₤21m investment set to boost City's care home
provision
LIVERPOOL'S commitment to improve services for people with
dementia and their carers is to be boosted, as it is on the cusp of agreeing a
new ₤21m partnership with Shaw healthcare to build 3 new Residential Care Homes.
The 3, 50 bed flexible facilities will open by the end of 2019, providing
state of the art accommodation and care for people living with dementia, as well
as those with other long term residential and nursing care needs in the North,
Central and Southern parts of the City.
They will help reduce the number of people unnecessarily delayed in Hospital
following NHS treatment by getting and improve their experience of Health and
Social Care services by driving up quality standards.
They will be flexible step up, step down facilities, meaning they can be used to
support people with lower level needs who would otherwise end up in Hospital, as
well as providing intermediate care to help get people out of Hospital quicker.
The City Council already spends almost ₤50 million a year on residential and
nursing care, plus a further ₤11 million on dementia and memory loss services.
It has shielded social care as much as it can from the cuts in its funding from
central Government since 2010.
The 1st new Centre will be at the Venmore Rehabilitation Hub in Anfield, with
the existing stroke services relocated to a new site in Townsend Lane.
A 2nd will be on disused playing fields at the former Parklands High School,
close to Speke district Centre. The Council is currently considering a number of
sites for a 3rd Centre in the North of the City.
The investment; being considered by the Cabinet on Friday, 1 September 2017, is part
of a commitment by the Council to meet the rising demand for dementia care
services, as well as increased need for quality respite facilities for carers by
2020. The Council will borrow the money to build the Centres with the repayments
covered by income from the leases on each site.
The need for increased capacity in residential and nursing dementia care homes
is due to an increasingly ageing population, which means that demand is expected
to exceed the current market supply by 2020.
An estimated 1,300 people are currently in commissioned dementia placements, a
figure than represents nearly 60% of all residential social care admissions for
people aged over 65.
There are currently 94 care homes registered with Care Quality Commission (CQC),
providing some 3,725 places, which is the highest in the Liverpool City Region
and 4th highest in the North West, but population dynamics still indicate
there will be pressure if action is not taken.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said:- "We have already
invested heavily in creating new social care hubs across the City in recent
years, but our increasing elderly population means that we are facing a
significant challenge in ensuring that there is sufficient capacity within our
social care system to meet the needs of people with dementia and other long term
care needs. This is against a backdrop of rising demand, significant cuts to our
budget from central Government of ₤420 million between 2010 and 2020 and
increasing pressure on wider healthcare services. The decision to invest in 3
purpose built care homes that will offer residential and nursing dementia beds
and carer respite is part of our invest to save strategy and will help ease
pressure on other, more costly parts of the Health Service such as Hospital
beds, and save the public purse money. Crucially, they will also act as flexible
care hubs that can meet surges in demand and help to avoid unnecessary Hospital
admissions and delays in ward discharges."
Shaw healthcare was selected as the preferred provider for the project following
a competitive tender process that also involved the employee owned company
signing up to the Liverpool Social Value Charter. Over the duration of the
contract, Shaw healthcare will develop skills and training programmes in
conjunction with local Colleges, work with Job Centre Plus to offer local
employment opportunities, create work placements and apprenticeships across all
facilities and deliver on a commitment to the procurement of goods and services
through local companies. "Shaw healthcare is proud and excited to be selected by Liverpool City
Council to deliver this important project that will provide a huge boost to the
City in terms of its ability to meet the needs of vulnerable people right across
the City.
The aims of this project echoes Shaw's own values of wellness, kindness and
happiness; which means a commitment to providing high quality care services that
enable elderly and vulnerable people to enjoy the best possible quality of life,
supported by well trained staff in a caring environment. As a co-operatively run
company, we also welcome the commitment to offering at least the National Living
Wage to all employees working within the three Centres, regardless of age, and
to building strong links with the local community and local organisations,
something that we strive to do at all the care homes we manage across the
country." said Suzanne Hughes, deputy CEO of Shaw healthcare.
The next step will be for the Council to apply for secure planning consent for
the three facilities, each designed by Kier Architects to a future proofed,
dementia friendly specification. Construction will be undertaken by Willmott
Dixon Construction as part of the Scape National Framework, which already has a
proven record in maximising spend through the local supply chain and the
creation of sustainable apprenticeships in the construction sector. Post
construction, the Council will enter into a 25 year lease agreement with Shaw
healthcare to manage the care services provided at each location.
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Epidemic levels of ID theft
IN the UK identity theft has reached epidemic levels,
warns Cifas,
a not for profit organisation that shares fraud prevention tips between
businesses and public bodies. Over the last 2 years we have been following a
number of dating websites, which have repeatedly been using images stolen from
Facebook and other online sites, including on our newspaper. These images are
then used to impersonate or make a fake identity seem real. Sadly, this is
commonplace and increasingly more and more so.
Access to personal information
online is very easy to obtain; from mother's maiden name to where you were born
along with pet names... All the types of things banks ask for ID! Other tricks
include using fake dating sites to get personal information that can lead to you
giving your mobile number or more to fraudsters. Sadly this, for those who have
their images stolen, creates major issues for them. How do friends know if that
that profile is really you? Also who has been contacted using your information
or photos? All
this is a major problem for victims on both sides of the scams.
This week
even Robert Downey Junior has gone on record saying fans need to be aware of
scam artists impersonating him online and asking for money. Yet for businesses
who are starting up as well as those who are trying to tackle the problem, how
do you ask people for personal information which will ensure that the person
addressed is genuine, if fraudsters are able to continually undermine trust. Our
editor has experienced ID theft and the issues that result from it.
Often the
law focuses on financial identity theft, as it is the easiest to track and
identify, as those affected often receive a random bill or realise their credit
rating has slumped. This would prevent them getting a loan of their own. Sadly,
most people who have images and profiles stolen are often unaware that they had
been targeted until they experience issues with people contacting them using
other names, or they spot their image on the likes of Google.
Many victims might
think that their personal images are stolen via stealing mail, hacking
computers, but shockingly it is often just using photos and information trawled
from social media, which often is used to trick people into giving details that
expose them to fraud. Mainly down to the fact all your information is available
freely, meaning they have a open template to make a fake ID.
Some of these scams are also connected to fake news
stories, some of which sound incredibly convincing, like those that that used a
well know YouTuber's face, after the Manchester bombings. Even businesses have
been targeted, and it's not just "spoof" or "phishing"
or profiles that are a
problem... Often for businesses, "joke" profiles and
"parody" or "satire" ones can, and often do, cause trouble; we have had experience
of this, but shockingly the likes of Facebook and Twitter often do not take
action against so called:- "entertainment" profile pages.
The problem is, what is just "fun" and "irony" and
what is abuse or scam designed to course damage is very fine line.
In the UK the Faking
social media accounts could lead to criminal charges against those who create
them, for example phoney Facebook and Twitter accounts. In some cases the
offender could also face charges including harassment and copyright theft. But
considering the bigger picture when looking at evidence and examining both the
online and offline behaviour, what is worrying is that we are becoming more and
more open to becoming victims of what is now a common tactic of revenge,
bullying and also of phishing crimes.
We are looking into this issue and are
interested to know if you been affected by fake profiles or having your ID
stolen? Please contact us via:-
News24@SouthportReporter.Com and let us know.
Also if you need advice, please also contact us for more information and we will
try and point you to where you can get help in the UK. We would also like to
know your ideas on how this epidemic can be tackled. If you do not want to be
identified due to embarrassment or other issues, please let us know and we will
keep all communications confidential, unless we feel you, or someone else is at
risk.
E.ON offers free cavity wall and loft
insulation for homes across Merseyside
FOR a limited time, households across Merseyside can have
cavity wall and loft insulation installed for free by E.ON, regardless of
whether E.ON is their energy supplier.
The insulation, which would usually cost around ₤775, is being offered for free
to all homeowners, landlords and private tenants who have their landlord's
permission.
A typical family home could save up to ₤285 a year on their heating bills by
installing both cavity wall and loft insulation, meaning people who take up the
offer could save a total of more than ₤1,000.
Michael Lewis, E.ON UK's Chief Executive, said:- "In recent years we've
provided more than 1.2 million energy saving measures to homes across Britain,
giving people the support they need to become more energy efficient and to save
money on their heating bills. We've offered free insulation to people on
qualifying benefits for many years as part of our government obligations and we
know insulation is a crucial 1st step in making our homes more comfortable and
cheaper to run. By opening the offer up to everyone, no matter who
supplies their energy or what their financial circumstances are, we hope that
many more people can benefit. But this offer won't be available forever so we'd
urge anyone who's interested to get in touch now to avoid missing out."
Almost a 3rd of all heat lost in the home escapes through walls and a quarter
through the roof in an un-insulated home.
► For details about E.ON's free insulation offer visit eoninstall.com or call
E.ON on 0330 400 1083.
► For information about E.ON's other products and services, visit:-
EOnEnergy.com.
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