Activities at Ottley House Care Home
At Ottley House, we offer a person-centred activities programme, and aim to match residents' abilities and interests with meaningful activities of the correct degree of challenge that promotes their health and well-being. We also provide visual, tactile, audible and olfactory sensory experiences. There are weekly music/movement therapy sessions, 'Oomph' sessions, and arts & crafts classes to help improve, maintain and refine motor skills. We enjoy regular visits from entertainers, musicians and animal therapists, as well as pub nights, 'food from around the world' days, and minibus outings to places of interest.
Cath Smallman
Hi, I'm Cath, the Activities Coordinator here at Ottley House. My days are spent making sure that the residents in the home have an interesting and active social programme to enjoy each day. Residents individual preferences are considered all the time in a person centred approach and I welcome feedback from families too.
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Ottley House Care Home
Shrove Tuesday
There was plenty of fun and laughter, as we celebrated Pancake Day. Our kitchen staff made a mountain of pancakes for us to try, with lots of fillings, both sweet and savoury. We made sure to save some to show off our tossing skills!
Valentine's Day
Ottley House celebrated Valentine’s Day by presenting each resident with a rose and a chocolate heart. Two student nurses on placement from Glyndwr University, were also here to help share the day of love.
Christmas Decorations
Ottley House is ready for Christmas with festive decorations, put up by our activity team and residents, who enjoyed the activity by singing Christmas songs, eating warm gingerbread men and drinking hot chocolate.
Patchwork Quilt
Residents had a fun afternoon, making patchwork quilt together with our activity coordinators. Residents have created the design of the quilt themselves and are even teaching the staff a thing or two about needlework.
Awards Night
Staff, residents and visitors have been casting their votes over the last 3 months for their winners in 8 categories: Lifetime Achievement, Barchester Values, Residents' safety, Behind the Scenes, Outstanding Team or Individual, Commitment to Learning, Unsung Hero and Ottley Award.
After the winners had been announced and present with certificate and prize, staff were then entertained by local singer, Paul Watkins. A great night was had by all.
Namaste Care Programme
For the past 3 years Barchester Healthcare’s Dementia Care Team along with staff at Hagley Place and Ottley House have been working with Worcester University (Association for Dementia Studies) undertaking research into the benefits of Namaste Care for those individuals living with advanced dementia.
Namaste Care is a structured daily programme focusing on the 5 main senses with an emphasis on therapeutic touch within a dedicated room which needs to provide a calming and relaxing ambience through lighting and aromas.
The research, which was funded by the Alzheimer’s Society, involved key staff being trained in Namaste Care Approaches, development/implementation of Namaste Care, ongoing support and evaluating the outcomes of Namaste Care.
The research findings concluded that there was a reduction in distress, improvements in quality of life and an increase in alertness, awareness, communication, fluid intake and weight gain for those residents who participated.
To celebrate the end of the research all involved within the programme were invited to Worcester University to share their success stories and discuss future plans for Namaste care provision within their workplace.
A huge thank you to the staff from Barchester who undertook this research and continue to enhance Dementia Care provision within their homes.
