A new service dedicated to enhancing the quality of care for residents in care homes has now appointed a number of key posts and secured new dedicated accommodation for the central hub in Glasgow.
The ‘Care Home Collaborative’ – which will work with all 186 care homes and 6 HSCP teams across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde– has appointed Nurse Lead Carrie McCulloch to lead key workstreams in partnership with local HSCPs, care home teams and other key stakeholders to ensure care homes are supported to deliver safe, effective person-centred care. The overarching goal of the Care Home Collaborative is to help enable the best possible life for residents aligned to what matters to them.
Carrie has more than 25 years of experience in community nursing within specialities such as Tissue Viability and Infection, Prevention of Control which are two of the key areas the Collaborative will look to support care homes with.
Also joining the team is Janice Mitchell. Janice joins as Nurse Team Lead for Hub 5 and will act as a link between the Collaborative and HSCPs, understanding their unique challenges and fostering collaborative working relationships.
The new appointments bring the Care Home Collaborative team to 17, with a number of additional staff joining over the past month including Gillian Mackay, who has joined as Advanced Practice Care Home Dietitian and Stuart Wilson, Irene Delibozova and Carol Crawford who join as Care Support Workers providing peer-to-peer support to care home staff.
The new team will provide professional support advice and guidance on a range of issues such as nutrition, infection control, tissue viability, engagement, leadership and further education. All the work undertaken will have improving the lives of residents at its heart.
The new appointments will be based out of dedicated office spaces in Glasgow’s city centre at Clutha House. The Glasgow base will host up to 40 staff who will work across NHSGGC’s six HSCPs, providing multi-disciplinary support.
The Care Home Collaborative will officially launch in early 2022 but has already completed its first major piece of engagement work.
Commenting, Carrie McCulloch said: “Care homes provide a vital service to thousands of residents across Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and they tend to face challenges specific to their sector. As we come through the pandemic, it’s clear that there’s an opportunity for us to work in partnership with residents, families, staff, care homeowners and other stakeholders to really listen and understand what additional support we can offer to build on what is done well and further develop the quality of person-centred care. It’s really important that we can respond with the right type of support tailored to their needs. It’s an exciting opportunity for all of us”
Janice Mitchell added: “When we look at supporting care home residents, rarely are we looking at one single issue or challenge. We’re caring for people which means it’s so beneficial to take the Collaborative approach which will provide multi-disciplinary expertise to help provide support on any number of things – whether that’s nutrition and making sure residents have diets aligned to their needs and preferences, or infection prevention and control – where we’ll work with care homes to ensure they have the training and equipment necessary to keep residents families and staff as safe as possible, while also focussing on a high-quality care experience.”
ENDS
More info on the Care Home Collaborative. The Collaborative will launch officially early 2022 but has already completed its first piece of engagement work: https://www.nhsggc.scot/feedback-sought-for-new-care-home-support-group/
A dedicated web resource will be launching in January.