Care homes up for award again
STAFF at two local residential homes have crossed their fingers in the hope of winning a national contest again.
Brighterkind, which runs Woodbury House and The Berkshire Care Homes, has been shortlisted for Best residential care provider for the second successive year: last year they scooped the top spot and are now looking to defend their honour.
Samantha Bell, home manager at Woodbury, said: “Entrants for the competition to find the best residential care provider are expected to have high standards of care as a basic requirement to take part, but to make it through as a finalist they have to show how they are going above and beyond for their residents.
“Here at Woodbury House we have a Wishing Well scheme, which fulfils wishes for residents, whenever possible, to experience something they have long wanted to do or to be taken somewhere they want to visit. This is one of the signature elements of each of the homes in the group, along with a programme of recreation, activities and entertainment, called Magic Moments, designed to promote wellbeing.
“We also provide a restaurant style dining experience. Our aim is to help people living in our home to have the best day-to-day experience and quality of life that they can, recognising that with age many of them are not as mobile or as well as they once were.
“These were features that the judges commended in awarding the title of best residential care provider last year and we have added to those programmes this year. We are also encouraging residents to be offered opportunities to ‘ pop out’, as they would when living in their own home, and this starts with using our gardens and outside space.
“Regular gardening activities and clubs have been created with a focus being placed on using outside space more generally for activities.
“As part of our fresh air strategy, we are also piloting a project to provide additional trips and excursions.
“We have a strong team culture, in which our colleagues in Woodbury House and throughout the wider group participated in helping to define the values we would work to, including creating “homes that feel like home” for our residents and that we would “do it from the heart.”
“It would be quite extraordinary to be named as best residential care provider two years running, but we have made it through to be shortlisted as a finalist and so we are hoping.”
Brighterkind, which has been established for four years, has 70 homes offering a mixture of nursing, residential, dementia and palliative care.
The national award programme is run in conjunction with Health Investor magazine.
Woodbury House residents have been taking part in a Pimp My Zimmer challenge – an initiative rolling out in care homes to reduce falls by making walking frames more recognisable and personal.
Katty Wakeham, Activities Coordinator at the Farley Hill home, said that two stood out for her.
Resident Frances created The Knitmobile, designed around her love for knitting and includes a basket for her wool and a seat for her to use.
And the naval career of resident Ken inspired his frame, now renamed the HMS Woodbury. He spent many years travelling all over the world and particularly loved Australia.
Ms Wakeham said: “I modified Ken’s walker out of his sight so that I could surprise him with it and he was so happy to see it, he said nobody had ever done anything like that for him before.
“We also got him his own captain’s hat and he now commands the Woodbury Seas.”