Residents at Weymouth Care Home enjoyed making their own fruit salad and made the most of healthy eating this month when they tucked into lots of different fruit including melon, banana and raspberries.
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Category: News
Steepleton Manor featured in Knight Frank’s Luxury Care Home Guide 2018
We are delighted to discover that Steepleton Manor has been selected to be included in Knight Frank’s prestigious Luxury Care Home Guide 2018. This guide showcases the UK’s finest care facilities within a beautifully presented guide.
Steepleton Manor is our Grade 2 Listed Manor house near Dorchester providing luxury residential, nursing, repite or day care. With impressive substantial grounds, walled garden and our own bus with regular trips out, you can really make the most of an active outdoor lifestyle here. Steepleton Manor also accommodates those who prefer the indoors with a well-stocked library, shop, hairdressing salon, fine food freshly prepared and varied activities to suit everyone.
CEO Stephen Knell says, “We are very pleased to have Steepleton Manor featured in The Luxury Care Home Guide 2018 among the finest care facilities in the UK. We make every effort to ensure Steepleton Manor Care Home feels like home, but with that added touch of luxury to help you enjoy your golden years.”
If you are looking for residential, nursing, respite or day care for yourself or a loved one, come and visit us to see for yourself what makes Steepleton Manor so special. For more information contact us on 01305 300 161.
Women needed for football team
Verwood Ladies Football Team have suffered a difficult season due to players taking maternity leave and suffering injuries and are now looking for new players to join their team of 22 players.
Karla Jordan, a player in the team, said: “We have experienced a difficult season for lots of reasons including losing some good players due to maternity leave and injury. Women’s football is sometimes tricky as players have to juggle managing their families with career pressures. We would welcome interest from new players.
We are extremely grateful to Altogether Care for sponsoring our home kit and we have also received great support also from Minster Partnership for our away kit”.
The team has a new assistant manager, Sally Chalk and hopes to attract new players who will assist the team in their mission to win more games and promote women’s football within the community.
Anyone interested in joining should email vtlfc@outlook.com
Remembrance Day at Weymouth Care Home
On Saturday 11th November a special themed lunch took place with residents taking part in the 11am silence which was later followed by a chicken and vegetable pie, decorated with pastry poppies.
Drawings created by the residents were also displayed.
Music to the ears
Residents at Weymouth Care Home enjoyed a musical activity in the library this month and got to play various instruments including drums.
Everyone gets the chance to play whatever instrument takes their fancy and make as much noise as they wish– even in what is normally a quiet place, the library!
The much loved ‘Drumba’ activity takes place every two months.
Why Retirement May not be the Time to Put your Feet Up
There is very clear evidence that staying active in older life has enormous benefits for overall health. There are strong links between physical activity and mental and emotional wellbeing.
According to the World Health Organisation, by being more physically active, older people can expect:
- Lower rates of mortality, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer and breast cancer.
- Better bone health.
- Higher levels of functional health, a lower risk of falling, and better cognitive function.
WHO also reports that physically active older people have ‘reduced risk of moderate and severe functional limitations and role limitations.’ In other words, they are able to cope better and do more.
An Individual Approach
Naturally, the level and nature of physical activity that older people are able to undertake will be different from when they were younger. It’s important for care providers to work closely with health professionals such as physiotherapists to design appropriate activity programmes based on individual needs and levels of mobility.
Dancing, gardening, walking, light aerobics, stretching and yoga can all be highly beneficial. As well as exercising hearts and lungs these activities help to keep joints mobile.
Normally, it’s best to encourage people to do as much as they feel able to take on. For residents who have become accustomed to low levels of physical activity – a programme that gradually increases activity levels can be transformational for their general wellbeing.
Where people receive care at home, awareness of their activity levels and, where appropriate, help and encouragement to join in with community based activity and exercise programmes should be a feature of good care planning.
Physical exercise also promotes independence and social enhancement these are very important for older people in tackling any feelings of loneliness and isolation. An active body and mind alongside a healthy and positive emotional outlook makes a huge difference to your life and those golden years, which is hopefully what everyone should look forward to.
Weymouth Care Home Wins Prestigious Award
Staff and residents at Weymouth Care Home are celebrating after scooping ‘Best Care Home’ Award at The Dorset Echo Care Awards 2017.
The 2017 Dorset Echo Care Awards took place at Weymouth College on Saturday 11th November and included nine award categories, including ‘Best Care Home’. The Mayor of Weymouth and Portland, Councillor Kevin Brookes, was among those attending.
The awards are designed to acknowledge outstanding individuals and organisations in the area who are involved in the care industry.
Mandy Bell, Manager at Weymouth Care Home collected the award on behalf of Dorset based organisation, Altogether Care.
Brian Westlake, Chairman at Altogether Care said, ‘This award is well deserved and reflects the professionalism and commitment of the home’s staff who day on day deliver complex care to very ill and vulnerable people. We are very proud of their achievements and the fact that the award was triggered by relatives and friends of our residents; it came as a complete surprise’.
Altogether Care has three residential care homes and nine Care at Home branches, providing a wide spectrum of care services for those who wish to remain in their own homes.
Photo: Mandy Bell (Manager from Weymouth Care Home) with Dorset Echo’s Editor (Diarmuid MacDonagh)
Employees of the Month – October
We are delighted to reveal October’s 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 and support to residents.
Our Employees of the Month for October are:
Steepleton Manor
Richard Sowden
Richard is Steepleton Manor’s Employee of the Month and was nominated for his hard work and dedication to going above and beyond to help all his colleagues. Richard always ensures that residents are happy and he always has a cheerful attitude, with a great work ethic and high standards.
Sherborne House
Sacha Kingshott
Employee of the Month for Sherborne House is Sacha who has been nominated as she works amazingly at the home, always taking time to catch up with the residents and plan activities when she has an idea- all while completing her Level 2!
Weymouth Care Home
Maggie
Maggie is Weymouth Care Home’s Employee of the Month. Maggie works very hard as a kitchen assistant and is always very kind and caring to the residents and staff.
Many congratulations to all of our Employees of the Month!
Halloween art class
Residents at Weymouth Care Home have decorated their surroundings spooky-style this Halloween and created some autumnal art work to celebrate the season.
Using a variety of art tools, pictures included pumpkins, leaves and Halloween greetings.
Photos:
- Joyce King creating posters
- Jean Murray and her pumpkin picture
- Sarah and David during art class
- ‘Leaves’ by Margaret White
10 Year Success Story
A special awards evening took placed on 22nd September at The Labour Club in Yeovil for staff at Sherborne House, who have achieved ten years’ service with Altogether Care.
Sixteen members of staff attended along with their families and enjoyed food, drinks and lots of dancing. The party was enjoyed by everyone and special Congratulations are given to the following staff for their dedication throughout the last 10-years: Caroline Sharp, Saji George, Wei Ji Gao, Vesela Stoycheva, Li Li Su and Elna Nioda.
Congratulations to you all!
Activities galore at Weymouth Care Home
Residents at Weymouth Care Home have been enjoying a wide spectrum of activities this month including ‘Chair Zumba’, songs from the accordion and live piano music.
Becky Wells visits every fortnight to take a Zumba class with a difference. Louise Dukes visits monthly and in addition to being an excellent accordion player, sings a variety of well-known songs.
Mark ‘the piano man’, also a monthly vistor, is very popular with both residents and staff frequently telling a few classic jokes to add humour to the occasion. Joy can be seen having a dance to one of his catchy tunes.
Chloe May at Weymouth Care Home
Local singer Chloe May visited residents at Weymouth Care Home once again to sing, dance and play a variety of songs which encourage everyone to join in and sing along to their favourite tunes.
Chloe is a regular at the home and is familiar with artists such as Vera Lynn and Elvis Presley.
The residents enjoyed Chloe’s performance and look forward to her visiting again soon.
Harvest at Steepleton Manor
Harvest Festival was a grand affair at Steepleton Manor this autumn with local vicar, Jean Saddington who joined residents in singing traditional hymns.
Chef Nick made and served traditional wheatsheaf bread and all vegetables served were home grown in the gardens.
Mental Wellbeing – We All Deserve the Fullest Life Possible
According to the British Council for Counselling and Psychotherapy, 22% of men and 28% of women aged over 65, experience depression. Mental wellbeing for the older generation is a serious issue that doesn’t always get the attention it should.
For most, this stage of life should be a period of contentment, free of the pressures of work, with plenty of time to do what you want and enjoy. Often, the reality is different. Without a sense of mental wellbeing, many opportunities to lead a full and satisfying later life become closed off.
Isolation is one of the biggest risks. Lack of social interaction is highly detrimental to mental wellbeing. In a residential care setting this is something that can be easily monitored. We would always know if people were becoming withdrawn and we’d spot the tell-tale behavioural changes that go with increasing isolation or deteriorating mental health.
The need for social interaction is addressed through activities designed around residents’ interests. These offer different experiences and opportunities to interact with people both within and outside the care home community.
When people receive home care support, care workers have a vital role in watching out for signs of poor mental health and social isolation.
Whatever the care setting, care providers need to work closely with health services to promote healthy mental wellbeing and ensure the necessary support or therapy is provided. There is no stage in life when simply sitting and watching the world go by is the best thing. Giving people the support they need to continue living as full and active a life as possible is the least they deserve.
Naturally, mental wellbeing is closely interlinked with both physical and emotional wellbeing and we’ll look at these aspects in future articles.
Paint Pals at Steepleton Manor
Residents at Steepleton Manor have started their own ‘paint pals’ class which takes place each week in partnership with Portesham CEVA Primary School.
Pupils and residents send pictures that they have created, and share comments of how each weeks’ pictures make them feel. The pictures create a variety of emotions, with residents getting to choose their favourites from all the different pictures the primary school pupils create.
Seven Pups Steal Hearts at Care Home
Seven eight week old Terrier Cross Puppies have stolen the hearts of residents at Sherborne House Care Home in Yeovil. Amy Trowbridge-smith, who works at the care home owns the seven puppies and was having difficulty deciding on names so she took them to meet the residents who suggested suitable names for them after a play session with the three boys and four girls.
Treacle, Sky, Bella, Marley, Patch Nunock and Magic have all found loving homes and enjoyed their visit to meet the residents for a play session.
The puppies were an ideal tonic for the residents who always enjoy meeting animals, birds and any other friendly guests that visit.
Employees of the Month – September
We are delighted to share September’s 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 and support to residents.
Our Employees of the Month for September are:
Steepleton Manor
Kate Mauger
Kate is Steepleton Manor’s Employee of the Month. Kate has worked hard throughout the month and everyone at the home can always depend on her. Kate is an efficient, punctual staff member who has great attention to detail and always has time in her day to chat to the residents.
Sherborne House
Natasha Curr
Natasha has been nominated as Sherborne House’s Employee of the Month. Natasha always has a smile on her face, and nothing is ever a bother. Our residents have nothing but praise for how amazing she is.
Weymouth Care Home
Jackie
Employee of the Month for Weymouth Care Home, Jackie has managed exceptionally well in the absence of her colleague. Jackie keeps the home’s domestic team organised and Weymouth Care Home clean and tidy.
Congratulations to all of our Employees of the Month!
Good luck Sami
A small send off was arranged to wish Sami well with the forthcoming birth of her first baby which is due sometime in the middle of October. Sami has been with the Company for several years, working her way up from carer to Field Care Supervisor in the Care Home department, and now Finance Administrator at our Head Office. We look forward to welcoming Sami back after her maternity leave. Good luck Sami!
Floral Tributes brighten lives of residents
Staff and residents would like to thank the families of the late Mrs Yeatman and Mr Sewell for the beautiful flowers which were kindly donated to the care home.
Both Mrs Yeatman and Mr Sewell will be much missed and remembered by all who knew them at Steepleton Manor. Their families wanted their floral tributes to remain at the care home to add some colour and cheer for residents, staff and visitors to the care home.
Puppy Love at Sherborne House
Residents at Sherborne House fell in love with a cute and friendly puppy who belongs to one of the staff members when he visited recently.
One of a litter of seven, the little Jack Russell Terrier cross pup was an ideal lap companion for both residents and staff. It was smiles all round thanks to the tiny bundle of fur!
