dukadmin, Author at Altogether Care

Live-in Care – The modern solution to care

Posted on 22 February 20166 January 2025 by dukadmin

It is predicted by a report from Age UK, that there are now 11.4 million people aged 65 or over in the UK, with more people aged 60 and above than there are under the age of 18. With an ageing population there is great importance placed on providing flexible care pathways to cater for individual’s needs where they feel most comfortable.

Age UK predicted last year that around 350,000 people were waiting for a place in either a residential or nursing home. With so many people waiting to receive a place for full time care, we have in turn seen an increase in care at home as a positive alternative. Home care is able to provide a flexible range of assistance dependant on how much or little you may require, tailored to suit your individual needs. This could be providing one-to-one live-in care to enable you to continue living in your home or perhaps popping in to provide companionship and occasional assistance with shopping or domestic tasks. With an arrangement that suits you and your needs, you can continue to enjoy life in your own home.

Spending time with your family and friends and engaging with the wider community is a priority for most people regardless of age and ability, to continue with your hobbies, interests and social activities is crucial in reducing the potential for social isolation and loneliness. A support package focussed not just on what’s important for you but also what is important to you, you can continue to live your life as fully as you’d like knowing that should you need us, we are there.

We understand the importance of providing a person focussed care service and have a range of flexible options available should your care needs change.

Talk to us now about how we can help you remain independent and get the most from life.

Taking a fresh approach

Posted on 2 February 20166 January 2025 by dukadmin

As we live longer the question of how we will cope with the challenges of old age is becoming more and more pertinent to an ever increasing number of people in Britain.

Across Dorset and South Somerset, Altogether Care a leading provider of age related care is taking a fresh approach.

Offering a range of residential, nursing centres and community based Care at Home services reaching from Bournemouth to Yeovil, this family run organisation puts emphasis on recognising that as individuals we are all different and there should be no one size fits all approach to care and support.

Altogether Care is able to offer a broad range of outcome based care that is firmly focused and tailored to each person as an individual.

Altogether Care supports and enables individuals to be active participants in their support rather than simply passive recipients of care. For most people maintaining independence is of huge importance and Altogether Care’s flexible care routes are designed to support this.

Offering an integrated care pathway, from regular home visits which are fundamental in reducing social isolation for those who need a relatively low level of support and monitoring, progressing then to live-in care options for those who may be more dependent but very much want to stay at home, to specialist residential, nursing and dementia care for those who may ultimately need a higher level of support. In addition, Altogether Care is a well regarded provider of palliative and end of life care.

Prominent in Altogether Care’s portfolio of services are Sherborne House in Yeovil a specialist dementia and high dependency service, Weymouth Care Home providing residential and nursing services and Steepleton Manor.

Steepleton Manor must be almost unique in so far as this service it is able to offer; residential, nursing and end of life care in the setting of a late Victorian Manor house, in the idyllic Dorset countryside of Thomas Hardy.

Wherever the setting Altogether Care’s commitment is to delivering high quality care based on not only what is important for an individual but also what is important to an individual.

Expert care and support

Posted on 22 January 20166 January 2025 by dukadmin

As you grow older, you may begin to discover you need a little support with the day to day tasks than you did when you were younger; this of course is a natural cycle of life. There may come a time when you would like to receive a more comprehensive level of support and begin to consider the options available; assisted living, residential care and nursing care. When considering what is right for you or someone close to you it is likely that the priorities will be ensuring it is within the location you’d prefer, with the facilities you require, that the staff team are experienced and qualified to provide the support and that it feels like somewhere you could call home.

When you are seeking support in later life, it’s important to find a home that will offer assistance and activities which keep you stimulated and that contributes positively towards a good quality of life. The importance for us is to always provide support that is person focussed, treating you as an individual and shaping the support provided around your care needs and those things which are important to you which make life fun and enjoyable. Altogether care’s residential and nursing home Steepleton Manor is an example of a service which meets both of these priorities admirably.

The Grade 2 listed Victorian manor house, benefits from a well-stocked library, fine food freshly prepared each day, hair dressing salon, kitchen garden, swimming pool and croquet lawn.

The in-house activities co-ordinator facilitates a variety of programmes designed to help you to stay active, alert and engaged. Our team of qualified experienced elder care nurses and support staff can support you with residential, respite and nursing care in a setting that has character and charm located in the heart of Thomas Hardy’s Dorset, worlds away from the feel that so many other services in the care sector offer.

For more details on Steepleton Manor or any of our other care options please contact us today. We welcome visitors and would be really happy for you to come by and meet the team to see the manor for yourself. Over tea and homemade biscuits in the library our experienced and supportive team can explain how the care and support will work for you, they can offer you an assessment of your needs and clearly explain how much the support will cost and the options available for payments.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Balanced, personal and professional

Posted on 21 December 20156 January 2025 by dukadmin

The nature of assistance with later life care has become one of the challenging issues within society; it is crucial for people to properly research all the options available to them.

A recent report from the Alzheimer’s Society found that of the people who did carry out research prior to choosing a support option; 74% of family members would recommend their loved one’s care home and 68% would rate the dementia care provided to their family member as good.

These figures very much reflect our experience of the delivering person centred elder care that enables individuals to maintain independence and enjoy a good quality of life.

It is extremely important to us that we achieve a positive balance between providing the personal, physical and emotional support needed whilst maintaining the highest level of professionalism.We remain a family business which allows us the freedom to continue to focus on the quality, integrity and personal nature of the care and support provided which places the personal wellbeing of our clients at the very heart of our business.

With a wide range of care and support options available you can be assured of the right level of care from either the comfort of your home or the comfort of one of ours. As your care needs change over time we can provide a service that fits around not only what is important for you but also what is important to you.

If you’d like to find out more about how we could help you or someone important to you, please get in touch.

Team Building Success

Posted on 4 August 20136 January 2025 by dukadmin

An afternoon spent enjoying the sunshine in the grounds of one of our most picturesque care homes (possibly the most picturesque in the county), with plenty of food, laughter and friendly competitive games, including a sack race, egg and spoon race, and the slippery slope, rounded off with the traditional casting into the pool of the CEO – what more could anyone want?

Rather wet (but still smiling) our CEO, Stephen Knell, (who incidentally organised the whole thing with the aid of the senior management team) proceeded to hand out awards for long service to all our well deserving staff with the directors, Debbie Reiffer and Edwin Inayat, and then thanked all who attended and helped to set up the afternoon of fun.

Steve would like to extend a special thanks to all our company chefs, who put a lot of their own time into the event, and to the residents of Steepleton manor for “…putting up with us…” and in some cases coming out to join in the fun.

To round of the day Steve reminded everyone to “please remember it’s only a game, and to us you are, ALL of you, winners!”

Congratulations, Laura and Sandra…

Posted on 29 July 20136 January 2025 by dukadmin

The awards were presented at a ceremony organised by Partners in Care in Bournemouth, Dorset & Poole (PiCBDP), and were held on Wednesday 10th July 2013 in Wimborne, by Councillor Malcolm Birr.

Laura and Sandra were accompanied by the Director of Care at Home, Debbie Reiffer, who said; “It was a pleasure to accompany Laura and Sandra at the awards ceremony and to hear such positive and inspiring words from both Partners in Care, and their tutor, May Lan Jefford.

Both Laura and Sandra have embraced the challenges of this course whilst juggling work and home commitments. Having completed the course, they both said that they have found it to be very beneficial in their day-to-day work, and are looking forward to sharing their knowledge and experience with their colleagues, to the benefit of our clients. Well done Laura and Sandra.”

All the photos are now available to download at:

http://www.picbdp.co.uk/events

To save an image, select the image you want to save, right click on the image, click ‘Save Target As…’ and choose the folder where you want to save the picture.

(If you click Save As… by mistake, you will only save the low resolution thumbnail you can see on the screen, and not the full size image.)

New Chief Executive

Posted on 18 November 20126 January 2025 by dukadmin

Altogether Care welcomes Steve Knell as their new Chief Executive. Two newly appointed Directors also join Steve providing a new Senior Management Team at their head office in Weymouth.

Debbie Reiffer has been appointed to Divisional Director (Care at Home) and Edwin Inayat, Divisional Director of Care Homes. Debbie previously worked as a Manager for Care within the home and Edwin was Manager of Cheverels Care Home, near Dorchester.

Steve has worked within the company for thirty years in a variety of roles with his most recent being Head of Management Accounts so he already has vast knowledge of the business, its staff and clients. Current Chairman, Brian Westlake retired as Chief Executive last month but will remain as Chairman. Steve is the son of the founding partners of the business and is looking forward to working within all levels in order to best understand each and every function and aspect of care.

“I have been involved with the Care sector since the opening of Weymouth Care Home in 1988 and previous to this worked within the business from an early age. Therefore, hard work, integrity and all the principles that my parents have used to build such a successful company, have been ingrained in me from an early age. I intend these principles to be the basis of my decision making over the coming years”, said Steve.

Care Facility Opens In Yeovil

Posted on 8 June 20126 January 2025 by dukadmin

Sherborne Lodge opened its doors on Friday 8th June in Yeovil.

Sherborne Lodge offers a flexible care service to local people combining the benefits of a care home and home based care, all within one building. MP, David Laws opened the new facility alongside The Mayor of Yeovil. A ribbon was cut and a special plaque was unveiled by the MP.

The facility offers both those who receive or provide care the opportunity to take a break or simply have a rest in a friendly and relaxed environment. Clients can spend anything from one hour to 24 hours at Sherborne Lodge which has living and sleeping facilities complete with professional care staff on hand.

In conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Society and the acclaimed Dementia Services Development Centre at Stirling University, Sherborne Lodge has been designed with the latest facilities and equipment to help care for the individual needs of dementia sufferers. What was a dilapidated building is now transformed into a vibrant and well equipped day and night care centre.

Sherborne Lodge is decorated and furnished in a way that is sympathetic to people living with dementia and designed the surroundings to enhance quality of life and cognitive ability. From tactile boards to paintings, therapies to a snoozelum (a room that uses light therapy to relax clients).
Sherborne Lodge is located to the rear of Sherborne House Care Home at 131 Sherborne Road, Yeovil.