Elderly care Archives - Page 3 of 3

A New Home, Not a Care Home

Posted on 12 March 2019 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.

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

Posted on 8 January 201922 February 2024 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 2019 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.

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.

Ferret Fun at Steepleton Manor

Posted on 12 December 2018 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”.

What Will More Technology in Care Mean for Service Users?

Posted on 23 October 2018 by dukadmin

Like most walks of life, the care sector is experiencing technological change. The pace of change is likely to increase rather than decrease.

For some, more technology and automation conjures up an image of a world where social care becomes dehumanised, where conversations are with computer applications and chatbots rather than people. Or where a friendly robot takes care of domestic duties. We believe the reality will be very different, and much more human.

If we look at the technology we are currently using it actually creates more human interaction rather than less. It enhances personal care rather than replacing it.

Care staff use handheld PDA’s to make sure they have instant access to information about service users, their care plans and personal preferences, wherever they are working. Record keeping and observations such as food and drink intake are made in a few clicks.

Real Time Information and Enhanced Care

Care staff have better information to work with and have to spend less time updating or sharing it. Which leaves more time to talk and to develop relationships. Using real-time information enables the delivery of better-quality care that is more focused on the needs of each individual.

Relatives are able to access information for greater peace of mind and have an involvement in care where relevant.

On a grander scale, technology opens the way to even more advancements in care. Artificial intelligence and machine learning ought to do a better job of predicting and planning care needs within an area. Virtual Reality is already helping to improve wellbeing for dementia patients by allowing them to experience environments they knew from years ago.

Good social care has always been, and will always be, something that has human interaction and relationships at its core. Technology will not change this; it will enhance rather than replace those interactions. It will also bring the entire ‘team around the person’ closer together, which includes care staff, health professionals, family and carers.

For anyone interested in better quality, more personalised care, technology is something to be embraced rather than resisted.

To arrange a visit to one of our care homes to see how we are delivering better quality care focused on individual needs, contact us today on 01305 300 161.

Forget Residential Care, think of it as Assisted Living Instead

Posted on 2 October 2018 by dukadmin

Everyone has their own idea of what life in a residential care home would be like. That view isn’t always based on fact or experience and often isn’t accurate. To help get over some of the preconceptions we like to talk about assisted living rather than residential care.

Care sounds a bit passive. But for most of our residents, living is anything but a passive experience. Assisted living means that we see our role as helping our residents live the most active and fulfilling life possible, free from the day to day tasks and concerns of running their own home. Personal care needs, if any, are taken care of by skilled and qualified care staff, but that is far from the whole picture.

Easy Access to Activities

One of the biggest advantages for our residents is that it’s so much easier to take part in a wide range of activities and excursions. It’s possible to end up with a busier and more active social life than when you lived in your own home. There are always people to go with and somebody takes care of the arrangements and transport.

A glance at a monthly activity programme for Steepleton Manor reveals a wide range of excursions and events. Many of these are free and some have a small additional charge to cover entrance fees, transport and so on.

The programme includes theatre trips, pub lunches, a balloon festival, food festivals and trips out to museums and local attractions. This is in addition to the regular craft and exercise activities at the Manor. How many of these would have been available and accessible without assisted living?

Even if you don’t fancy a trip out, there is plenty on offer. If you just want a pleasant stroll, Steepleton Manor is set in beautiful grounds for you to take advantage of, with picturesque landscaped gardens right outside your door.

For an increasing number of people, assisted living is far from being the last resort. It’s the result of a positive choice to get some assistance with everyday life while getting on with things you really want to do.

Home Care Services in Southampton – Extending the Altogether Care Family

Posted on 13 September 201822 February 2024 by dukadmin

Care at home is a lifeline for many elderly people. Being able to receive help with tasks such as getting in and out of bed, washing, dressing and housework can make all the difference to people who need some assistive care but want to stay in their own home.

Knowing a trusted home care provider can make all the difference. Altogether Care has an established reputation for providing high quality residential and domiciliary care in Dorset and Somerset. We are driven by helping people to live as independently as possible. Building on this success, we are now able to offer the following care services in the Southampton area:

Personal Care,
Live-in Care,
Getting out and about,
Domestic support,
Sleeping/Waking night care,
Companionship and sitting service

We aim to help people continue to live life as independently as possible, with the reassurance that help is available through pre-arranged visits at times they choose. Just because everyday tasks are becoming a little more difficult, it doesn’t mean that you have to give up your independence.

Extended Services

Staying in your own home might also mean that some help is needed with every day, non-care activities such as DIY, gardening and cleaning. To make life easier for our clients we’ve extended our services to include these tasks. Whatever support you need you can get it from one trusted organisation.

Being an established care provider means that we can carefully select and vet tradespeople who will understand your needs and be ideally suited to helping older people in their own homes.

In launching our Southampton office, we are bringing the same family-run, caring approach that has earned us an excellent reputation for in care for 30 years. If you’d like to find out more, please get in touch with us on 02382 351 800 or visit our Southampton home care services page.

Tag: Elderly care

A New Home, Not a Care Home

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

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

Ferret Fun at Steepleton Manor

Forget Residential Care, think of it as Assisted Living Instead

Head Office

Some recent day to day activities