Newsletter | June 2019
ROYAL GARDEN PARTY AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE
SPARKLE AWARDS AVANTE SCORES A FIRST MAKING A SMALL WISH A REALITY
YOUNG AT HEART
CREATING COMMUNITIES Our Vision for Avante Care and Support is ‘Communities where everyone has a vibrant and fulfilling life’, and so I am delighted that Avante Care & Support has become the first health and social care provider in the country to have all its care homes accredited as Eden Alternative homes. Our aim through the Eden Alternative is to create communities where life is worth living. We achieve this through companionship, through giving as well as and receiving care, and through variety and spontaneity in everyday life. An example of this might be picking up an old hobby or past time, like going to the swimming pool. Or it might mean remembering war time experiences with colleagues, friends and family. Or it might mean joining in with a music class. You can read about all of these and more, later in this newsletter.
The implementation of the Eden Alternative is a powerful tool for improving the quality of life and quality of care for those living in care homes, including significant decreases in the use of medication. Consequently, we spend a lot of time introducing new staff to the Eden Alternative as part of their induction programme, as well as encouraging established staff to qualify as Eden Associates by going through a more intensive three day course. We have a programme to increase the number of staff who are Eden Associates and so far we are on course to meet our target. We are delighted to announce that Nicolas Kee Mew, Home Manager at Riverdale Court, has been selected to join the National Care Forum’s Rising Star scheme. The Rising Star programme is an initiative created to develop leadership skills through mentoring and learning opportunities. NCF members are invited to nominate managers and each year and ten are selected to participate in this programme. The scheme includes access
to an experienced mentor, a series of events and workshops, a visit to the WCS Innovation Hub in Warwickshire and a published interview with Care Management Matters. Also inside this issue you will read about our Sparkle Awards ceremony to be held in October. We will be recognising the excellent work that our staff do in caring for our residents and service users. Anyone can nominate anyone for an award - we have sent publicity out to all the homes and home care branches with details of how you can nominate and the categories for the awards. The categories include Care Home Worker of the Year, Home Care Worker of the Year and Colleague of the Year. Also, there will be awards for kitchen and domestic staff, Registered Managers, Deputies and senior staff, as well as some exciting awards celebrating innovation and personal development.
What we need now is nominations! So, please have a think about which members of staff are making a real difference to lives of our residents and service users. Who goes the extra mile? Who is the unsung hero? Let us know by filling in a nomination form. Of course, we would like to thank all of our committed staff for their hard work, as well as our volunteers and relatives for your input to creating communities where everyone has a vibrant and fulfilling life. Finally, I’m often in and out of our services and I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you when I visit. To be able to spend time with residents, service users, relatives and staff is one of the aspects of my job that I most enjoy, so please stop me and say ‘hello’!
Stuart Cross Managing Director Avante Care & Support
AVANTE SCORES A FIRST! We are proud to be the first health and social care provider to have all its care homes accredited as Eden Alternative homes. The Eden Alternative is a philosophy of care based on the core belief that ageing should be a continued stage of development and growth, rather than a period of decline. Northbourne Court in Sidcup and Weybourne in Abbey Wood both received their Eden Accreditation last month joining our other seven homes on the Eden Register. The Accreditation is recognition that residents live a vibrant and fulfilling life in residential care, with staff providing meaningful activities, engagement with the community and promoting companionship. Jacqui Morris, Director of Quality said, “Avante Care & Support are pleased to have all 9 of our care homes now on the Eden register. Special thanks to all our residents and staff, for the continued commitment in embedding the Eden philosophy into everyday practice. By working together they are helping to deliver Avante’s vision ‘Communities where everyone has a vibrant and fulfilling life’. In July we are hoping to achieve Eden validation for our two Home Care and Support services, these in addition to our care homes will mean all Avante care homes and care services will have Eden validation”.
On the 9 October 2019 Avante Care & Support will be hosting the Sparkle Awards ceremony. This will be a fantastic occasion when we recognise, reward and celebrate the hard work of our staff in supporting our residents, service users and colleagues. There are nomination stations set up at every care home and home care offices ready for you all to make your nominations or you can use the online nomination form found on our website at www.avantecare.org.uk/sparkle-awards. 1st prize winners for each category will be awarded £200 each, and runners up will be awarded £100 each. Don’t forget this is your opportunity to nominate a colleague who you think should be recognised for a Sparkle Award.
2019 ANNUAL GARDEN PARTY AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE On 23 May residents from Avante’s Care Homes, Day Care and Home Care service attended an Annual Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. The Royal Family has a long-standing association with the charity which was established in 1920, ‘To provide comfort, cheer and entertainment for the wounded ex-servicemen still in hospital as a result of the Great War’. The tradition of providing entertainment for guests continues to this day, with today's guests being able to sample some traditional tea and cake and explore the beautiful Buckingham Palace Garden. Emma Ansley, Activities Coordinator from Court Regis care home said, “What an amazing day spent at Buckingham
Palace! It was such an honour and privilege to escort three of our veterans to the Not Forgotten Associations’ Annual Garden Party. We started off our day with a picnic stop at Greenwich Park and enjoyed the sunshine and views. We then went on to the Palace where we enjoyed afternoon tea and met countless celebrities who took the time to speak to our veterans about their experiences during their time in service. It was a pleasure to watch the chaps living the day with their family members when they arrived home in the evening”. Pauline Sheedy, Field Care Coordinator, took one of the home care clients Arthur to the garden party, she spoke about how Arthur had been so excited to attend and was delighted when his official invitation arrived. Pauline said “When Arthur and I talked through the opportunity of attending the Garden Party it evoked memories with Arthur and was keen to share his
experiences in the war. Arthur fought in the desert when he was 19 years old and was shot in the leg. He remembered how he had to continue fighting for 4 days and nights whilst being wounded. We spent a long time that afternoon chatting about the old times and Arthur was delighted he had the opportunity to attend the Royal Garden Party. Arthur’s highlights were having his photo taken with celebrities and the food. He said he will never forget the day and to me that’s what it’s all about”. The Not Forgotten Association is uniquely privileged to hold a Garden Party annually by kind permission of Her Majesty the Queen. This privilege dates back to the first Royal Patron HRH the Princess Mary who invited 600 seriously wounded servicemen and women for afternoon tea.
personal choice when choosing a garment like this. It was paramount Yvonne was involved and was able to choose swim wear she was happy with.
MAKING A SMALL WISH A REALITY Providing meaningful opportunities is an integral part of Avante Care & Support’s Philosophy of Care. Our staff support residents to continue enjoying and developing their interests and hobbies. Pilgrims View care home in Snodland, recently took resident Yvonne swimming after learning she was a keen swimmer. One afternoon Yvonne spoke to Vicky O’Neil, Activities Coordinator about her love for swimming and her face illuminated at the thought of one of her favourite interests. From that moment on Vicky with the help from other carers were determined to take Yvonne swimming again. Vicky said, "I talked through plans with Yvonne to make sure she was happy and willing to go swimming again, which she was! The next stage was to purchase a swimming costume, but as we all know swim wear comes in all shapes and sizes and it is very much
I work with a company called Oomph who help support our activities and provide day trips out for our residents including shopping trips. It just so happened there was a shopping trip booked so we went shopping with Yvonne to choose her swimwear. The following week myself and another carer set off for Larkfield swimming centre. Yvonne said she felt a little nervous but more excited to be going swimming. We supported Yvonne into the pool and we waded in up to our waists. That’s when my heart melted and I was overwhelmed with emotion as Yvonne pushed herself out into the water and began to swim, she looked so happy, relaxed and comfortable. It was an amazing afternoon and one that Yvonne was very keen to repeat. On the way home Yvonne suggested other residents that might be keen to join her next time. We have now decided on bi-monthly swimming trips and have encouraged relatives to bring swim wear to the home for their loved ones and family members so we can hopefully extend the swimming trips out to more residents".
A FOX VISITS RIVERDALE COURT Pandora, one of our lovely carers at Riverdale Court came in one aftertoon dressed as colourful fox Judy Brightpaw, wowing staff and residents alike. Many laughs were had. Thank you for a colourful afternoon Judy!
Wild Science visited Northbourne Court, giving the residents a chance to see and handle some creepy crawlies!
AFTERNOON TEA CHARITY FUNDRAISER IN AID OF MYOSITIS UK Head Office staff at Avante Care & Support hosted an afternoon tea to raise awareness and vital funds for Myositis UK. The event was held in memory of colleague and friend Amanda Gibbs who had worked with Avante Care & Support for over 10 years in the payroll department and sadly passed away last September. The Myositis charity was close to Amanda’s heart. The afternoon tea included an abundance of homemade cakes, scones and sausage rolls all kindly baked and donated by staff. Alongside the food was a range of entertainment including Bingo, an egg and spoon race, a
crossword puzzle, darts and a raffle where all prizes were kindly donated from generous staff across Avante Care & Support. The afternoon was a great success, full of fun and laughter with a very generous £350 raised for Myositis UK. Elaine Cox, Assistant Payroll Manager said, “We are delighted with the success of the event. We wanted to host an afternoon tea in memory of our colleague and dear friend Amanda. It felt right that we should use the day to help raise much needed funds and raise awareness for Myositis UK. I am so grateful for all the help, donations and fun that everyone brought to the afternoon”.
Young at Heart intergenerational music classes have been designed to entertain and engage everyone from the youngest to the oldest members of the group, through singing, movement, instruments and bubbles. Each session lasts 45mins with the creative activity followed by a meet and mingle with the home’s residents and care team. The purpose of the music activity is to reduce loneliness, improve well-being, tackle ageism and unite local communities through joyful intergenerational activities.
YOUNG AT HEART At Riverdale Court, Welling, staff endeavour to bridge the generation gap hosting weekly sing-along music class activities at the home with pre-schoolers and their parents. Riverdale Court, owned and operated by Avante Care and Support, has collaborated with Sarah Fitzgerald Chanchai to host weekly sessions called Young at Heart, a not-for-profit social enterprise. Sarah Fitzgerald Chanchai, graduated from Goldsmiths University in 2007 as a Bachelor of Music, and since then Sarah has been teaching music, the violin and recorder in a variety of different primary schools within the Bexley and Lewisham Borough. In April, Sarah launched two new classes, one with Shooting Star Childcare (Welling) providing music sessions for children up to 5 years old, and the other a new intergenerational music class for children up to 5 years old with residents at Riverdale Court.
Care Home Manager, Nicolas Kee Mew said: “We are delighted to be hosting the weekly music session Young at Heart at our home. We know that intergenerational activities can help to improve both the residents’ physical and emotional well-being. We really enjoyed the first session and hope that local parents and their little ones will come along and join us for a great morning of socialisation and fun.” Founder of Young at Heart, Sarah Fitzgerald Chanchai said: “We’re so pleased to have partnered with Riverdale Court. It means we can spread the joy that music can bring to children, parents and older people within the Bexley community, bringing everyone together for music, fun and friendship. It’s an exciting step for Young at Heart and we’re thrilled to be working with a care home that shares our commitment to enriching the lives of people living in residential care.” Riverdale Court’s Young at Heart music sessions take place every Wednesday (term time). Sessions start at 10.45am. For more information please email musicwithsarah17@aol.com or Facebook page musicwithsarah
RAISE DONATIONS FOR AVANTE CARE & SUPPORT WHEN YOU SHOP ONLINE How does it work? easyfundraising could turn your everyday online shopping into free donations for Avante Care & Support. How? Just start your online shopping first at easyfundraising, then shop as normal. Our retailers will then make a small donation to say “thank you”. We have 3,601 retailers to choose from and so far we've raised over £25 million for thousands of community groups, schools, sports clubs, small and large charities across the UK. Easy!
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www.easyfundraising.org.uk 2. Start shopping Visit retailers and then shop online as normal
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Avante Care & Support homes and services • • • • •
Amherst Court Bridge Haven Court Regis Northbourne Court Parkview
• • • • •
Pilgrims View Puddingstone Grange Riverdale Court Weybourne Avante Charitable Fund
If you would like to find out more about Avante Care & Support please call us on 01795 597400 or visit our website at www.avantecare.org.uk
• Avante Home Care and Support - Kent • Avante Home Care and Support - Bexley