Flowers for Brookdale Resource Centre

Brookdale Resource Centre

Day care service for older people with Alzheimer's and Dementia

Valentine's Day may have passed, but those recently attending the Brookdale Centre in Ainsdale had flowers galore provided for them by Sainsbury's Lord Street branch in Southport.

The flowers were warmly accepted and thanks were expressed to Sainsbury's by both the Manager and Friend's group member, Cath Regan, on behalf of Centre members.

Sainsbury's representative Nicky Plaistow, who together with Brenda Porter, organised the surprise delivery, expressed her delight that the flowers had brought so much pleasure.

"The intention", said Nicky, "was that each person attending the Centre would receive a bunch of flowers and we are pleased this is exactly what happened".

Above: Cath Regan (left) with some of those receiving flowers on the day at the Brookdale.  

Background on the Friends of Brookdale and the campaign to save this much needed service

Brookdale Resource Centre is situated in Sandbrook Road, Ainsdale, Southport.

It is the only Dementia specialist care centre in a catchment area of approximately 150,000 people.

The council proposed to close it and move everybody across to another centre. A group was formed (Friends of Brookdale) to save the centre. After a strong and emotional campaign, the centre was saved in March 2015.

Friends of Brookdale Facebook page. 

https://www.facebook.com/brookdaledaycentre/

Above: Friends of Brookdale celebrating after the successful campaign to retain the Centre.

This unit with specialist trained staff provides a day care service for older people with Alzheimer's and Dementia and deals with cases from early onset to the later stages of the illness. It provides a vital life-line for carers giving them the required respite whilst being assured of the safety, health and well-being of their loved ones at the centre.


On 23rd June 2015 a meeting was held by the Friends of Brookdale group with Cllr Paul Cummins; also in attendance was Marcus Roberts from Sefton Council. Many questions were raised by the carers present. 

However it is now February 2016 and promised improvements to this essential service appear to currently be nonexistent. 

Cllr Cummins confirmed  back in June 2015 that money was available for the improvements needed, such as car park resurfacing and structural improvements. He stated that the council had a commitment to carers’ involvement in any changes/improvements and that we would work together on this.

Carers stated that concerns over referrals were slow to come through and that some professional agencies were not telling people in need about the service offered by Brookdale. Road signage was required and marketing was needed to ensure this essential service was easily found by people.

Cllr Cummins listened and promised to look into the problems faced.

It was stated that in order to develop Brookdale to ensure the delivery of care stays excellent, Sefton needed to look into training needs, physical structure and referral rates.

Friends of Brookdale also met on Thursday 27th August 2015 with Penelope Fell, Chief Operating Officer and Dave Hughes, Business Development Officer from New Directions.

Many items were discussed including the promotion and organisation of the services offered, quality of care, referrals and the lack of information sometimes from Health and Social Care.

Discussions began with the background of the Friends of Brookdale, which led into how carers found difficulties in balancing caring for a family member whilst working at the same time. Many relatives had needed to give up work in order to manage, which ultimately led to businesses being affected.

Relatives stated how the quality of care in nursing homes fluctuated greatly and how it was all down to the staff and continuity of care, which made the most difference.

The relatives present at the meeting stated that they found Brookdale by accident, Social Services and from the advice of nurses. 

There seemed to be a total lack of information forthcoming from Health and Social Care. Ms Fell had spoken to the Council re referrals, but the Council seemed to not be aware of any problem.

CALL FOR: CHILDREN'S UNIT AND ADDITIONAL DEMENTIA SERVICES FOR AINSDALE,SOUTHPORT

The area close to where the Brookdale is situated is in an appalling  state of repair. 

The Sandbrook Way issues have been well reported in the press of late, due to run down buildings and discussions to improve them falling through. 

Due to this I started a petition to improve the area and extend the wonderful Brookdale Resource Centre. We already have over one hundred signatures on this. 

Please click this link below and sign to show your support, for this area becoming an area for health and well being. 

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/children-s-unit-and-dementia-services-for-ainsdale-southport

Why should you support this petition?

Here are my thoughts:

• The proposals put forward up to now have been a supermarket. Do we REALLY need another supermarket and in such a close locality to Ainsdale Village?
• By extending the services already offered by the Brookdale, it can give much more support to families and possibly offer longer care. Maybe even overnight care.
• Southport lost it's children's A & E services back in 2003. We need to get urgent care services back for the families. Ormskirk is too far away. 
• Ainsdale is the prime situation for these health services, as it stands central to Formby, Southport, Crossens and Hesketh Bank. 
• This is a large area and could hold all the much needed vital services that would help all ages. 
• We already have a large Health and Wellbeing Centre (which I think is currently underused) and Dementia specialist care centre. 
• If my proposals were taken seriously, then the effect on families would be groundbreaking and extremely positive for our whole community.

Cath Regan © 2016

Owner/Manager Pine Pixies Pre-School

http://pinepixies.webnode.com//

Cath Regan blog 

http://cathregan.blogspot.co.uk/

Child health concerns

Children's medical records - are they up to date?

By Cath Regan 

Above: Cath Regan (right) with Lynne Thompson, Lib Dem Chair.

I recently questioned  when one of my children last had a tetanus jab.

The GP surgery checked for me and they had no more jabs recorded since 2005. They suggested I check with school. I eventually found out that my child had indeed received one at school since that date, but whilst this had been recorded correctly at the school end, it had not been added to my child's medical file at the GP surgery.


Unrecorded immunisations

I have now discovered that my child had indeed been given four immunisations, which were all not recorded on her GP records. Asking around other parents, I found out that young children who had received the flu vaccine at school, also had not had the information entered onto their GP files. 

This is a serious matter as children could be receiving too many injections if not correctly recorded.

GP's cannot ensure that correct immune systems are in place in communities for halting the spread of infection, if recording is not done and shared between the health agencies in a confidential manner.

One parent commented; "My child attends St Patrick's primary school in Southport. A friend made me aware of the current situation and I know my child had a flu vaccination in school recently, so I called my GP who informed me that his last vaccination was back in 2014. Is the current system not working.... is it not linked on one system?"

It seems that the Liverpool Community Health is responsible for keeping all this data, so are they also responsible for ensuring it is passed on to the GP records? If not then why are parents not being told to inform the GP themselves each time their child is immunized?

Speaking to a person from the school nursing system, I was told that they also were unaware of this absent data. I have phoned them a number of times, but so far nobody else has come back to me on this matter.

The Liverpool Community Health, NHS Trust website has these comments on their immunisation and vaccinations:

Liaison

The Vaccination and immunisation service liaises with other services who are also involved with the immunisation process.

Child Health Recording mechanisms

Data analysts to monitor vaccine uptake

Medicines management re storage of vaccines

Public Health England for the management of outbreaks of disease

Management of Disease Outbreak

Communicating awareness of disease outbreaks to all relevant staff

Dispensing immediate advice/action to be taken in clinical areas during an outbreak

Developing strategies for mass immunisation

Co-ordinating/staffing emergency clinics to contain outbreaks

Ensuring front line staff  have received relevant vaccine

Reflect on lessons learned and formulate preparedness plans

Alongside the Flu co-ordinator project manager, the V&I Service is involved with the planning, training delivery and implementation of the annual staff flu programme

Planning meetings for the flu season

Taking designated action on the flu plan

Ensure promotional materials distributed and displayed

Mentoring of new immunisers during the flu season

Vaccinating staff on/off site to ensure flexibility and availability of vaccination

Ensuring prompt return of data to analysts

Positive contribution towards Department of Health staff flu targets

http://www.liverpoolcommunityhealth.nhs.uk/health-services/children-and-families/vaccination-and-immunisation.htm

I would assume from the above comments that something is going wrong with their implementation of these actions. 

My child attends high school, the other child attends a primary school so just how far reaching is this problem? 

Southport Lib Dem Chair, Lynne Thompson, is concerned that this may not just be a problem for selected Southport schools. She has asked John Pugh MP to check with the Ministry for Health and NHS England as to whether GPs throughout England are getting the proper information which they require as to which of their child patients have had which vaccinations at school.

"Nowadays, you would expect this information to be routinely transferred to the GP surgeries instantaneously by internet file transfer the moment the vaccinations in school are completed," she says.

Councillor Tony Dawson, Southport's local NHS spokesperson says,

"It is highly confusing for children, parents and doctors alike and a complete waste of resources if family doctors are setting out to duplicate what has already been done in schools. I have asked the local Care Commissioning Group to look into this as a matter of some urgency."

So what should parents do? 

Parents need to ensure that their child's GP records are up to date with the vaccinations they have been given at school. The school nurse should be able to obtain a copy of  all up to date vaccinations, so that parents can give a copy to their GP to check if their data is correct.  

I should hope that the Liverpool Community Health run an investigation into finding out where the breakdown in data sharing has happened. Surely all school nurses can be given a date stamped card to pass on to all parents to give to their GP service as immunisations happen? 

My GP service said I would need to give them the letter I have obtained from the school nurse re my daughter, before they can update her file. Therefore parents do require something in writing.

Cath Regan © 

Pine Pixies Pre-School, Formby
http://pinepixies.webnode.com//

Cath Regan blog
http://cathregan.blogspot.co.uk/

Cath Regan of Pine Pixies Pre-School, Formby, explaining her thoughts on changes for small businesses and employers 

On 1st April 2016 the government is bringing in the 'National Living Wage' for over 25's. 

What does this mean? Well it means that employees who are paid the current minimum wage of £6.70 per hour will have a wage increase of 50 pence per hour to £7.20 starting on the 1st April. 

No it is no joke being set out in April Fool's Day!

As with the current minimum wage this will be enforced just as strongly as the current minimum wage and is set to increase annually.  

So what does this mean to employees? Well it is a positive step towards an improvement in living standards and will give a bit more in their pockets each week which is very welcome. 

There is the other side to this from the employer's point of view. If the employer is working to the limit of their ability to pay staff the lawful hourly rates (due to high overheads, small profits etc), then where exactly are they expected to find the extra funding to pay their staff? An employer is looking at requiring to find an extra £300 plus per monthly wage run. Will small businesses be able to stand the extra costs and keep running? 

There are certain exemptions which can be viewed here: 

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1902

The current Minimum Wage will stay in force for 'under' 25's, which is:

£3.87 per hour for 16-17 year olds 

£5.30 per hour for 18-20 year olds 

£6.70 per hour for those aged 21 and over.

In my line of work which is childcare, the cost of childcare fee levels being paid has been the question of debate for a long time now. We are just seeing the new roll out of the introduction of 30 hours childcare in certain areas, but the question of just 'where' the government is going to find this funding is still undecided. 

The current levels of fees being paid by our local council Sefton to nurseries are far too low, so I pose the question, are childcare fees in Sefton going to rise enough for us to stay afloat for the financial changes ahead? 

Sefton's inappropriate agreement that potentially threatened childcare facilities with closure. 

Sefton recently put out a Service Level Agreement which to all intents and purposes made settings re-look at their insurance levels. Had settings taken the initial advice Sefton were giving out, then their financial outgoings would have increased 'dramatically'. Only by my pressure and some valuable help from the local Councillor Pat Keith and a few other nursery owners, did Sefton legal team re-look at this and change the agreement for the benefit of the settings it was 'supposed' to represent. We were given less than one month to sign this defective agreement or possibly no longer be given funding. 

The changes Sefton finally made on the agreement, changed all insurance from their initially stated five million pounds to two hundred and fifty thousand pounds. 

Apparently this was the second time Sefton legal team had presented an agreement, which was deemed by providers in the frontline to be wholly unfit for purpose.  

http://www.otsnews.co.uk/controversial-sefton-childcare-funding-agreement-that-may-destroy-facilities/

http://www.otsnews.co.uk/call-for-all-childcare-providers-in-the-sefton-area-to-act-now/

http://pinepixies.webnode.com//

http://cathregan.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/formby-childcare-pine-pixies-pre-school.html

Now on OTS News. 

http://www.otsnews.co.uk/cath-regan-of-pine-pixies-pre-school-formby-explaining-her-thoughts-on-changes-for-small-businesses-and-employers/

Formby Childcare

Pine Pixies Pre-School

When I started in the nursery business in April 2001, I'd just had my third child. She is now almost fifteen years of age and a lot of the children she is now at high school with have been through my nursery, which makes me realise just how fast the years have gone. 

Pine Pixies Pre-School is situated close to Formby village in Kirklake Road. 

We offer childcare from two years of age to the time they start school. We offer a variety of session times to suit parental needs. We have many effective ways of helping children settle in, so as to assist their parents with any potential separation anxieties. 

We are registered with the relevant authorities for thirty two children per session. Our pre-school prides itself on a happy, friendly and secure environment, where children can learn and develop to the best of their own individual abilities. Children are given the opportunities for various types of purposeful play; fine motor, reasoning activities, fantasy play, messy play, group play etc. all within the Early Years Foundation Stage planning and directive.

Children start to learn about the world around them from the moment they are born. The care and education offered by our setting helps children to continue to do this by providing them with interesting activities that are appropriate for their age, stage of development and interests.

   

Our aim is to expand children’s all round development. We plan the children’s programme of activities taking into account the age and development of each child, their racial origin, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and any special needs which they may have. Within our planning schedule we offer the children a wide variety of experiences to further their knowledge of the real world around them. Each session we have a healthy snack time which we provide; this encourages the children's  personal and social development. 

We have built up an exceptional reputation for the name of Pine Pixies Pre-School and possess first-class links with local schools and other professionals, including the local Children's Centre. 

The setting has an outdoor area accessible straight from the hall. Outdoor play is a very important part of children's development. 

Our service fills an essential gap within the local community. We are a stepping stone from home to full time school, not just for the children but parents too as they begin to ‘let go’ of their toddler for perhaps the first time. 

We offer parents the Free Early Years Entitlement which gives all 3 and 4 year old children up to 15 hours per week of free early education for 38 weeks of the year. Some two year olds will also be eligible to receive 15 hours of early education, although a strict criteria applies. 

https://www.sefton.gov.uk/media/56996/free-early-years-education_september-2013.pdf 

More advice re the Two Year Old Offer can be found through this link: 

http://www.freshfieldchildrenscentre.co.uk/index.asp

I have loved ‘every single minute’ of setting up and running this successful pre-school business for the last fifteen years and it is continually growing.

 

We have two excellent joint Managers, Lynda and Martine who work closely alongside the other qualified practitioners. They are all very committed to the facilities and are a pleasure to work with. They bring in many unique qualities, expertise, ideas and personal materials/equipment to enhance the quality of children’s learning. 

Our mission statement is: Every child is a unique individual following their own pathway of development. At Pine Pixies Pre School we aim to ensure that they are always listened to, treated with the respect and dignity which they deserve and encouraged along that pathway of learning. We will work with parents, carers and other professionals in order to do our very best for each child in our setting.  

There is an old proverb, which states: “Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.”

Cath Regan © 

For more details please surf this link

http://pinepixies.webnode.com/

Pine Pixies on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/PinePixiesPreSchool/

Now on OTS News
http://www.otsnews.co.uk/61

Netmums
http://www.netmums.com/merseyside/local/view/education/playgroups-pre-schools-and-nursery-schools/pine-pixies-pre-school-1

Hello to all the readers of my new blog page  

My name is Cath Regan and I run my own pre-school, Pine Pixies in Formby. 

I am a mum of four children and a grandmother. I have always spoken out for what I believe in and have been involved in many campaigns such as: MAMAA (Mothers Against Murder and Aggression) after the tragic murder of James Bulger in 1993, many local campaigns, CARES (Coalition Against Removal of kids Emergency & other Services). 

I have stood as a political candidate in several Sefton council elections. I have also put forward local petitions, helped to spearhead a campaign to save a local dementia facility Brookdale Resource Centre, worked on a local woodland group for nine months Woodvale Woodland Project, amongst other things.

My nursery is situated in Formby close to Southport and I have managed it since 2001. There have been 'many' changes over the years re legislation since I took it on. I find working with this age group is extremely rewarding, as we are working alongside their parents and carers to shape their future personalities and love for nature, finding out where their creativities and interests lie and teaching them the social skills needed for starting school. My nursery has a wonderful relationship with some of the local Formby schools and children's centre, working together is very important to ensure an all round care package which follows them through their education.

http://pinepixies.webnode.com//

http://southportcares.myfreesites.net/

http://pat-regan.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/the-brookdale-people-power-pays-off.html

http://woodvalewp.blogspot.co.uk/