Residents were so happy to be able to finally go out and see some new surroundings; they had a lovely walk around looking at all the beautiful flowers and pottery.

We stopped for a cuppa and some lovely sponge cake; needless to say, they all polished off the cake.

One lucky resident had a surprise when her daughters surprised met her there, which brought a beautiful smile to her face, but the biggest smile was left for her granddaughter, who had not seen her nan for over a year. It was the best feeling ever, seeing them all smiling and laughing together.

We had a wine & cheese afternoon while listening to music from the '60s, as that’s what the residents asked for.

They sampled various cheeses from around the globe; one resident even tried a spicy cheese, which he really liked. Others, however, thought it was terrible. They then washed down those fine cheeses with wines from Italy, California and the UK.                                                                              

On the day, we decorated the cinema room with of images relating to Greece and, in the afternoon, we had a virtual tour of the Greek island. The residents have really enjoyed our virtual round the world trips, so we decided to do another one this time to celebrate Independence Day.

The tour took us from Athens to Mykonos to Halkidiki to the volcanic island of Santorini and the busy night life that it has to offer.

Whilst watching the, tour the residents tucked in to some stuffed peppers with feta cheese and olives with roasted tomatoes garlic and herb sauce.

After the tour ,we had some facts about Greece and independence from the Ottoman Empire.

Roll on the next tour!

Mother's Day Fun.

Residents at Derham House care home celebrated Mother’s Day with a welcome return to indoor visiting. The home was beautifully decorated with fresh flowers for the occasion.

The residents have enjoyed a fantastic afternoon tea and are all very excited about the prospect of loved ones being able to visit again. We all also enjoyed a lovely musical performance by our regular entertainer Carly via our visiting suite.

For residents at Derham House the long awaited reunion with one family member has become a reality, as one single named visitor is now allowed to visit each resident in their bedroom. We have literally rolled out the red carpet for our first visitors.

There has been much anticipation of this moment by families and residents alike.  Guidance was issued by the Government on March 4th and Barchester Healthcare, who run Derham House care home, is proceeding with a safe and cautious approach to visiting. Strict protocols are in place with all visitors required to have a negative Lateral Flow Device test result before being allowed into the home, and infection control measures and social distancing in place for every visit, with hand holding allowed but not recommended.

Despite the need for testing and social distancing, it was still welcome news for so many residents and their family members to be able to meet in the comfort of their bedroom. Residents and their loved ones are enjoying getting together and catching up face to face.

Jackie said: "I would just like to say a big thank you for letting me be your 1st Visitor into Durham house Fox Unit, and to all the staff in Fox unit for making me feel so welcome when I came to visit mum last Thursday, it was the first time I had touched her in nearly a year and it was very emotional, but the staff in Fox unit gave me lots of support. Also, it was the first time I had ever seen inside the unit or mum's room & I was very impressed; her room look lovely all decorated with balloons and mum looks smart and tidy with her hair all nicely set. I would like to thank you all for going the extra mile to make my visit such a memorable one, I’m so happy that mum has settled into Derham House, it’s so reassuring knowing that she is in a safe place and being well looked after. The Admin, carers and Nursing staff are so lovely in Fox unit treating mum with kindness, dignity, compassion and respect also keeping me well informed, I can see mum is very happy in Fox unit. The unit is also very responsive to Mum’s dementia needs.I am looking forward to my next indoor Visit and, moving forward into the coming months when it is safe enough for our family to share a visit together."

Crina Lee, General Manager at the home, said: “This is the first cautious step towards having a buzz of visitors in the home again. It was wonderful to see how happy it made the residents and their relatives. We have a great booking system in place to ensure the visits are well organised, and visitors are doing a great job of following the safety measures to keep everyone as safe as possible.  For those that are not able to come inside the home we are pleased to be able to continue to offer visits in our visiting suites or outdoors when the weather allows”

We are welcoming new residents into our homes to ensure that we are there for those that need care and support, and have a very clear admission policy and infection control protocols that must be met. Please do give us a call on 01708 641441 if you are looking for care or need any further help.

We celebrated International Women's Day at Derham House by encouraging our fantastic female members of staff to dress in either the traditional cultural clothing or to dress as a woman from history who has inspired them 

We later had a disco for the residents and enjoyed music from female artists from around the world.