Our Self Assessment

Once a year we submit a "Self Assessment" to SCSWIS.  This is a list of questions which we ask ourself, give evidence of our strengths, areas for development and a numerical score.

We have achieved a lot together in the past year, just some of which you will find on our Blog.  If you have been involved with us through the list below then your comments will automatically form part of our submission.:

• Spoken with us
• Written to us
• Completed a questionnaire
• Helped with recruitment
• Given us suggestions for improvement
• Attended a meeting

If up till now you have decided not to get involved then it is not too late.  Write, call, or send in our comments sheet so that we can include your views in our submission.

Working together we can make a real difference.

Many thanks

Stephen

Quarterly Update

Social Care Alba was established to improve the quality of peoples’ lives, and everything we do is focused on that single goal.  We have been working hard to make sure we listen to your ideas and suggestions. Here is a short update on just a few things we are doing.

• Launch of the COMMUNICATION TOOL APP
• Design of PAIN TOOL APP
• Healthy Working Lives Award
• Distribution of new EMERGENCY CONTACT cards.
• Open INVITATION TO ALL MEETINGS
• Design of new EMERGENCY SERVICES SHEETS
• Design of new SINGLE SHARED ASSESSMENT
• Service User REVIEW OF STAFF PERFORMANCE
• Staff REVIEW OF SERVICE.

We still want to hear more from you and I would like to give people who use our services and staff an OPEN INVITATION TO CONTRIBUTE, to any of our meetings or surveys.  To get involved just email or call us.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Stephen

FREE COMMUNICATION TOOL

We are proud to be the first to design, develop and release an app specifically to help overcome communication difficulties.  Thank you to everyone for their contributions along the way.

COMMUNICATION TOOL

For many people the ability to communicate with those around them is hampered by conditions such as Dementia, Stroke, Brain Damage or General Ill Health. The communication tool is designed to bridge that gap. Whether you are a care giver, professional, family member or have yourself a difficulty communicating, this tool helps overcome some of this barrier.

They say a picture speaks a thousand words, and this app does just that. With over 500 possible images from which to select, communicating your needs, choices or feelings is easy. With just 3 simple taps on the screen you can choose from any of the pictures you desire. You don't have to worry about being limited to the stock images, because you can swap any image for one of your own in seconds. By creating a library of images personal to you, the app allows meaningful communication, reminiscence, memory prompts, memory exercise and more.

The uses for the app are only limited by your imagination. We hope that the frustration and isolation experienced by people with communication difficulties are replaced by experiences of inclusion, dignity and choice.

DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR FREE HERE

Nataly Wilson, Director, Social Care Alba

www.social-care.org

Healthy Working Lives - Walking Challenge

The Healthy Working Lives Team are at it again.

They are trying to keep the momentum of New Years resolutions going well into Spring.  So with the health of our staff in mind we have issued pedometers to everyone.  YES  even me :-)

They say you should be walking around 10,000 steps a day.  I can only say that I may be a little short of that target. None the less lots of staff will be carrying pedometers for the next 6 weeks.

At the end of the 6 weeks we will be taking the top 3 scores from each team and giving a prize to those who did the best.  There may even be a wooden spoon with my name on it.

Some people are taking our recent challenge even more seriously.  Sandra from the Dumfries team has signed up to a 3 mile sport relief run. If you don't fancy joining her but would like to support Sandra instead, then you can find her SPONSOR PAGE HERE..

Good luck to everyone with the 6 week challenge and of course everyone who is raising funds for good causes through SPORT RELIEF.

Participation - Recruitment

In our last Blog we talked about various ways in which you could participate in developments within the company.

So far people have helped with:

• The recruitment of staff.
• Feedback on the quality of staff, management and service
• The content of our brochure
• The content of our Service Users Booklet
• The content of our Staff Handbook
• The design of our Website
• The membership of our groups
• The annual training plan.

Our most recent request was to help us redesign our interview questions.  This saw us write out to all Service Users/Families, Staff and Participation Group members.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply.  We have taken all of your responses and have crated a new set of questions for Personal Assistant interviews.

Even if you can't manage to participate in staff interviews directly, your questions will be asked on your behalf every single time.

We hope that all of these contributions will deliver a service which is meets and exceeds your expectations.

Thank you again.

Stephen

Director

QUALITY COUNTS

Social Care Alba was established to improve the quality of peoples’ lives, and everything we do is focused on that single goal.  Over the past few months we have started a number of initiatives that help us to achieve this goal.  Here is a short update on just a few things we are doing.

To make sure we are doing the best we can, both staff and people who use our services are encouraged to give us feedback through quality surveys.  The results have been excellent and we would like to thank everyone who participated.  Without exception people are delighted with the service we are delivering.  I would like to say THANK YOU TO OUR STAFF for all their hard work and dedication.

One area where we would like your involvement is in our staff interviews.  Many people are reticent about conducting an interview so we would like to know WHAT QUESTIONS WOULD YOU LIKE US TO ASK.

We still want to hear more from you and I would like to give people who use our services and staff an OPEN INVITATION TO CONTRIBUTE, to any of our meetings or surveys.  To get involved just email or call us.

Some other quality assurance work we are undertaking includes:

• Healthy Working Lives
• ISO 9001
• Investors in People
• Participation Group
• Quality and Training Group

 If you would like to get involved in any of these pieces of work please get in touch.

Finally the Health and Sport Committee has published its report on the Inquiry into the Regulation of Older People.  Social Care Alba’s contribution has been reflected in the positive changes proposed.  To read the whole report click HERE.

Stephen

Participation - GETTING INVOLVED

Whether you use our service, work for us or with us, we want to make sure you are treated with DIGNITY and RESPECT. 

To help COMMUNICATE with each other and to encourage everyone to GET INVOLVED we have developed a range of methods such as:

• A Participation Group
• A Training and Quality Group
• A Healthy Working Lives Group
• Quality Questionnaires
• Reviews
• Access by phone or email
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Website
• Blog

If you are interested in becoming more involved with us then we would love to hear from you.  By getting involved you can:

• Tell us about the quality of our services, staff and management

• Participate in staff recruitment, training and assessments

• Help ensure staff are professional and skilled, and treat you with respect

If you use our services then we want to make sure your care and support needs are being met.  This starts by ensuring that your assessment covered everything you need, and that we support you in making choices.

If you work with or for us then we want to make sure that you have an opportunity to be involved in training, quality and the development of the company.

For more information please email us at office@social-care.org or call us on 0845 0945 279.  Whether your contribution is large or small we would love to hear from you.

Kind regards

Stephen                Nataly                            

Stephen Wilson                        Nataly Wilson

Director                                       Director