After many months of painstaking work and dedication by Bev Niland, Home Manager, and staff, together with Karina Baldwin, Gold Standard Champion for Ecclesholme in Manchester, the Home has achieved their award. A presentation by Lucy Giles, Clinical Nurse Lead for Gold Standards Framework, was made at Manchester Town Hall.

Prince George Duke of Kent Court, Kent, has also achieved the Gold Standard Award.

This highly coveted award is the only one to be recognised by all Care Home Authorities and lasts until 2015 with yearly visits by the Framework Authority to check that the very high standards that this organisation demands are being maintained. Congratulations to all concerned.

The Gold Standard Framework supports and works in tandem with RMBI’s ethos on end-of-life care.

James Terry Court in Croydon has recently received a national award recognising their Gold Standard end-of-life care. The Gold Standard Framework (GSF) helps care homes to better care for those residents who are approaching the end of their lives in the way that they receive the care they want, where they want it, protecting them from inappropriate hospital admissions and helping them to live well and die well in the place of their choice.

The Framework supports and works in tandem with RMBI’s ethos on end-of-life care. The RMBI ensures wherever possible those using its services are involved in planning for their end-of-life care. This includes ensuring people are able to have those relatives and friends who are important to them with them at the end of their life, and that they have a dignified death because staff are respectful of their need for privacy, dignity and comfort. Each person’s Care Plan records their wishes with regards to how their body and possessions are handled after their death, and staff respect their values and beliefs.

Diane Collins, manager of James Terry Court, said: ‘Staff at the Home now feel better equipped to deal with the challenging task of looking after residents in the later stages of their life. The GSF provides a useful structure for identifying, and then planning and assessing the care that the individual receives.’

Greater family satisfaction

Care homes that have received the GSF Quality Hallmark Award have demonstrated a halving of hospital deaths and crisis admissions, leading to greater satisfaction for families, residents and staff , and significant cost savings for the NHS.

To qualify for accreditation, staff at James Terry Court undertook the full GSF Care Home Training programme, usually conducted over a nine to twelve month period. This training was then embedded into the home for a further six months and followed by a rigorous accreditation process.

The accreditation is endorsed by all major care homes’ organisations and supported by Age UK. It is also now endorsed by the Skills Academy for Social Care.

All RMBI care homes will be going through the GSF accreditation process to achieve this national award to ensure they continue and build on the high-quality care provided.