Dignity in Care Award 2009 - Regional Winner - South East

The 2009 Health and Social Care Award for Dignity in Care - South East region award went to:

St. Joseph's

In order to show the high value it placed on its residents, St Joseph's care home surpassed all expectations and put on a spectacular opera event featuring singers from the Royal Opera House. By 'thinking big' and making their innovative plans a reality, the team delivered true dignity in care and provided residents with a night which many would think of as the 'night of their lives'.

Feedback from the monthly residents meetings highlighted a common enthusiasm for opera among those in the care home but the logistics and health and safety considerations of transporting a group of frail elderly residents to Covent Garden meant that this was not a viable option. Rather than dismissing the idea though Sister Mary Breslin and the team at St Joseph's devised a bold and creative plan to bring the opera to the residents and singers from the Royal Opera House came to the home to perform.

To give the event a real sense of occasion, residents chose their outfits from a local dress hire company. For most, this was the first time in years that they had worn formal attire. The menus for the evening were also chosen by the residents and provided by a high class catering service and the lounge at the home was transformed into a plush restaurant setting befitting the occasion.

Health and safety risk assessments were carried out discretely and each resident was appointed a member of staff to act as a dresser/assistant on the night, making them feel individually valued. Staff felt rewarded through the satisfaction of providing true quality in care. St Josephs have a very low staff turnover and have carried the Investors in People mark since 2002.

By providing such a special event, St Joseph's demonstrated real commitment to the dignity of its residents. Showing them that age is no barrier and that new and exciting experiences were still open to them boosted residents' self-esteem and they have shown a new lease of life following the event.

The runners up for the award were:

Francine Arrowsmith

Francine Arrowsmith joined Gloucester House Nursing Home in 2004 as part of the housekeeping team. The dedication she has shown to the welfare of residents has made her a valued member of the care team, playing an instrumental role in the development of the home's new specialist dementia centre.

When she joined the care team in 2006, Francine had no previous experience in this type of work but has displayed a skill for care work and an outstanding ability to engage with residents, particularly those suffering from dementia.

Initially hesitant about formal study, she took on the challenge of the NVQ2 Award and excelled on the course. She has taken specialist training in dementia care and become a leading practitioner in this type of care within the home, acting as mentor for other staff who have found this more difficult. Francine is also an advocate for the needs and opinions of residents suffering from dementia.

Francine's empathetic relationship with the residents, taking the time to talk and listen, offering hand massages, beauty treatments and engaging them in social activities, has contributed to preserving their dignity and sense of being treated as individuals.

Francine is also a great support to the families of residents, keeping them updated on any achievements or worries relating to the resident and providing individual end-of-life care. Her calm, patient demeanour has a positive effect on the atmosphere of the nursing home as a whole, contributing to the ethos of a homely, loving environment providing person-centred care to residents with dementia.

Eastern and Coastal Kent NHS Community Services

Eastern and Coastal Kent NHS Community Services recruited 'dignity champions' in order to support and encourage the privacy and dignity of service users within its healthcare settings.

The dignity champions worked with the Essence of Care Coordinator, a new post, to produce a means of auditing standards of dignity, privacy and respect in their care. A diagnostic tool was used which allowed them to evaluate the diverse community health settings in the region and to make relevant and meaningful improvements to services in order to benefit patients.

To ensure the monitoring and measuring process was appropriate for service users, a citizen engagement volunteer was recruited to help in the development of the evaluation procedure and act as an advocate for service user views. Careful and sensitive negotiation with clinicians was necessary to ensure that nobody misinterpreted the nature of the project or felt that the intention might be to question the dignity in care already provide to patients.

Staff and service users alike valued the opportunity this project gave for their opinions to be heard and could see that their concerns were met with action and real changes being made to service provision. These changes were simple but significant and included the introduction of 'knock before you enter' signs, single sex sanitary facilities and an improvement in the provision of confidential discussion areas.

A leaflet was also produced giving top tips to staff on providing dignity in care and an Essence of Care newsletter was launched supporting the messaging that privacy, dignity and respect are 'everyone's business'.