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
Celebrating the Queen's Birthday at Westergate House
Westergate House didn't let the British weather spoil the festivities for the Queen's 90th birthday celebrations - we held our street party indoors on Sunday 12th June. Lunch was in the form of a good ol' fashioned street party buffet, with residents and staff alike dressed up in red, white & blue. There was face painting, entertainment and a huge 90th birthday cake baked by the home's Chef - and everyone had a slice! The home has entered the National Activity Providers Association (NAPA) competitions: A Right Royal Street Party 2016 NAPA Challenge and A Right Royal Novelty Cake Competition. Winners are to be announced later in the year, so fingers crossed!
We are currently looking for volunteers!
Westergate House Care Home is currently looking for volunteers!
Can you spare a couple of hours a week?
Do you enjoy spending time with others?
Would you like to make a real difference to someone’s life?
Westergate House Care Home, next to Fontwell Racecourse, needs you!
We are looking for volunteers who can help with trips out, assist with activities and events, or spend some time chatting to the residents of Westergate House.
We are also launching a ‘buddy scheme’, whereby, we would like to match volunteers and residents to spend time with each other on a regular basis.
Chris Lock, Activities Team Leader, says: "We are always keen for our residents to maintain links with the community; volunteers are key to this. Volunteers are also key to us being able to provide a range of activities and events.”
Volunteers need to be friendly and approachable, have good listening and interpersonal skills, and have a caring, non-judgmental attitude and empathy with our client group.
Any volunteer is subject to a DBS check, the cost of which would be covered by the home.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Paul Middleton, General Manager, Westergate House Care Home
Baking session in Fontwell Lounge
Liz the activity co-ordinator of the unit leads the group. They all enjoy the methods of making a lovely home made cake. They even share stories while the cake is in the oven, and enjoy the results at the end!
Balloon Exercise in Goodwood
One of the residents favourite activity on a daily basis is Balloon exercise. The Residents have a good laugh and encourage other residents to join in. Residents also have a short tea and coffee break in the middle of the session. As they say; a bit of exercise is good for the spirit and food for the body, and laughter is the best medicine!
Employee of the Month - February
Chris who has worked at Westergate for 7 years has just been promoted to Head of Maintenance, well done! He works tirelessly, looking after a building that was built in 1820; which in itself is a challenge on the best of days. He also looks after the 'homes' dog, Jet and can often be found assisting the residents in the communities too. He is a valued member of the team and truly deserving of February's Employee of the Month, congratulations Chris!
Employee of the Month
Paul and the HoDs had already decided to introduce Employee of the Month at the end of last year, with all the festivities at Christmas. January's Employee's of the Month were presented with their prize awards at the homes daily stand up meeting. Our first deserving recipient was Chloe Holmes, one of our fabulous Carers. Chloe has completed her induction folder and met the requirements for the care certificate, as well as the Mandatory units for the VQ. Chloe has now commenced the VQ programme and also scored very well in her functional skills and is thrilled to bits with her results. Laura, the home's trainer, said that Chloe has committed fully to all her training and met all her deadlines.
January's equally deserving recipient was Vanessa Cannon, Admin Assistant. A few people realise that Vanessa, who incidentally has worked here at Westergate for over 10 years, tirelessly working at keeping our website and intranet pages up to date. She scrolls through the multiple photos of events each week to ensure our website illuminates the great work we do at Westergate House to make everyday fulfilling and rewarding for residents, staff and visitors alike.
Congratulations Ladies and thank you!
