Ask Sheila

We are opening another branch under a different local authority with an additional Registered Manager.  Will the inspection report encompass both arms of the business or would we get separate reports for each? Will the new branch affect our overall rating?

A resident in a care home has a spontaneous fracture resulting in surgery. As it was not the result of a fall or incident, is it a notifiable incident?

How do I attract and retain good carers?

If a client spoke to you inappropriately and because of this you are not comfortable going back in, can you refuse to go in?

Does it depend on each care home when and how they come out of lockdown?

 I do domiciliary care work but I do not take any clients shopping currently. Do I need business insurance or am I covered by my employer?

I work in a nursing home. Can an activity person cut a resident’s hair? We used to have a qualified hairdresser do this

We have a gentleman who accesses a day time opportunity in a horticulture setting from 9 to 4 and then returns home. Lately, behaviours have come to light that he will attack staff and run out of the cabin that he uses into the garden part of the service where there are tools which he has used to chase and throw at staff.  I, as the area manager for the service, have been asked if we can lock the door to stop the person coming out and also lock the windows because he had also climbed out of the window. We have approached the Social Worker for guidance and have been told DoLs does not come into this scenario as the Mental Capacity Act would come into play regarding making decisions in his best interest.  Am I right to be wary of this? advice.

I work in a care home which has recently employed the daughter of one of the residents as a carer. This is making staff uncomfortable as the daughter is checking up that staff have attended her mother’s call bell and asks what she wanted, etc. She is also speaking to her mother about the job and other residents and carers which is often inappropriate. Is there any specific legal reason why this should be happening? The company won’t allow members of the same family to work as carers in the same scheme and this seems like a far greater conflict of interest.

I own a Domiciliary care agency and I am also the Manager. I wanted to ask, in regards with Care Certificate training, if I would want to deliver the training myself, would I need to be accredited to do so? Especially during the COVID, training providers are closed and are doing e-learning which I don’t feel content with.