Posts belonging to Category Home Care

Breast cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK. Just because you are older and maybe having Home Care or are in a Care Home it is never too late to be checking for the signs of breast cancer.

Here are facts from Cancer Research UK:

• In 2007 in the UK almost 45,700 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, that is around 125 women a day.
• 277 men in the UK were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007.
• Female breast cancer incidence rates have increased by around 50% over the last twenty-five years.
• In the last ten years, female breast cancer incidence rates in the UK have increased by 5%.
• Important to note for older people is that 8 in 10 breast cancers are diagnosed in women aged 50 and over.
• In the UK in 2007/2008 the NHS breast screening programme detected more than 16,000 cases of breast cancer.
• It is estimated that the NHS  breast screening programme saves over 1,000 lives each year.

As with all cancers early detection is paramount in ensuring the best chance of survival from breast cancer. More women are surviving breast cancer than ever before; in the 1970s around 5 out of 10 women survived the disease beyond five years this is now increased to 8 out of 10 and in fact now more than three-quarters of women survive at least 10 years or more.

Modern medicine has brought cancer treatment forward in leaps and bounds with better detection, therapy, research, drugs and symptom management. As an individual you are in the best place to manage the monitoring of your breast because early detection is the best way to be cured.

How do you I check my breasts?

There’s no right or wrong way to check your breasts and you should never feel embarrassed in anyway about looking after your own health. Try to get used to looking at and feeling your breasts regularly. You can do this in the bath or shower, when you use body lotion, or when you get dressed. There’s really no need to change your everyday routine. Just decide what you are comfortable with and what suits you best.

Remember to check all parts of your breast, your armpits and up to your collarbone.

The breast awareness 5-point code

1.      Know what is normal for you, you know your own body best.

2.      Know what changes to look and feel for (see list below).

3.      Look and feel on a regular basis.

4.      Report any changes to your GP without delay, better to be safe than sorry.

5.      Attend routine breast screening if you are aged 50 or over, obtain advice from your GP on the regularity of this. You should insist on more screening if you are at higher risk, see later on what causes breast cancer.

What changes to look and feel for

• A change in size or shape of the breast.
• A change in skin texture such as puckering or dimpling (like the skin of an orange).
• A lump or thickening that feels different to the rest of the tissue in your breast.
• Redness or a rash on the skin and/or around the nipple.
• If your nipple becomes inverted (pulled in) or changes its shape or position.
• A swelling in your armpit or around your collarbone.
• Discharge (liquid) from one or both of your nipples.
• Constant pain in your breast or armpit.

Sometimes your GP may ask you to come for a check outside of your menstrual cycle to rule out any hormonal changes.

Causes of Breast Cancer

• Women with a mother, sister or daughter diagnosed with breast cancer have almost double the risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer themselves.
• Risk increases with the number of first-degree relatives diagnosed with breast cancer, but even so, eight of nine breast cancers occur in women without a family history of breast cancer.
• Obesity increases risk of postmenopausal breast cancer by up to 30%.
• Women currently using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) have a 66% increased risk of breast cancer.
• The risk of breast cancer in current users of oral contraceptives is increased by around a quarter.
• Drinking moderate amounts of alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer – as little as one alcoholic drink per day increases breast cancer risk by around 12%.
• A more active lifestyle reduces breast cancer risk.

In conclusion

As with all things to do with cancer living a healthy lifestyle will always reduce your risks and being aware of changes in your own body will give a greater chance of an early life saving diagnosis.

The Government had promised to protect Health Care Services but of course there was no direct mention of Social Care, which includes Home Care for the elderly and other people with social needs. There is always talk of protecting front line services but the definition of front line services is never made clear.

There are announcements being made already about cuts to service, this is a worrying trend which directly affects the vulnerable people in our society.

Bolton Council has announced that the eligibility criteria would be changing for people in the future. This means that it will not affect people currently receiving services for the time being.

The Bolton Council are very sad that they are having to take away services for people with moderate needs. This trend has been happening for several years with many councils now only supplying services for those with severe needs.

Gareth Evans, chief officer for Age Concern in Bolton said he was “very concerned” about the level of the cutbacks. “These cutbacks follow reductions made in recent years. They are not cutbacks in isolation”.  He added “Clearly a very serious attempt is being made to protect the most vulnerable which is obviously heartening”.

Bolton Council are cutting the budgets for Adult and Children’s services by a total of £9.5million.

A second announcement has been made by West Sussex Council who are cutting £2.5million from its £28million budget for home care by reviewing contracts with more than 100 organisations.

The service which operates 24 hours a day every day of the year, provides care for the elderly and disabled as well as those recovering from operations or suffering from dementia.

Councillor Graham Tyler said “I would like to reassure residents that the quality and level of service will not be affected by these changes”.

As these services are people driven, savings in costs usually mean a reduction in the number of people or a reduction in the wages being paid, either way, it is difficult to see how the service will not be affected in some way.

It can be expected that there will be more announcements of cuts for the year commencing April 2011. If this drives people out of the Home Care market, where there is already a struggle to find enough carers, then this will not be good for the stated aim to treat more people in their own homes.

Everycare (Central Hants) offer Care in your own Home and want to support people in living longer and healthier lives.

By Mike Frizzell  Everycare (Central Hants) Ltd www.everycarehants.co.uk

In many countries the end-of-life care is just not there. The Lien Foundation of Singapore commissioned a study to look at the end-of-life care services in 40 countries.

Being looked after in a Care setting

While “quality-of-life” is a common phrase, “quality-of-death” is considered far less. According to the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance (WPCA) while more than 100 million people are in need of hospice services only fewer than 8% actually receive it.

For us in the UK we are ranked number one for end-of-life services this arises from a good network of hospices, statutory involvement, public awareness, training for NHS staff and access to painkillers for patients.

Ranking second was Australia then New Zealand, the USA was ninth and India was bottom of the rankings.

The charity Help the Hospices said the UK’s ranking was down to the hard work of individual hospices.

To improve end-of-life care the system needs to build around bringing the care to the patient – preferably in their own homes – by providing support for family caregivers, care teams that can go to homes with emergency coverage, and strong integration of hospice care expertise to maximize quality of life for both patient and family. This means fewer resources for hospitals and nursing homes, and more resources for home and community-based care services.

For the first time in humanity, people over 65 will soon outnumber children under the age of five. We need to continue to improve the end-of-life care, much hospice care can – and is – given at home and by increasing the proportion of community and homecare options, hospice care can reduce costs associated with hospital stays and emergency admissions.

In the UK, despite the ranking, too many people still faced the end-of-life without specialist care and support. The ageing population in the UK and the improvement in medical care means more people are facing end-of-life with more complex issues. The UK system needs proper funding to ensure people can be properly looked after at the end of their lives.

Mike Frizzell Everycare Central Hants www.everycarehants.co.uk supplying care at home and supporting people to live independently.

With the squeeze on Government spending there is concern that the quality of care given will reduce. As the care industry is very much a people driven industry if the amount being paid for care is falling then the amount of labour cost must fall to keep care businesses viable. In the Care Home setting this can result in lower numbers of carers and in the home care setting the use of cheaper labour or trying to do more i.e. rushing the care provided.

The fear is that a two tier system will emerge with private clients paying for the care that they require and state funded clients getting a poorer standard of care. With an increasing number of people getting older then there is real pressure on the system to be able to deliver the level of care required.

Our concern as a service provider is that we will not be able to tempt new carers into the market if we cannot afford to pay a high enough rate.

We can certainly vouch for the fact that there has been limited Government support for setting up our Care Agency and certainly no specific advice in the area of Care. The local authority has offered some support.

We agree with the main findings in the report that you will find a link to below. This report was commissioned by PriceWaterHouseCoopers.

Everycare are committed to delivering a high quality of home care and will not compromise on this at all.

Fair Care Crisis Report

By Mike Frizzell Everycare Central Hants www.everycarehants.co.uk

This was found in the house of a friend’s mother after she passed away. I expect she never complained about the home care she got and even goes on to thank them for the work they did. See what you think for yourself.

On being looked after by the social services and how to learn to love it

Twenty-one people a week tramp through my kitchen, all bent on doing me a good turn.

They all have different ways. Some funny, some deplorable.

Some will wash out and rinse an empty milk bottle, others will leave it until a more helpful person deals with it.

Some will put a milk bottle on the doorstep, others will be terrified to do so.

Some know that I have two fridges, one in the back room and another in the kitchen.

You have perpetually to tell them that the back milk is fed into the front and is replaced by the new a t the back.

There are some who are completely unable to grasp the concept.

One (who shall be nameless) after two abortive attempts at it, was walked by me through the procedure, and now ‘has it’.

One will fill a large bowl with metered water plus a generous helping of fairy liquid to wash one plate rather than leave it for others to deal with in the morning when there is more.

They love bubbles.

One helpfully threw out a bowl of grated cheese from the fridge when there was nothing wrong with it.

She probably thought it looked untidy.

One is so short sighted, I grab the drugs box before she can get to it, so I can do my own.

Some will greet with a cheerful remark, others will maintain a stony silence throughout.

Some will ask if there is anything more they can do for you before leaving, others wouldn’t dream of saying such a thing.

Some will leave the kitchen light on after lunch and you don’t find it till teatime.

Some will leave the gas stove on stand-by similarly, and you wonder why the place is so hot.

One filled my breakfast dish with rock hard uncooked prunes from a packet standing next to the bowl of newly cooked ones.

One took my wallet out of my handbag one Christmas night, pocketed the contents, and threw the empty wallet behind my fridge freezer, where another carer found it weeks later when looking for a missing oven glove. Let us be charitable and say she probably spent too much on Christmas presents.

They don’t like bending down and will ignore an object like a pair of scissors on the carpet until specifically asked to retrieve it.

You have to play hunt the object in the kitchen, as some of their ideas on correct places after washing up, are ingenious to say the least.

One took the last bit of cling film roll and put the empty box back on the shelf.

One, looking for the sugar, rooted about on a nearby shelf, and found an old grimy jam jar with a few grains in the bottom. These were carefully scraped up and spread on my weetabix and presented for breakfast.

Believe it or not, a second person did the same thing a few weeks later. The offending jam jar has been removed and the sugar is in a clearly marked jar on the kitchen top.

They are good at posting letters. Unlike some people, and you may be sure your letter will get there, which is comforting.

Honestly, though, they do a grand job, and I couldn’t do it. The inside of some people’s houses must be grim, and dressing and undressing old ladies must be even more so.

I give them home-made cakes from St. Peters as I am sure they never get time to make any, and they are delighted. It’s nice to give something back.

Comment: Everycare are determined to make sure that the client is served according to their wishes and would ask for regular feedback from clients on whether their care is being delivered to their absolute satisfaction. Are aim is keep the number of carers visiting a client to a minimum but some practical issues sometimes prevent this. We are not perfect but will endeavour to move heaven and earth to put something right when we make a mistake.

By Mike Frizzell Everycare Central Hants   www.everycarehants.co.uk

For those receiving Care at Home we want to make you aware of this Drug Recall. This drug is used in the treatment of Brain Tumours.

A Drug Alert has been issued, recalling some Temozolomide  (sometimes known as TMZ) capsules made by Hospira.

This follows reports of the capsules splitting and leaking powder.

If you have this medicine at home, you should not open the pack. If a capsule is damaged, you should avoid contact of the powder with your skin, eyes and nose and avoid inhaling the powder.

If you accidentally get some on your skin, wash with soap and water or in the case of contact with the eyes or nose, wash with water only. If irritation persists you should seek medical advice. You should be able to obtain an alternative prescription and get your medicine replaced.

Affected batch numbers are:
L00828 – 5 mg
L00829 – 20 mg
L00831 – 100 mg
L01031 – 250 mg

Care for the Elderly can be stressful but even more so when the loved one has Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Creating a safe home environment can ease some of this stress, and getting needed time away from elderly care by employing an at home care service can also help.

Creating a safe environment removes the danger and stress from at home elderly care. The hardest part in safeguarding a home for elderly care can be assessing the existing risks, identifying areas that need to be improved, and preventing wandering. The following checklist can help when planning for safe at home elderly care.

• Install grab bars in bathrooms and put non-slip bath mats in baths and shower trays. Use a handheld showerhead and shower bench.
• If necessary remove the car and or the car keys from temptation if the person should not be driving.
• Install locks on all windows and doors and if the person tends to wander out, keep them locked. Install deadbolt looks on doors that need a key to open.
• Place nightlights in the bedroom, hall and other walkways.
• Remove the locks on bathroom doors to prevent the person from accidentally locking themselves in.
• Use childproof locks on any cabinets where medicine, chemicals or dangerous items like knives or other sharp objects are kept.
• Keep walkways clutter-free and the house tidy to avoid trips and falls.
• Consider replacing loose rugs and anything else that might cause an elderly person to slip or fall.
• Install outdoor flood lighting to illuminate walkways at night.
• Have a fire extinguisher handy in the kitchen. Install an automatic shut-off switch on the cooker.
• The elderly person should carry identification medical alerts if necessary so that in the event that he or she wanders off, someone will be able to identify him or her. If the elderly person does become lost, it is important to have a recent photograph of the person on hand to show police.
• Make sure the elderly person’s financial and legal documents are in order, and kept in a secure place.
• Use an adult day care service to reduce the stress and demands of elderly care. This way you can have peace of mind knowing that a qualified, caring person is providing elderly care while you are away.

Home Care services are available to help you cope with looking after the elderly. You need to remember that you need a life as well; if you are stressed by giving all the care then the care that you provide will likely suffer. It is important that you take holidays and call in professional care when you go away.

By Mike Frizzell Everycare Central Hants  www.everycarehants.co.uk

People that receive home care have their homes risk assessed for trips and falls to point out to them potential problems, but people, also, need to take responsibility for their fitness as they grow older. People need to be aware of the simple steps that can be taken to help prevent the potentially devastating consequences of a fall.

Falls remain a major cause of injury and death amongst the over 70s and account for more than 50 per cent of hospital admissions for accidental injury. Evidence shows that specific programmes for improving strength and balance can reduce the risk of falls by as much as 55 per cent. However, with one in five older people admitting that they cannot remember the last time they did any exercise, more work needs to be done to encourage older people to take exercise. In fact it is all our interests to stay fit throughout our lives and make fitness a good habit.

Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director at Age UK (the charity that is an amalgamation of Age Concern and Help the Aged), said: “Despite costing the NHS over £4.6 million each day, adding up to £1.7 billion per year, the issue of people in later life falling over is all too often dismissed as an inevitable part of the ageing process. The reality is that there are a number of things older people can do help prevent falls, such as exercises to improve strength and balance, and more should be done to promote and support this.”

Older people need to get involved with exercise classes, for more information on how you get involved visit the Age UK site fit-as-a-fiddle . The Age UK programme is called “fit as a fiddle”, the aim is to have fun and at the same time getter fit and stay fit.

There are programmes taking place in Hampshire and are being run in conjunction with U3A (University of the third age) and open to people 50 and over. Why not try out some Nordic Walking as it a good overall body workout? These courses are being funded by the National Lottery so they are being offered free to start with and with nominal cost after that.

Everycare (Central Hants) offer Care in your own Home and want to support people in living longer and healthier lives.

By Mike Frizzell  Everycare (Central Hants) Ltd www.everycarehants.co.uk

These words from Outside Left are causing me to remember that I have knuckles:

“Slowly but surely, the true picture is emerging of widespread failure involving many people in different services.“

I didn’t have a Baby P, but I had the equivalent of Baby P.  She had a longer life than Baby P, but an equally horrible death.  Baby P was only a baby; she was an 83-year old.  Baby P was neglected within his own family and by those who were charged with looking after his life; my 83-year old was never neglected within her own family, but was seriously neglected by those who were charged with looking after her life.

It’s almost 3 years on now since she was found to have suffered “sub-standard care” also known as neglect in a care home, and which resulted in her death.  A care home that was not fit for purpose.  But who cares?  Who cared about her?  I did, and I do.

There was indeed widespread failure involving many people in different services, in my own personal experience of ‘care’ aka ‘neglect’.  I’ll try to list a few of them:

1. The Local Authority;
2. the Mental Health Care of Older People Team;
3. the Social Worker working for the first time ever on behalf of older people with dementia – a locum social worker who knew nothing of the locality or of dementia.  If only she had told us that then, we might have worked out a way to help her too, but we didn’t know it then;
4. the next Social Worker  seconded to that same  MHCOP team from the LA, but who seemed to have been ‘shackled’ sufficiently to render her in total awe of her job-providers and her experience-gaining-secondment from Australia (!);
5. the extra-care sheltered housing, contracted by the Local Authority and recommended as ‘suitably suitable’ by the first Social Worker;
6. the domiciliary care agency owning and providing domiciliary care to that same extra-care sheltered housing complex, which was run in the best interests of the agency staff working there and where the main focus was on independent dying, not independent living;
7. the Assessment Ward of the Mental Health Unit via the NHS/PCT/Trust/Partnership …. changed its name so many times;
8. the Local Authority’s Adult Social Services/Housing department with particular responsibility for housing those in need of care;
9. the Local Authority’s commissioning department who are supposed to commission and contract safe residential care services;
10. the CQC / CSCI departments charged with regulating, inspecting, reporting on and ensuring the safe regulation of residential care  homes with nursing and ensuring that they are/were all above board and safely guaranteed competent to receive vulnerable elderly people with dementia;
11. the care home, who had no systems of protection in place;
12. the care home provider with a 25-year contract to provide safe services to vulnerable elderly people with dementia;
13. the Adult Protection Coordinator who could and should have helped us through the months that followed ….   …. ….
14. All of the above agencies who had not realised that there were no systems of protection in place.

I can’t begin to tell you all how it feels to list the above, and I have to make a huge effort so as to avoid a further few ‘agencies’ involved.

I’m feeling almost weak at the knees remembering and trying to create a coherently readable list of all the agencies involved.

But they all failed.  From start to finish.  Each and every one of them failed.  Failed to protect and preserve life.

Posted By Everycare Hants

As we grow older we run the risk of failing health and having to be put into a Residential Home where we are looked after in an intensive way. This comes at a large cost because we are giving up our own home so that we can afford the residential care. There is an alternative and that is to act in the prevention of failing health and remain living at home with the help of home and community care.

Louisa Jorm professor of population health at the University of Western Sydney says “People who are obese, sedentary, smokers, who reported falling in the past year or who eat little fruit or vegetables are significantly more likely to need help”

“Everyone wants to stay living in the community before moving into aged-care facilities,” Professor Jorm said.

“Home and Community Care is the first step in that process and we should have the goal of keeping them there rather than moving them into more intensive services”.

“For instance, there are very low levels of physical activity for those receiving these services, and a high proportion had falls in the last 12 months, so that’s a clear intervention point we could look at. Programs around gentle exercise could improve strength, help balance and prevent falls.”

“Home and Community Care services are much cheaper than residential aged-care and there is already intense pressure on availability, so clearly if we can offer quick and cheap interventions it would be better.”

High quality Home Care is about supplying services that encourage older people to do things for themselves.

The care needs to aim for outcomes that get people active again; if someone was able to do something in the past then they must be encouraged to do that again.

An example is meals, rather than just be delivered a meal the person should be encouraged to go shopping for their food and learn how to cook the meal for themselves. This not only gets them active but will probably result in a healthier diet.

Everycare are a home care company that works with people in preventing a decline in their health and encouraging them to get healthier and be involved in the local community

For more information contact Melanie at Everycare on 01962 842548.

Take action today to improve your life and live a more active lifestyle.

www.everycarehants.co.uk