Hull in print

Staff at Karelia Court: front row (l-r): Andrea Neal, Debbie Lazenby, Denise Day, Robert Ellis, Geoff Neal; (back row l-r): Ian Thompson, Marjorie Mansfield, Sue Cawkwell, Brian Blenkinsop

Being with people they know in familiar surroundings and with regular routines is crucial to the health and wellbeing of tenants at Karelia Court care home in west Hull.
The eight tenants have a range of high-support needs, including learning dissability, and autism, which can make them extremely anxious and resistant to changes in their daily lives.
The tiniest shift in routine, and even furniture being moved, can cause distress to the tenants who have lived together for almost 15 years.
Therefore, when their home was flooded with more than a foot of water last summer- and the tenants had to be moved to emergency accommodation - there was potential for severe individual distress.
But the team of eight staff, including care officers and programme workers, took a number of steps to ensure that each individual was carefully supported through the crisis.
This was despite the staff's own homes being damaged as a result of the floods.
The staff have now been nominated under the Flood Response category in the national Council Worker of the Year awards.

Solving problems

On the first night of the floods, one of the major problems was that some staff couldn't get into work - so two of the day team volunteered to stay up through the night.
"This was especially important during the first night when we had moved into another care home nearby," says Learning disability services manager Tracy Meyerhoff.
"It only had four bedrooms to spare – and we needed to make sure the tenants were safe and reassured in their unfamiliar surroundings."
Further problems struck when it was realised that the damage to Karelia Court was so bad that tenants would have to move into longer-term temporary accommodation.
But the only place available was a large disused care home in the east of the city, which needed a lot of work to bring it up to a standard fit to be lived in.
At short notice, and despite them having repair work to do on their own homes, the staff team volunteered to work through the weekend to prepare the new accommodation.
That included cleaning, putting up curtains, making up beds, preparing dining areas and lounges, setting up the medication room, cleaning the kitchen to inspection standard, buying food and provisions, preparing risk assessments in relation to the new environment, and transferring personal belongings including furniture and clothing.
"The staff also made sure that they replicated tenants' rooms with familiar items that would give some association and comfort relating to Karelia," said Tracy.

Team effort

And the efforts paid off – because tenants were calm and settled in their new accommodation.
"That was largely due to the remarkable team approach," says community learning disability manager Trish Bailey, who has known the tenants for many years.
"Throughout the whole event, this staff team put the needs of the eight tenants with Autism at the forefront of all their planning and actions.
"Their dedication and commitment to the tenants' personal health and safety is commendable."

Praise for crime cracker

The other nomination from Hull City Council is CCTV camera operator James Marshall (pictured above).
James (27) has been entered under the 'Care and Commitment' category for the work that he has carried out over the past year in dealing with CCTV footage of 277 incidents, leading to 151 arrests.
In one of those incidents, he helped police catch a serious offender within 90 minutes of an offence - and his actions were subsequently commended by senior police officers.
"That wasn't the only time when James' use of the camera network has demonstrated skill in helping to keep Hull residents safe in assisting police to catch offenders," said Tracy Harsley, head of Hull Citysafe.
"His work demonstrates ongoing inititave, commitment to duty and care for those who may be vulnerable."

Cast your vote

To vote for the finalists and to watch a video clip about them, visit www.localgovernmentchannel.com/awards
You can also vote by text to 80039. Just send the message LGATV 7 Hull - for the Karelia Court staff - or the message LGATV 3 for James Marshall. (Standard network rates apply).
The presentations will be made at a gala dinner on July 3 in Bournemouth.


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