dukadmin, Author at Altogether Care

Employee Awards – March 2019

Posted on 20 March 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

We are delighted to reveal the latest Employee Awards that have been presented to some of our Care at Home carers to celebrate their long service and impressive work at Altogether Care.

We would like to congratulate…

Caitlin Hughes

Congratulations to Caitlin at our Care at Home office in Yeovil for achieving a Long Term Service Award for being with us for five years.

She is an outstanding manager who covers the Somerset area from our Yeovil Branch. She has also recently received an ‘outstanding in care’ from CQC.

Kellie Gumbrill

Congratulations to Kellie at our Care at Home branch in Beaminster for achieving a Long Term Service Award to celebrate five years of working with us.

Kellie co-ordinates over 600 hours weekly, covering Beaminster, Bridport and Lyme Regis areas.

Slawek Barylak

Congratulations to Slawek for being awarded Carer of the Month from our Wareham Care at Home office.

Slawek has worked with the company for over nine years, covering the Swanage areas. He has been awarded this due to consistent feedback from clients regarding his kindness and caring approach that he shows to them.

Once again, well done to all our award winners and thank you for your amazing work!

A Time for Looking Forward, as Well as Back

Posted on 20 March 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

Older people living in care homes need a number of things to maintain their physical and mental well-being. The opportunity to take part in meaningful activities and to have family and friends still actively involved in their lives are crucial.

Wherever possible, a positive and forward-looking approach is particularly beneficial. Later life is a good time to try out new experiences and learn new skills. You have the time to try out activities you maybe always wanted to have a go at but were perhaps too busy to do in the past. It’s an important role for care homes to ensure that later years are as active and fulfilling as possible.

The Wishing Tree

One of the new features we’ve introduced into our care homes is the Wishing Tree. Our activity coordinators ask each of our residents what they would like to achieve over the next twelve months. Each ambition is written on a label and hung on the tree. We then work with our residents to help make their wishes become a reality.

The intention is for the tree to become a focus for residents and that their families will encourage them to come up with ideas that could help them reconnect with their past and recall significant memories and emotions.

Creative Minds

Our extensive activity programmes also include Creative Minds art classes. These are tailored for care residents and involve visits from tutors each month to take classes in a range of art forms.

As well as being fun, these classes boost self-confidence and esteem. Learning new skills helps to keep the mind healthy through cognitive stimulation and maintains and improves motor skills.

We aim to help all our residents to remain physically and mentally active, and to get the greatest number of positive experiences possible from their later years by continuing to look forward, not just back.

Red Nose Day at Steepleton Manor

Posted on 18 March 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

Staff at Steepleton Manor enjoyed dressing up for Red Nose Day on Friday 15th March to show their support for Comic Relief.

A New Home, Not a Care Home

Posted on 12 March 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

People have different ideas of what life in a care home is like. Some fear a loss of independence and having their individuality hidden in a corporate style institution. But is this what care home residents really experience?

Concerns possibly arise because of the way that many care homes are owned and operated. As The Guardian recently reported many care homes are in the hands of large companies that operate tens or hundreds of homes. These corporations are often owned by financial institutions that took on substantial levels of debt to buy into the market.

However, alongside the large corporate players, there are still many smaller care home businesses. These are often run as family businesses or charities. Altogether Care is a good example. We are family-owned and operate three care homes alongside our home care services.

Luxury Residential Care

Steepleton Manor is one of our homes and could be described as a luxury residential home. It’s as far removed as you could get from any image of a faceless corporate institution. The setting is idyllic – a former country house nestling in beautifully landscaped grounds. And while the home is large enough to have all the care and social facilities you could ever want, it’s also small enough for everyone to know everyone else and for each resident to feel like an individual.

Independence is encouraged and supported. Residents can grow their own food in our kitchen garden and some even choose to cook for themselves in the Manor.

When residents come to Steepleton Manor we like to think of it as moving to a new home, rather than moving into residential care. The care you need is available, but the focus is on continuing a fulfilling and enjoyable life. Being smaller means that we know all of our residents as individuals and they know us too. This means we can work together so that everyone enjoys the best standards of care alongside the best possible quality of life. If you’d like to see what this looks like in reality we’d be happy to show you around Steepleton Manor and our other care homes.

Employee of the Month – February 2019

Posted on 6 March 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

Each month, care home managers hand pick team members who demonstrate a passion for their role and go above and beyond to provide an excellent standard of care and support to residents.

Congratulations to Hannah at Steepleton Manor for winning February’s Employee of the Month!

Hannah is a very cheerful & kind-hearted activity coordinator, she can always put a smile on the residents faces with the exciting activity’s which include bus trips to the sea, Greek dancing, gardening club and much more.

The Modern Way to Deliver Care at Home

Posted on 4 March 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

Mobile technology has revolutionised so many aspects of our work and lives. Our home care teams make many visits each day to multiple locations, so mobile technology is the logical way to support the work they do.

The Mobile Care Worker App we recently introduced supports our care teams at all points of service delivery. It means we can forget about completing paper forms and records during visits and focus more time on our care users.

The app guides our staff to each appointment using maps and directions. If there is anything they need to know to gain access, the app will tell them this also.

Once at the appointment, our staff check in automatically using their mobile phone. They can see an up-to-date checklist of the care tasks to be carried out and any other information about the service user that might be relevant. They can also be prompted to check whether medication has been taken and record any details that might help with adapting to the care plan to meet changing care needs.

More Efficient

Mobile Care Worker also helps us organise the care we provide more efficiently. Data is captured instantly from each visit due to staff being able to input information through the app rather than in the office. This means we spend less time entering data from paper forms and more time designing a better service to meet our customers’ needs.

We also spend less time designing visit rosters and can see instantly where all our mobile staff are. If it looks like they might be late for an appointment, we can let people know to reassure them that they haven’t been forgotten. Simpler rostering also makes it easier for us to ensure that people see the same care worker at every visit.

Mobile Care Worker provides another way to involve relatives in the care of their loved one, which can be very welcome if they don’t live locally. They can be given secure access to the system and be reassured that visits have taken place when scheduled. They can also be part of the discussion around designing the most appropriate care programme.

Technology will never take the place of personal interactions in the care delivery, but it can take care of all the things that help those interactions to be more effective.

If you or an elderly relative are starting to find basic household tasks a bit challenging, a care at home service might be just what’s needed to brighten life up. Contact us today on 01305 300161 to find out more or click here.

Putting the Fun Back Into Food for People With Dementia

Posted on 25 February 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

For people with dementia, maintaining a healthy and balanced diet can be difficult. People often feel less like eating for a number of reasons. Food might not taste the same as it used to, or sometimes it can be physically hard to eat because of pain or reduced motor skills and coordination. Depression is also common, meaning that meal times and food lose their appeal.

When communication becomes difficult, the only way to express the fact that food is too hot, too cold, hard to eat, or just doesn’t taste right may be to leave it. And not eating or eating the wrong things could make a condition worse. While there is no conclusive proof, there is a growing body of evidence to say that a healthy diet, low in salt and saturated fats, and high in antioxidants and Omega-3s can help slow the onset of dementia.

Dementia and Nutrition

There are many things that can be done to encourage people with dementia to eat and drink more and the Alzheimer’s Society has some excellent information on its website. We use many of these techniques at Sherborne House, which specialises in dementia care.

Overall, we aim to reconnect people with the enjoyment of food and eating. Partly this is through the design of the eating environment so that mealtimes are calm and as free of distractions as possible. We also encourage residents to engage with their food by preparing healthy sandwiches and fruit salads and by baking cakes. These are fun, social activities that help to associate food with positive emotions and thoughts, rather than being a source of anxiety or conflict.

The positive culture around eating not only stimulates appetites, it helps residents feel more confident and in control of their lives. Discussions about food can also stimulate reminiscence and maintain sensory abilities.

On the one hand eating and drinking can be a challenging aspect of dementia care, but they can also be therapeutic and encourage greater engagement with other people and enjoyment of life.

Why not come and see for yourself what life at Sherborne House is like? Contact us today on 01305 300 161 to arrange a visit.

Altogether Connect – Now You Can Take Advantage of Our Recruitment Expertise

Posted on 15 February 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

Running multiple care homes and care at home services across Dorset, South Somerset and Hampshire means we have a wealth of experience in recruiting staff for a wide range of roles. As well as our excellent care staff we also recruit commercial and domestic cleaners, handymen, chefs and nurses.

Our reputation for excellence is built on our people so we’ve become adept at finding and selecting people with the skills and personal attributes needed to succeed in a service environment.

Our staff resourcing process is highly developed and effective. So, we thought, why not share that expertise? Within the communities we work in there are countless businesses who need to recruit people with similar skills. These include hotels, pubs, restaurants, doctors’ surgeries, offices, schools and other care homes. Individual home owners also sometimes need cleaning and handyman services.

Introducing Altogether Connect

Altogether Connect is a new service to help a wide range of organisations find the staff they need. Now there is a simpler and cost-effective way to source temporary and permanent staff for the roles mentioned above. Our specialist recruitment team can help with everything from creating job descriptions and advertising through to pre-selection of candidates.

For smaller businesses, recruitment can eat up time that could be spent more productively elsewhere. It might not be something that you have been trained to do. And making poor recruitment decisions can be costly.

Altogether Connect takes the stress and uncertainty out of recruitment. Unlike a standard recruitment agency, we have first-hand experience of how people tend to perform once appointed. This gives us an additional insight into the individuals who are likely to be the best fit for your needs.

So, if you’re a hotel, pub, restaurant, school, surgery, or indeed a care home, and you’re looking for staff in Dorset, South Somerset and Hampshire, give the Altogether Care Connect team a call today on 01305 235 500. See how we can help save you time and the costs of making the wrong recruitment decisions.

What’s the Best Option for Stress Free Retirement Living?

Posted on 5 February 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

During retirement it’s not unusual for people to decide that the home they’ve lived in for years no longer meets their needs. It might be too big or too costly to heat and maintain. Or maybe the stairs are becoming a challenge.

Moving to a retirement village or apartment block is a popular choice that many make without necessarily looking at alternatives such as assisted living in a residential home.

Retirement apartments offer the prospect of continued independent living without the hassle of maintaining a property. You will also be surrounded by people at a similar stage of life. However, there are some drawbacks that are not always well-publicised when you buy a leasehold on one of these properties.

Which published an article that describes the hidden costs of retirement homes in detail.

Here are some of the main costs to look out for:

Event Fees: an ‘event’ could be selling, subletting or a change of occupancy of your home. The fee for being allowed to do this could be a significant percentage of the market price.
Maintenance charges, service charges and ground rent: sometimes these are still payable after you die or move into other accommodation until your home is re-sold.
If you sell your home, you may have to do this through the company that owns the freehold. This will probably be more expensive that an estate agent.
Because properties are sold on a leasehold basis the amount of time left on the lease will affect the value. Extending the lease can be expensive.

Assisted living at Altogether Care’s luxury care home Steepleton Manor offers all of the convenience with as much independence as you want to enjoy. Unlike retirement villages, there are no hidden fees or maintenance charges. Should your care needs change, you can get the additional help you need without having to move home and incur the costs that you would if you were in a retirement apartment.

If this sounds like the perfect option for you or a loved one, then give us a call today on 01305 300 161 to find out more.

Employees of the Month – January

Posted on 29 January 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

We are delighted to reveal our Employees of the Month for January for our care homes. Each month, care home managers hand pick team members who demonstrate a passion for their role and go above and beyond to provide an excellent standard of care and support to residents.

Our Employees of the Month for January are:

Sherborne House

Wei Ji Gao

Congratulations to Wei Ji Gao at Sherborne House Care Home who is January’s Employee of the Month. Wei is the chef and cooks a marvellous full English breakfast and is a firm favourite with all the residents and staff.

Steepleton Manor

Tahila Castro Osorio

Congratulations to Tahila Castro Osorio at Steepleton Manor who is January’s Employee of the Month. Tahila is a nursing assistant and is a very thoughtful person who enjoys helping others. She always has a smile and demonstrates great flexibility and commitment whilst working hard at all times.

Weymouth Care Home

Poppy Macnair

Congratulations to Poppy Macnair at Weymouth Care Home who is January’s Employee of the Month. Poppy demonstrates great commitment to the residents and families alike, so much that a family member wanted her to be considered for Employee of the Month. She goes over and above what is expected of her and has a kind nature meaning nothing is too much trouble.

Congratulations to all employees of the month!

Altogether Care and Wiltshire Farm Foods spread Christmas cheer

Posted on 18 January 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

Last Christmas Altogether Care teamed up with Wiltshire Farm Foods to spread some Christmas cheer. Over 100 Christmas dinners generously donated by Wiltshire Farm Foods were hand-delivered by our Care at Home carers on Christmas Day to elderly and vulnerable people across Dorset and South Somerset.

Our carers also spent a little time with each person to enjoy a mince pie and pull a cracker.

67-year-old Kathleen, who lives in Weymouth said: “It is a nice thing because I can’t do it myself anymore and I used to get my food from Wiltshire Farm Foods as well.”

Becky Lloyd-Jones, from Wiltshire Farm Foods, added: “I think it’s a fantastic idea for the people who are alone this time of year.”

Dawn McGill, from Care at Home, said: “Christmas can be a lonely time for many older people and not everyone can spend Christmas with family. We visit our clients all year round to support them with a variety of daily tasks and wanted to extend that visit to include Christmas Day.”

We would like to extend our thanks to Wiltshire Farm Foods for their generous donations. You have helped to make a real difference to those in our local communities.

It Doesn’t Have to be a Choice Between Independent Living and Residential Care

Posted on 11 January 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

It used to be assumed that care in later life came down to two choices. On the one hand, you could continue to live independently, with support, in your own home. On the other, you could have residential care, where you are effectively looked after.

In fact, choice probably isn’t the right word. The assumption was that residential care was where you went when you could no longer manage to live independently in your own home.

Retirement living and later life care is much more complex than a simple either/or choice between care at home or residential care. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. We are talking about individuals rather than stereotypes. And individuals have their own views on what they want and what should be on offer.

What People Want from Their Care

Steepleton Manor is a reflection of how many older people would choose to live their lives. They want a high standard of accommodation with a touch of luxury. Many want to get on with the things they enjoy doing without the bother of running their own home. They want to live in pleasant surroundings and an attractive environment. And most want the freedom to live as independently as possible.

Naturally, the need for care, help with tasks like washing, dressing or medication is a feature of later life for many. The residential setting means that the care they need is on hand and can easily be adapted as their needs change, which is highly reassuring.

Sometimes the best therapy of all in later life is the company, companionship and active lifestyle that comes with high-quality assisted living. If you’d like to see what this looks like in reality we’d be happy to show you around Steepleton Manor and our other care homes.

It Isn’t All Doom and Gloom in the Care Home Sector

Posted on 8 January 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

Anyone who reads a newspaper or looks at a news website will know that the care sector faces problems. People are living longer and developing more complex care needs, while the funding for care services fails to keep pace with demand for services.

Most local authorities want to spend more on care but simply don’t have the cash to fund much beyond the most acute needs.

Care Homes Closing

According to the Health Foundation, funding for adult social care fell by 21% between 2009/10 and 2015/16 – at the same time as demand for services was increasing. A consequence of these pressures is that care homes are closing across the country because they simply can’t make the numbers add up. Altogether Care is just one of four remaining nursing care home providers in Weymouth, for example.

Demand Increasing

While over £7bn has been cut from social care budgets since 2010, we know that more people are needing elderly care services. The strain placed on informal networks of carers and family members is considerable.

The net effect is less choice. The business failures are affecting both smaller, independent care homes, rooted in their communities and the larger corporate organisations (sometimes owned by institutional investors), making it harder for people to know which homes are likely to be around into the future.

Bucking the Trend

But, like we said, it isn’t all doom and gloom. Altogether Care is finding a way to thrive in this environment. We put this down to our foundations as a local family-run organisation and the reputation we have worked hard to earn for delivering high-quality care for over 30 years.

We are not only surviving but investing and developing. We have planning permission recently granted for extending the number of rooms available at our Weymouth home and have recently refurbished the top floor at our luxury Grade II listed assisted living care home Steepleton Manor. This floor now offers a range of premium rooms and suites, some with kitchenette and en-suite facilities.

We have also recently opened a new Care at Home office in Southampton, and our new office in Salisbury is due to open February 2019 to extend our area of operation and support for local people.

The future for the care sector will remain challenging until there is a sustainable solution to the funding questions. In the meantime, there are still caring community-focused organisations that are able to build on their strengths and meet the needs of older people. Why not come and see for yourself what life with Altogether Care is really like? To arrange a visit, contact us today on 01305 206 140.

Supported Living: Why Care at Home isn’t just About Care

Posted on 4 January 20196 January 2025 by dukadmin

A lot of people still have an inaccurate picture of what care at home and supported living mean for many elderly people. While some elderly care does involve nursing support for complex health needs, in many cases help is needed for everyday tasks that people find difficult.

Some people choose care at home simply to have more time to do what they want rather than chores such as cleaning and shopping. They find that care at home leaves more time for doing what they want to do and takes away the worry of doing chores they find laborious or difficult.

Care at Home or supported living can also help people get out of the home more regularly, with assisted shopping trips or help to travel to and from social activities.

Companionship and Elderly Care

Another major benefit of supported living care is companionship. One reason many choose care at home, apart from keeping the familiarity of their own surroundings, is the flexibility. It can be easier for relatives and friends to fit visits around their lives without having fixed times or routines. At times, such as family holidays, when family visits aren’t possible there’s the reassurance that there will be a friendly and familiar face each day.

Family visits can also be richer when the basic chores have been taken care of and there’s more time to sit and talk. And for people without family living nearby, regular visits from their home care team can be a particularly welcome way to break up the day.

In many cases it may be more accurate to talk about elderly support rather than elderly care. The need isn’t for medical care but for a little help with some basic household tasks to make life easier and more enjoyable.

Christmas Cheer at Steepleton Manor

Posted on 21 December 20186 January 2025 by dukadmin

Staff at Steepleton Manor enjoyed a festive meal and scooped some special awards.

Congratulations to Debbie Stanford and Christopher Taylor for their long service contribution and to Hayley Trew for being nominated Employee of the Month.

All I want for Christmas is…

Posted on 20 December 20186 January 2025 by dukadmin

Santa has been busy asking residents and staff what they most would like for Christmas. It may be no surprise that high up on the list is the wish to see more of family members.

Here is a selection of Christmas wishes from both Steepleton Manor and Sherborne House.

A chocolate cake, a drum, a dog, a new football. A trip to the pub, a trip to see the Christmas decorations at Poundbury Garden Centre, a trip to see a classical musician, a box of Thornton’s chocolates and one resident would simply love a surprise.

Staff also have a wish list which includes a new car, a new iPad, a million pounds and quality time with family at Christmas with everyone having a good time.

Here’s hoping there is a big chimney!

Christmas Crafts at Steepleton Manor

Posted on 19 December 20186 January 2025 by dukadmin

Residents at Steepleton Manor have been feeling extra festive this month whilst making a variety of seasonal crafts. Making decorations has been a favourite Christmas tradition for many years at Steepleton Manor.

Wreaths, paper chains, Santa hats and beards are just a few of the handmade goodies which will no doubt bring extra joy and cheer this Christmas.

Christmas Traditions at Sherborne House

Posted on 14 December 20186 January 2025 by dukadmin

Carols by candlelight on Christmas Eve is a favourite Christmas tradition at Sherborne House. On Christmas Day, residents tuck into a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and open gifts. They then watch the Queen’s speech.

Staff put on their Christmas outfits and hats each year to create some additional festive fun.

Assisted Living with Style and Luxury

Posted on 13 December 20186 January 2025 by dukadmin

At Steepleton Manor, we have recently completed the refurbishment of luxury living accommodation. The resulting suites are almost unrecognisable from the staff quarters that took up the top floor of the house when it was originally built in Victorian times.

The top floor has been completely remodelled. It now contains self-contained suites, some with their own separate lounge area, kitchenette and en-suite bathroom. What would still be recognisable are the original beams, eaves windows and high ceilings that have been retained in this historic building. These maintain the character of the original rooms and add charm and style to the luxury accommodation.

The suites overlook the garden and arguably offer the best views in the house. The impressive landscaped grounds stretch out before you and there’s always something to see, whether that’s the beautiful trees, shrubs and flower borders, the countryside beyond, or the wealth of birds and wildlife.

Natural Light and Wellbeing

The attention to detail has been extended to every element, including the lighting. Many studies show the importance of good light quality in maintaining wellbeing, good health and natural sleep patterns for people of all ages. The specialist lighting in the refurbished suites was carefully chosen to replicate natural daylight to provide a comfortable, restful environment.

The remodelled suites reflect the choices that many older people make about how they want to live their lives. They are ideal for those who want to live independently and in style, while having the comfort that help is on hand if required and that their care needs are fully looked after.

The aim behind the refurbishment was to make Steepleton Manor the perfect ‘home from home’ with all daily tasks taken care of. It’s not how many people would imagine life in a care home to be, but we know the accommodation reflects how many people would like it to be.

Why not come and see for yourself? Contact us today on 01305 300 161.

Ferret Fun at Steepleton Manor

Posted on 12 December 20186 January 2025 by dukadmin

Residents at Steepleton Manor Care Home enjoyed some fun and games when two friendly ferrets visited. Blossom and Bear live at the Animal Park at Kingston Maurward College.

Their favourite games are playing in ball pits and little swimming pools.

Ferrets are a domesticated species related to the wild polecat. They are very playful and love to chase toys. Whilst they can be friendly, it is important to remember they are carnivorous predators which would normally hunt rabbits in the wild so they have a nasty bite!

Part of the Mustelid family alongside badgers, they have special glands under their tails which give off a musty smell.

Ferrets are happiest living in pairs or small groups. They do not make ideal pets as they are best living outside and require specialist care including vaccinations and neutering.

The ferret was originally domesticated to be used for hunting, and are still often used, sometimes alongside hawks to chase rabbits out of their warrens.

Blossom and Bear are used solely for education and had a great time meeting residents and staff at Steepleton Manor Care Home, near Dorchester.

Laslzo Bartus, Manager at Steepleton Manor said, “Our residents love to meet animals and the two ferrets were adorable and seemed to enjoy being handled and playing. They bought lots of smiles to many faces”.

Author: dukadmin