Month: August 2017

The benefits of art therapy are wide-ranging – it can help keep the mind active, promote dexterity, and is a great form of self expression.

Residents at Weymouth Care Home recently enjoyed a day of arts and crafts, creating different animals from clay and then painting and glazing them. A selection of animals including a pig and a crocodile were made.

The residents were really pleased with their animals, which will take pride of place in their rooms!

Picture: Val and her crocodile

Two Alpacas dropped into Steepleton Manor on 3^rd August and made friends with residents and staff.  Hurricane and Sirocco took advantage of being stroked and cuddled whilst having their own special guided tour of the care home.

Special thanks are given to Wendy Williams from Alpaca Adventures for bringing the friendly pair to visit.

We are delighted to begin sharing with you our Employees of the Month for our care homes. Each month, care home managers at Sherborne House, Steepleton Manor and Weymouth Care Home will hand pick team members who demonstrate a passion for their role and go above and beyond to provide excellent standard of care to residents.

Our Employees of the Month for July are:

Weymouth Care Home

Natalie Fourier

Natalie has been nominated due to her dedication to the home and the rest of her team. Natalie goes above and beyond to assist her colleagues and residents, and has recently been covering cooking and cleaning duties on her days off.

Steepleton Manor

Nicola Stanzl

Nicola has been nominated for Steepleton Manor’s in July. Nicola joined as a HCA staff member in February, and since then has demonstrated a passion for her role through her hard work and perseverance, with excellent professional conduct throughout her time with us.

Sherborne House

Kelly Eason

Kelly has been dominated for Sherborne House, having worked with us for 6 months. She is described as an asset to the team, Kelly provides an excellent standard of care for all residents.

Ella Fossey celebrated her 96^th birthday on 1^st July at Weymouth Care Home with family, friends and staff.  Ella had her very own party in the library and was presented with flowers, puzzles and her favourite word search books.

Ella, who adores doing puzzles and word search games, also enjoyed a buffet together with her family.

Five guinea pigs have moved into Sherborne House Care Home and have become an instant hit with residents and staff.

The five fluffy pets have been named Rhianna, Blondie, Shakira, Doris and Ellie.

Residents and staff have been enjoying feeding, cuddling and playing with the new arrivals who have settled in nicely as the latest residents.

Caroline Sharp, Manager at Sherborne House Care Home said:  “Everybody loves our five new residents and they have received lots of love and attention which is great as they are very sociable creatures”.

Photo: Residents Mary and Kate with staff member, Martin, and the five guinea pigs.

Earlier this month, residents and staff at Sherborne House took part in raising over £20 at their Big Pink Afternoon Tea Party in aid of Breast Cancer Care. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed music, tea and cakes as order of the day, with everyone wearing pink to mark the occasion.

Sherborne House look forward to their next fundraising event!

We are pleased to announce that Stacey Williams, Senior Nurse at Weymouth Care Home, has been promoted to Head of Care.

Stacey has demonstrated an invaluable contribution to the team alongside outstanding care for all residents at the home. We are delighted that she has accepted the new challenge and wish her all the best in her new role.

Summer is here – the children have broken up from school, the traffic is a nightmare and the weather is, well, unpredictable – but summer for many does mean a break. But if you care for your loved one it can seem like this is not applicable to you. But everyone needs a break.

The charity Carers UK estimate that 1 in 8 adults which is around 6.5 million people are carers. And their recent report found that among those who have been caring for a year or more estimated at 5,168, 40% have not had a day off from caring for more than 12 months.

In this same report carers were asked what their main concerns were to taking a break which included a concern for the cost of care while they had a break, their loved one was unwilling to accept care from others or they felt there was a lack of specialist support on offer.

Although taking a break can seem extremely difficult it is important for both yourself and your loved one. You will both benefit from the change of routine. This break will give you the vital downtime needed to think about yourself and your health, safe in the knowledge that your loved one is in safe hands in your absence.

Trusting professionals when you provide care yourself can feel daunting but there are people out there ready to help you.

Helping you

As a family run business, our core morals run deep within everything that we do. When you come to stay with us, whether it is for one night, one month or something in between, you are treated as part of the family with professional, yet friendly support. We provide respite care in all 3 of our homes, Steepleton Manor, Sherborne House and Weymouth Care Home. Respite breaks are offered to older people who need extra support following an operation or illness, or while their regular carer takes a well-earned break. We’re passionate about supporting families with older loved ones and respite breaks are available as a one off arrangement or on a more regular basis.

We also offer day care to suit your needs. Day care is a planned program of activities during daytime hours designed to promote wellbeing through social and health related services.

Alongside full time residential and nursing care, Steepleton Manor also provides respite care and day care. This is a memorable break, our Grade 2 listed Victorian manor house offers impressive facilities, grounds, activities and food to make your stay comfortable – and as relaxing or energetic as you’d like.

Weymouth Care Home also provides respite care and day care alongside full time residential and nursing care. Within easy reach of both the beach and the bay in Weymouth, we encourage our residents to be as sociable and active as possible. Regularly taking trips to local places of interest, holding social events and activities and ensuring all residents enjoy a varied, nutritious diet.

If your loved one requires specialist care, the team at Sherborne House are experienced, equipped and qualified to care for those with Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Epilepsy, stroke victims or behavioural difficulties arising from a loss of mental awareness. This home provides respite and day care alongside full time residential, nursing and Dementia care. Furnished and decorated with Dementia in mind and benefitting from landscaped gardens to enjoy – you can rest assured that your loved one will be taken good care of whilst you are giving yourself some much deserved TLC.

To find out more about the respite care available at Altogether Care please get in touch on
01305 300 161 or find out more on our website.

Sherborne House residents and staff enjoyed a trip to Ham Hill last week and shared ice cream in the sunshine whilst taking in the views over Stoke sub Hamdon.

A quick stop at a nearby pub finished off the day nicely!  The residents look forward to another trip to Ham Hill soon.

Pictured left to right are residents Joan, Olive, Lyn, Richard and at the back, staff members Sharna, Tash and Emma.