Care UK demonstrates its commitment to transparency

COLCHESTER, U.K. - Dec. 3, 2013 - PRLog -- The organisation, which works in close partnership with local authorities and NHS commissioners, has also announced the appointment of Caroline Roberts as its director of quality and governance, a role which is crucial to ensuring high quality care is delivered to all care home residents and wellbeing centre visitors.

Statistics from the quality account (http://www.careuk.com/sites/default/files/careuk-rcs-quality-account-2013.pdf) reveal that 86 percent of residents would recommend Care UK homes and that the number of residents who are regularly prescribed antipsychotic medication has almost halved over the past three years.

In the new publication, Care UK discusses in detail how personalised care, a joined up approach with the services in its Community Services division and a culture of involving and supporting families in the care of their loved ones are helping to set it apart from its competitors and playing a pivotal role in driving up standards in the care sector.

The quality account also discusses Care UK’s influence in policy and care developments in the field of dementia, talks about its new generation of state-of-the-art care homes, measures CQC and Care Inspectorate compliance, assesses the management of infection prevention and control, analyses how medicines are administered and examines the work being done to reduce and prevent pressure ulcers.

In the field of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, the past year has seen Care UK expand its team of specialist dementia trainers, give dementia-related lectures at University College Suffolk and forge working relationships with innovative partners who specialise in creating buildings and spaces for people living with the condition.

Commenting in the publication, Care UK chief executive Mike Parish said: “We are incredibly proud that upwards of 6,000 people choose to live in Care UK residential homes. This quality account highlights the work our Residential Care Services division is doing to help older people to live fulfilling lives and we are delighted that so many key individuals and organisations in the fields of social care, architecture, psychiatry and design are working with us to improve the lives of the older people we care for.

“We are constantly developing our expertise in the issues that people face as they age, including loneliness, dementia and physical frailty. Only by understanding these challenges can we influence the sector and our services to help older people to live the way they want.”

The appointment of Caroline Roberts from Barchester Healthcare quickly follows the announcement that dementia expert Dr Nori Graham (http://www.careuk.com/news/national-dementia-expert-joins...) has joined the organisation as a non-executive director. As director of quality and governance, Caroline will have overall responsibility for the delivery of consistently excellent care to residents and wellbeing centre users, as well as ensuring that all regulatory commitments are met.

Caroline said: “During my career as a carer, a manager and a director, I have met many inspiring people who have the integrity and creativity to make a real difference to the lives of people living in care homes. I want to help people to develop the confidence and have the opportunity to make Care UK the very best provider of high quality care.

“Dignity and safety are paramount to good care and we have a responsibility to provide the training and foster the empowerment that leads to strong and caring leadership. Although it is a challenge, I am confident that it is an aspiration that Care UK can fulfil and I am very pleased to be joining the team.”

Mike added: “Caroline’s appointment demonstrates our commitment not only to providing sector leading care, but also to ensuring our colleagues responsible for the delivery of that care have the ability, resources and support they need.”

The Care UK Residential Care Services Quality Account, which includes examples of how residents have been encouraged and supported to play an active part in everyday life within their care home or the wider community, can be downloaded from careuk.com/news/publications (http://www.careuk.com/news/publications)