Celebrating life at Barchester

We celebrated with Joan her 100th birthday, this day was even more special as very recently Joan beat COVID-19. So the day was filled with happiness with skype calls from family in Bristol and Australia singing and wishing her a very happy birthday.

It was also made special with her daughter and family members coming to the home to sing her happy birthday with a huge specially made banner, which Joan enjoyed while standing at her window.

After lunch Joan enjoyed birthday cake and trifle and read all her cards including a special one from the Queen.

Happy 100th birthday Joan from all of us at Overslade House!

Thank you for all you're doing to look after our families during these unsettling times.

Our residents have been clapping for the Barchester team and all key workers every Thursday for their hard work and dedication.

Today it was our turn to thank them! Our residents have been nothing but wonderful during this difficult time, they are the reason we do what we do. We have laughed, cried, loved and lost- but we have done this together.

Our staff have been writing ‘Thank you for being you’ cards for the residents with their own personal message. The photo above is resident Lydia receiving her card.

St Thomas has been keeping in touch with the community during the lockdown, and have been thrilled to receive cards of kindness and support.

We have also received a personalised plaque, after one of the care team joined a community Facebook group.

These cards and the plaque have given a real boost to the residents and staff, and the residents love reading the cards and talking about the pictures.

Where the senders of the postcards have given their address, the residents have written back to them to say hello and thank you.

Our lovely smile board is really cheering us all up. We have received letters, pictures and cards from the local community. They mean so much to our residents and staff. Thank you.

The residents of Chester Court have been very lucky to receive lots of lovely mail and gifts from the local community, and were delighted to receive their new friends from the home's local Samaritans branch in the form of Sams Bears. The bears are to help anyone know that they are not alone during this unprecedented period.

Residents at Chester Court, with support from the care team, have found a sweet way to stay in touch with their families and friends during the coronavirus outbreak (despite not being able to have visitors) by writing postcards home to their loved ones. The postcards are enabling residents in a very touching way to let their friends and families know they are doing okay at this difficult and uncertain time.

It is vitally important that we ensure that our residents can remain in contact with their family and friends during this time. New technology is great for this purpose, and Skype and FaceTime is available, but of course, a good old fashioned letter is just as welcome!

My husband has always been dealt with respect and love - this team is a credit to you as their employers and your biggest asset - please value them.

The corridors of Cheshire Grange were brightened up with some colourful & crazy hair styles, as staff sported some weird and wonderful bouffants. This was not only to bring a smile to everyone’s faces, but to help raise funds for a local community initiative, set up by one of our carer's partners, to help families hardest hit by the current situation.

The day was a great success, and a total £145 was raised for the fund in-house on the day, along with over another £100 donated to the Just Giving page by families and friends who couldn’t join us.

An international pandemic was not going to let organisers of the Royal Chelsea Flower Show or residents at Flowerdown stop celebrating the event, as it was moved to a digital format.

Taking place between 18^th – 24^th May, the world’s greatest flower show went digital, and brought an exciting line-up of world-leading designers, plant experts, and practical gardening advice – all enjoyed from the comfort of your own home.

In celebration, the RHS and BBC1’s The One Show, joined forces to launch a competition to celebrate ‘Virtual Chelsea’, asking green fingered fans to share images of green spaces and gardens – and hear how plants are helping them through these challenging times. Of course, residents at Flowerdown were keen to get involved.

Residents thoroughly enjoyed flower arranging, planting seasonal flowers and seeds ready to be planted into our garden or simply enjoying the lovely weather in beautiful surroundings.

The Chelsea Flower Show is a much loved event at the home, and residents get so much from spending time in our gardens. In these unprecedented times, we are so lucky that the residents can still enjoy the peaceful green spaces. Our dedicated gardening team made up of staff and residents alike work over-thyme to get our garden beautiful for the summer, and some of them loved the competition element of the Flower Show this year. Continuing to provide a range of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities for our residents is more important than ever, and we continue to ensure that the group activities are smaller, adhering to the government's social distancing guidelines.

I will never forget your friendship and kindness you showed to myself too when I went in. We shared so much laughter and hugs, it was like you became an extended family to me. The entertainment and offerings you provided put a constant smile on my mum’s face, and mine too.

It’s easy to get lonely in a time of isolation, which is why we have been writing postcards with our residents this week to keep in touch with loved ones.

We’ve also received some great letters and pictures from our pen pals and local community, which we have displayed here at Bamfield Lodge.

Our residents have enjoyed receiving these and sending responses back to their pen pals. It has really helped to brighten our days!

Staff at Beaufort Grange were joined by local police personnel to clap for key workers in the community. As a way of saying thank you to the staff at Beaufort Grange, Avon and Somerset Constabulary gifted chocolate eggs to all staff and residents at the care home. Beaufort Grange staff then joined the police to clap and cheer to express appreciation for the effort being made by key workers to keep people safe and well during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We here at Beaufort Grange are incredibly grateful for the outstanding services provided by key workers. We have been overwhelmed by the kindness shown by our local community. Many people have brought flowers and cards for staff and residents. We have also received homemade face masks, visors, and kit bags, which have been a great help to our staff.”

We are planning to host a garden party for our local community once lockdown has ended and it is safe to do so. We are looking forward to being able to see everyone and express our thanks for everyone’s efforts.

Activity Coordinators, Jamie and Elizabeth, proudly displayed their colourful banner outside the home in an effort to boost community spirit in the area and remind people to keep smiling through these difficult times.

Bamfield Lodge would like to thank everyone in the local area for all of the care and support since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The last few months have been a challenge, as with all care services, but we have been overwhelmed with supportive pictures, messages, and care packages.

Staff at Red Oaks had a surprise parcel from a member of the Henfield under-8’s football team bearing gifts.

7 year old Ewan and his mum came to Red Oaks with a big box of quality hand creams for the staff at Red Oaks. The attached letter stated: “The team wanted to say a huge thank you for all the amazing work you always do at the care home, but particularly what you have been doing to support people during these challenging times. We understand that your hands are getting very dry and sore from using lots of hand sanitiser, so we hope that these hand creams help.”

In these unprecedented times, it is very touching that community groups are thinking about the NHS and the social care sector and being so generous in support.

It can feel a little lonely when you can’t have your family around you and the staff have to distance socially. Thankfully, we now have a large quantity of empathy dolls and robotic companion cats, and they are very comforting to hold and cuddle.

We do not share them at the moment, but we have enough for those residents who need a little loving. The best of all is perhaps that they neither answer back nor do they scratch, even when you poke them in the eye.

There are no words to tell you how grateful I am to this wonderful, fantastic place. Barchester should be proud and privileged to have such a wonderful care home under their name.