Caring uk weekly April 24

Quick-thinking assistant comes to woman’s aid

THE quick-thinking actions of a homecare assistant meant a woman who fell ill at a church service was given swift medical attention.

Helen Manning, a long-time carer at Westmorland Homecare’s South Lakeland branch, calmly assessed the situation and called for an ambulance, while at the same time giving reassurance to the client she was looking after and frightened members of the congregation. The woman was subsequently taken to hospital and is now recovered.

“Helen reacted superbly in a difficult and evolving situation,” said Dr Chris Moss, a director with Westmorland Homecare.

“She was observant to spot that the woman had fallen ill, swiftly called for an ambulance and was considerate of everyone around her.”

The incident happened at St Mary’s Church at Windermere, where Helen had taken one of her clients.

“We were sitting waiting for the service to start and I noticed in front of me that a lady said to the lady beside her ‘Are you alright?’ and there was no response,” said Helen.

“I thought ‘I’ll just monitor this’ and I asked my client if she minded if I went to help the lady. She said ‘no, go to her’ so I went to sit beside her, took hold of her hand to feel the weight and she lost my grip and her hand fell to the side. At that point I thought ‘I need to bounce into action here’.”

The service had started by then so Helen went out into the hallway and called the emergency services.

The operator asked her various questions and Helen went back inside to find out the lady’s name and age from her companion and passed these on.

The lady started to regain consciousness and Helen went back to ask her client if she was alright on her own. She said she was so Helen sat with the lady who was ill until paramedics arrived and she was able to tell them everything that had happened.

Helen was also keen to reassure some members of the congregation, who were frightened by the incident.

“Once you are a carer you are always a carer,” added Helen. “I did not want anyone going away feeling bad or sad because it looked like everything was going to be alright.

“I then said to my client: ‘Let’s go and get you a cup of coffee and a biscuit – it has been a big shock for everyone.”

She added that being a carer for many years meant she had become accustomed to noticing if anything was ‘out of sync’ with another person. For example, a client might become a little confused due to being dehydrated in hot weather.

“It is there all the time, it never leaves you and you are never off duty,” said Helen.

She also praised the first aid training she and other Westmorland Homecare staff received regularly from Dr Moss.

A couple from High Wycombe have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary at Royal Star & Garter. Margaret and Gordon Beaumont enjoyed a party and cake with family and other residents. Margaret is a resident at the Home, while Gordon, who is an Army veteran and lives nearby, visits his wife twice a day. Margaret was a third year Cambridge University student studying maths when she met Gordon in 1949. He had recently completed his National Service with the Royal Signals, and was commencing his course after deferring university entrance. The couple tied the knot on April 10 ,1954 in Stockport, and lived in Coventry. Margaret taught at a girls’ grammar school while Gordon worked as a research chemist for manufacturers Courtaulds. Among the guests at the great grandparents’ platinum anniversary party at Royal Star & Garter were their two daughters, sons-in-law and friends. They all enjoyed a special lunch and cake made by kitchen staff at the Home.

Homes encouraged to commemorate

THE National Association of Care Catering is encouraging everyone to have a fish and chip lunch on June 6 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

The NACC has released a free resource pack for all in the sector to download to make the most of the day in their care homes, lunch clubs and Meals on Wheels provisions.

The pack includes a fish and chips recipe from the NACC care chef of the year, Brian Preston.

NACC national chair Neel Radia said: “This is an ideal celebration for everyone within the care sector. “Many of today’s residents in the

care homes represented by the NACC will have first-hand memories of this momentous occasion and we have a fine reputation of inviting the local community into our homes, including young children, to share events like these, giving our residents the chance to pass on their treasured memories.”

National Fish and Chip Day, which is now in its ninth year, has been moved this year in order to honour the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings – the largest naval, land and air operation in history.

For more information visit https:// www.thenacc.co.uk/events/80thanniversary-of-d-day

Online meetings lead to Bonnie’s career change

A PROFESSIONAL relationship which started online during Covid via NHSrun adult social care Teams calls resulted in a dementia specialist being offered an interesting new career opportunity she couldn’t resist.

Bonnie Frear is now working in the newly-created post of quality assurance manager for the White Care Group which runs three specialist residential and nursing homes in Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and Taunton.

She started her career in care as a community psychiatric nurse in 2013, having come late to nursing and qualified as a mature student aged 33. By that time she was already a mum of two, with an early working life that featured a variety of public-facing roles, including five years serving as a full-time special constable in the unfulfilled hope of joining the mounted police, something she’d wanted because horses had always been a huge part of her life.

After leaving the police service, Bonnie became part of the team that supervised early prison release curfews, however when both her maternal grandparents required more support she spent a lot of time in Cornwall caring for them.

She said: “It was my Grandad who spotted an ad for a homecare assistant and suggested it might suit me. And he was in a good position to recognise that.”

Her initial role involved day-long visits to support a woman with dementia in a way that allowed her to continue living in her own home, and Bonnie immediately loved the work.

After five years in that role, she moved to working in a nursing home for the same company but found this less fulfilling and was inspired to take an ‘access to nursing’ course. She loved her nurse training and made the most of her student years, acting as university representative for her cohort throughout her course at Plymouth University based at Bridgwater and Taunton College, and becoming the first recipient of the newly established ‘Andy Hagley Memorial Award’ when she graduated in 2013.

There followed two years as a community psychiatric nurse before Bonnie joined a specialist care home in Wellington, Somerset, as their clinical lead for dementia care. A year

later she was appointed to deputy manager and stayed in that position until 2023.

It was during Covid, when she was taking an active part in the regular NHS-run adult social care Teams calls, that Bonnie met Philip White of St Benedict’s Nursing Home in Glastonbury.

And when Philip’s family business decided to appoint its first quality assurance manager for St Benedict’s and their other two homes – St Cecilia’s in Shepton Mallet and The Rectory in Taunton – Bonnie was his ideal choice for the position.

She added: “This has been a massive career change for me, but it’s such a rewarding role.

“I am responsible for overseeing all three homes, for supporting the managers and for helping ensure overall quality, systems compliance, new care planning and observation of governance principles throughout.

“We are entrusted with the wellbeing of sometimes very vulnerable people, and it is genuinely a privilege to be able to support them to live their best lives.

“What is most important in the care sector is having the right attributes: a kind nature, a caring attitude and approach, and the right life skills. Training is importantly, obviously, but much of that can be delivered onthe-job, so when we’re recruiting it’s the underlying personality we’re most interested in.

“Working in care is demanding, but I think it’s one of the most rewarding things you can do: knowing it’s in your hands to deliver the best quality of life for your residents, and enjoying the variety of a working environment where no two days are ever the same.”

Sarah named Apprentice of the Year

A STOKE-On-Trent care home apprentice is celebrating winning Training Provider Apprentice of the Year. The award by Anchor was given to Sarah Bithell, 27, a team leader at the provider’s Maple Tree Court care home.

Sarah was nominated by apprenticeship training provider Learning Curve Group, who have been supporting her with her Level 4 Lead Practitioner in Adult Care training. They praised Sarah’s standard of work and professionalism in their nomination.

Sarah said: “I’m overjoyed, I really am. It’s wonderful to have won. I’m really touched I was even nominated.

“I really enjoy my job and I really enjoy working at Maple Tree Court. I’ve learned so much from the residents and the rest of the team here. A further thank you to Learning Curve Group for their support.”

Anchor’s apprenticeship scheme is open to all existing staff and also school leavers and provides an entry into the sector and progression route for those interested in a career in care.

A Halstead care home resident celebrated her 90th birthday in style with the help of a local scooter club. When the team at Care UK’s Colne View learned that Eileen Patten loved scooters when she was younger, they quickly got to work planning a surprise scooter drive-by for her birthday. Keen to impress on Eileen’s big day, the team worked with FaNs Network to arrange the special visit. Ten different coloured scooters arrived at the home for the special drive-by event. Eileen wasted no time in jumping aboard one of the scooters as soon as they’d completed their laps and enjoyed hearing all about their stories of restoration and how the new scooters are operated today. With a slice of birthday cake and plenty of special gifts on the day, the team threw Eileen a party at Colne View where she was joined by her family, friends and the local bikers.

A Second World War veteran badly injured clearing enemy mines from a beach nearly 80 years ago has hit the heights to celebrate his 100th birthday. Former Royal Navy officer Boyd Salmon travelled from his Lymington care home to Bournemouth Airport for a helicopter flight over Southampton Water, the Solent and the New Forest coastline. It was one of several treats arranged by his family over a four-day ‘birthday season’ which involved help from team members at Colten Care’s Court Lodge. Two visiting naval officers presented Boyd with a certificate of appreciation and lifetime membership of the Royal Naval Association and, in a visit to Lymington Royal British Legion, he was invited to join an official D-Day 80th anniversary parade in June.

A Royal Star & Garter resident in Surbiton has celebrated her 100th birthday. Joan Roscorla was treated to a special lunch with family, before the Home threw her a tea party with live music entertainment. Joan was born in Staffordshire, and during WWII worked as a civilian wages clerk for contractors who were building an RAF aerodrome in Derbyshire. She married her husband Halsey, who she had met at a dance in 1946, and they settled in Wales. He had just left the RAF, where he was a WWII pilot, and the couple had two children. Halsey, who died in 1966, rarely spoke to his family about his time in the service. In later life she enjoyed spending time on her allotments. The great-grandmother also learned dressmaking, and on her daughter’s wedding day made a bridal gown and bridesmaid dresses.

Joan Gillham celebrated her 100th birthday at Windmill Care Centre in Slough, where she has resided for the past three years. Joan, who has five grandchildren and nine great grandchildren, marked the milestone with a party with family, fellow residents and staff. After leaving school at just 14, Joan went to work at Horlicks and continued there through the war years. In 1948 she married Gordon, the youngest of five brothers from Chalvey, at Stoke Poges Church. The couple lived in Chalvey, and had two children, Graham and Linda, born 10 years apart, before moving to Cippenham in 1970. Gordon was a stalwart member of the Cippenham British Legion and after his passing in 1987, Joan continued to enjoy the friendship and company of fellow members well into her nineties – attending the weekly raffle, bingo and joining the annual Remembrance Day parade.

Bonnie Frear

Former actor Elizabeth returns to the limelight with help from care home

A DORSET dementia care home has enabled a 96-year-old former stage actor and singer to step back into the limelight.

Elizabeth Kay had a career treading the boards after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1946.

At the age of 19 one of her first big opportunities was to play the part of Ismene alongside the famous star Lawrence Olivier in a production of Oedipus Rex in London’s West End. Going on to appear in many other shows, Elizabeth’s favourite music hall routines included songs such as Burlington Bertie from Bow and Nobody Loves a Fairy When She’s 40. Now living at Colten Care’s dedicated dementia care home The Aldbury in Poole, Elizabeth was reminiscing about her stage career and told staff of her wish to perform once more.

Cara Duroe of the companionship team devised a way in which Elizabeth could have her wish come true and link it to the home’s celebration of World Theatre Day. She spoke with touring theatre company Tickled Pink Productions who agreed to bring their Best of Broadway show to the home.

On the big night, Cara and colleagues transformed The Aldbury’s Strauss Lounge into a glitzy theatre complete with lighting, decorations,

programmes and supplies of popcorn and ice creams for the audience. After lyric sheets were distributed, Elizabeth, fellow residents and family members watched and sang along as Tickled Pink performers Sofia Loreti and Rowan Mackillop reprised hits such as Putting On The Ritz, Singing In The Rain and No Business Like Show Business.

Cara said: “The show has a lovely light-hearted story line about ‘Betty and Judy’ tap-dancing their way to Broadway success. The actors Rowan and Sofia played it perfectly. The

10-year celebrations for Fareham team

BLUEBIRD Care Fareham is

celebrating its 10th anniversary of delivering home care services to people across the area.

The team hosted a celebration lunch at its Shedfield offices to mark the milestone anniversary of exactly ten years when owner Gabi Sprechert took over the franchise. Staff enjoyed sharing memories from the past decade, along with a buffet and birthday cake.

She said: “I am so proud of all we have achieved over the past 10 years, and the fact that we have grown our service into an integral part of the local community.

“Our main accomplishment though, will always be the difference we have been able to make to so many people’s lives since 2014.

”I am extremely grateful to the incredible office and care team I’ve had around me in that time, as well

as to all our customers and their families, who truly make Bluebird Care Fareham such an amazing place – it is very special to be able to celebrate and reflect with so many of them.”

With a team of more than 35 staff and a growing customer base, Bluebird Care Fareham supports people from Fareham, Bishop’s Waltham, Wickham and the surrounding areas to live safely and independently in their own homes.

As well as domiciliary and livein care services, the team also hosts a social activities club for its customers, with the aim to increase their health and wellbeing with free, regular social activities.

Now in its third year, the club has proved to be a big hit amongst customers with activities such as garden centre visits, boat rides and craft activities.

songs that animated the residents most, prompting much dancing in their chairs, were Happy Talk and New York, New York.”

As agreed with Cara beforehand, Sofia and Rowan wrote into their script that Elizabeth was auditioning for Broadway and so brought her on to perform Burlington Bertie.

“Elizabeth donned a top hat and held her cane high and very animatedly acted her scene,” said Cara. “We were all very emotional watching and she got rapturous applause.

:She performed her turn as a true professional on what was a fantastic evening.”

Cara added: “Elizabeth told us that she started performing at three years of age and loved to dance.

“She ran away from home as her parents disapproved, saying it wasn’t a respectable career choice. She met her husband Earl backstage. He was part of a production team.

“She told me, ‘I carried on being an actress while I raised my children. During rehearsals they were told to sit there, be quiet and watch your mother!’.

“Elizabeth’s daughter has told us that her mum has always enjoyed being on the stage, acting and singing and she will never shy away from the opportunity to have an audience and entertain in her unique fashion.

“It really was a pleasure and a privilege to help Elizabeth tap into her memories of a theatrical career from years gone by.

“The companionship team dressed as ushers, our uniforms complete with snacks trays filled with New Forest ice-cream tubs, popcorn and chocolates. The trays were designed and created by the residents.”

As well as Elizabeth, the show appealed to several other experformers among the audience of residents.

One of the 10 new bedrooms now available at Hartford Care’s Belford House in four Marks, Hampshire.

Operator to launch 10 new bedrooms at care home

TEN new en-suite bedrooms are now available to reserve at Hartford Care’s Belford House care home in Four Marks, Hampshire.

The new bedrooms will be located in a newly-built extension; work is well underway and the new bedrooms will be available to move into in May.

Home manager Monika Katinas said: “We are thrilled to be able to offer another 10 bedrooms at our home.

“I’m passionate about ensuring that our residents live fulfilled lives and enjoy their time with us.

“Belford House truly is a home from home, and I look forward to warmly welcoming our new residents.”

The care home, which currently

has all 32 bedrooms occupied, offers residential care, day care, dementia care, respite breaks and end-of-life care.

The new rooms will offer clean, crisp interiors which act as a perfect canvas to be personalised as residents wish, with their own furniture from home, family photographs or paintings. All will have en suite wet rooms.

Belford House has a large, bright and airy lounge where activities are held, along with a smaller, quiet sitting room and a spacious dining room. The home has recently benefitted from redecoration of its communal areas and the installation of a state-ofthe-art hydro spa bath.

Elizabeth Kay on stage at The Aldbury with Sofia Loreti, left, and Rowan Mackillop of Tickled Pink Productions.

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Openreach team gives back to the community

GIVING a spring face-lift to the garden of the dementia home in Bridgwater where his father has been living for the past year was the activity of choice for specialist fibre engineer Andrew Chaplin and 10 of his colleagues for their spring volunteer day.

Andrew’s dad Mike is a resident at Avalon Nursing Home, and Andrew said he knew the staff there would really appreciate the support of a willing team of volunteers –courtesy of Openreach’s community engagement programme – to help prep their outdoor area to make it ready for use as soon as the sun starts shining again.

team at work: now they can’t wait to get back outside themselves and paint pallets that have been put on the walls for use as planters.

“Andrew and his colleagues were all so friendly and eager to help, and we were delighted to hear they’d like to come back and visit to do more.”

The Openreach volunteers began by clearing the car park and patio of the moss and debris that accumulates over winter, and then got stuck into painting the pergola, securing the

Andrew said: “It felt really good to contribute something practical that would be appreciated by the amazing team at Avalon, because every time I visit I am so impressed by their dedication and the way they look after my dad and the residents.“

gate and cleaning the tables.

Avalon’s activities co-ordinator, Lisa Priddice, said: “They had a busy day and all did a fantastic job, and we are so grateful to them for choosing to spend their volunteer day working at Avalon.

“Our residents enjoyed watching the

Avalon has an active gardening team made up of staff, residents and family members who regularly get together when the weather allows, to enjoy the therapeutic and social benefits of gardening.

Many of the residents have been keen gardeners all their lives.

The Avalon gardening team is undertaking a sensory garden project which will run throughout out the year, improving the space to make it better suited to residents’ needs.

apetito introduces reduced carbon menus

MEAL provider apetito has launched its reduced carbon menus to care homes across the UK in support of reducing the carbon emissions associated with mealtimes. Through prioritising using ingredients with a lower carbon footprint and encouraging less red meat in favour of poultry, fish and plant-based options, these menus help to limit impacts on the environment by reducing the carbon emissions.

The focus is on making small, yet smart, changes, all while ensuring that residents continue to enjoy ample meal choices and variety.

Importantly, as well as reducing carbon emissions, these menus do not compromise when it comes to quality, nutritional value, or the individual dietary needs of residents

with specialised nutritional solutions available for those with specific requirements.

Focusing on the carbon impact of this initiative, adoption of these menus is estimated to save approximately 2,600kg CO2e per year* – the equivalent of driving more than 9,600 miles in a car or boiling 66,000 kettles – demonstrating how even making small dietary changes can have a large positive impact.

Richard Woodward, general manager for care homes at apetito, said: “As a business we are committed to reducing our environmental impact and supporting the homes

that we work with on their journey to do the same, whilst still delivering an appealing, varied, and nutritious menu to residents that caters for diverse dietary needs.

“This is not about demonising any one ingredient; it’s about making small changes to deliver a significant difference at a time when climate change is of increasing concern to us all. We hope to continue seeing good adoption of this by homes that we partner with moving forwards.”

*Based on a 25-bed home + 75 per cent uptake of the menu.

To find out more visit apetito.link/CH-reduced-carbon-menus

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