Activities at Hafan-Y-Coed Care Home

This month some of our residents have been treated to some fabulous mini bus outings. Our first trip was on the Gwilli Steam Train for afternoon tea. While the train route gave a fantastic scenic route of  beautiful West Wales, everyone enjoyed a cream tea of scones with jam and cream and unlimited amounts of tea and coffee. Our Monthly visit went down a treat with a minibus full of excited residents who attended the cream tea with musical entertainment at local Selwyn Samuel Venue. You can see by everyone's faces what a lovely afternoon of music and dancing was had by all who went. Another trip, this time for our Gents, was enjoyed with a meal at the local Beefeater pub, where they chatted, enjoyed a lovely meal, washed down by a pint of bitter of course!! 

Our February themed event was enjoyed by our residents, family and friends and of course our wonderful staff who always get involved in ensuring fun events are a regular occurrence.

The idea behind this event was to bring back fond memories of typical TV programmes and well known films that would have been enjoyed over the decades. It prompted many conversations and memories across the home when planning the event. Images of well know TV characters were made into bunting, cinema tickets were given out to make it feel like a real cinema experience and Nachos and dips were also given out to enjoy during the evening. Many people joined in the fun with fancy dress attire. While our activities team took on the part of being the Ghost-busters, others opted for larger costumes such as our very own Jurassic park dinosaur (AKA our Manager Sarah Morgan) many of our residents dressed up with face-mask's of other well known famous faces along with family members who were also such good sports.

The quiz started off with a general knowledge film and TV round, followed by a famous faces round and to finish off the evening, a name that TV show musical round which had everyone singing along to popular shows! Our winners all enjoyed a hamper to share with their team which was filled with some delicious treats. We will be enjoying a monthly themed evening and encourage families and friends to join us!

Residents had a wonderful day celebrating our Patron Saint of Wales. We started the day with  some tradditional baking where residents and staff got together to make delicious Welsh cakes. Art sessions took place on all communities and the completed pictures were put on display for all to enjoy the beautiful bright daffodil images. 

The afternoon was enjoyed with a Welsh musical arrangement by the wonderful Chris Caine. Residents sang and danced along while also enjoying some beautiful Welsh cakes prepared that morning. Welsh rarebit and cockles, along with Cawl were prepared by the kitchen team for residents to enjoy during the Welsh themed dining experience.  

Children's choir from local school, Stebonheath Primary joined us to sing their hearts out for the residents singing modern and traditional Welsh songs. Everyone said how much they enjoyed the performance. Thank you once again for joining us.

Ensuring our residents sense of "identity" is maintained is one of the domains of wellbeing in dementia care. 

One of our residents said "I am very patriotic and proud to be Welsh. Whenever I meet someone new it's one of the first things I love to say about myself. I am Welsh and speak Welsh". 

We go above and beyond to recognise what is important to each and every resident and what "identity" means to them. 

At Hafan Y Coed we recognise that our staff's wellbeing not only benefits our employees but our residents too. 

We often ensure events are held within the home for our staff's wellbeing and this month held a holistic therapy day. Staff were treated to a massage in our relaxation and meditation room. 

Clare said "it was amazing to have a little time out to relax and unwind. I went back to work after my massage revitalised and full of energy" 

It has been proven that when employers ensure staff's wellbeing is taken in to consideration, it can help reduce stress, anxiety and promote a happier culture and environment to work in along with improved productivity. 

Happy staff = Happier residents 

It was our second annual awards night which saw the whole home come together to celebrate the wonderful staff we have within the home. Over the last few weeks, categories were devised and voting cards printed. Staff, residents, families and friends were all given the opportunity to vote for the staff who deserved an award. The votes were counted and verified ahead of our glitz and glamour evening.

The evening arrived and the theme for the evening was ‘Bright colours’. Staff in teams got together to create a coloured board of food and drink to share amongst everyone who attended. We had, Blue, yellow, orange, rainbow, beige, green, pink and purple to match each table which was brightly decorated. The boards were fantastic and the VIP awards decorations hung around the room.

During the evening the 20 different awards were handed out, from carer of the year to team of the year, there was an opportunity for all departments to win. Prosecco and goodie bags were presented with certificates and their name boldly displayed on the giant projector. Manager Sarah said “It was an opportunity to recognise staff who go above any beyond in their roles and I was more than happy with the chosen winners”.

Studies have shown that residents living with Dementia are able to learn new skills. We are always looking at new ideas to capture our residents interests. This week we found that some of our ladies were keen to pick up new tips and advice on how to apply make-up. Residents asked many questions during the live make-up demonstration and were keen to have a go themselves. Our Activities Coordinator (A previous make-up artist) demonstrated the different looks that can be achieved, which brushes to use and which colours suit which skin types. Our ladies were thrilled to model, along with some of our staff meeting everyone’s self-esteem needs.