Activities at Westergate House Care Home
Our activities team are great at building the activities programme around the likes and interests of the people we care for. Ensuring that our social events offer fun and adventure is part of the ethos of our home; it’s important that those we support can enjoy an active and social lifestyle. Of course, there will always be those who prefer peace and quiet, and in these instances, a cup of tea and a chat are always welcomed.
Lee Austin
My name is Lee and I am the Head of Lifestyle here at Westergate House.
I support our residents daily to do the things they enjoy and it is extremely important to me that we are offering a premium and person centred service to each resident. I support our residents on a daily basis by providing meaningful and quality activities either in groups or on a 1:1 basis, to help encourage and build confidence while creating an enjoyable environment for everyone. Westergate House is the home of our residents, we as staff are working in it, so it is extremely important to me that we are respectful of that, while offering a premium and person centred service to each and every resident.
I am a trained actor and professional vocalist and not shy in making a fool of myself. If I do that every day to put a smile on our residents faces then I’m happy I have played my part, along with the rest of the amazing team, to brightening their day. If you hear someone singing along the corridor or see them dancing in the lounges, it will probably be me.
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 Westergate House Care Home
Six Steps+ Accreditation
Westergate House are proud of their newly-awarded Six Step accreditation. The Six Steps+ Programme is a nationally recognised end of life care programme delivered by St Wilfrid’s Hospice.
Two senior members of staff, Preethy Varghese and Laura Giudici, from Westergate House, who are in a position to champion high quality end of life care at the home, have been attending the workshops since September 2016 and have completed their portfolios of evidence.
Resources and guidance were provided by St Wilfrid’s to effect a high standard of end of life care to the elderly frail and the cognitively impaired. Part of the programme devoted focus to the delivery of dementia care and how the life stages can be managed sympathetically, effectively and with dignity and respect.
Employee of the Month - September
Our Employee of the Month for September was Ross Jenkins; he has shown passion, creativity and flair in care-led activities and commitment to supporting his team at short notice.
Employee of the Month - August
Kirsty Moffat is our Employee of the Month for August! Kirsty is brilliant to work with; she's smiling, polite, very helpful and always goes the extra mile. We are lucky to have her here at Westergate and she is a credit to Barchester.
Tangmere Aviation Museum
During a recent residents’ meeting, a wish for a trip to our local Tangmere Aviation Museum was voiced by some of our plane enthusiast residents. This recently took place, with those residents enjoying an uplifting day there.
They were able to experience the cockpit simulators and view the display of historic aircraft, as well as the unique collection of aviation memorabilia.
The warm and friendly staff there enjoyed chatting with the residents and answering their questions, sharing facts about the wars of recent history.
Tea Dance
Those residing within our Memory Lane communities were recently able to enjoy a traditional tea dance at their request, in response to our ‘You Said, We Did’ initiative.
The Eight Beat Jive Company joined us for an amazing full-costume dance performance and sing-along, with music ranging from the '40s, '50s and '60s.
The vibrant atmosphere saw many residents taking to the dance floor themselves, whilst others waved their Union Jack flags patriotically throughout the music, which culminated in a nostalgic rendition of ‘Land of Hope & Glory’ for the finale.
Afterwards, residents partook of the wonderful afternoon tea laid on, which included a variety of delicious homemade cakes, all washed down with copious amounts of tea.
How very British!
Employee of the Month - July
Jackie Simmons was our Employee of the Month for July. She was nominated by quite a few members of staff who had witnessed how hard she was working and going the extra mile in her housekeeping duties.
