Meet our Activities Coordinator, Leanne Thompson

I joined the team at Hurstwood View in June 2015 as an Activities Coordinator. I began working within the care industry 12 years ago, beginning as a support worker and outreach coordinator at Headway in Newick. This position paved the way to me attending the University of Northampton to work towards various qualifications within the Acquired Brain Injury field, which I am incredibly proud of.

Most recently, before joining Hurstwood View, I worked with the South East Coast Ambulance service as a full time Emergency Medical Advisor. I was the first point of contact for 999 calls to the ambulance service. This job was incredibly rewarding and fast moving, as you would imagine! In the November of 2013, however, my partner and I had the biggest surprise when we found out that I was pregnant with our first baby, Pippa, who is now fast-approaching the terrible twos. This lead me to find a role which was a little less stressful and allowed me more time to spend with our little girl, and this is how I came to work at Hurstwood View.

I am loving my career as an Activities Coordinator as I really enjoy the arts and crafts, am a keen baker, and love finding interesting places to visit. I particularly enjoy when we have the Pet Pals in, as the residents absolutely love seeing and interacting with the animals, as do I! In the past year we’ve also had many brilliant musicians in, which often leads to a little sing along and a boogie. One of my favourite trips we have been on is to our cherry tree in Northiam where, once a year, we get to go and pick cherries from our own tree, and get to enjoy a picnic in the great outdoors. We also bring plenty home for residents to share with friends! If you want to see more of the sorts of activities we get up to at Hurstwood View then pop by the Life at Our Home section on the website.

Activities at our home

Activities are the cornerstone of a wholesome home experience and our Activities Coordinators are always putting their creative minds to the test by organising new and exciting social events for residents to partake in. Of course, we take into account the likes and dislikes of those we support, so if someone doesn’t feel like trying something new, there will always be something on offer to reflect their personal interests. For the people who may just prefer some peace and quiet instead, we also offer one-to-one time that can be enjoyed with a nice cup of coffee or just a simple chat – whatever they desire.

Life at Hurstwood View Care Home

Hurstwood Birthdays

Birthdays may be celebrated a little differently at the moment, but with plenty of banners, balloons and cake, we have been able to make magical memories during resident garden visits.

Virtual Dog Show

The residents all got involved in judging our virtual pet show. We had lots of lovely entries from the community, staff and relatives.

The winners were chosen by residents and our local pet shop, 'Paws 'n' Claws' supplied some lovely prizes.

All for Pool

Our pool table has been put to good use recently, with a few gentleman starting their own club and regularly meeting for a quick game or 2. They have even been challenging staff members as well!

Hurstwood in Bloom

We have been very lucky that our rose garden keeps on blooming, providing us with wonderful scents and scenery to enjoy a cup of tea and a walk around the garden.

World Chocolate Day

We celebrated World Chocolate Day with a portable tuck shop filled with treats and goodies. Residents got involved in milkshake making and enjoyed a movie afternoon watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Garden Visits

We have opened up our gardens for visits with relatives and it has been an emotional yet happy time for all of us. Everyone has been touched to see their loved ones again and we have been lucky that the weather has mainly stayed nice for us to get outside.