Month: December 2016

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year – our service will be running as normal throughout the festive season!

If you need to speak to someone throughout the Christmas period, please head to our contact page for all the information you’ll need: http://altogethercare.co.uk/contact-us/

Thank you for all your support
throughout 2016!

Nutrition is important in any stage of life. We are encouraged from an early age to eat a varied diet in order to ‘grow big and strong’. But as we get older and our bodies begin changing again, re-evaluating how nutrition affects us is important – good nutrition makes a difference to our health, appearance and our overall mental wellbeing.

Clearly older adults have different nutritional needs and will have different struggles when it comes to their relationships with food.  As we age we may experience perceptual changes such as the loss or a lower impact of smell and taste – this can have a huge impact on our relationship with foods, our appetite and eventually our nutrition.

We may also experience bodily functional changes such as the loss of teeth, how our bodies react with food or becoming newly allergic to certain food – these changes can be embarrassing when eating in a social environment and may encourage some older adults to eat less or avoid meal times all together.

Circumstantial changes such as financial concerns, loss of a partner or personal safety concerns may also be experienced by some of us – and for those affected by this it can hit them worse with the stress affecting their appetite, interest in food and ultimately the amount of nutritious food that is consumed.

Age UK predict that over 1 million people over the age of 65 are either malnourished or at risk of malnourishment. For those receiving care, a person centred approach to help tackle this becomes key. Understanding an individual’s relationships and potential struggles with different food gives you the ability to craft a diet that can provide nutrition without causing potential difficulties.

This understanding, attention to detail and individual driven approach is what will really make the most impact on an older adult receiving care. To cater for individuals, promoting healthy wellbeing that suits their needs should be at the top of any care settings agenda.

Staff at Sherborne House Care Home in Yeovil raised almost £80 for The Alzheimer’s Society by dressing up as Christmas Elves for the day, on Thursday 8^th December.

Caroline Sharp, Manager at Sherborne House said, ‘We are all in the Christmas spirit and our festive fun has raised £79.40 with donations still coming in. The residents and staff had a great time’.

Sherborne House is soon to expand its facilities and currently has 24 residents. The home provides residential care for local people with dementia.

Weymouth Care Home resident Gwen Lloyd-worth celebrated a very special birthday on 28^th November, reaching the impressive age of 102 years old.

Gwen, who has a daughter and a son, three grandchildren and five great grandchildren lived in Weymouth and in the past worked within the family business running skating at The Sidney Hall in Weymouth. Sadly her husband Stuart passed away several years ago.

Gwen puts her longevity down to healthy eating and at one time grew and ate her own fruit and vegetables and fresh herbs. She has enjoyed eating salad for lunch for many years and adored travelling, including a trip to Australia and a holiday via the Channel Tunnel. A keen dog lover, Gwen once bred Yorkshire Terriers whilst living in Yorkshire.

Born in Southampton in 1914, Gwen later moved to Weymouth where she spent the majority of her life with her family.  As a hobby, Gwen often enjoyed flower arranging and was a member of various local flower clubs.

She moved to Weymouth Care Home three years ago and now enjoys a wide variety of social activities with the other residents and staff.

Gwen’s daughter, Babs Masters said, ‘Mum has always enjoyed leading a healthy lifestyle eating lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. She also has a great sense of humour.  We are delighted that she continues to lead a fulfilling life at Weymouth Care Home. She really enjoyed her party and we are grateful to staff for making her day so special’.