Welcome to the July 19 blog. The year is going in so fast and the 30th year celebrations are well underway. In this edition of the organisation’s blog you will hear about:

· How one team demonstrated the organisation’s values

· The 30-year celebrations, how the events went and what’s coming up

· The organisation’s commitment to supporting our staff to achieve their SVQ level 3

· The SSSC registration

How one team demonstrated the organisation’s values:

In the June blog I concentrated on the Under Cover Hospital programme that highlighted poor and unacceptable practice, following on from that, I feel it is important to promote the good practice that is evident across the organisation and have selected one example to share with you. Two years ago the Hickmann Street team were faced with the sudden death of one of the people they supported. The service is based on 4 people sharing; the team welcomed a woman to Hickmann Street, supported her to make it her home and to develop friendships with the people she was sharing her home and life with. Earlier this year thanks to the persistence of the team her changing health needs were recognised by health professionals. The woman was diagnosed with a cancer that was not treatable. The woman stayed at home and with the support of the staff team and health professionals she continued to live her life and to do the things she enjoyed doing. The staff were committed to supporting her to maintain her routines and knew when she wasn’t strong enough to follow these. The week before she passed away, she managed to get along to a Sydney Devine concert – she was a big fan of his. The family were so impressed with the team and the commitment they showed that they asked them to carry her coffin to the church and the crematorium. This was an honour and the staff team were as always very professional in their approach. The family have recognised the support and friendship that the team provided.  It is not just a job, I know that many of you have been through a similar situation supporting people through difficult times, the values that you demonstrate in your everyday work are important and it is important to be recognised for the comfort that you bring at times of need. If I haven’t said it before – Thank You.

The 30-year celebrations, how the events went and what’s coming up:

On June we held a very successful afternoon tea at the Birgidale Complex. This event was great fun and we enjoyed beautiful cakes and pastries made by participants of HYG and the Fernhill Group. On the 25th of June we held the fun day at Fernhill. This was a great day with people enjoying hand massage, nail painting, belly dancing, bowling, gaming and music. Sam Noble made 250 cup cakes to celebrate our 30 years – these went down a storm. A photographer from the Rutherglen Reformer came along and we were featured in an edition a few weeks back – there are some really great photos! Everyone is still speaking about what a great day it was.

The next event will be the organisational day – this event will be held on the 24th of September at Fernhill from 10am – 3pm and we will be treated to music and readings from many of the people who participate in our social and leisure programme. We will also hear from Peter Duff, the first male to be supported by the organisation. Peter and his team are working on his presentation that he will deliver at the AGM – it is a testament to the team that Peter has continued to have his support provided by Fair Deal.

The final event of the year will be a panto, disco and Christmas lunch on December 5th.

The organisation’s commitment to supporting our staff to achieve their SVQ level 3: As you know it is a requirement of your registration with the SSSC that you have a recognised qualification. Our organisation has committed to providing the opportunity for our support staff to achieve an SVQ level 3 in Health and Social Care and we have secured funding over a number of years to cover the cost of the training. In 2018 we sponsored 20 staff to register for their SVQ level 3 and during the year we have provided support for staff to achieve this qualification and to support their registration. I am so pleased to let you know that we have 12 support staff who have successfully achieved their qualification. Congratulations to each of you.

We are about to embark on another programme with two new cohorts identified and the programme start date for cohort 1 is 7th and 8th of August

The SSSC registration: We have talked about SSSC registration of operational [ support staff] of the last year. New staff will have to register within the first 6 months of your employment and support is being provided by your line manager to help you achieve this. Staff with more than 6-months service have until December 2019 to complete your registration. You should be aware it takes around 4 months to complete the registration process. If you are not registered, you cannot work – this is a requirement of our Care Inspection Registration. It came to light at the end of last week that 5 staff are facing their registration being suspended due to them not paying their fees. I must stress that it is your responsibility to complete the registration and pay the fee in order to maintain your current employment. I urge staff members who are in this situation to respond to the e-mail sent to you by you Anne Marie Borthwick on Friday evening. We will be liaising with the Care Inspectorate in the coming week regarding the feedback from the SSSC

If you have any questions or require support, please contact your Line Manager.

There is a lot going on and if you would like to speak with me about any of the sections in this blog please e-mail me on: annmariedocherty@fair-deal.org

Ann Marie

Chief Executive