menopause Support

Menopause is a big topic, one that has a profound impact on the social care workforce. However, it is too frequently relegated to small conversations. Join Angela Boxall and Diance Danzebrink as they take on the big issues at the heart of menopause and how care providers can improve the support and understanding they offer. 

“In our session I will be sharing an overview of the diversity of the menopause experience to help organisations understand how they can offer help and support to colleagues, whatever their menopause experience. My own experience made me acutely aware of just how difficult it can be to navigate the confusing worlds of menopause and mental health without the right help and support. As a result, I combine my professional therapy skills, experience and nurse training in menopause to focus on providing factual, evidence-based information and support to help others navigate menopause and mental health.” Diane Danzebrink – Menopause Support

With so many great options for attendees at Care Show Birmingham 2024 it is understandable to have your attention divided. Make sure you make time for some of the engaging sessions we have listed above. And don’t forget to come visit us on stand G40, we’ve got plenty more surprises in store!

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Social care technology grew rapidly over the past 5 years. A variety of digital and technical solutions for the range of challenges that care providers face every day. In the rush to provide effective solutions suppliers created a new problem, replacing analogue silos of information with digital ones. The Nourish Partnership Programme addresses this problem by building a comprehensive digital estate of integration partners, that our users can review and apply to their service as required, so they can continue to provide outstanding care for their communities. 

At Nourish Care we are excited to announce our partnership with Altra, a wellbeing and engagement app. We have covered their activities, wellbeing, feedback and survey features previously. In our final blog we are going to cover our favourite focus of Altra, communication and community.  

Altra is an Irish company who were founded in 2019. Their name, directly translated from Gaeilge means ‘nurse’. In this linguistic spirit we would like to share with you another popular Irish phrase; Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine. It means ‘People live in each other’s shadows.’ Admittedly something is lost in the translation, but the heart of this message rings true regardless of tongue. We rely on each other for shelter, for strength, for community. 

Our family and friends play a crucial role in our lives. When a provider wants to help people to live their lives to the fullest, they must consider the involvement of family and friends, otherwise known as their circle of care. The closer connected someone remains with their circle of care, the more involved and engaged they feel in their own life. Altra gives users the tools to support circles of care, evidence engagement and promote connections on terms that both care providers and the people who draw upon their service can be comfortable with. 

The Single Assessment Framework is the Care Quality Commission’s new approach to inspections. The first of the 6 new evidence categories of this framework is ‘People’s experience of health and care services’. In their own words: 

“This is all types of evidence from people who have experience relating to a specific health or care service, or a pathway across services. It also includes evidence from families, carers and advocates for people who use services.” 

Care providers who engage routinely with the people using their service and their circles of care benefit from a constantly updating record of the experiences of their care. Evidence of which impresses regulators regardless of geography. This information is invaluable for shaping your care, as well as your inspection rating. Altra provides a platform for wellbeing and activities information to be both recorded and shared. One that is rooted in lived experience, regulatory requirements and familial responsibility.  

Family means ‘Ohana’, and ‘Ohana’ means nobody gets left behind. This is one of the many key life lessons imparted by Disney’s 2002 classic Lilo and Stitch. A loved one receiving care is a source of great relief for many families, but also one of great stress. The natural impulse to check in on them consistently is one we have all felt towards those we care about. While entrusting your loved one to receive care from a service is a source of immense relief, it is still only natural to want to check in on that service.  

Altra makes this process not only simple, but beneficial to all parties. It gives families the tools to share their perception and experience of the care their loved one is receiving with the care provider.  

There is an understandable apprehension amongst care providers when deciding how much to involve families and friends in the inner workings of their loved one’s care. The information care providers choose to share with a person’s circle of care needs to be detailed enough to satisfy their questions, while being digestible enough to calm their concerns. Altra provides a suite of features so you can directly link people into a circle of care, clearly illustrate the activities their loved one is engaged with and their level of wellbeing.  

Altra provides a secure engagement application that allows care providers to share updates on the well-being of people utilising their service directly with their circle of care. This app works a bit like an Instagram feed updating the interested party with all the relevant information they need regarding their loved one’s care. 
 
Altra simplifies the process of engaging and collaborating with a person’s circle of care. You can share information with families in a variety of forms, including video, photos and direct messages. Providers use these different formats to paint a complete picture of the support they are providing, and the life the person using their service is living as a result.  

This app is not a one-way street either. It promotes engagement by allowing families to post updates for their loved ones as well. Altra enables these digital updates to be easily converted to physical printed newsletters, delighting the people you support. Specific information that speaks to the individuality of the people using your service and promotes the connections that make life worth living.  

Altra goes beyond digital connections. Care home operators can use the app to set up ‘family events’. Invite relevant people to the event and it will display who is attending, who has responded and so on. Through this functionality Altra promotes visits in a way that easily feeds back into your existing system. You can include as much information about the planned visit as you want. This simplifies your organisational process while maintaining an up-to-date record of the visit for reviewing and reporting purposes. 

Of course, not everyone will be able to visit all the time. You can also arrange video calls through Altra to make sure that residents stay connected to their circle of care.  

The app even includes a concierge service. This can be used by the circle of care in a variety of ways, including ordering special requests from the kitchen (such as birthday cakes!) or booking specific outings and events for their loved one. All requests are easily recordable and reportable so you can efficiently factor them into your invoicing process. 

Care comes in all shapes and sizes, and it casts a long shadow. One that people, families and communities use for shelter. The more involved everyone feels in the construction of this shelter, the more satisfaction everyone takes in its success. With Nourish and Altra you can build strong connections throughout your service, capitalising on the ones that are already there, and providing the foundations for many more.

You can read more about Altra’s functionality:
Activities and Wellbeing
Feedback and Surveys

Social care technology grew rapidly over the past 5 years. A variety of digital and technical solutions for the range of challenges that care providers face every day. In the rush to provide effective solutions suppliers created a new problem, replacing analogue silos of information with digital ones. The Nourish Partnership Programme addresses this problem by building a comprehensive digital estate of integration partners, that our users can review and apply to their service as required, so they can continue to provide outstanding care for their communities. 

Communication is a two-way street. The ability to engage with a person utilising your service’s circle of care is fast becoming one of the most sought-after features for digital platforms in social care. Care providers who involve the families of the people utilising their service gain a wealth of benefits: more engaged community, more informed circles of care and, as reflected in the Care Quality Commission’s single assessment framework, a more impressed regulator. That’s why we at Nourish Care are so excited to announce our partnership with Altra, a wellbeing and engagement app! 

Altra boasts a range of features that give care providers the tools to engage with families directly. This feedback and survey functionality keeps the people who matter to your community close to the things that matter to them. Altra delivers a combination of features. These enable you to drive continuous improvement, capture important feedback and provide detailed evidence to your regulator.  

The single assessment framework reflects a new impetus from the CQC to be more person-centred. Not only in the care provided, but in the access granted to that care, and the openness to input and feedback on that care. This impetus is reflected in regulators across the UK, best described in the tenants of socialcarefuture’s ‘Making it Real’ campaign. 

The CQC specifically named three evidence categories under their new single assessment framework defined by feedback. Feedback from partners, feedback from staff and leaders and people’s experience of health and care services. Regulators, commissioners and legislators share this focus on lived experience. Altra’s suite of engagement features helps providers maintain a continuous loop of feedback from their communities. One that satisfies both regulators and the people utilising your service.  

Quality evidence is the best way to define your care to the satisfaction of your regulator. The act of gathering this evidence consistently helps to define and ensure satisfaction for your team, community and wider circles of care. 

Continuous improvement is driven by continuous communication. When care providers open themselves up to routine feedback and engage directly with people at all levels of their service they enjoy a wealth of benefits. It is an intrinsically person-centred approach to care. One that requires both a sincere willingness to drive change and a conscious commitment to putting in the work. 

Altra simplifies this process. Through their surveys, feedback forms and circle of care platform access they turn the awkward into the actual. Gathering the feedback you need to continually improve your service in line with your communities’ experiences becomes a straightforward undertaking. One that is centralised in your Altra system and easily reviewed and implemented.  

With the heightened focus on promoting person-centred care sweeping across social care it is more important than ever to capture feedback. Of course, given the considerable pressures that care providers regularly face this undertaking needs to be as immediate and efficient as possible.  

The ability to gather and act upon the information your community gives you improves both the quality of your care, as well as the perception your regulator views you from. Evidence is crucial for properly demonstrating your outstanding care, and with Altra that evidence is available at the touch of a button. 

No two care providers are totally alike. The key motivator for gathering feedback from your community is to illustrate their unique and individual needs, wants and ambitions. As a result, no ready-made form will ever fully satisfy the specifics of your service, or the people who draw upon it to live their lives to the fullest. 

Altra addresses this challenge with their fully customisable survey builder. This functionality gives you the freedom to wrap your feedback around your service. Focus your inquiries on the things that really matter to the people utilising your care. These surveys can then be tied into other aspects of Altra to produce positive, person-centred results. 

One example of this in action is the menu-sharing functionality. With Altra, you can set up a survey that regularly reviews your meal plans and how much people are enjoying them. You can even add sections for suggestions. This creates a feedback loop that continually improves the quality of life for people with your support. Each incremental change closer ties your service to the people who provide, use and rely upon it. Change doesn’t have to happen all at once. It is a process. One that works better the more perspectives you include in it. 

One of the quickest and easiest ways to gather feedback in Altra is through polls. These polls can be set up succinctly and easily accessed in your posts on Altra. Invite members of the people you support’s circle of care to engage with these polls through the app to increase the width of your feedback gathering.  

Polls give you a clear overview of general sentiment towards a specific aspect of your service. This can relate to activities you are engaging in, proposed changes to your care and whatever else your team finds beneficial to post about. While more in-depth interviews and surveys can provide a wealth of information. This can be unwieldy at times and difficult to decipher. Especially in the context of increasing workforce pressures for your team.  

With polls, you can get a concise and clear understanding of the experiences and perspectives you need. This benefit soothes both ways, as many members of a circle of care are hard-pressed for free time themselves. Polls give them an efficient and effective way to stay engaged in the care of their loved ones and make them feel listened to and respected. 

To be a community is to be involved in each other’s lives. Altra makes this process simpler than ever before. It turns the ambitious and at times intimidating call for greater family involvement in care into an easily achievable, and evidencable, undertaking. So that no matter where we start, we are all heading in the same direction. 

You can read more about Altra’s functionality:
Activities and Wellbeing
Communication and Family Engagement

Community is at the heart of quality care. At Nourish Care we are indebted to our community of users, one that spans a range of care types and locations in the UK. We know that the best results come from clear communication and committed collaboration. Our users frequently provide the inspiration and insight that drives the development of our platform. So, it is only natural that we are always looking for opportunities to connect directly with our users. This summer we welcomed over 70 of our valued users to The Gherkin in London for our customer conference. The conference took place over an afternoon and featured idea sharing, our latest product road map and some inspirational talks from guests and Nourish leaders. 

The best place to start is always at the beginning, and there’s no better beginning than a drinks reception. The conference kicked off at lunchtime with a selection of drinks and ‘mocktails’ provided by the lovely Gherkin staff. It takes two separate lifts to get to the iconic floor 39, known locally as ‘The Helix’. The magnificent view of London’s skyline slowly started to fill with chatter as the attendees made their way up. The sound of conversation quickly filled the floor and provided a wonderful soundtrack to the view. 

Once everyone had proceeded upstairs to ‘The Iris’, the famous glass dome at the top of the Gherkin for lunch, a delectable chicken ballotine followed by a lemon and ginger posset, it was time for the presentations. The first speaker of the afternoon was the incredible Dr Waheed Arian. The doctor, humanitarian, and innovator shared his story with the audience and his perspective on ‘the business of compassion’. Everyone in the room shared his vision of providing health and care support through passion. He detailed the sense of pride and joy we all receive from working with people, and implored attendees not to fall victim to overt self-criticism at our perceived failures. The last question, ‘what does care mean to you?’ carried with it an implicit instruction, ‘Do not lose sight of what you mean to others’. 

We all took a break following Dr Arian’s evocative presentation. Upon returning it was time for the Nourish representatives to take to the stage.

First up was Nourish founder Nuno Almeida. Nuno took us through a brief history of the past few years, the pandemic, supply chain issues around the world and reassured us all with the fact that quite frankly, ‘there is no return to normal’. This stark and honest reflection underpinned Nuno’s entire talk. In a world of constant change (did you know there’s 70 elections happening around the world this year?) we turn to the people we trust for support. This rings true in technology as it does in care. Reiterating Nourish’s focus on building our team to be the right people for the challenge ahead, Nuno painted a picture of a bright, and collaborative future. 

Next up was our new Chief Product Officer Matthew Stewart to discuss our new product agenda. Matthew brings a wealth of experience to his role and demonstrated how this is already benefiting Nourish. The talk focused on the key areas of our new product agenda, and how we will be moving forward. Crucially, the session ended with an open Q&A to promote collaboration and idea sharing. Several attendees shared their perspectives and helped further focus the product agenda as we move forward. Co-production is a vital tool for the future development of care, and this is especially true for the development of care technology.  

The development of care technology does not have to be a lonely road, as we learned in the last session of our conference. Our Director of Partnerships and Business Engagement Denise Tack detailed the motivation and success of our emerging Nourish Partnership Programme. She was joined on stage by Camascope’s Customer Director Saurabh Shah and PainChek’s Head of Business Development Tandeep Gill. They explained exactly why our Partnership Programme is ‘not just an API hub’ but a collaborative undertaking. One built on a foundation of philosophical and technological alignment. We look for partners whose background, motivation and vision match ours at Nourish as well as their technology.

It was a great day for sharing visions all round. We are deeply grateful to everyone who made the trip to The Gherkin to join us for the day. It was a fantastic time overlooking London Town, learning about our users’ worlds and sharing our plans with them. We can’t wait for the next one, and plans are already in place to hold it in a more northern location so we can engage with our community across the UK.  

The day was a reminder of the size, breadth and impact of the community we are a part of, and the joy and purpose we feel working with you. 

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Social care technology grew rapidly over the past 5 years. A variety of digital and technical solutions for the range of challenges that care providers face every day. In the rush to provide effective solutions suppliers created a new problem, replacing analogue silos of information with digital ones. The Nourish Partnership Programme addresses this problem by building a comprehensive digital estate of integration partners, that our users can review and apply to their service as required, so they can continue to provide outstanding care for their communities. 

Communication drives care. We see this reflected in care interactions every day, as well as the new single assessment framework from the Care Quality Commission. Our ability to understand, to support and to elevate each other is born from our ability to communicate. That’s why we at Nourish Care are so excited to announce our partnership with Altra, a wellbeing and engagement app!  

With a suite of features that champion person-centred care, lived experience and wellbeing, Altra offers care providers the tools to transform their communication.  

The 2016 Care Act charges providers with the responsibility to ‘promote wellbeing whenever they carry out any care and support functions for individuals.’ A substantial assignment contained in 13 words. The result of this legislation has proven unlucky for some, as the task of promoting wellbeing is as multi-faceted as it is vague.  

Outstanding providers know that the best way to promote wellbeing is to promote communication. Involving everyone, from every level of your service, is the best way to ensure you stay connected to people’s wellbeing.  Altra empowers users to promote the individuality of the people utilising their service, without significantly increasing the workload on their team or the burden on the people drawing on their care.  

Altra gives you the tools to capture pertinent information at the point of care. Carers can post photos, videos and notes within the Altra app to showcase the activities you provide and how people have participated. You can even include polls and tag loved ones, so you get direct feedback from the relevant people. The ability to capture sentiment on each activity gives you a primary source to understand the experiences of your community. This provides an invaluable line of communication to ensure your care is person centred and your people feel valued and listened to. 

Altra also appreciates the less time you spend on admin the more time you can focus on communicating with your community. The fluid integration between Nourish and Altra removes the need for duplication of effort. These benefits will be felt throughout your organisation, and Altra really shines when supporting Activities Co-ordinators. 

An Activities Co-ordinator plays a crucial role in care homes. On the surface it may seem like a simple enough role. In reality, it carries a depth of meaning and purpose for the people utilising your service We are engaged through action and interactivity. Whether it is music, art or exercise we all have our preferences. What we are really talking about is the act of living, of experiencing the world on our terms and expressing ourselves as people through our actions. An Activity Co-ordinator is an orchestrator of experiences, an engagement conductor, someone who provides those with lived experience of care the experience of living life the way they want, in a place they can call home. 

Altra understands this role’s depth and complexity and supports it with specific and intuitive functionality. You can specify your activities, build calendars and review events afterwards to gauge their impact and continuously improve.  

Another key functionality that separates Altra from other communication tools is the specificity and customisability of their activities calendar.  Simplify your processes with repeating events and the ability to schedule and share your daily and weekly activity calendars in advance. You can store a wealth of useful information in each activity, including start time, attendance tracker, location, colour coding and more. It is easy to keep family members involved with family events and to give them visibility of how their loved ones have engaged with activities through the updates they will see in their Altra family app.

Great activities don’t just fall out of the sky though. Every Activity Co-ordinator has spent a decent portion of their time wracking their brains and the internet for inspiration. Altra simplifies this with a robust and routinely updated wellbeing hub.  

This library contains exercise videos, colouring, quiz games, puzzles and more. Don’t worry, this goes beyond just suggesting good ideas for your community. Any additional resources you need for an activity in the library are available to download. Like images for colouring, questions for the quiz or guidance for the proposed exercises from a qualified physiotherapist. Altra gives you the content to put these activities into action, reducing admin and organisation time for your team.  

With 1,000s of activities to choose from, which are updated on a weekly basis. There will always be a fresh idea to energise your home and promote wellbeing. Each activity is easily reportable. With the option to engage your team, your community and their circles of care as you choose. 

If knowledge is power, then communication is power sharing, and Altra gives you the tools to do both. From your administrator to your aunty, Altra keeps the right people informed. With the right information, to promote the engagement, effectiveness and efficiency of your activities. 

You can read more about Altra’s functionality:
Feedback and Surveys
Communication and Family Engagement

Social care technology grew rapidly over the past 5 years. A variety of digital and technical solutions for the range of challenges that care providers face every day. In the rush to provide effective solutions suppliers created a new problem, replacing analogue silos of information with digital ones. The Nourish Partnership Programme addresses this problem by building a comprehensive digital estate of integration partners, that our users can review and apply to their service as required, so they can continue to provide outstanding care for their communities. 

‘We need to talk’ – a sentence that sends shivers down spines in bedrooms and boardrooms alike. Feedback acquisition, data gathering, internal research—whatever you name the process, conversation is critical to success. In social care, conversations are a fundamental part of providing quality, person-centred care. Care providers learn the best information about the people who utilise their service by engaging directly with them. Our partners, ImproveWell, build upon this opportunity by offering simple, easy-to-apply engagement tools for your workforce, clients and wider stakeholders.

Knowledge is power and ImproveWell gives you the power to prepare for inspections, increase employee engagement and drive qualified, person-centred improvement across your service.  

The Care Quality Commission in England has been rolling out its new inspection process since November 2023. The ‘single assessment framework’ is designed to put people at the heart of the inspection process. While the key categories remain the same; safe, caring, efficient, well-led and responsive, the methods for evidence gathering are updated. There are six categories for evidence that inspectors will now require.

The first three – ‘people’s experience of health and care services’, ‘feedback from staff and leaders’ and ‘feedback from partners’ – are all different forms of conversations. ImproveWell helps your team prepare for these conversations. By making real-time feedback simple and a regular occurrence in your care community by providing a mechanism for feedback anytime, anywhere. You can gain a clearer, and more regular insight into the experiences of your organisation at every level. Without even getting into the results of your engagement activities. Simply introducing the process to your teams and community will make them more familiar and, in doing so, more comfortable with it.

The latter three categories – observation, processes and outcomes – can all be improved through utilising the results of ImproveWell’s functionality.  ImproveWell’s solution can be set up in a bespoke way to suit the needs of your team and service. Everyone can suggest ideas for improvement, share how their workday is going, and complete tailored pulse surveys – 24/7. Insights from wider stakeholder groups can be gathered and an AI-powered data dashboard enables group and organisational leads to monitor real-time data, track workforce sentiment, prioritise quality improvement efforts, measure change, and publish reports to complete the feedback loop.

The Maternity Department at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust enjoyed notable improvements to their workforce engagement and morale. After the first phase of ImproveWell’s introduction in the Maternity Department. 75% of staff reported feeling able to improve their area of work, compared to the 53% scored by the Trust as a whole. (2018 NHS staff survey) Moreover, over 85% of users of ImproveWell felt it empowered them to implement ideas for change.

This is what makes these tools so relevant to inspections outside of England as well. All inspectors will engage with your staff in one form or another as part of their process. Whether it’s in their ear or over their shoulders. The more familiar the workforce is with being listened to and respected by senior management, the better they can provide and evidence high-quality care.

The Maternity Department at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust were able to improve their CQC rating from ‘Inadequate’ in 2017 to ‘Requires Improvement’ in 2018 following their implementation of Improvewell. In November 2019, the Maternity Department won the International Maternity Expo Transformation Innovation Award to recognise achievements made through ImproveWell, and in their most recent inspection in February 2023, they had improved the ratings for ‘Safe’ and ‘Well-Led’ to ‘Good’.

Workforce engagement is crucial in social care. We know that high job vacancies and staff turnover rates are longstanding issues for care providers. One of the surest ways to draw a big audience at any care event is to talk about recruitment and retention. It’s obvious if you have attended any of these talks in the past few years. You will know more and more providers are looking to improve their staff retention rates by increasing their employee engagement.

 “We’ve learnt that everyone would like more money but surprisingly it’s not as important as being happy in their work. Support and development of people is held in higher regard.” Residential care provider, Claxton House, Atlanta Healthcare.

The best way to support and develop people is to listen to them. Of course, that’s generally much easier said than done. ImproveWell turns recording, reviewing and actioning ideas from your workforce into a smooth, seamless process. The detail and specificity of ImproveWell’s functionality enables you to ask the right questions. Crucially, the AI-powered data dashboard provides an easy-to-use, insightful overview of the information you have gathered, so you can use frontline feedback for maximum effectiveness. Most care providers conduct internal surveys with their team, with varying results. ImproveWell enables you to take these findings further, and action them to the benefit of your service by empowering your team and wider community to take a more active role in their development, in both a personal and professional capacity.

Health and care providers who use ImproveWell to engage with their community have noticed benefits in four key areas. The first, and most direct benefit, is the increase in staff wellbeing and morale. It is only natural that satisfaction increases and turnover decreases when people feel like they play an active and important role in their workplace.  

Users also experience a notable quality improvement, in terms of the care they are able to provide. Primary sources are always the best place to start when looking to improve your processes. It is the people who are directly involved who have the deepest understanding, whether they are providing care, utilising care, or are a member of the community in which you operate. A wealth of insight is unlocked when you empower your community to be actively responsible for their care.

 “It’s the quick fixes that make the difference,” Nicole Lee, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Burns Service, Burns Matron.

This same logic applies when it comes to your service’s operational and cost efficiency. It is impossible to fully understand something by looking at it from the top down. All leaders know they need multiple perspectives to understand their organisation. Increase your operational and cost efficiency by creating a simple route for innovation. Carers are known for making a little go a long way, harness their ingenuity and experience and the rewards will soon follow.

People are the pulse of our communities. Engage directly with them to best understand the world in which your service exists. The concept behind micro-improvements is rooted in experience and the belief that with the right knowledge, you have the power to change the world. Maybe not the whole thing, but definitely your own. However first, we need to talk.