Gary, Emma and Andy introduce Shared Lives Oldham on Channel 4 News
We’re so proud of Gary and his Shared Lives Carers Emma and Andy, after their appearance on Channel 4 News!
We introduced them in 2016 and they’ve been living a fantastic shared life ever since.
The news item aimed to shine a light on different models of care and support for ageing people with learning disabilities. And that’s raising new questions about how to provide the care they need as they age.
Watch footage from their appearance on the Channel 4 News YouTube channel, as Ruben Reuter reports on new ways being found to offer appropriate support as people’s care needs change over a lifetime.
A big thank you to Ruben and the C4 crew, and of course to our TV stars Gary, Emma and Andy who did brilliantly!
“Life is better shared”
Our delivery of care – Extra Care residents give their view July 3, 2023
Our delivery of care – Extra Care residents give their view
In July 2023, we undertook our biannual residents’ survey across all six Extra Care schemes. Before we tell you little more about it, let us give you a quick lowdown of our service…
Working alongside Housing 21 and Oldham Council, we provide a care service to older people living in Oldham’s six Extra Care schemes:
- Aster House (Oldham, opposite Royal Oldham Hospital)
- Charles Morris House (Failsworth)
- Hopwood Court (Shaw)
- Old Mill House (Grotton)
- Tandle View Court (Royton)
- Trinity House (Coldhurst)
Extra Care housing is designed with the needs of older people in mind. Residents living in the six aforementioned schemes have their own self-contained homes and access to on-site personal care, delivered by MioCare staff.
Our service is regulated by the Care Quality Commission and was last rated as ‘Good’ in all areas.
So, back to the recently completed residents’ survey – we’re delighted to let you know that the results were largely very positive and we have acknowledged the areas where we can learn and improve.
A few things below that residents commonly would like to see (with our plan of action in brackets):
- More activities in the main lounge (–> thankfully, we are now in a position to safely invite people to more activities and clubs at different times of the day, and we will continue to work with Housing 21 residents and colleagues to improve our offer)
- Pay carers more (–> rates of pay for both our Care Workers and Senior Care Workers went up in April 2023 and will rightly be reviewed again this year – the MioCare Group and Oldham Council maintain their commitment to being a ‘Real Living Wage’ employer and continue to offer a comprehensive staff rewards programme)
Below are just a few of our findings through this survey:
- 97% of people surveyed stated the MioCare Group care team make them feel safe and able to live independently
- 94% of people surveyed stated the MioCare Group care team are responsive in meeting their needs and involve them in any necessary changes to their care plan
- 95% of people surveyed stated they feel able to discuss any concerns they may have, with the MioCare Group care team, and they are confident their concerns will be dealt with in a timely manner
- 97% of people surveyed stated overall they are satisfied with the service the receive from the MioCare Group
And finally, a few comments that residents made about the care they receive from the MioCare Group:
- “The care team are like angels and couldn’t be better.” (Aster House resident)
- “The staff try to resolve any problems that may occur quickly.” (Aster House resident)
- “All the carers are lovely, I feel very safe here.” (Charles Morris House resident)
- “I have been very satisfied with my standard of care.” (Charles Morris House resident)
- “The carers are always consistent in their care for me.” (Hopwood Court resident)
- “I really appreciate the care team putting on social events and activities.” (Hopwood Court resident)
- “Recent family bereavement meant changes to my family structure, I was listened to and dealt with sensitively and with understanding.” (Old Mill House resident)
- “I have MS (Multiple sclerosis) – the team appreciate this and make sure I am safe.” (Old Mill House resident)
- “I appreciate all the care and support I receive from the MioCare team.” (Tandle View Court resident)
- “Any concerns that I have are dealt with in a helpful way.” (Tandle View Court resident)
- “They are a really wonderful care team.” (Trinity House resident)
- “Yes, I am definitely satisfied.” (Trinity House resident)
We’ve made a big effort to make sure that alongside our care teams, our leadership teams are visible and accessible on-location more frequently. For example, we’ve enjoyed regular coffee mornings alongside residents.
We would like to thank everyone who took part in the survey; we are really proud to support you. Your regular feedback is appreciated and so valuable in helping us shape service delivery.
As a little extra thank you, we put the names of everyone who completed the survey in a hat and drew out six – those six lucky people received a retail voucher as a small token of our appreciation.
Congratulations to Alisindro, Christine, Joyce, Margaret, Mary and Peter (and thank you to Christine, Peter and Mary – pictured below – for sharing your photos with us).
A great get together in our LD Respite Service April 24, 2023
A great get together in our LD Respite Service
Our Respite Service based in Chadderton provides rotational, short-stay respite for people with a learning disability. It’s a key service for the MioCare Group and we’re proud to deliver it for the people who need it here in Oldham.
It is a Care Quality Commission regulated service, with the CQC’s last visit being in February 2022 – a positive inspection that focused on our infection, prevention and control (IPC) practices. The report was published with good results right across the board.
Recently, it was a pleasure to host a parents and carers afternoon, with people gathering to share some time, tea and crucially…feedback!
We’re delighted that parents and carers are happy with how things have been running, but we don’t want to rest on our laurels and sometimes getting together and discussing potential changes and airing different viewpoints is a great idea in itself. We had some brilliant discussions during the afternoon and all got to know each other more…
Everyone settled in with a brew and something to eat, before discussing what’s been going well, and also new things we could try.
Some of these discussions centred around…
- Undertaking more community leisure activities and the planning and prep that would go into it (e.g. watching sport, town and city centre visits, theatre-going and other hobbies, etc)
- Furthering people’s in-house living skills (e.g. cooking, cleaning, choosing outfits, dressing independently, etc)
- Day trips going further afield
Within our Learning Disability Services (of which Respite Service is one) the MioCare Group are launching a new initiative that will help the people who draw on our services to be even more involved in the planning and delivery of their care and support.
A word from Diane, our Associate Director for LD Services…
“We can’t wait to fully roll out ‘My Support Plan’ – this refreshed and updated plan will ensure that our support continues to be tailored to, and co-designed with, the people who matter.”
Not only was it good for the MioCare Group’s team to talk with parents and carers of the people we support, but it was a beneficial opportunity for parents and carers to talk with each other. That group of people is a support network in itself and sharing past experiences, and creating great new memories as we did on the day, is invaluable.
A big thank you to everyone that came along. We appreciate your time and we massively value your input. We’ll keep listening and learning, and we’re already looking forward to the next get together…
Colin is too!
