hcsuk

05/03/2023

This week our Head of Warehouse and Logistics, Ray, celebrated his 18th at Hcsuk. 🥂

Ray started his career with us as a van driver in 2005 and remembers delivering our and to our customers all over the country, including North Wales, one of his favourite runs.

Over the years Ray has made many great friends among our customers due to his warm and friendly nature and his willingness to go the extra mile to give them great .

He even once received a proposal of marriage from one of his admirers! 😉

Ray has progressed with us through his career and now heads up our Warehouse and Logistics, which includes being responsible for the smooth running of our warehouse, stock, scheduling deliveries and looking after our vehicle fleet.

When we asked him what has made him stay at Hcsuk for 18 years, Ray told us that working here feels like being part of a family and he enjoys always being busy and still learning new skills.

Ray always keeps our warehouse in immaculate condition, something which he always gets complimented on when we have visitors.

Thank you Ray for your loyal and committed service, your attention to detail and for being a great team player, we are lucky to have you.

16/06/2022

This week we received a call from a distressed lady who is supporting her Dad on end of life care and was looking for products to help keep his mouth fresh and clean, as the residential home where he is living say that they can’t provide him with oral care ‘because foam mouth swabs are banned!’ and they weren’t prepared to source any alternative oral care products to meet this gentleman’s needs.

So the only time this gent currently gets any oral care is when his daughter visits, which is just awful.

This is a safeguarding issue, in our opinion, as the home is neglecting a key area of his care, and to use the excuse that they couldn’t deliver mouth care because products are banned is not good enough, ignorance is no excuse! There are safe alternative products out there!

So in this week’s blog, we are sharing a short helpful video by our MD Jo Bonser, to explain the various safe alternatives to pink foam mouth swabs, and talk through the various features and benefits of each, to help you make informed buying decisions, which you can watch below:

With announcing on May 4th that oral care is again going to be a focus of their inspections, it's clear that care homes need to start giving oral care greater priority from now!

Why Not Download Our Free Oral Hygiene Management Guide Now - https://bit.ly/3Od3nA6

Having popped a 360 degree toothbrush in the overnight post for this lady, she left us a lovely review:

‘Thank you so much to Bonser for her fantastic advice and thoughtfulness. The 360 degree toothbrush arrived and is in use in the care home for my father .Helen’ ❤️

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3Qorq0O

19/05/2022

For week 2022 we’re answering a frequently asked question in this week’s article 🙋 ………

How do memory boxes help ladies and gents living with a Dementia?

Memory boxes can hold a lifetime of memories and help unlock the stories of peoples’ lives. 🔑

They help people to find their way home. 🏠

They are a safe place, bringing comfort and calm amidst chaos. 🧸

They give back lost identity and warm feelings of familiarity of treasured belongings found inside 🤗

And evoke memories of happy life moments. ☀️

They inspire meaningful conversation, stimulate communication and strengthen bonds with loved ones and carers, through the discovery of life stories. 🧚

They create smiles and laughter through reminiscing about what’s inside, and can powerfully impact people’s health, wellbeing and nutrition. 😄

They help break down defences and build confidence, through recognition of personal possessions. 👌

They can be a peaceful sunny day at a fishing lake. 🎣

An afternoon standing on the terraces at United ⚽

Or a treasured family holiday building sandcastles on the beach. 🏖️

From family photos to holiday souvenirs and favourite recipes, memory boxes hold precious keepsakes which help trigger existing memories. 🖼️

They also help make new memories as they inspire conversations with caregivers, family members and loved ones. ❤️

Placed outside ladies and gents’ bedrooms, they help with navigation of what can be a confusing and bewildering environment, as personal belongings are a reminder of home.

You can view some real examples of what’s been created by some of our customers for those in their care, in one of our previously featured articles - (https://bit.ly/3lfQRUb ) including John, a musician, who loved his rock music and performed live with Alvin Stardust in the late 70’s! 🧑‍🎤

And why not download a copy of our latest free resource guide, How to live well with dementia - designed with advice and information to help make life more meaningful for people living with dementia - https://bit.ly/3wElR5y

What treasured possessions would you want in your own memory box? 🤔

Visit our blog to read more. - https://bit.ly/3LsH4ES

12/05/2022

We have a question for our lovely Linked in/Facebook community 🙋

What are your top tips for using up leftover food in your fridge or cupboards? ❓ ❓ ❓

Our MD Jo Bonser 💚💙 recently enjoyed creating a large batch of homemade soup. 🥘
And it definitely was a creation as it consisted of all the leftover veggies from her fridge!! 🥦 🥬 🥒 🌶 🌽 🥕 🧄 🧅 🥔

Jo credits her lovely Mum for inheriting her passion to avoid any type of food wastage 🙏

Her Mum lived through WW2, and nothing ever went to waste in their house when she was growing up!

Jo commented:
‘My soup tasted good, however it didn’t look appetising at all – a large bowl of what looked like green pureed slop. I didn’t really want to eat it 🤮

This made me think about ladies and gents who live with and are prescribed texture modified meals to enable them to eat safely. 🙁

How would I feel if that was served to me?

I know I wouldn’t feel like eating a plate of mush which I didn’t recognise.

I also remember being reduced to tears when I was once presented with a pureed meal which had been blended all together. 😢

It was undignified

It smelt revolting

It tasted worse! ‘

For people living with dysphagia who need pureed diets, and are therefore at increased risk of malnutrition, food presentation is as fundamental as the dish itself; and it’s very common for those who live with dementia to refuse to eat what they don’t recognise. 🙅
We all eat with our eyes first right? 👀

So it’s important to ensure that food always looks appetising and is attractively presented, for everyone, regardless of their condition. 🥗

Improving meal presentation using food moulds which help recreate the original shape of the foods, colour and contrast on the plate delivers the following key benefits:

-Improved meal presentation and nutrition levels
-Increased dignity and inclusivity at mealtimes
-Greater meal variety
-Reduced preparation time and food wastage
So how do you thicken pureed meals? This was a question posed to us recently, so we wanted to answer it in full.

You can learn more in our latest article, and you could grab yourself a sample of our new food thickener, Nutrisis.

You can also download a copy of our Dignified Dining Guide to help people living with a dementia to eat better here - https://bit.ly/39eLaDh

Read our blog here - https://bit.ly/3L8oaDd

24/03/2022

One of our valued customers recently had a competitor quote him for his laundry products, claiming that they could save him 20-30% on his monthly bills and also improve his wash results.

So, quite rightly he asked us to assess how our costs compared to theirs.

Here’s what we told him and we also wanted to share this information with you in the hope that this could also be useful to you, at a time when all costs are having to be reviewed due to global price pressures.

Typically, what we find when we talk to our care home customers about laundry costs is that there is a focus on the cost per drum of product they are buying, in order to get the ‘best deal’ on price.

However, the price of the product is irrelevant until it is given context of how much product is required by volume to be dosed per wash cycle, using the example of the Fairy Liquid scenario for reference, where less product delivers improved results.

Here at Hcsuk we apply some science beyond the cost of a drum of product, to provide you with accurate laundry costs according to each individual wash cycle - we work on a much more meaningful ‘cost per wash’ calculation.

You can read all about it in our latest article: How do our laundry costs compare to our competitors? -

One of our valued customers recently had a competitor quote him for his laundry products, claiming that they could save him 20-30% on his monthly bills and also improve his wash results. So, quite rightly he asked us to assess how our costs compared to theirs.

17/02/2022

Do your catering teams need more support to enable your ladies and gents with swallowing difficulties to enjoy nutritious, visually attractive and appetising pureed meals?

For people on pureed diets, particularly, meal presentation is as fundamental as the dish itself, and it's common for people living with dementia to refuse to eat what they don’t recognise.

Here Hcsuk, we’re very proud to have been the first company to bring food moulds (https://bit.ly/3HTaoDs ) onto the market in the UK over 8 years ago to help care homes just like you improve the presentation of your pureed meals, increase nutritional intake and help restore dignity at mealtimes for the people you support.

What we’ve learnt from running training workshops to help improve the presentation of pureed meals (https://bit.ly/3v1qZBo), with care home chefs, plus speaking to 100’s of care homes, is that there are many challenges which need to be addressed, in order to achieve the goal of creating visually appetizing and delicious pureed meals including:

X Lack of staff knowledge, skills and confidence.

X Staff resistance to change

X Lack of understanding of the ‘why’

X Perceived lack of time and extra work

X Lack of recipes

X Failure to achieve desired results (shape retention )

X Staff mindset around pureed diets

Because hcsuk are a business who genuinely cares about helping you achieve your desired results, we’ve partnered up with the amazing team Essential Cuisine to bring you a UNIQUE solution to creating visually appealing and appetizing pureed meals.

Visit our latest blog to find out more and grab your FREE sample of Nutrisis food thickener today whilst stocks last! - https://bit.ly/3phMA59

You can also download our free resource Dignified Dining Solutions Guide to help people with dementia eat better - https://bit.ly/34RuiQV

10/02/2022

We love this quote by Bob DeMArco ❤

‘Don’t approach the challenges that come along with dementia with dread.

Instead, think positive and find a solution.’ – 💪

There can still be a meaningful life after a diagnosis of dementia.

Our brand new Living Well with Dementia Guide, is a FREE holistic resource, to help make life more meaningful for people living with dementia created by our MD Bonser, who has lived experience having cared for her Mum for over 6 years living at home with Vascular Dementia.

Jo wanted to write a guide to help others also caring for someone living with dementia, which includes helpful information on the main symptoms of dementia, recognition of challenges you could be facing and best practice advice, hints, tips and our dementia enabling product solutions to help you to meet the needs of a person living with dementia.’

Jo has also been asked many times by care professionals for a guide addressing these topics, following her highly acclaimed Dignified Solutions Dining Guide – to help people with dementia eat better - https://bit.ly/3HG9lXB

Communication is just one of the topics covered in the guide so our latest article includes Our Top Tips to Help Improve Communication With People Living with Dementia which you can read here - https://bit.ly/3gDL08E and you can register for a copy of our latest Living Well with Dementia here: https://bit.ly/3BaBBPv

27/01/2022

Why is it so important to choose experienced, reputable and reliable servicing partners to take care of your essential patient care equipment for your care home?

Under Regulation 15 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 Regulations – Premises and Equipment as and you have a duty to ensure that equipment that’s used to deliver care and treatment in your service is clean, suitable for the intended purpose, maintained, stored securely and used properly.

It’s important to note that as the registered provider you retain legal responsibility under these regulations when you delegate responsibility through contracts or legal agreements to a third party, independent supplier, professional, supply chain or contractor.

We know that care businesses with regularly serviced and well-maintained patient care equipment result in:

-Improved quality of care
-Improved quality of life for your residents
-Reduced risk of accidents
-Improved ratings and
-Increased occupancy
-Improved resident and family satisfaction
-Saving of valuable staff time
-Reduced equipment replacement costs

You can read our latest article on how to find the best hoist servicing company here: https://bit.ly/3u1w5xb

And why not download our latest guide ‘Helping you to create safer care environments’ here: https://bit.ly/3fYJTQR

20/01/2022

The latest statistics for the prevalence of malnutrition in social care settings in those with disease and with older people show that in

it is 27%

it is 35%

it is 41%

Added to this, in their 2020 facts and figures the Alzheimer's Association report that 48% percent of nursing home residents are now living with Alzheimer's or other dementias

With up to 45 per cent of people living with dementia experiencing clinically significant weight loss over one year, and up to half of people with dementia in care homes having an inadequate food intake, there is no doubt that getting people with a Dementia to eat can be challenging.

Due to complex interactions with the mealtime environment, coupled with many potential eating difficulties which can prevent nutritional intake for people living with dementia, ensuring you are implementing a high quality and caring mealtime experience is a key strategy which can help to maintain mealtime independence, prevent malnutrition and improve quality of life for the people you support.

Do you agree of disagree?

You can learn more in our latest article: 5 Key Reasons to Invest in Your Dining Experience. - https://bit.ly/3rBSEWo

22/12/2021

Providing a comfortable and relaxing experience for your residents can have great therapeutic value for them and help to reduce their anxiety and improve wellness.

If your residents or family members struggle with mobility, bath hoists and bath lifts can be a great aid to ensure that they too can enjoy a good soak in the tub.

So it’s vital, to always keep your bath hoists and bath lifts in good working order as it is with all lifting equipment, when elderly and disabled individuals using the equipment are extremely vulnerable, to ensure that any risks are minimised.

Here, our Field Service Engineer, Cotton, shares with you his top tips on how to keep your bath hoists in good working condition, and you can also see him in action in a short video detailing our thorough 25 Point Safety Check Bath Hoist Service.

Read more on our blog: https://bit.ly/3mmw16A

If you would like to know more about how we can help you to create safer care environments why not download our latest guide here: https://bit.ly/32t36GQ

16/12/2021

We understand that this year has been another challenging one for all our friends and colleagues working in social care, so we want to thank you for being our caring heroes through all the tough times you’ve faced and to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from us all at Hcsuk!

09/12/2021

When your essential patient care equipment such as hoists, stand aids and airflow mattresses fails, we understand that it’s deeply frustrating for you, costly in time and money and affects the safety of your care teams and the quality of life of the people you support.

We’ve recently been asked by several customers whether we can provide an emergency equipment breakdown service for essential care equipment for them, so we wanted to write a short article to explain what we can offer to you, and to highlight the benefits to you of our services. And it features a real life success story of how we helped a local care home by providing them with an emergency call out and repair service on their broken Stand Aid when their incumbent contractor and our competitor, couldn’t.

Read our blog here: https://bit.ly/3oCs3YM

You can also download your free copy of our valuable Industry Essential Requirements and Best Practice Servicing Guide helping you to ensure all of your essential patient care equipment is up to date and is compliant with regulations here: https://bit.ly/3pImuY5