Nick Ireland’s Foreword: Sutton Care Bulletin #4

Hello,

It’s been a busy few months since the last edition of the Sutton Care Bulletin.

There continue to be lots of changes to PPE, infection control and other working practices, and I want to thank each of you for the dedication that you continue to bring to your work, and the people that you care for every day.

We’ve had some lovely things happen in the social care field over the summer months. May saw Volunteer’s Week, and the focus this year was on the 70,000 meals on wheels that the Volunteer’s Centre and volunteers have helped deliver to vulnerable residents since the first lockdown. 

Over the summer, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor visited a number of local care homes, including Crossways Nursing Home on 22 May, the Belmont Nursing Home on 13 July to help celebrate their 5th anniversary. And of course, in August, I’m sure that you saw the inspirational Sarah (AKA Betty) Spears, a resident at St Judes Nursing Home, celebrate her 108th birthday along with her family and staff (and some members of the media!) in style, after lockdown the previous year put paid to a party and seeing her relatives. Betty is London’s oldest person and puts some of her long life and good health down to a tipple of whiskey every day! Our thanks go to all of you (staff and residents) at Crossways, Belmont and St Jude’s for being so welcoming and making the visits so special.

The Council continues to look at how it can use new technology to make our lives better. After having installed 100 in-home sensors in Sutton Housing Partnership (SHP) properties earlier in the year as part of a new pilot, the Council is now using the same sensor technology to look at disabled parking bay use in Sutton Town Centre, so that it can monitor usage to ensure that appropriate provision of disabled parking is continued.

Finally, you will all be aware of the deadline for care staff to be vaccinated by 11 November. We are working with local care home providers to ensure that staff who are not yet vaccinated, know how to get the vaccine or apply for temporary exemption.

My thanks again for all your continued efforts to keep our residents, our care provision and yourselves safe.

Warm regards,

Nick Ireland

Strategic Director of People – London Borough of Sutton