WENHAM HOLT NURSING HOME NEWSLETTER
FEBRUARY 2010
Welcome to everyone who has joined us since the last newsletter which was issued in October 2009. We aim to produce a newsletter up to three times a year and they are designed to keep you up to date with what is going on in the Home and some of our plans for the future.
Firstly.... a thank you.
We had more than our fair share of snow in early January and also suffered a loss of power for almost 24 hours. However, with the help of some wonderful staff who slept on mattresses and made arrangements to make sure they could get to work we managed to ensure the Home ran almost as normal. The residents seemed to love having so many staff staying with them and all of the extra activities which were laid on. We also bought a new supply of DVD’s which were enjoyed by everyone once the power was restored. A special thank you to the son of one of our residents who very kindly brought his mini-digger up from Rake and gave up his time to clear the drive and car park for us.
News
We have recently been subject to our inspection by the Care Quality Commission and are awaiting the draft report which we hope will be quite soon. Thanks to all of you who assisted in the inspection by either completing one of the surveys or being interviewed on the day.
Service Evaluation Report.
Just a reminder that the 2009/10 report is available from either the sister-in-charge, our administrator Madeleine or on the website www.wenhamholt.co.uk , as are patient guides to the services provided in the in the Continuing Care Unit. We are in the process of producing some further information for you and your relatives with regard to the activities programme and so on, this will hopefully be ready by the end of March.
Amanda our activities co-ordinator has introduced a number of new activities recently and is changing things around on a regular basis.
Menu choices
We aim to provide a wide ranging menu and will attempt to meet Resident’s preferences where we can. Please speak to our weekday cook Tina or Norbert at the weekend about anything to do with the menu choices and any alternatives.
Maintenance & the Environment.
In the past few months we have taken delivery of four more sets of bedroom furniture and replaced the old chests and wardrobes, which are no longer repairable. We hope to continue with furniture renewal during the next year if we are able to. In the meantime if you notice a drawer stuck or broken or any furniture with a missing handle please tell a member of staff and it will be attended to. Also please let us know if you notice any maintenance issues, which might need attention.
Internal re-decoration continues as usual and all rooms are decorated when they are empty.
The dining room and main lounge have recently been decorated and the sun lounge is now fully completed and in daily use.
After all the snow we are slowly getting back to normal outside and with the exception of a number of trees which need to be cut up and removed things are looking pretty good.
Please continue to park considerately and try to avoid parking on the grass verges. You can double park in the car park if there are no spaces available, as the majority of staff cars are not moved between 07.30 and 14.00 or between 14.00 and 19.30. If you do park in front of/behind another car and block it in we can easily ask you to move if the other car needs to get out before you are ready to leave.
Staff Training
We are well into the new year so far as training is concerned and on 22 January, 30 staff attended a three hour Dementia training course provided by an external training company. This experience was very useful to us and there are a number of small changes we have implemented since which will help us to provide the best level of care possible.
We are organising further training in the spring provided by the same company which is in addition to the ongoing training we already provide for staff. If you would like to see the staff training programme please ask Rosemary or Dan for details.
Care Plans
If any resident or their relatives would like to see their care plan please make an appointment with the nurse- in-charge. The care plans are being changed to make them more individual and person based. We are also compiling ‘life histories’ of residents so we will know them better and more about them and their lives before they joined us. All care staff are taking part in this project and you can help by letting us have any snippets of information which you think could be used. Please ask to see the files when you visit if you would like to.
Additional Services
We have a chiropodist (Angela) who visits every 6 weeks and will treat your relative if you would like her to do so. There is currently a charge of £12.00 for a treatment.
In addition, we have a hairdresser (Barbara) who visits once a week on a Wednesday. Prices are as follows:
Trim shampoo & set £12.00
Shampoo & set £8.00
Cut £5.00
Perm £25.00
Our local shop Rake Stores delivers papers and if you would like to have one please ask Madeleine who will make the necessary arrangements.
Marking Clothes.
Please continue to make sure that clothes are clearly marked with the resident’s name. This makes it less likely that clothing will get mixed up in the laundry. Apologies if you find clothes in drawers or wardrobes you do not recognise this will happen from time to time.
Finally
If you have any questions, comments or queries about any aspect of the Home or the service we provide please ask to speak to either Rosemary or Dan or the nurse-in-charge who will be only too pleased to assist. We would rather you spoke to us initially so we can address your concern if we are able to without delay.