Camberwell Lodge signs council’s charter improving conditions for care home residents and staff
17 January 2024
Southwark Council is proud to celebrate Camberwell Lodge Care and Nursing Home signing up to their residential care charter, which lays out the council’s expectations for safe and high quality residential care.
Camberwell Lodge is a state-of-the-art care home run by Country Court. The nursing care home for older people offers a mix of residential and nursing care to nearly 100 residents. Now, they have committed to a range of improvements to their staff’s pay and conditions by signing the council’s residential care charter.
The charter is the first of its kind in the country in that it improves the employment terms and conditions for residential care providers in the borough that have signed up to the charter, regardless of whether their staff work directly for the council or not.
Improvements under the charter include:
- all care home staff being paid at least the London living wage
- all staff receiving occupational sick pay instead of statutory sick pay
- permanent contracts being as standard unless zero hour contracts are requested by staff
- residents and their families can expect to have meetings with their care home providers at least four times a year to discuss any issues they want to raise.
By driving up standards for residential care, the council’s charter is leading to better working conditions and better quality of care for some of the most vulnerable among Southwark’s residents.
Cllr Evelyn Akoto, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, visited Camberwell Lodge (16 January 2024) to celebrate their accreditation to the council’s residential care charter. She met with residents and staff to learn about their experiences of working and being cared for at the home.
Colin Niven OBE is a resident at Camberwell Lodge Care & Nursing Home. He said at the celebration event: "I just wanted to say two words, the two most important words in the English language: thank you. What you all do is absolutely marvellous, and it is really appreciated. We don't take this all for granted. We are very impressed with all you do and the time you give, it’s marvellous."
Senior carer Aileen also spoke at the ceremony. She said: "We feel supported by our team at Camberwell Lodge which allows us to deliver the best quality care for our residents."
Cllr Akoto said: “We are delighted that residents and staff at Camberwell Lodge will benefit from our residential care charter. Our charter is about having a better paid, better skilled and well-motivated workforce in our care homes to ensure residents get the high quality care they deserve. Country Court signing our charter reflects our shared commitment to valuing and supporting care home staff in their vital work.”
Alykhan Kachra, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Country Court, said: “We are delighted and proud to be one of the first care and nursing homes in the borough to sign up to the Residential Care Charter. Our staff teams are at the heart of our care homes and Country Court are always keen to demonstrate how much we value everyone who works in our home.
“The team here at Camberwell Lodge is over 120 staff strong and includes carers, nurses, the wellbeing team, chefs, maintenance, front of house and housekeeping. They will all benefit from our promise to uphold the ethical care requirements of the charter."
Page last updated: 17 January 2024
