Tag Archives: Coverage Care

Concerns for social care funding following Government U-turn on taxes

The boss of Shropshire’s largest not-for-profit care provider has raised concerns about the future funding of social care following the government’s U-turn on National Insurance payments and scrapping of the social care levy.

The government announced today (Sep 23) as part of the Chancellor’s mini budget that it would be reversing the 1.25 percentage point increase in National Insurance (NI) from November to support people with the rising cost of household bills.

The increase, which came into effect in April this year, was meant to support the NHS and social care sector by raising billions of pounds and would have been replaced by the new Health and Social Care Levy from April 2023.

The treasury has now axed the planned levy saying the change would save nearly 28 million people hundreds of pounds a year.

Debbie Price, Chief Executive of Coverage Care Services, said the U-turn now cast doubt on the future funding of social care.

She said: “We are all struggling and whilst the Chancellor is right to look for ways to boost the economy and seek measures to ease the financial burden facing businesses, families and individuals the decision casts doubt on how the government expects to tackle the growing pressures being faced by the NHS and social care.

“It was predicted that the new 1.25p in the pound National Insurance increase would raise an additional £12billion a year. The government had promised that this money would go towards supporting the NHS and then a proportion to helping the social care sector which is currently facing huge demands.

“It has now said funding for health and social care will be maintained and come from general taxation but, as always, there is little detail, which causes concern. We need to know how the government plans to protect this funding and we urge them to address this issue immediately.

“The system is under a considerable amount of pressure to provide quality care to our ageing population. We are still facing many challenges as a result of the pandemic and coupled with recruitment issues, staff shortages nationally and already tightened government spending, this latest decision is another major blow to all care providers.”

Coverage Care Services is Shropshire’s largest independent care provider operating 12 homes across the county.

Earlier this week it announced a second pay increase for staff taking total investment into the company’s wage bill to £2.5million in 2022.

For more information about Coverage Care Services visit https://www.coveragecareservices.co.uk/.

Shrewsbury care home pilots new digital health technology

Residents at a Shrewsbury care home have become some of the first in Shropshire to benefit from the use of cutting-edge digital healthcare technologies as part of a major new project being rolled out by the NHS.

Montgomery House in Sundorne has been working in partnership with neighbouring GP surgery Severn Fields Medical Practice since January to trial an advanced digital remote patient-monitoring system called DOC@HOME® and already care home managers and doctors say they are seeing hugely positive results.

It works in such a way that care staff monitoring the ongoing health of residents can log their observations electronically through the system and the data is shared directly in real-time with clinicians at Severn Fields.

Rhea Paller, manager of Mongomery House, which is operated by not-for-profit care provider, Coverage Care Services, said: “The digital system which we are piloting is fantastic and is certainly enabling us to deliver better care to our residents.

“Its cutting-edge capabilities allow for more speedy medical intervention as soon as it’s required, whether that be reviewed by the clinician remotely and advice given for the residents based on the data received or determining whether it might be necessary for a GP to visit the home to make a more in depth, in person assessment.

“The benefits of being able to enter clinical information not only for immediate requests, but also as part of weekly GP rounds, and monthly clinical observations are proving to be effective to all parties.

“The system helps us track the general health of all our residents much more closely and accurately enabling GPs to make more informed and proactive decisions about the health of those we look after.

“For our staff, the technology is saving them time and means they don’t have to spend long periods waiting to speak to a GP and can use their time more effectively and efficiently caring for residents.”

Elaine Barnett, operations manager for Severn Fields, added that the DOC@HOME system had the capabilities to transform the delivery of care within care homes and so far the trial was proving very successful.

“Care home staff can share their observations speedily with the practice which means that if a carer notices that a resident is unwell, we can intervene almost immediately and determine the best course of action.

“It’s already helping to improve the communication between our practice and the care home, is saving our GPs time and is building on the already fantastic partnership we have with staff at Montogomery House.”

The pilot project is set to run throughout 2022 and into 2023 with the possibility of the technology being extended for use across more homes in the county including several operated by Coverage Care Services.

The project is being funded by NHS Digital as it looks to improve and optimise its responsiveness to the level of care provided within care home settings.

Dr Stephen James, chief clinical information officer for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group said: “This is a good example of where technology can enable new ways of working. It allows the collection and sharing of information which enhances the decision-making process in a very positive way.

“Those directly involved have already seen benefits in terms of both communication and time management. As this way of working becomes more widely used across our local health and care system there will be significant improvements in quality and outcomes for care home residents, which will impact the individuals, their families and the wider population.”

Rebecca Gallimore, director of digital transformation for Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and digital lead for the Shropshire Telford and Wrekin ICS, said:  “This nationally funded project is a key part of both the NHS digital road map and of Shropshire Telford and Wrekin’s digital health and care strategy.

“Such approaches can support services to adapt, change and thrive in a digital world, bringing the lessons learned from the pandemic into mainstream use. They will be central to how we rebuild and remobilise the health and social care system after the effects of the COVID pandemic.

“The project can support delivering care to patients within the comfort and safety of their own homes, including care homes. This will use the right remote monitoring approach, which takes into consideration the preferences and capabilities of residents and patients to manage their digitally enabled care in the home.

“Studies to date have shown how this can contribute to increased self-management, improved resource efficiency and reduced health inequalities and patients report feeling supported and reassured by the services using these methods.”

Karen Middlemas from NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit said a similar pilot scheme was underway in the Telford & Wrekin local authority area and that discussions were ongoing with a number of other care providers and GP practices about extending use of the technology more widely across the Shropshire area.

The DOC@HOME technology being used at Montogomery House is being provided in partnership with Docobo – a UK leader in the field of digital health and data management systems.

Adrian Flowerday, the managing director of Docobo said: “We have really enjoyed working on this project – the team worked really hard, and the results and benefits speak for themselves: saving time for both care home staff and GPs. We look forward to working with the team in the future.”

Coverage Care Services is Shropshire’s largest independent, not-for-profit care provider and has homes located in Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Whitchurch, Bridgnorth, Telford, Newport, Market Drayton and Bishops Castle.

Sarah steps up to manage care home

A carer who started her career with Shropshire’s largest independent care provider has taken up the reins as manager of one of its homes.

Sarah Evans is the new manager of Coverage Care’s Briarfields, a 43-bed home in Shrewsbury, which recently opened a new dedicated dementia unit for up to 12 people.

Sarah has previously also worked for a private care company, but she is no stranger to Coverage Care.

She said: “I actually started my career with Coverage Care. I started as an activities organiser, and in a short time I worked my way up to deputy and then to manager. It’s a really rewarding career.”

Sarah, who has previously worked at Coverage Care homes in Telford and Market Drayton, has a team of nearly 50 staff at Briarfields but is keen to expand the team further.

She said: “We are looking to recruit care assistants, night care assistants and shift leaders. Applicants don’t need any specific qualifications, but they do need to be a very caring person. We offer extensive training and lots of support.

“Briarfields is a really, really caring home, and very “homely”. The staff are all very dedicated. We concentrate on the individual and are very person-centred.”

Coverage Care Services Ltd is Shropshire’s largest independent not for profit care provider and looks after elderly residents from their local communities and beyond.

Chief executive Debbie Price said: “I am delighted to welcome Sarah as manager of Briarfields. Sarah knows Coverage Care and our ethos very well and she is the perfect fit to lead the growing team.”

Coverage Care operates 12 individual homes across Shropshire, providing residential, nursing and dementia care for elderly people.

For further information about the career opportunities at Coverage Care’s homes, visit https://www.carehomejob.co.uk/.