With mixed messages coming from Parliament, and headlines such as “No-deal Brexit fears over medicine supplies…” (Matthews-King, 2019) and “A no-deal Brexit will starve diabetics of insulin…” (Moore, 2019); a busy home manager, will find it hard to devote the time needed to exclude the scaremongering from what is authentic advice. Particularly in smaller chain homes that do not have …

A recent article in The Times reports on the revitalising effect of toddlers visiting care homes, suggestive of a ‘prescription’ for depression, and gives a heart-warming picture of how this type of integration can have a positive impact on the wellbeing of residents (Hill, 2019). There is no shortage of news stories, from local and national press to educational sources …

The Royal College of Nursing Congress, May 2019, saw keynote speaker, Tom Ray and his wife Nic, give a moving narrative of Tom’s survival following his recovery from sepsis.  Tom’s story, now a book and film entitled Starfish, explains how his life was irrevocably changed after receiving a small injury to his mouth.  A series of clinical errors and a …

Earlier this year, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman released a good practice guide in a bid to share common complaint themes and advise on the key principles of good practice in complaint handling (Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, 2019). Since 2010, the Ombudsman has been the single independent source for redress against care providers, last year upholding …

Care home managers are in a “no-win” situation when faced with staff shortages. Many care home providers will see high agency figures as a measure of poor leadership, which can affect bonuses and ultimately career progression; the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will view shortfalls in staff retention as a measure of poor quality under Regulation 18. Often this leaves care …

The Care Quality Commission has recently published a review of oral healthcare in care homes, which comes 3 years following the release of the NICE guidance ‘Oral health for adults in care homes’ (NICE, 2016).  Their findings suggest that the guidance has had little impact on the quality of oral healthcare in care homes, and that awareness of this guidance …

In order to reflect developments in catheter care and to further clarify competencies, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Continence Care Forum has published updated catheter care guidance (RCN, 2019).  Continence and catheter care are essential elements of nursing care, in which the incorporation of best practice guidelines can improve quality outcomes for residents. The guide is written and designed …

Gabapentin and pregabalin are routinely and widely prescribed anticonvulsant medicines licenced to treat conditions such as epilepsy, the management of neuropathic pain and generalised anxiety disorders (ACMD, 2016). Statistics spanning several years have highlighted some worrying and harmful effects, with either gabapentin or pregabalin appearing on 64 death certificates in 2014 alone.  Some of these cases suggest that combining either …

The BBC and The Open University have co-produced a new two-part series, presented by Vicky McClure, to scientifically explore the extent and impact of music on people with dementia (BBC Media Centre, 2019). Over the past 10 years, several controlled studies have been carried out to investigate the effect of music interventions on people living with dementia. Positive results have …