11/04/2025
I am and have been acutely aware that our updates have fallen behind of late and I hold my hands up and take responsibility for this, so please accept my apologies, we are still here having fun and being our usual crazy loveable homes
I wanted to do a bit of a different post to bring us back and whilst I am including an abundance of photos of our beautiful residents, I wanted to pay some attention to those making everything happen daily for the residents; my teams
Working in a care home is not by any means easy, gone are the days of it being for the untrained or unqualified, it often feels like a continuous cycle of training and upskilling, supervision appraisals and meetings. Care plans risk assessments and reviewing, assurance and compliance. Rules and regulations come and go and practices changes and at times it feels like they have changed before we have often understood them. However, working in care is about more than adhering to compliance, it’s about dedication, passion and commitment, physical endurance and mental resilience, to put the residents at the centre of everything we do, to make time and to smile even on the hardest days.
To make an environment that enriches and supports residents, making them feel safe and happy, that promotes inclusion and empowers takes more than carers, it takes cleaners, cooks, activity assistant, it’s the gardener, maintenance man, the managers, it’s the volunteers and work placements, it takes every single person in a team to make it great.
It isn’t the things that they always do within their set roles, that makes our teams special, it’s their attitude to team working, in ensuing the residents and the homes run the best they can every day, they may be carers but they can cook, they may be cooks but they can clean, they may be activity assistants but they support and care, work days but will work nights, works at one home but will go to the other, if the team needs it someone comes through with it and they do so with a willingness for the good of the residents
It’s really easy to just say this is our jobs, what we chose to do it, but every now and again it’s really important to recognise the amazing individuals we have working for us and the teams they are.
So whilst we may have been quiet on here we have been really nosily working through the challenging dark months We have fought winter related illnesses and weathered lives battering, we have said some sad goodbyes and fond farewells, we have welcomed many new members to our little homes and we hope they will all be happy whilst with us.
We are coming out of hibernation and are ready to flourish, we have some fantastic activity ideas in the planning both as individual homes and together, and we hope to see you join us for some upcoming events.
Our employees of the month have continued to be recognised and this month we recognise Ben Mercy the one who makes everything tick and run, he ensures we are safe and functioning efficiently 24/7
He is the maintenance man 🧑🔧 the gardener 👨🌾 the fire officer 👮♂️ furniture builder and remover 🛏️🪑 the decorator 🖌️ the collection and delivery man 🧍♂️ his name is the one that is said most in any one week in either home; and not just by me 🙈🤣 he’s recognised this month for working incredibly hard on our fire risk assessment and ensuring we are the very safest we can be for our staff and residents -he is a pure example of what this appreciation post is about!
So I sign off this post with a heartfelt thank you to our wonderful teams without whom we wouldn’t have the homes we do 💕
To put photos into some context activities we have covered include
Comic relief
St Patrick’s day ☘️
Shrove Tuesday 🥞
World book day 📕
Valentine’s day 💘
Arts and crafts 🎨
Walks 🚶♂️➡️
Coffees and cakes 🍰
Shopping 🛍️
Birthdays, birthdays, birthdays 🎈
Exercises 🤸🏼♂️🏋🏽🧘🏻♀️
Gardening 👨🌾
Music 🎶
Let’s keep the sun shining ☀️ we are more than ready for you
