Activities at Highview House Care Home

Dochgarroch Primary School kindly donated gifts which they had collected for the residents at Highview. The residents were overjoyed at their kindness. We put all the gifts on a trolley and went round to each resident who choose something from the trolley. We are looking forward to the time we can welcome the children back to visit as part of the homes intergenerational links.

Residents and staff at Highview in Inverness celebrated Mother Earth Day with gifts from their local community of tomatoes plants and peppers to be able to plant in the homes greenhouse and they are now looking forward to tasting the produce as they grow!

Highview Nursing Home marked International Purple Day today, part of Epilepsy Awareness Day. All staff and resident’s got into the spirit of the day by wearing something purple as they showed their support.

In the UK alone over 600,00 people suffer from Epilepsy, that’s one in every 100 people. Around 87 people are diagnosed with Epilepsy every day.

Residents enjoyed baking cakes and decorating them with purple icing, we also choose read out aloud beautiful poems written by families whose loved ones have suffered from Epilepsy and displayed on a purple poetry board for all to read.  Everyone had a lovely day!

Residents and staff at Highview celebrated all things Irish for St Patrick’s Day this week. The home was decorated with shamrocks and everyone got dressed up in green to mark the day.

Staff and residents at the home marked the day by making shamrock decorations, learning some Irish words and phrases, learning Irish dances and listening to Irish music.

General Manager, Elsbeth Russell said: “Our residents have all had a brilliant day today, everyone has enjoyed the festivities – I think we all agree St Patrick’s Day is the best of all the saints days!  We had a fantastic time listening to Irish music and watching Irish dancing, we sampled some lovely Irish whiskeys too.”

For residents at Highview House care home in Inverness, the long awaited reunion with two family members has become a reality, as two named visitors are now allowed to visit each resident in their bedroom.  Family members must visit separately, at different times.

There has been much anticipation of this moment by families and residents alike.  Guidance was issued by the Scottish Government at the end of February and Barchester Healthcare, who run Highview 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.

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 relatives enjoyed getting together and catching up face to face.

Residents are enjoying a virtual reality headset which has taken them to destinations far and wide and is proving very popular!  The Oculus Quest is taking them virtually to places they have never been able to see and for some they have already taken in the sights of Venice, Toronto and Jamaica.

The Oculus allows residents to experience visits in 3D,meaning they can turn their heads and see what is to the sides and behind just as if they were there in person. For one resident, a trip to Toronto a place which holds special memories was a joyful occasion.