PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

At Prestige Nursing & Care we are members of, and work closely with leading professional associations, industry bodies and charities involved in ensuring people can access the right care and support at the right time – for all of life.

Homecare Association

The Homecare Association is a professional association and membership body for independent, not-for-profit and statutory home care providers in the UK. Its mission is to support its members to provide, sustainable, high-quality and responsive care services that enable people to stay in their own homes and communities.

DEMENTIA UK

Dementia UK is one of the leading dementia charities in the UK and employs over 140 Admiral Nurses in communities up and down the country. These specialist dementia nurses provide expert, practical and emotional care and support for people with dementia and their family carers. As a dementia charity they help families to understand dementia, equip them with the tools and skills they need to effectively manage the condition, and offer psychological support to family carers.

Prestige Nursing & Care works closely with the charity and is has its own dedicated Admiral Nurse as part of its clinical services team. Dr Sue Jones is a registered mental health nurse and has over 20 years’ experience supporting individuals and families affected by dementia. During this time, Sue has held positions in community mental health services, healthcare research and higher education. Her doctorate focused on resilience and well-being in friends and family members who provide care and support to a person living with dementia.Sue’s role as Consultant Admiral Nurse at Prestige focuses on ensuring our services enable people with dementia to remain in their own homes, receiving person-centred care that builds their confidence, skills and promotes well-being. Sue set up a carers support group for families living with a rare dementia in 2017. This regional group is affiliated to Rare Dementia Support (RDS), a world-leading UK-based service provided by the UCL Dementia Research Centre (DRC) funded by The National Brain Appeal.

BILD

Bild is charity set up in 1971 for the purpose of supporting people and championing the human rights of those living with disabilities. Its aim is to develop the skills and culture necessary to better understand peoples needs and improve the quality of their life. They support people with complex needs, including its members, universities, government departments, local authorities, NHS trust, service providers to ensure best practice care and excellent support to those with disabilities.

Prestige Nursing & Care is committed to ensuring the care and support it provides to those with any disability is of the highest quality. We understand that the approach to care is as individual as the person, and our carers are trained to meet the specific needs of an individual person living with a disability. We actively promote workplace development, certification and training, and teams at Prestige complete the Bild accredited programme through MAPA. Our expert team of registered nurses include those that are registered learning disability and mental health nurses, ensuring the care we provide is well-informed, monitored and supervised, and evolves as a person’s needs change.

SPINAL INJURY ASSOCIATION (SIA)

The SIA is the leading charity in the UK supporting people and their families impacted by a spinal cord injury. The offer a pathway of support from the time of injury throughout a person’s life, not matter who the spinal injury was sustained, whether through trauma or illness. SIA is focused on helping people and to live fulfilled and independent lives. The SIA academy offers a range of training courses for health and social care professionals working in a non-specialist setting facilitated by a Spinal Court Injury Nurse Specialist.

As a member of SIA, Prestige Nursing & Care provides its carers who are supporting a person with a spinal cord injury with this specialist training to give an insight into the complex and sometimes unique issues affecting people living with this type of injury so that the most appropriate and quality care can be provided to someone in their own home.

HEADWAY

Prestige Nursing & Care is a member of Headway, the UK’s brain injury association. Headway is focused on increasing awareness and promoting understanding of brain injury, whilst supporting survivors, families and their carers to ensure they get the care they need to live fulfilled lives. It is also committed to activities and campaigns that aim to dramatically reduce the incidence of brain injury.

Headway is committed to assisting people with brain injuries to return to community living and be able to access social outlets and productive activity that means people with brain injury can live a proactive life at home with the care and support they need.

Posted 03 / August / 22

Raising awareness of SCAD

Raising awareness of SCAD (Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection) heart attacks.

A SCAD is an emergency condition that occurs when a tear forms in a blood vessel in the heart. Some symptoms of SCAD include, chest pain, shortness of breath, pain in the arms, back, neck, or jaw, as well as nausea, light-headedness, and sweating.

Although SCAD causes a small percentage of heart attacks overall, it’s responsible for 40% of heart attacks in women under the age of 50 and more than 90% of SCAD patients are female.

SCAD patients are generally healthy and don’t have or do the usual things that can lead to heart attacks, such as smoking, diabetes, or being overweight – so SCAD is often misdiagnosed for anxiety and indigestion, as some of the symptoms are similar.

A member of our Leicestershire team, Catherine Beck survived a SCAD twenty three years ago, when she was just 37 years old.

Catherine had her first baby and a SCAD heart attack on the same day, which was life changing for her. The roller coaster of emotions and the physical challenges were a huge toll on Catherine. At the time, very little was known about SCAD and it took Catherine two years to find out about someone else who had suffered a SCAD heart attack.

So much has changed for the better thanks to SCAD research and the Beat SCAD charity, as well as the wealth of information we now have online and the opportunity to connect with other people with similar experiences on social media.

Posted 26 / January / 22

WINTER WELLBEING- VITAMIN D

Tips for winter wellbeing from our expert Dr. Sue Jones

Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones. In the UK we get most of our vitamin D from being outside in the sunlight. Between October and early March, the sunlight does not have enough UVB radiation for our skin to be able to make vitamin D.

We still need vitamin B in winter, to help the body absorb calcium and phosphate from the foods we eat. If we do not get enough of these minerals we can have problems with our bones, teeth and muscles. Strong bones and muscles help us maintain our mobility and independence. People with higher levels of vitamin D have been found to be less likely to have dental problems and gum disease.

Vitamin D is so important for our health, it is often added as a supplement to our foods. Some breakfast cereals, fat spreads and non-dairy milk alternatives will have vitamin D added. You can also get vitamin D from oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines. Red meats, liver and eggs also contain vitamin D.

Other benefits of vitamin D are being investigated and include its potential role in helping maintain our mood and mental wellbeing and boosting our immune system.

The Department of Health recommends some groups of people should take vitamin D supplements, especially in winter. Children under 4 years old and people who are not able to spend time outside regularly are advised to take a supplement. If you have dark skin – for example you have an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background – you may also not make enough vitamin D from sunlight. It is advisable to speak to your GP or pharmacist if you think you may benefit from taking extra vitamin D, and heed their advice about the right dose for you. Remember to store any supplements out of reach of children or pets.

Posted 23 / June / 21

Rebuilding muscle and physical strength post lockdown

We shared some tips and advice to help mentally prepare people that have been shielding or in a small bubble throughout lockdown in the below article. here we are sharing some advice regarding physical strength as lockdown restrictions ease. ‘Shielding at home’ involved staying indoors, not having visitors, and not taking part in usual activities outside the home. This has led to people being significantly less physically active.

Older adults already have less muscle mass when compared to younger people and the inactivity imposed by lockdown can have negative consequences for health, such as becoming frailer, losing confidence with walking, and being at greater risk of serious diseases such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. We also need to be outside regularly to absorb vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for our bone and muscle health and it is likely that older adults who have been shielding have had less time in the sunlight.

Regular exercise is key for bone and muscle health. Taking our clients for short strolls is a really good way to start rebuilding their muscles. For the more able, joining a local walking group can be a good way to meet new people and get some gentle exercise. Walking for health can help you find a local group https://www.walkingforhealth.org.uk/

Resistance bands are an effective way to work muscles and improve strength, they are inexpensive to buy and there are lots of ideas for gentle workouts on YouTube. The British Heart Foundation has some excellent suggestions here https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/heart-matters-magazine/activity/resistance-bands