The Tudors Care Home Previous Newsletter
The Tudors Care Home
1/12/2010
Well another Christmas gone and we’re all feeling fatter and less wealthy! The festivities went well, with residents enjoying local shopping trips as well as a big meal at the local Brewers Fayre , 20 residents went in the end and although it was a logistical nightmare they all enjoyed a day out and some enjoyed the odd tipple!
The pantomime was a great success and I have to say one of the better ones I have ever seen, residents really enjoyed going to the Key Theatre and the staff there were incredibly helpful, it has been a suggestion that next year we consider getting a pantomime firm in for an afternoon, your thoughts on this would be great. The Christmas party was also a great success, the entertainment went down incredibly well, didn’t realise we had some professional dancers here!
MOVING FORWARD
I’m sure like most of us a lot of you watched the BBC 2 “Fixing Dementia Care Homes” with Gerry Robinson. For those of you that didn’t he focused on several care homes that catered for dementia and looked at what kind of service and outcomes were reached.
I was horrified at some of the scenes shown and very grateful for the team of staff I have working here, but like all services I know we still need to improve upon what we offer to be able to provide the very best in dementia care. On watching the program I made notes on where we could improve and how it could be done and in the New Year I held a meeting for all day staff, including the ancillary team to discuss how we move forwards enabling us to be recognised as a service that delivers excellent dementia care.
A group of us including our 2 team leaders recently completed the Alzheimer’s Society, Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, course and over the 10 weeks period have learnt a great deal on how we can improve the quality of individuals life’s. As a group we have already made a start by putting things into
Practice, encouraging independence, spending more time on a one to one basis, looking at past history and getting residents involved with the running of the house, the results have been rewarding. We are now trying to get everyone involved, by taking the time out of their schedules and involving our residents, this is not only stimulation but a real chance to get responses from people that on an ordinary day is impossible.
We have also implemented staff sitting with residents at meal times, better social interaction and we are keen to get your feedback as well as ideas on how we proceed.
It is going to take time, and getting people out of their comfort zone and routine also takes time, but we are all of the same thinking that if that extra 5 minutes makes someone’s life with us happier and more fulfilling then it is definitely worth it!
We will be talking about this more at our next relatives meeting, but I welcome your responses now, lets work together to make our residents happier and more fulfilled and the Tudors stand out when it comes to delivering high quality dementia care.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF
On attending a recent marketing meeting we discussed raising the profile of the home and making contact with local groups and papers. The Tudors have always been fortunate to gain great support from relative’s, friends and local papers and on thinking about things in-depth I decided that one area that is always very hard to maintain and something that needed to be raised was how residents feel about coming into care and how they can get isolated so easily from the outside world as people perceive this to be all they need socially.
I want to raise awareness generally on how it really is and how life’s get forgotten as well as try and start some elderly networking between us and other homes, maybe by introducing a Peterborough monthly coffee morning in each others establishments, therefore getting residents out more and enabling them if they want to, to network with others in a similar position.
I would like to approach the Evening Telegraph and do a monthly piece on “a day in life of”, which will focus on one individual, looking at their past, present and future, I would like to then get other homes involved locally and hopefully start networking and forming social relationships. This would obviously mean I would need consent from next of kin’s so that we could use details of those that want to participate.
I think it would be great way of residents getting out into the community and making friends, maybe meeting old ones to!
COMMUNITY LINKS
Staying on the same theme anyone who knows of any local community groups that we get involved with please let me know, there appears to be a sincere lack of groups, events and functions that we can attend, once you become a resident of a home, lets try and rectify this together.
TEAM LEADER DAYS
Jackie has already held her first open day and on looking at her reports it was a success. The monthly reports I have been producing have become increasingly more difficult to produce and I will be approaching one of the team to see if this is something they can take over, unless we decide to integrate the monthly reports with the team leader open day. The day is an opportunity for you to come in at an agreed time and spend time looking at records and discussing your loved ones care, it keeps you updated and provides with information that ordinarily you may not receive. Ronnie will be holding a day soon and his own relatives meeting for unit one, so that all relatives can have their say and look at ways we can improve.
MATERNITY LEAVE
For those of you that aren’t aware I am expecting a baby, and she is due in May, I will God willing work up until May and prior to my leave will ensure that you are all informed of who will be taking my place whilst I am away. I will of cause keep in touch with the home whilst on my leave, I don’t want to be the new girl on my return.
Relatives Meetings
2010
February 4TH 6PM
