Clearwater Care

Clearwater is delighted to announce the arrival of its first specialised Transitional Care home. Located in the London Borough of Havering, Craigdale Road in Hornchurch is a five bedded home providing Supported Living to young adults. Typically, their stay will be less than two years as they aim towards a more independent way of living.

"This is the first of a number of Transitional Care homes," comments Managing Director, Philip Arden. "We've worked tirelessly to develop a service which iwill be in high demand. With defined pathways towards discharge, we will be empowering the individuals that live at Craigdale Road to prepare for more independence. Daily living skills, shopping, preparing for work and so much more - the people who chose Craigdale Road will be very busy!"

The home will have a team of visiting support staff which can be scaled up or down as each person develops their life towards independence. To learn more about Craigdale Road, click here.

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NHS Continuing Care calls upon Clearwater in London.

One of Clearwater's London-based care homes is working with a London PCT providing short-term care for a quadriplegic person with learning disabilities. Having lived at home with care from her mother, the individual was hospitalised following an accident. However, with on-going care needs and a longer term programme required for recovery, Clearwater was identified by her healthcare commissioning team. The team had previously met with the care home when reviewing care for another person. They were impressed with the skillsets demonstrated by the Clearwater care staff and their ability to provide intensive care services with additional support provided by the district nursing team.

Tony McLean, Chief Executive of Clearwater Care continues; "Continuing Care is high on the healthcare agenda to free up much-needed bed spaces. Taking on people who are receiving NHS care as part of their continuing road to recovery is testament to the quality of care and support we can bring to such individuals. We are delighted that this recognition is bringing more service users to Clearwater, with us providing short, intensive periods of care preparing for them to return back home or onwards to their next placement."

To learn more about the work we are doing with PCT's, contact Tony McLean on 01279 874 150.

Clearwater rolls out universal MAYBO training.

The Operations team at Clearwater have commissioned a rolling programme of MAYBO training to all staff across the entire portfolio of care homes and day service units. For some staff, this will act as a refresher following previous training, whilst for others the training will empower them to manage conflict resolution and related practical skills for use in required situations.

Kathy Davies, Operations Director explains more: “This is a vital set of skills for many of our care teams. MAYBO is much about identifying flash points as it is about managing situations where the well-being and safety of our residents is paramount. By enabling our teams to have the confidence to approach incidents with confidence, using better communication skills and reducing physical risk.”
The MAYBO Training is on-site, tailored to the specific needs of our staff and their resident profiles. The on-going programme is being managed by DNA Nursing.

To find out more about MAYBO please contact Kathy Davies – kdavies@clearwatercare.co.uk 

Brightlands Day Services have places available for the summer holidays and beyond!

Brightlands in Hoo, Kent continues to grow its arms-length Day Services unit located at Hook Meadow Community Centre in Walderslade, Chatham. The centre provides day services for a number of  Brightlands residents, along with other non-residential service users from around the area. Adults aged 16 to 65 with a mild, moderate or severe learning disability can take part in a range of activities including horseriding, hydro-therapy, swimming, IT suite and much more.

The centre has supported a number of young adults who are still at college during their summer holidays, and is able to ‘scale up’ support staff to meet individual needs upon assessment. For more information and space availability, contact the Brightlands team on 01634 250 592.

As the latest addition to our growing portfolio, The Stables is a brand new facility for people with a learning disability.

With five en-suite bedrooms and a host of tailored facilities, the final profile of service user will be decided following consultation with local commissioners. Over the coming weeks and months we will determine the highest level of need for specialist care, from which a variation to The Stables’ registration will then be made. Initial registration could be for personal and/or residential care for people with a learning disability.

Main features:

• Five bedrooms with en-suites (all of which can be further adapted for people with physical disabilities)
• Single level accommodation, purpose-built with full disability access
• Flexible layout with ability to separate two rooms as a self contained unit with its own kitchen /dining area as and when required
• Communal rooms and kitchen.

The Stables is located close to Greenfields, Clearwater Care’s existing residential facility in Newark.

As a guide to possible variations to our registration, the following service user profiles could be accommodated:

• A dedicated unit for people on the autistic spectrum including Asperger syndrome. The unit would be suitably ‘environmentally tuned’
• A service for early onset dementia for those who have learning disabilities
• A service for women with learning disabilities, who may also have physical disabilities
• A transitional care service for young people with a learning disability, age 16 plus, about to leave full time education but not ready for an adult service environment.

For more information on The Stables and to discuss your specific service user requirements, please contact Marilyn Brookes on 01636 677981 or email: greenfields@clearwatercare.co.uk

Kacee Lodge in Colchester has been awarded CQC 2 star rating. This followed a thorough review and action plan led by Joyce Rawlings focusing on every aspect of the care, environmental and social requirements at Kacee.

Suzette Doherty, Registered Manager explains more: “we are so grateful for the legacy that Joyce has left us. From adequate to good, we are now aiming for 3 star excellent over the coming year. Kacee Lodge is giving residents a quality of life which sees them integrating more with the local community, and receiving support, training and care from a team committed to achieving excellence”.

Tony McLean, Chief Executive adds: “we want to be a 3 star organisation. Kacee Lodge has demonstrated that with the right team, processes and resource behind them, residents can receive support that enhances their lives. As a Clearwater home registered for both learning disabilities and physical disabilities, the scope of inspection has demonstrated the hard work required to reach this standard. Now to head for excellent!”

Looking to the future, by Martyn Ward, Non-Executive Chairman.

As Non-Executive Chairman, it gives me a privileged position to be able to look at both the long term government policy initiatives and the way in which they are developed and delivered on the ground within Clearwater. ‘Real world meets the model’ is the most appropriate phrase. I say a privileged position as it is the teams of carers and head office resource that have to do the hard work in making it a reality. My role is to challenge management to ensure that they deliver against the organisation’s corporate objectives and that the overall vision of Clearwater fit into the wider long term policy debate that we face as a country.

Care is a political issue. However, far from being just an emotive topic, it has to deal with practical delivery aspects. This government and successive administrations have to face up to the fact that real people are faced with real issues and need help,guidance and protection from those merely seeking a quick fix. I am excited at continuing to work with Clearwater and the new management team. The foundations have been laid for a company that looks at people first and then how best to serve them. Tony McLean and his team will take us to the next level by concentrating on understanding the needs of both the service users and the commissioners of those services. New offerings of care will be developed in partnership with the changing care agenda. Clearwater intends to be at the front of this debate. This is not a ‘window of opportunity business’ - this a lifelong care industry. It excites me to know that what we do now, that positively impacts on our service users and those charged with finding the best care, will make a real difference to people’s lives.