MP joins care home to celebrate 21st birthday

CARE home staff were joined by their local MP to commemorate its 21st birthday with an awards ceremony.

Staff from Newbury Manor celebrated the event in the garden, making the most of the sunny weather which echoed the warmth of the occasion.

Staff were presented with a host of awards which recognised their longstanding commitment to providing care to residents and families.

Many of the employees have served the care home for more than 20 years, highlighting their loyalty.

Shaun Bailey, the Member of Parliament for West Bromwich, also attended the event, paying a personal thanks to the staff for their exceptional dedication to its residents.

Newbury Manor’s owner Shindar

Chall organised the day’s festivities to express her gratitude, celebrate the care home’s achievements and show their appreciation for the staff members’ unwavering passion. The event held a special significance for Shindar, who herself has dedicated 21 years to the care home.

She said: “As we celebrate our care home’s 21st birthday, I am overwhelmed with appreciation for the exceptional team we have here.

“The connections we have forged with our residents and among ourselves make Newbury Manor a place of warmth, love, and genuine care.

“Our home’s culture of respect and genuine care has created a workplace where staff members feel valued, appreciated, and motivated to stay for the long term.

“It’s this atmosphere that enables them to form deep connections with our residents and colleagues, resulting in an exceptional level of care and support. I extend the biggest thank you to all our employees for being the heart and soul of this incredible home.”

During the awards ceremony, each staff member and manager received a personalise award, clock and certificate as tokens of recognition.

Following a very popular animal therapy visit by a trio of spring lambs earlier in the year, the activities team at Camelot House and Lodge requested the wool to enable them to continue with the theme of ‘all things woolly’ by organising some related craft activities.

Activities organiser Richard Dempslake said: “We are holding ‘wool art’ classes which are proving a great hit both with those who have been used to using wool for knitting, and with those who don’t usually handle it.

“The families of residents have been very generous in donating materials and have also provided some peg looming equipment.

“We have a range of residents with some form of dementia so I thought it was important to have a variety of wool-related activities.

“The first class involved making pom poms, doing some crossstitching, tying and knotting, peg looming and plaiting wool.

“We watched videos about crossstitching and peg looming, and then supported residents to do whatever activities they fancied trying.

“With dementia everyone’s needs are different, but we seem to have succeeded in providing something that appealed to everyone. Beside the craft activities, residents with sensory loss enjoyed touching and feeling the different textured wool and our former farmer residents enjoyed seeing the different sheep’s wool we were using.

“When they’re as engaged and happy as they were with this activity, we know we’re doing a good job of helping them live their best lives.”