Celebrating life at Barchester

Mortain Place care home, sovereign harbour, Eastbourne, has invested heavily in supporting and enriching the lives of its Dementia residents in their memory lane area. The recent addition of a Lifesize Touch TV, has brought joy to many residents, adding sensory fun and stimulation into their daytime actions.

The Magic table, effectively a large touch pad tablet type device, exposes the residents to gaming and activities in an innovative way which stimulates their daily pursuits. The sensory element really gets the residents thinking, promoting the thought processes and engaging with them in a fun, challenging way, invigorating them with speed challenging stimulation and gameplay they all know and love.

This level of application, required by the resident improves dexterity and improves cognitive responses promoting a pastime which is enjoyable and competitive on many different levels. Fun games which can be played, are old favourites such as noughts and crosses, traditional crosswords, Hangman, Pool Player over a green baize and interactive apps such as Street view, putting the residents in the heart of the action, or allowing them to reminisce by visiting streets where they used to live or visit as a youngster.

The most popular game is of course the traditional Pinball machines mode, enabling the home to flourish with its own band of enthusiastic Pinball Wizards! The unit is robust, completely mobile and allows residents to interact with it, even when they are unwell or in bed. The safety glass is reassuring given the touchscreen element and the unit is height adjustable. If residents prefer less interaction, then watching a group of highly social dolphins meandering around a large fish tank can provide its own stimulation and engagement. Mortain Place care home, believe the beauty of this resource is that residents have a choice and the flexibility of the use sparks the minds of residents bringing joy to all, allowing them to explore their imagination in a unique and fulfilling way. 

Our residents enjoyed a delightful afternoon out at the Heritage Lounge, where we attended their Forgotten Favourites afternoon event. The ladies enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea followed by a bucks fizz or sherry. The perfect accompaniment to a relaxing and sociable outing. 

The room was filled with wonderful music and there were plenty of opportunities to sing along to our  much loved favourites , bringing back happy memories and lots of smiles.

It was also a lovely chance to meet new members of our community who joined the event for the afternoon, as our residents enjoyed chatting away and sharing stories. 

We even finished the afternoon joining the heritage staff for a dance together. A wonderful afternoon filled with laughter and great company. 

Residents, Families and Staff came together to help raise funds for Salisbury hospice charity. The idea was to see out the last day of January with Flip Flops and Flowers. Flip Flops are a little tricky at Milford House, so it was all about the art, cake and flowers for us. Such a fun way to say goodbye to January and look forward to the Spring whilst supporting our local hospice along the way.

A wonderful morning spent with the delightful children from Ferndown First School, reading together, chatting about stories and favourite books. 
It's always such a treat when the children visit . The benefits for the children and the residents are enormous. We are looking forward to the next visit already.

We are delighted to have added to our services a new high-tech touch pad for the home. A care home which provides expert care to residents with mobility restrictions as well as those living with dementia, the sensory trolley has allowed residents of all capacities and mobilities to enjoy different, sensory experiences without even leaving their rooms.

The specially-adapted, fully-accessible display features immersive technology, which enables users to move shapes, colours and objects through gesture and movement. The touch pad has a number of features designed to help those suffering with dementia to relax; the cart also helps de-escalate stressful and upsetting situations experienced by those suffering with different forms of the disease.