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Muscliff care home, which is owned by AgeCare Care Homes, has achieved an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the CQC again this year, for the third occasion in a row. It’s an exceptional attainment, both in terms of continuous proof of performance and because this puts Muscliff in the very top tier of care providers in the country: only 3.5% of care homes in England are rated ‘Outstanding’.

 

Dedrey Charles, Manager of Muscliff care home, said: “I am incredibly proud that the home has received this ‘Outstanding’ rating for the third time. Behind every success is hard work and passion, and my team are so dedicated, enthusiastic and courageous to try new things to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. We honour all our residents.”

 

Dedrey’s top three tips for what to focus on if you want to achieve the highest possible CQC rating are:

1. Person-centred approach:

This involves understanding the individual's unique history, preferences and goals to tailor care plans accordingly. It means respecting residents’ dignity, privacy and independence, and involving them in decision-making. It’s about looking at each resident’s abilities.

2. Safe and effective environment:

Create a comprehensive safety system with a focus on openness, transparency and learning from mistakes. Ensure outcomes are consistently better, with positive feedback from residents

3. Continuous improvement:

Acknowledge that there is always room for improvement and be proactive about seeking feedback and learning from concerns and complaints. This includes regularly auditing and reviewing services to identify areas for improvement.

If you have a good news story you would like to share please email us with details at picare@bpc.ac.uk

  

The Ageing & Dementia Research Centre (ADRC) at Bournemouth University are currently working on an important research project exploring the experiences of people living with dementia when accessing housing services. Whether interacting with estate agents, surveyors, housing providers, or other housing professionals, we know these experiences matter and can make a real difference in shaping better, more supportive services.

 

As part of this, they’re inviting people living with dementia to join them in an in-person workshop with their chosen support person to share their insights and experiences with housing professionals. Your input will play a valuable role in helping them better understand current knowledge level and support offered for people living with dementia within the housing sector, which could help shape future support offered to people living with dementia in the community.

 

If you’d be interested in joining them, or would simply like to find out more, please contact Dr Aisling Flynn at aflynn@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Message of thanks from Dr Nicola Andrews and Jenny Roddis, Knowledge Mobilisation Fellows , working on behalf of NIHR ARC Wessex

Thank you to the registered managers who warmly welcomed us to their April meeting. 

Following on from this event, we will:

• At an in-person workshop, work with a small group of registered managers to map how evidence is currently used or could be used to inform decision-making.
• Work with care home providers to identify evidence relating to hydration risk assessment tools and support appraisal of such evidence including understanding its relevance to care homes, building capability in research and knowledge mobilisation skills.
• Work with providers to refine specific research questions relating to recruitment and retention and brokerage concerns, identified by the group as a priority.

If you’d like to know more about these projects, or get involved, please contact us as follows:

Jenny Roddis (focus on home care) j.roddis@soton.ac.uk

Nicola Andrews (focus on care homes) n.m.andrews@soton.ac.uk

Marie Curie and The University of Cambridge invite you to participate in their research study by completing a short online survey. This study explores how care homes in the UK access controlled drugs (CDs), such as morphine, oxycodone and midazolam, for managing symptoms in palliative and end-of-life care (PEoLC). It aims to understand current practices, challenges, and opportunities. Your insights as care home staff will help improve policies and practices, ensuring better access to CDs and enhancing care for individuals in need.

The online survey which can be completed here is anonymous and takes 20 minutes to complete. Taking part is completely voluntary. By completing this survey, you are agreeing to participate in the study. The anonymous information you provide will not be used to assess or evaluate individual care homes.

The survey responses will be analysed to identify common themes and trends. The results will be published and used to inform discussions and potential improvements to the provision of CDs in care homes, especially in the context of palliative and end of life care. They will not collect any personally identifiable information as part of this study. The University of Cambridge is the sponsor and data controller for this study: they will keep the responses they receive on secure University of Cambridge computers: on request, they may share this anonymous information with researchers in the future. You can find out more about how we use your information: https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/medical-research-participant-data. 

As they are not collecting participants’ contact details, they are unable to send you information about the research findings, though these will be published in future journal articles. For further information about the survey or if you would like a copy of the published findings, please contact Emyr Jones, Consultant Pharmacist, via email: Emyr.Jones3@wales.nhs.uk

This interactive workshop aims to provide core knowledge for Registered Nurses working within a community role or Nursing Home setting. It aims to explore the issues and challenges relating to the practical application of person-centred palliative care towards the end of life.

Contents include:

• What is meant by advance care planning (ACP)
  
• Aims and principles of ACP – including documentation and legal aspects
  
• Roles and responsibilities  
  

Learning Outcome 

By the end of the workshop you will:

• Be able to describe what is meant by advance care planning
  
• Be able to examine your own role and responsibilities around advance care planning
  
• Have increased confidence to facilitate conversations around ACP with patients and families.  
  

Venue & Booking Information: 

Only a few spaces left.

Taking place on Friday, 26 September 2025

Course hosted by Forest Holme will be held in the Coldwell Room, Forest Holme, Poole and is charged at £70 per person including refreshments.

Registration: 8.45am

To book, please complete the booking form by clicking on the blue box below and send to MMU.education@uhd.nhs.uk.