New year, new resolutions…  did you make any? Have you joined the many thousands of people who resolved to lose weight, stop smoking or otherwise make healthy lifestyle changes? Are you still going to the gym you signed up for so resolutely on New Year’s Day, while nursing the hangover you promised yourself would be your last?

For those with an eye on political matters, the key question moving forward is: what is our Government’s New Year’s resolution for social care? It now has a clear mandate, and a clear majority to take the country forward over the next five years. There can be few excuses now for not ‘getting social care done’.

Of all the parties pledging action on social care before the election, the Conservatives were, perhaps, the least specific about what would be in store for our sector. The pledge to build a cross-party consensus is welcome. But as we have seen in the distant, as well as the more recent past with Brexit, this can take time and sometimes quite significant political risk to achieve – and with the other political parties thrust into such fundamental disarray – it is, perhaps, questionable, whether there are any opposition health department ministers in post with whom to get building. My guess is that yet again, the care homes who will do best are those that look to their own resources and initiative to achieve the progress and improvements they want.

For us here at Care Home Management, we’re also looking forward to an exciting new year. Eagle-eyed readers will already have seen some new features for 2020 – in our January issue we introduced new, regular features on tech and in care home research to keep you up to date in our changing world. There’s also a new prize draw crossword for you to enter.

Pic We’ve also launched our first Readers’ Award for Excellent Supplier Service. Nomination forms will be available from our stand at the 2020 Care Forum and on our website for download. For more information, visit https://chmonline.co.uk/care-home-management-launches-first-readers-award/

Care Home Management magazine is available free to care home managers, operators, directors and providers in print or digital format – either as a page-turner version, or as a searchable download, which generally arrives straight into your inbox ahead of the print edition.  Each issue we bring you specialist information and advice on various aspects of care home management, as well as our regular features on tech, training, HR, compliance and best practice.

All our past issues are available online, www.chmonline.co.uk where you’ll also links to our monthly podcast and our daily coverage of all the best news and views in social care. If you sign up to the magazine’s free editor’s weekly newsletters, you can be sure that you don’t miss any news and that you stay completely up to date.

Free copies of our new issues in 2020 will be available at the Care Forum. You can also leave your email/postal address to be added to our subscription lists.

We’re always happy to hear from readers, so if you have any ideas for the magazine, just pop over and see us on our stand.

Care Home Management.  

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The CHM podcast

Every month the Care Home Magazine podcast reviews the very best of recent ‘care in the news’, with thoughts, opinions and musings from the podcast editorial team of Care Home Management publisher Steve Hemsley, podcast editor Alan Rustad and  CHM editor Ailsa Colquhoun.

In each podcast listeners can hear from a care home manager with expertise and insight to share; in recent episodes listeners have heard from Sheryl Davis, home manager at Brandon House in Coventry, who explains why they signed up for Age UK’s Postcards of Kindness initiative. Sending and receiving postcards from around the world has led to the setting up of a real-life post office in the care home and this has been a real hit with residents and carers.

We have also talked recent to the National Association of Care Catering’s new National Chair Sue Cawthray about nutrition and resident wellbeing.

In our supplier interviews we have also chatted to Nicola Whittaker, national account manager at leading laundry and dishwasher equipment manufacturer Miele Professional to pass on some great laundry infection control tips and how to design and layout your laundry room for maximum efficiencies.

Care Home Management also records podcast ‘specials’ in a specific area of care home business. We’ve looked at training, and legal matters affecting care homes. If you have any ideas for future podcast specials, we’d be delighted to hear from you.  Just visit our stand.