Celebrating life at Barchester

Archview Lodge has held a party to celebrate 30- years of serving the local community and recognise colleagues 120-years combined of long service.

Archview Lodge has built up an excellent reputation within its local communities. The home regularly holds events and activities for its residents and surrounding neighbours.  The double celebrations included Senior Carer, General Assistant and Hairdresser receiving prestigious 30 Year Service Awards in celebration of working at Barchester Healthcare for 30 years. In addition, Senior Head Chef also received a prestigious 20-year award, for celebrating 20 years at Archview Lodge!

Susie Adams, now Senior Carer in Memory Lane, Cath Kleinwoolthuis, now a General Assistant, and Tracey Laidlaw, hairdresser all started at Barchester in May 1995.  Ahmet Akkur, now a Senior Head Chef started in Barchester in May 2005.  All have worked with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the decades. 
 

During the past few activities, Mary has been declining to attend these and Amanda has been wondering what we could have done to encourage Mary out.

During our individual room visit, as part of resident of the day, Amanda used the About me book with Mary and spoke about her love for The Beach. Mary agreed that on a nice day we could go because she forgot about that. This even extended to her wanting to go on a scenic road via the Larhilloch where she sometimes had food with her family.

On the outing, Mary was delighted to watch the waves from the bus, sing songs with Amanda and then had a delightful bag of chips with Salt and Vinegar.

Mary was so delighted and her smile was so bright. We had a wonderful time.  

We have agreed to do this again in the future. 

On a beautiful summer evening, Wilton Place welcomed Beavers from the 1st Wilton Scout Group. Residents joined the children in a range of activities in the courtyard garden and Bistro. There was lots of fun and smiles from all involved and after thanking the children for their visit, one of our residents presented them with their well-deserved badges.

Yesterday, Geanina was delighted to introduce our new Head Chef, Michael.

Following our residents' meeting, residents and their families enjoyed a wonderful variety of food to taste . Everyone gave very positive feedback. Michael also handed out the new menu and took time to chat with our residents about the food they enjoy and any concerns they may have.

He received a very warm welcome and we are very pleased to have Michael with us at Hilton Park.

This week, we have embraced healthy eating and emphasised the significance of our dietary choices. Our residents enjoyed delightful fruit skewers and freshly made smoothies, which were delivered directly to their rooms across all communities.

From June 9th to 13th, we celebrate Healthy Eating Week, an initiative organised by the British Nutrition Foundation. This annual event encourages everyone to make small yet impactful changes to enhance their lifestyles, health, and overall wellbeing.

At Brampton View, we understand the vital role of providing a well-balanced, nutritious diet for all of our residents. Our Head Chef, Glenn Coombs, is committed to creating a menu that ensures our residents receive their daily essential nutrients. Careful menu planning is crucial to accommodate the diverse dietary needs of all our residents, allowing us to support their health and wellbeing effectively.

At Derham House supporting residents to enjoy outings, shopping, meals out and other trips is a key aspect of the weekly activities calendar. 

Our Residents from Derham House enjoyed a trip out to The Dementia and Music Social Club who organise a fantastic event for those living with Dementia. These lively sessions use familiar songs to spark memories and encourage participation, often leading to singing and dancing. Crucially, these clubs also provide a vital social outlet, connecting residents with each other and staff, which helps combat isolation and boosts their overall well-being.

Regular outings are just one aspect of our life enrichment program and all the trips we take are at the request of the residents. Our monthly activities calendar boasts a range of outings and entertainment.

This week, we enjoyed a wonderful gardening activity in our home, bringing a splash of colour to our outdoor space. Residents gathered together outside to plant a variety of beautiful flowers in our high planters, which were perfectly positioned to make the activity accessible and comfortable for everyone. The bright blooms instantly lifted the atmosphere, adding vibrant reds, yellows, and purples to our garden.

It was a lovely sight as a couple of families joined in the fun, making it a special intergenerational activity. Visiting family members worked alongside their loved ones, sharing stories, laughter, and plenty of smiles. The simple act of planting flowers sparked lovely conversations and allowed everyone to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.

Activities like these not only beautify our surroundings but also provide meaningful moments of connection, relaxation, and creativity for our residents. The sense of accomplishment was clear on everyone’s faces as they admired the finished planters. We are all looking forward to watching the flowers grow and bloom over the coming weeks, bringing ongoing joy to residents, staff, and visitors alike.

We have been celebrating Carers Week, recognising the invaluable contributions made by our dedicated carers within our home. This is an annual campaign to raise awareness of the countless unpaid carers who play a significant role in supporting their families and communities, as well as the thousands of care staff who unite to provide essential support and highlight the critical importance of caring.

Throughout the week, Brampton View Care Home has organised activities, allowing residents to create heartfelt thank-you cards for their carer’s. A meaningful way for residents to express their appreciation for the tireless work that carers do to enhance their health and wellbeing.

In a gesture of gratitude, carers were presented with small token of thanks to honour the vital role they play in the home. Mo Masedi, General Manager, expressed her heartfelt appreciation for the carers, stating, "Thank you all so much for the dedicated work you do. I am incredibly proud of each and every one of you here at the home. Carers are the backbone of our organisation! We need compassionate and empathetic individuals like you to provide the exceptional support that our residents rely on every day."

Carers Week serves as a reminder of how essential caring is to our society, we are committed to celebrating and acknowledging the incredible work of our carers.

Our wonderful carers we thank you for all your hard work and commitment and so as a little extra treat we arranged a visit from Craig AKA MR WHIPPY ICE CREAM VAN MAN

Our hard working and committed care team enjoyed an ice cream visit in honour of 'National Carers Week' and they went down a treat on such a hot day!

It's never as dull day with our fun loving care team and this was a well deserved small gesture to say THANK YOU for being the best! 
 

Animal therapy is one of the cornerstones of our life enrichment program and features regularly on our resident-led weekly activity planner.

Our Residents enjoyed a visit from Evie's Owls this week and there was even a baby owl know as an Owlet. Residents at Ashfields Care Home were allowed to handle the Owls and they Owls also made some room visits. Smiles and twit twoo's alround.

Residents at Ashfields Care Home love the animal therapy sessions that our dedicated Activities Team organise. As one of the foundations of our Life Enrichment program, we know that animal therapy can help reduce blood pressure and improve overall cardiovascular health. 

Regular outings are just one aspect of our life enrichment program and all the trips we take are at the request of the residents. Our monthly activities calendar boasts a range of outings and entertainment.

Our Residents enjoyed a trip to the Norfolk Broads and enjoyed messing about by the water. Some cake and Ice cream was truly deserved and looks like the ducks and Swans enjoyed keeping them company.

By taking regular feedback and requests from our residents we can enhance our life enrichment program to suit the interests of the residents.

Our residents enjoyed a day out at Knockhatch Adventure Park, supporting the International Day of play. Whilst out and about we met the Meerkats and many of our residents helped feed them their lunch. Great Fun! Many thanks to Sophie for providing a very informative talk.

So the weather was not on our side for our recent Music Festival, no problem, we brought the music indoors. Guy Sunshine with others, provided the brightness indoors, to bring joy to our residents in an engaging fun afternoon of music and merriment. 

Staff and residents at Iris Court care home in Hitchin have invited neighbours, and friends from the local community to enjoy an interactive Dementia friendly performance “Escape to the sea “with playwright and actress Jenny Ayres.

As part of the homes monthly carers café which is held on every second Thursday of the month from 10:30am, residents from within the local community were invited to join to attend the performance whilst enjoying tea, coffee and cake whilst being able to discover more about living with dementia and this condition, with Alzheimer’s society, and other guests in attendance there was plenty of support on hand for the community.  

The escape to the sea performance is wonderfully engaging for all, with a fabulous story, plenty of props and interaction with the audience allowing for plenty of reminiscence over fond memories or family trips to the seaside and holidays.

Hosting events for friends and family members to join us is an essential part of our activities program and we are always looking for new ideas to bring the wider community into our home.

Daily activities for our Residents at Ritson lodge are an important part of our lifestyle enrichment programme. Our Activities team take regular feedback from the Residents  to ensure that we create a fun packed day every day.

Our Head Chef Tom loves getting involved to help the Residents hone their baking and catering skills so that everyone can enjoy the sumptuous goodies that they make.

At Ritson Lodge we have a whole team approach and all our departments love to bring a smile to our Residents and also keep them engaged in daily actvities.

Another wonderful afternoon enjoyed by our lovely ladies! Our residents spent time at one of their favourite picnic spots – the beautiful Milton Country Park .

They soaked up the fresh air, sipped coffee, and watched the ducks and swans gracefully swimming by. Audrey has even added the outing to her diary, looking forward to returning soon with her daughter.

A truly delightful day filled with smiles and serenity. 

Braeburn  was full of excitement as they prepared for a trip to Tiny Steps Petting Farm in Thurlby.

Residents Joan and Brenda were very excited to meet animals such as donkeys, pigs and goats at Tiny Steps Petting Farm. The residents were captivated as they were shown how to safely feed the animals, as well as learning interesting facts like that goats do not have any front upper teeth! It was a morning filled with joy as both Brenda and Joan loved being able to be so close to such a variety of animals.
 

This week, our residents enjoyed a wonderful music therapy. We gathered together in a cosy circle, creating an inviting and relaxed atmosphere where everyone could participate and feel included.

Various musical instruments were laid out for the residents to choose from — drums, tambourines, shakers, and maracas. The familiar feel of the instruments brought smiles and sparked happy memories. As the session began, we started singing classic old tunes that many of our residents fondly remember from their younger days. The familiar melodies encouraged many to sing along, tap their feet, or gently sway to the rhythm.

The simple act of making music together fostered a beautiful sense of community. Residents who might usually be quiet found themselves joining in, encouraged by our staff and visitors. The sound of the drums, the soft jingling of the tambourines, and the singing created a fantastic atmosphere that filled the room with positive energy.

Music therapy offers not only entertainment but also emotional and cognitive benefits, stimulating memories, reducing anxiety, and enhancing overall wellbeing. We look forward to many more sessions where music continues to bring us all closer together.

As we hit midweek and half way through International Carers Week, we would like to say a huge thank you to our very special and dedicated carers.

These are just a few and we know we owe so much to so many.

Barchester have gifted our caring staff with a huge box of cadburys chocolates to say thanks.

Our residents, colleagues and family members wrote special cards of thanks and we said a really heartfelt thank you.

Valerie had a wonderful morning at Lethen Park with the support of her beloved husband, Mike. Recently, Valarie has been spending time in her room due to mobility issues and waiting for a new wheelchair. Today, Valerie was in a very pleasant mood and was feeling so confident in herself that her beloved husband, Mike, helped her attend the daily events. Valerie really enjoyed the therapy dog visit by Toby and was so happy to interact with the dog and was able to enjoy Toby in her lap. 

This brought Valerie a great sense of pride and joy and a huge smile on her face. Valerie enjoyed the texture of the dog's fur and the warmth of his fur. After this activity, this then led to Valerie attending the Knitting and Nattering club with her husband, Mike. Valerie enjoyed chatting with Mike about her love for walking, her love for nice weather. During the Club, Valerie was not able to participate in the knitting however really enjoyed the nattering element and holding the ball of wool for other residents.

Valerie was so very calm and relaxed and really enjoyed this wonderful morning so very much. Amanda followed up on this activity by printing off the photos and presenting them to Valerie as a reminder about her wonderful day away from her room.  

Here at Woodside, we welcomed back the fantastic miniature donkey for well-being. We had a gathering in the atrium and went room to room for those that couldn’t join us.  

It never fails to bring surprise and smiles along with a lot of comfort and joy. We can’t bring all the smiling faces to you, but believe us when we say that taking a donkey bedside is something amazing to be part of.

Happy Birthday to Don and many happy returns.

Don had a lovely day with his wife and grand children and a party of friends who all came to see him and share his cake and a glass or two of champagne 

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the wonderful scholars from Micklefield school. Your fantastic assistance in making and designing cushions for our residents was truly appreciated!
From crafting beautiful designs to delivering them with bright smiles, your kindness and creativity have made a significant impact in the lives of our residents and community.

The launch of our Dementia disco was quite simply more fantastic than we had thought it would be.
We enjoyed an hour and a half with a live DJ playing all our favourite songs from a playlist and requests made in the evening. We had a glow station with lots of fun things for our residents to wear and enjoy, from ties, bracelets and wands.

The evening was a huge success, way more than we had first imagined, giving residents, staff and families a chance to connect, and enjoy letting their hair down. Our DJ left the evening feeling fulfilled and said “that has given me a real sense of satisfaction that I haven’t had from any event I’ve done, and I’ve been a DJ for over 20 years.”

Kate and Sarah danced the whole time and were both disappointed when the night came to a close. Others danced, sat relaxed and then danced some more. It's safe to say we all slept well that night.