Activities at Westlake House Care Home
Residents enjoy playing hoopla and bocce bowls, which combine exercise with the thrill of competitive sport. We invite entertainers and musicians to visit the home on a regular basis and residents very much enjoy watching them perform.
We also have our pet therapy dog, Marley, visit the home on a fortnightly basis, and residents love petting him. They also enjoy health and fitness days, where they get the opportunity to participate in armchair exercises and target games.
We always celebrate National Volunteer Week, which we use as a chance to say thank you for the wonderful work that our volunteers do that further enhances the quality of life for those who live at Westlake.
As well as continuing with our favourite activities, such as arts & crafts, bingo, knit & natter, Scrabble, board games, bridge, quizzes, pampers & manicures, reminiscence sessions and musical memories, we always like to launch new activities for residents, which give them the opportunity to socialise with their friends and families. These could be our own vegetable patches, flower arranging sessions, a book club or anything else that our imaginations conjure up.
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 Westlake House Care Home
Carol Concerts
Westlake House got in the Christmas spirit by hosting several carol concerts for all our residents and their guests.
We had the Horsham Harmony Choir join us on the 7th December and the Slinfold Brass Band on 11th December.
We endeavoured to provide residents with something that they could really be excited about in the run up to Christmas and have had lots of treats for the people who live here and their guests. urs.
Knitting for Charity
Residents and staff members from Westlake House have knitted toys to raise money for Guide Dogs, a UK charity.
Guide Dogs aims to support blind and partially-sighted people to get out and about and do the things they want to do. The service uses guiding techniques to help people with sight loss to work towards the mobility goals they want to achieve. This could involve accessing activities and places of interest in the local community, learning familiar routes or improving fitness.
Resident, Mavis, aged 87, said she wanted to knit the toys to raise money for the cause. Mavis said she was 5 years old when her aunt showed her how to knit and added that, throughout her life, she knitted just about everything.
Barchester's 25th Anniversary
Folks at Westlake House had lots of fun celebrating 25 years of Barchester on 19th October.
We got into the spirit of the celebrations with live musical entertainment, cheese & wine, in addition to fresh cakes & pastries, which were enjoyed by residents, staff a visitors alike.
Celebrating Our Oldest Employee!
Edna is our Hostess – she has worked at Westlake House for the past 22 years.
She has lived in Horsham all her life and loves working at the home and having contact with other people.
Residents love chatting with her when she delivers their morning drinks, biscuits and fruits.
General Manager, Elizabeth Higson, has worked with Edna for the last 18 years and says that she is just fantastic and a great team player.
She is pictured here with Head Chef, Ryan, who said that it is a pleasure to work with Edna as she is so caring and informative – she always advises people about the Barchester way.
Nutritional Seminar at Westlake
Our Head Chef, Ryan McFee talked about good nutrition and produced a range of delicious home-made smoothies for everyone to taste. There was also the opportunity for everyone who attended the seminar to ask questions and discuss their favourite smoothies and learn what’s best for a healthy and balanced diet.
We all know that healthy eating is important at every stage of life and not least of all when we are older and our nutritional needs change. Many of us will also agree that eating a delicious meal is one of life’s greatest pleasures and this enjoyment shouldn’t stop when a person moves into care.
At Westlake House, our chefs pride themselves on creating varied menus that change with each season and serve up dishes that taste great and are high in nutritional value.
Ryan McFee, our Head Chef said, ‘’ A great care home also seeks to give people as much choice as possible. We actively seek regular feedback from residents and relatives through meetings, conversations and surveys to make sure that the menus reflect the preferences of the individuals who live at Westlake House’’.
National Cupcake Week
National Cupcake Week (18th – 24th September) has been a real treat at Westlake House, where sweet-toothed staff and residents couldn’t wait to get out their aprons and mixing bowls for the occasion.
The week, organised by British Baker Magazine, is a celebration of all things cupcake and is the perfect excuse to get everybody together for a baking session or a cake decorating class.
Baking is a much-loved hobby for many people who live and work at Westlake House, so it’s no surprise that the week was full of excitement and creativity.
