The Solihull Way | Solihull Council staff newsletter | March 2017 The Solihull Way Solihull Council staff newsletter | March 2017 Welcome to the March 2017 edition of The Solihull Way In this edition we reveal the finalists for the Solihull Together 2017 Awards, meet the new resourcing team and find out how to get involved in this year’s Pedometer Challenge. Solihull Together 2017 Awards finalists revealed The finalists for the Solihull Together 2017 Join the celebrations and support your colleagues Awards have been released. Now in their third and friends who are finalists this year. Visit year, the Awards attracted over 100 nominations www.solihulltogether.co.uk for ticket information. celebrating the dedication of Solihull residents, health and care professionals and local Cllr Bob Sleigh OBE, Leader of Solihull Council organisations who provide outstanding care and will open the awards and welcome the Rt Hon support to adults in the borough. Jacqui Smith, Interim Chair of Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust who will compere the Winners in each category will be revealed at the ceremony again this year. awards ceremony which will be held at the Renewal Conference Centre, Lode Lane, Solihull The named category finalists are… on the afternoon of Friday 31 March. 1 The Solihull Way | Solihull Council staff newsletter | March 2017 Care Professional of the Year Health Professional of the Year Darren Townsend | Rough Sleeper Dr Anand Chitnis | The Castle Practice Outreach Worker Ann White | Solihull Community Services, HEFT Oswald Morgan | Key Worker Early Help Service, Solihull Council Geraldine Russell | Specialist Special Care Dentistry Service, HEFT Pete Duffield | RAID Team, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust Jackie Gale | Admiral Nurse, BSMHFT (BSMHFT) Jacqui Rea | Croft Medical Centre Rebecca Billingsley | Solihull CCG/Macmillan Care Team of the Year Cancer Support Dermatology Department | Solihull Hospital Housekeeping & Laundry Team | Royal Star & Inspiring Leader Garter Homes, Solihull Karen Lewis | Deputy Therapy Lead, HEFT Solihull Early Intervention Service | BSMHFT Linda Murphy | Service Manager, SMBC Solihull Community Respiratory Team | Heart Phillip Hall | Senior Nurse Dementia, HEFT of England NHS Foundation Trust (HEFT) Rev Neil Roberts | Chelmsley Wood STEPS (Support Towards Employment Baptist Church Progression & Satisfaction) | Solihull Council Suzi Thomas | Team Manager, SIAS Collaborative Working Local Hero Geriatric Optimisation & Liaison Service Before Surgery (GOALS) | HEFT Christine Logan | Director Act on Dementia CIC Macmillan Palliative Care Therapy Team | HEFT Libby Servis | voluntary work Solihull Community Housing (SCH) | Wellbeing Martin Shalley | voluntary work at The Service & Better Living Centre Hampton Gym and Marie Curie Hospice SOLAR | BSMHFT Maureen Johnson | Carer Governor, BSMHFT Solihull Integrated Addiction Service (SIAS) Millie Skinner | Founder member Friends of Solihull Hospital Dementia-friendly Service Outstanding Community Project Enhanced Recovery at Home | HEFT Gro Organic Silver Birches Residential Home MAN v FAT football Solihull Specialist Care Dental Service | HEFT Solihull Borough Talking Newspapers Association Solihull Fire Station/Safe and Well visits 2 The Solihull Way | Solihull Council staff newsletter | March 2017 Outstanding Customer Care The Solihull Together Chairman’s Award is given by the Awards Judging Panel to an individual or Homes Library Service | Solihull Council organisation that has demonstrated outstanding commitment to improving the lives of Solihull Solihull Community Housing (SCH) | Wellbeing citizens. This year the judges have shortlisted Service three people for the award: Solihull Connect Chairman’s Award Solihull Integrated Addiction Service (SIAS) Amy Jackson | The Lily Mae Foundation Primary Care Service of the Year Andrew Shanahan | MAN v FAT Bernays and Whitehouse Medical Partnership Jackie Gale | Admiral Nurse Care Navigator Service | Age UK Solihull Visit www.solihulltogether.co.uk for more details Coventry Road Surgery about the Awards ceremony. Pedometer Challenge Monday 1–Friday 5 May 2017 Raise money for a great cause and challenge The Pedometer Challenge runs from Monday 1 – yourself to walk as many steps as you can in this Friday 5 May. year’s Solihull Council Pedometer Challenge. Entry fees are £10 for a team of 5 people or £2 for Enter as an individual or team of five in support an individual. Prizes are given for highest number of ‘Walking out of Darkness 2017’ and the of team steps and the highest individual steps. CLASP charity. For more information and to enter a team please CLASP’s mission is to confront the stigma contact Solihull Active on solihullactive@ surrounding mental and stress-related illnesses. solihull.gov.uk or call (0121 704) 8207. Physical activity is beneficial for mental health Public Health colleagues will be using the and wellbeing as well as physical health. Walking pedometer challenge as part of their training for is a low-impact exercise that’s easy, free and ‘Walking out of Darkness Birmingham’ on available to everyone. Regular exercise, such as Saturday 6 May – a ten mile walk in support of walking, has been shown to boost mood, help people affected by mental health difficulties. reduce stress and anxiety, and improve mental wellbeing and sleep patterns. Good luck and happy stepping! 3 The Solihull Way | Solihull Council staff newsletter | March 2017 Advancing Adult Social Care (AASC) update On 10 April staff involved People will also be able to receive targeted in the AASC programme rehabilitation and reablement services, with the will move into their aim of reducing future demand for other Adult new roles. Care & Support services. In addition, people will also be able to have supported self-assessments A lot of work has been and supported self-reviews where appropriate. going on behind the scenes to ensure all the Details of who will be working in each team and necessary changes are how the service will be structured can be found made and the transition on the intranet here. is as smooth as possible. A big thank you to everyone who has been The key feature of the redesigned service is an involved in the programme over the last year and extended pathway into Adult Care & Support. getting us to where we are! This means more people will be able to access immediate information and advice, and be signposted to external organisations and good quality preventative services. Care workers role celebrated March has seen two events, one held in the north of the borough and one in the south, to celebrate the valuable role of care and support workers in improving people’s lives. Colleagues from Commissioning, Solihull for Success and Workforce Development organised the events, which were supported by AgeUK, Community Navigator Services, Ideal for All, Local Area Coordination, Skills for Care and Solihull College. Information stalls were hosted by these organisations, giving care workers the chance to receive advice and discover the support that’s available to them. The events also featured a video booth and feedback wall for people to share their thoughts, as well as first aid training, mindfulness sessions, back care support and a prize draw with prizes donated by local businesses. Care workers had the opportunity to share what they love about their job with others, as well as discussing things they feel could be improved. Those who attended were really pleased to see appreciation for their work, so well done to everyone who was involved in the event! 4 The Solihull Way | Solihull Council staff newsletter | March 2017 Social workers attract new recruits Colleagues in children’s social work services The day was a great success with staff talking to recently attended the Compass Jobs Fair at the potential recruits from all over the West Midlands Thinktank in Birmingham with the intention of and beyond. We will be keeping in touch with attracting new and experienced social workers to them through our Stay Connected email bulletin the Council. service so that we can keep them up to date with vacancies and continue to promote a positive Compass is the largest recruitment and career image of social work in the borough. development event in the UK for the social work and social care sector. For more information visit our recruitment microsite http://socialsolihull.org.uk/ The jobs fair is part of the Council’s ongoing childsocialwork/ #ChangingLivesSolihull recruitment campaign to attract social workers who are passionate about supporting and Image: Social workers host our stand at the improving the lives of vulnerable children and Compass Jobs Fair young people in the borough. Agile working update The new offices at Chelmund’s Cross are nearly ready – the Looked After Children teams should move in at the end of April. The staff currently based at Jensen House and New House are being helped to prepare for the move and to plan their journeys. Some of the young people involved in this service have also had the opportunity to choose the name for the offices – Solihull’s Children in Care Council ‘OVOS’ voted for the name ‘Chelmund’s Place’. This name has also been supported by the North Solihull Partnership and key stakeholders in the local area. 5 The Solihull Way | Solihull Council staff newsletter | March 2017 Solihull school chef wins highly commended in national competition Local school chef, Jose Davies Kochakkadan, from Marston Green Infants Academy, has emerged with a ‘highly commended’ for his innovative and delicious dessert, in the 2017 School Chef of the Year Competition. The annual cook-off, organised by LACA (Lead Association for Catering in Education) challenges school cooks to prepare a two-course meal suitable for a 10-year-old, on a budget of just £1.30 for ingredients. Jose, who beat chefs from Birmingham and Coventry to take the regional title, was up against nine other top UK school chefs in the national competition at Stratford-upon-Avon College on 2 March. Jose impressed the panel of chefs and catering professionals with an Indian inspired main followed by mango frangipane using mashed potato as a twist.