August 01, 2011 - Following recent concerns about the standards of care provided in some private care homes, Bibby Consulting & Support, specialist in employment law and health and safety legislation, has put its backing behind plans to tighten up how care staff are recruited.
And while reports have suggested that 1150 nursing and residential care homes could be at risk of closure and the Southern Cross care home company has ceased trading, Bibby has reiterated its support for dedicated organisations that work in difficult circumstances, sometimes with extremely vulnerable people.
Managing Director Michael Slade said Bibby has worked closely with many high-profile and successful care homes for years and has a genuine appreciation of the issues involved. As it does in other sectors, Bibby helps managers to comply with health and safety (H&S) regulations and to cope with the day-to-day complexities that might come out of dealing with staff members – including disciplinary and performance management issues.
Specifically for the care sector, Bibby offers comprehensive support to care home owners to enable them to comply with legal obligations placed on them by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This includes a bespoke care home H&S framework for compliance based on the Health & Safety Executive's HSG220 guidance. Designed to empower those responsible for managing H&S in care homes, the proactive Bibby approach covers such areas as risk assessment, control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH) assessment, dealing with clinical waste, water temperature and hot surfaces, manual handling and more.
Pointing out that Bibby's 24-hour service is particularly appreciated by care home managers because the sector is not one that operates on a predictable 9-to-5 basis, Michael Slade said that the company's expertise in this field can help care homes to avoid many of the mistakes that have been reported recently.
"We fully understand the problems this sector faces," he said. "We understand the difficulties of working with vulnerable people and the complexities that can arise when you're trying to investigate issues in this kind of environment. And we understand how to help care homes meet the extra obligations placed on them by regulatory bodies such as the CQC."
Slade stressed that Bibby would back any authorities penalising care homes that did not have the care and safety of clients as well as staff development at the heart of their business. But he added: "I am delighted to report that because of the support we offer, our clients in the care sector comply with the very latest regulations and are doing an excellent job."
On the subject of the quality of care home staff, Slade said: "Our specialists are fully equipped to guide care homes on robust safer recruitment practices within the sector in addition to keeping a watchful eye on proposed amendments to the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act (2006) currently being considered as part of the Protection of Freedoms Bill within Parliament. This allows Bibby Consulting and Support to proactively assist care homes to manage changes that are on the horizon.”
"We believe it can only be a positive development that the placement of care sector staff is to be monitored more closely and filtered through a more efficient recruitment process. This has to be much better for care homes than having to deal with the aftermath."
One care home that is using Bibby's services successfully is The Elms home for the elderly in Yeovil, Somerset, which has 16 residents.
Owner Lee Osborne said: "What Bibby has done for us is brilliant, I'm very pleased. If I have any query regarding health and safety or employment law they put us straight and guide us to the correct ways."
She added: "Bibby ensures all our contracts are correct and they annually check everything is okay. Obviously we have to comply with various standards and Bibby checks that we do. If I ever have a problem I go to them and they always sort things out for me."
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About Bibby Consulting & Support
Bibby Consulting & Support, formerly mhl support, has earned the reputation of being one of the UK’s leading providers of compliance management services. We enable employers and senior managers to attain and maintain compliance within the demanding, complex and constantly evolving fields of Employment Law, Health and Safety and Environmental legislation.
www.bibbycas.com
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Tags: employment law advisors, health & safety, recruitment, care homes,
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