Welcome to the October blog- my very first as Chief Executive and what a month it has been! I was very lucky to have been here for the AGM on 24^th September, which was such a wonderful, impressive celebration of all that is great about Fair Deal. Everyone involved went to such effort to ensure it was a success and this is greatly appreciated. It was also a lovely event to celebrate Ann Marie Docherty’s time with the organisation and to wish her all the very best in her retirement.

Many of you will be familiar with the Connecting Neighbourhoods work that Fair Deal is involved in which has been led by Ann Marie and I’m pleased to say that Ann Marie will continue to support us with this work for another few months in order to ensure the project maintains momentum and that we keep a strong focus on this important area of work. There will be some exciting updates regarding Connecting Neighbourhoods so look out for these in November’s blog.

I’ve really enjoyed my first few weeks at Fair Deal, especially the chance to get out and meet so many of you as you’ve all been so welcoming! I spent a fabulous day with the Help Yourself Grow gardening team and got to learn about plant care and see the great talent and skills of the group. I’ve visited Connecting you @ Fernhill and Nethercraigs and witnessed all the innovative and fun activities on offer. I’ve met many people along with their support staff, and family members and lots of you have been so kind in inviting me into your homes. I’m keen to meet up with many more people so if you would like me to come and visit for a chat or would like to discuss anything at all please do get in touch!

There are a few other updates I wish to share with you below.

Care Inspectorate

The Care Inspectorate came to do their unannounced inspection visit earlier in the month and some of you may have met with our inspectors during their visit. Initial feedback was overwhelmingly positive and they had high praise indeed for our staff and the services we offer. We do not have our grades confirmed yet but look out on our Facebook and twitter pages very soon for updates! In the meantime, however I would like to extend a huge thank you and well done to all of our staff who work so hard and a particular mention to all of the people who spent time with the Care Inspectorate during this year’s visit.

Guardian 24

Guardian24 continues to help us ensure our support staff are safe whilst out working and is an important system. This is just a reminder to all staff to log into Guardian24 for the duration of your shift and try to remember to log out on time to ensure our on-call managers don’t have to contact anyone unnecessarily.

Ardentinny

If any of our staff are interested in the opportunity to support with our short breaks project at Ardentinny please get in touch with Team Leader James Thomson. This is a fantastic initiative and those staff who have supported previous trips have found it really beneficial.

SSSC Registration

The deadline for new applicants to register with SSSC is fast approaching and I would urge those of you who have not yet looked into this to begin very soon. The deadline for applications is 13^th December 2019 and you must apply ahead of this date to be sure your application will be process on time for the 2020 deadline. If you wish to discuss or require any support with this do get in touch. You can begin your application or access information at https://www.sssc.uk.com/registration/

If you would like any more information or wish to discuss anything please email me at fionadunwoodie@fair-deal.org