Newsletter | February 2020
WELCOMING CHAUCER HOUSE BBC INSIDE OUT REBORN DOLLS
DANCING ON ICE CELEBRATING CHINESE NEW YEAR PILGRIMS VIEW VISIT THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
WELCOMING CHAUCER HOUSE After several months of negotiation I am delighted to announce that Avante Care & Support has acquired Chaucer House in Canterbury. The home was marketed to a number of providers and Avante was seen to be the organisation which offered the best long term future for Chaucer House. Chaucer House is a purpose built 60 bed care home and it becomes the 10th member of the Avante family. The home provides residential, dementia and nursing care, and along with Bridge Haven in the village of
Bridge just outside Canterbury, it strengthens our presence in the area and enables us to provide a wider range of care. Avante Care & Support has been providing high quality care for older people for 30 years. As a charitable organisation, we are not-for-profit, so any financial surplus that is made is reinvested back into our operations, helping us to continuously improve the homes and deliver outstanding care and services to residents and our service users in the community. We are really looking forward to the residents and staff of Chaucer House joining Avante. During our visits to the home ahead of the acquisition we have been very
impressed by the obvious dedication of the staff and the quality of the home. We are delighted that Tricia King will continue as Home Manager and we will work closely with Tricia and her team to ensure the handover is as smooth as possible. The Avante Vision is ‘Communities where everyone has a vibrant and fulfilling life’, and we will be looking to build on the excellent work that already goes on at Chaucer House in order to make this vision a reality for the people we care for. A key part of this will be introducing our philosophy of care, the Eden Alternative. The Eden philosophy seeks to improve the quality of life for residents and provides a framework to transform traditional approaches to care into the creation of
communities where older people grow and thrive. All our existing homes and services are Eden accredited and we think this provides an ideal foundation for personalised, attentive care. We look forward to supporting the residents, relatives, staff and the local community to ensure Chaucer House is a thriving and happy place to live and work – a community where everyone has a vibrant and fulfilling life.
Stuart Cross Managing Director Avante Care & Support
BBC Inside Out Reborn Dolls You may remember back in July last year we featured a story on Denise Russell and her collection of reborn dolls. In July Denise, residents and staff from Parkview spent the day with BBC film crew, filming a documentary about reborn dolls and how the dolls can have a positive impact on those living with dementia. The Inside Out episode was recently aired on 17th February 2020 and and is now available to view on BBC Iplayer. Denise and Annette Kelly, Activities Coordinator, plan regular visits with the dolls as they have proved a popular activity with some of the residents at the home. Annette said, “Since the very first visit some residents
have taken a shine towards them and look forward to holding the dolls and pushing the prams. We always explain the dolls are not real but as soon as we hand the dolls over, residents cradle the doll in their arms as if it’s real. One lady called Mary will often sing to the dolls whilst another lady enjoys pushing a doll in a pram around the grounds of the home.” You can watch the episode of Inside Out - South East on BBC IPlayer which aired on 17th February 2020.
Amherst Court Dancing on Ice Following on Amherst Court’s previous day trip out to the local Ice Rink, the home was recently gifted tickets to see the live show of Dancing on Ice! Marie Taylor, Activities Coordinator said, “What an amazing day we've all had. Dancing on Ice was sensational! Nora was the star guest and got an autographed photo of the judges and Doris was just so happy being there, she even got to chat with Phillip Schofield and shake his hand.”
Taking reminiscence to new heights! Staff at Amherst Court have been taking reminiscence to a whole new height recently, by taking residents over the River Thames in a sky lift. Edna is one of the residents who has recently been on the sky lift, and has really enjoyed it, which has surprised staff and family members as Edna used to have a fear of heights. Staff were aware of this but Edna was keen to do it and staff were certainly not going to stand in the way! Charlotte, Home Manager, Ashley’s 18 month old daughter, who has now become a regular sky lift rider with Amherst Court residents, was a wonderful distraction for fellow riders, dispersing any fears of heights instantly. Ashley Haydon, Home Manager said, “I am so happy with how popular the Sky lift trips have become with residents. We often hold reminiscence sessions at the home, with books,
photos and the internet but we wanted to do more than this and add more value and reality. The Sky lift trips have done just that and residents are seeing exactly where they use to live, work or visit and seeing how London has changed over the years. Books and pictures do not demonstrate this as well as a lift over the River Thames and seeing it for real! My daughter joining the fun has been an added feature as she interacts brilliantly with the residents and is a great distraction should residents need it. Charlotte loves the trips so it’s been great to share this with her and for her to engage and entertain the residents”. Amherst Court care home, an ‘Outstanding care home in Chatham’. If you would like to know more or to arrange a visit please call Ashley on 01634 400009 or visit www.avantecare.org.uk.
Postcards of Kindness Postcards of Kindness is an initiative that asks people to write and send postcards to residents of care homes. Some of our care homes have received some amazing postcards from around the world, with lovely messages which has brought smiles and cheerful discussion about their own holidays.
Riverdale Court care home celebrates the Chinese New Year On Friday 24 January residents and staff at Riverdale Court in Welling, were entertained by a display of events and activities to honour and celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Rat. Activities on the day included a Tai-Chi session with May from Studio Kowloon who is an award winning performer of the famous Chinese martial art. May demonstrated Tai-Chi to residents and staff which is known for defence training as well as for its health benefits and meditation. There was a great deal of interest generated with many residents taking part in the Chinese art. Creative Mojo were next to visit Riverdale Court, working with residents and staff to design and make a Chinese Dragon. Following on from the morning’s activities, the Kitchen staff at Riverdale
Court arranged for a Chinese feast to be served which included traditional Chinese foods and cakes. After lunch was served every resident received a red envelope revealing a Chinese wish of good luck and health. The final part of the day finished with traditional fan dancing and Chinese New year horoscope reading. One family member said, ‘I was invited to join mum to celebrate the Chinese New Year, I was happy to do so as the activities on the day sounded wonderful. I was keen to learn more about the Chinese New Year as well as encouraging Nicolas and his team with cultural diversity. The food was beautiful, the activities were tailored perfectly for the residents from light exercise with Tai-Chi through to fan dancing. It really was a wonderful day at Riverdale Court and all the residents seemed to really enjoy themselves! For more information on Riverdale Court or to arrange a viewing please call Nicolas, Home Manager on 0208 3179067 or visit www.avantecare.org.uk
Residents at the home commented they received care and support that was personalised to their need and felt safe living at Puddingstone Grange.
Puddingstone Grange care home rated ‘Good’ by CQC Puddingstone Grange Care Home in Plumstead, owned and managed by Avante Care & Support, has recently been inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and has retained a ‘Good’ rating across all areas of the inspection. Located in Plumstead, Puddingstone Grange care home provides care and support for older people and those living with dementia or requiring nursing care.
The report positively illustrates the home, the staff and the care provided with comments from residents and their families including, “I am safe. I am always surrounded by staff who know what to do", “My loved one is always clean and well dressed", "The staff are exceptionally good", “The manager is very approachable, the home is very well organised”, “Puddingstone Grange is unique”. It was recorded that various religious representatives are welcomed into the home to support people who wish to practice their faith. People were also supported to wear clothes, eat food and speak languages from their ethnic or cultural backgrounds. One example during the unannounced inspection, demonstrated people wearing clothing from their ethnic backgrounds and an interpreter was provided to translate
The Care Quality Commission inspectors rated the home ‘Good’ across all five key areas of inspection which assess whether the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. The published report was based on an unannounced inspection on 20 November 2019 by the CQC. Inspectors spoke to residents, relatives, staff members and health and social care professionals. They observed staff with residents, and examined records including the staffing rota, policies, incident and accident records, recruitment and training records, minutes of meetings and audit reports.
information for residents ensuring their communication needs were met. For more information on Puddingstone Grange or to arrange a viewing to see what the home has to offer please call us on 0208 3170912 or visit www.avantecare.org.uk.
Bread baking at Bridge Haven
ing and baking loaves of bread. Residents at Bridge Haven spent a morning mix by everyone in the home! The smell of freshly cooked bread was welcomed
Valentine’s Day at The Willows
In the run up to a special day, ser vice users spent some time wrapping red roses for their very own valentine’s.
Pilgrims View visit the Natural History Museum Staff at Pilgrims View care home have been set a challenge by their Manager to visit 20 London museums with residents in a year! Challenge accepted! Vicky Jackson, Activity Coordinator said, “Our first visit took us to the Natural History Museum in London, and what a day it was! We had a great journey travelling there thanks to our volunteer driver Colin, who navigated the streets of London like a professional! We were met at the entrance and escorted in by security which made us feel like VIP’s. Once we were in, we were left to roam around and take in all the wonderful sights. Residents Brian and Micheal loved every second and so did we! Roll on the next one!”