1st choice news news.pdf · mentia group (bdg). bdg are part of the brad-ford university and lead...
TRANSCRIPT
This is about improving the
lives of everyone who lives
in and visits a 1st Choice
Care Home. Clare said,
“Every part of what we do
and how we do it will be im-
proved from cleaners to Direc-
tors. It is the residents that are
the most important people in
this process. What we achieve
at Tudor Lodge will be spread
throughout every service that
we offer.” She added, “We
genuinely want 1st Choice to
be the leaders in the field of
dementia care not just in
Kent, but throughout the
country”.
To find out more about the
Bradford Dementia Group
visit www.brad.ac.uk/health/
dementia.
We are proud to an-
nounce that 1st
Choice Care Homes
will be working with
the internationally re-
nowned Bradford De-
mentia Group (BDG).
BDG are part of the Brad-
ford University and lead the
way in cutting edge dementia
care. Their work and re-
search is changing the face of
dementia care in Britain and
around the world.
1st Choice Operations Man-
ager Clare Swan said, “This is
a fabulous opportunity, with
BDG’s support 1st Choice Care
Homes will become an exam-
ple of excellence that others
will follow”.
Initially, two of BDG’s con-
sultants will complete a
comprehensive assessment
of Tudor Lodge in Folke-
stone.
Paul Edwards and Claire
Surr will base themselves in
the home looking at all as-
pects of residents’ lives and
the care and support they
receive. They will produce a
report which will shape the
way we work.
It was UK Older
People’s Day on the
1st October and 1st
Choice Care
Homes celebrated
in style.
We teamed up with
Crossroads Care, to
raise money for people
who care for their rela-
tives at home.
With events taking place
at all 8 of our homes
across the weekend we
have managed to raise
over £1000 for this great
cause whilst providing a
wealth of entertainment
for our residents, families
and local communities.
For the full charity bo-
nanza story and loads
of pictures ranging
from the sublime to
ridiculous turn to the
centre pages.
Bradford Dementia Group I N S I D E
T H I S I S S U E :
Going Green 2
Free Lunch! 2
Bouncing babies 3
Older People’s
Day
4
Award nominees 6
Extension news 6
Sports News 7
FULL OF LIFE
1ST CHOICE NEWS
A U T U M N 2 0 1 1 I N F O @ 1 S T C H O I C E C A R E H O M E S . C O M
WE CAN HELP WITH
DEMENTIA CARE
PALLIATIVE CARE
RESIDENTIAL CARE
NURSING CARE
DAY CARE
RESPITE CARE
ADVICE
SUPPORT
PEACE OF MIND
1st Choice Care Homes
18-20 Manor Road
Folkestone CT20 2SA
T: 01304 249933
F: 01304 249955
www.1stchoicecarehomes.com
Changing the face of dementia care
Dressed to impress at Hatfield Lodge
P A G E 2
Silver Surfers
Free 4 Star Food
Going Green Have you ever noticed
when you go into almost
any care home the lights
are always on? It doesn’t
make sense. At home our
electricity and gas bills are
rocketing and we’re all be-
coming ever more conscious
about the environment. How-
ever, all too often we don’t
do the same things at work.
Well we are!
1st Choice have launched
their Go Green campaign.
On the 1st day of every
month all our homes will have
a GO GREEN DAY. If every-
one switches a light off, un-
plugs an electrical appliance
and takes some recycling
home we will start to make a
difference. Every little bit that
everyone does will help.
GREEN TIPS
Switch lights off in un-
used rooms.
Don’t leave equipment
on standby.
Recycle paper, bottles,
plastic and metal.
Share cars to work or
get on your bike!
Alongside Go Green Days on
the first day of every month
we have registered with the
Green Achiever Scheme rec-
ognising companies that put
their eco credentials into
practice.
Dave Clarke, Head of Mainte-
nance and facilities said, “The
future is about going green
wherever we can.
At an operational level we are
looking into installing solar pan-
els on new builds and reducing
our waste.”
ECO-WARRIORS
We are asking everyone to
do just a little bit. With a staff
team of around 300 people
think how much difference a
small effort will make.
menu at either of these
two fabulous hotels for
free. Yes, FOR FREE!
You will be offered a two-
course meal (drinks not
included) at the sumptu-
ous surroundings of The
Ramada or The Dover
Marina.
It sounds too good to be
true! There are no catches
and no hidden charges.
Just great food in great
Who said that there is
no such thing as a free
lunch?
We have secured an ex-
clusive and unmissable deal
with the Ramada Hotel in
Dover and The Dover
Marina Hotel.
Any resident of a 1st
Choice care home and one
member of their family can
now take advantage of the
wonderful lunch time
surroundings.
To claim your free lunch
all you need to do is speak
to the manager of your
home. She will then con-
tact the hotel and book
your lunch.
You do need to book in
advance and the offer is
only available from Mon-
day to Friday.
Go on...treat yourselves!
One lady at Hatfield Lodge
keeps in contact with her son
in Australia using Skype.
Alongside the 1st Choice
website we now have a Face-
book page keeping everyone
up to date with events in the
group and in the wider world
of health and social care. We
also have an exclusive mem-
bers only Facebook group
called the 1st Choice Social
Group to help keep our valu-
able staff informed.
E-newsletters are another
way we are helping to keep
everyone in the loop.
Contact us if you want to
join the mailing list.
1st Choice are embrac-
ing the internet revolu-
tion with a whole host
of online resources.
Nearly all of our homes
now have laptops and
touch screen computers
exclusively for our resi-
dent’s use.
1 S T C H O I C E N E W S
The fabulous Olive
Tree restaurant at
The Ramada Dover
Bramblings Bouncing Babies
P A G E 3 I N F O @ 1 S T C H O I C E C A R E H O M E S . C O M
What is happening at
Brambling House??? It’s
been a bumper time for
babies.
Not 1, not 2, not even 3, but 4
babies have been born in the
past few months to Brambling
House staff.
On the 7th
June little
Lilly Mae
Jones was
held in her
mother’s
arms for the first time. Stacey,
a care worker at the home,
had an uncomplicated preg-
nancy and Lilly was born
healthy and raring to go. Then
on 22nd August Rhiann Sinclair
had her eagerly anticipated
triplets. The boys were deliv-
ered by planned Caesarean
section at 34 weeks and are
doing really well.
Riley, Leo and Dean were
closely monitored in intensive
care, but have now returned
home and are proving a pre-
dictable handful!
We featured Rhiann in the last
edition of 1st Choice News, if
you have any unwanted baby
clothes or equipment please
contact Brambling House.
dren from the Shepherdswell
Primary School to come and
sing Happy Birthday to her. Or
Alice Turmaine celebrated her
103 birthday on the 27th June
this year.
The Brambling House resident
was born in France and fre-
quently chats away in her
mother tongue.
So, to mark this special day
Sue Fuller and her staff team
arranged for a group of chil-
should I say Joyeux Anniver-
saire?
Alice beamed as she listened
to the angelic children singing
to her in French.
Amy Harris made one of her
famous cakes to mark the day
and there was a spot of cham-
pagne (for the adults) in a
toast to this remarkable lady.
looking for scraps of food and
affection.
CAT FLAP
Whitfield’s maintenance man
Steve Brown felt sorry for the
moggy. He put a cat flap in the
shed door so it could get some
shelter if it wanted to.
One Friday morning he nipped
into his shed to get some paint
and tools. He was rather taken
aback when he opened the door
to find a rather slim cat and four
nuzzling kittens! Ahhh!
Not to be outdone by
Brambling House’s single
handed baby boom, Whit-
field Residential Home
also had some rather un-
expected arrivals of their
own.
As sometimes happens in care
homes, Whitfield staff and resi-
dents befriended a rather tubby
cat that hung around the home
Here Kitty, Kitty...Kitty, Kitty!
Alice in Wonderland
Steve was
shocked when
he opened the
shed door.
“I didn’t
expect to find
that sort of
litter!”
Riley, Leo and Dean
Stacey and Lily
Our lovely Alice
P A G E 4
1 S T C H O I C E N E W S
Wild and wacky events throughout all 8 1st Choice Care Homes took place between 30th September and 3rd Octo-ber raising funds for the charity Crossroads Care. The celebration began with staff from Whitfield Care Home dress-ing up as bumble bees and ladybirds and going on a three-legged walk through Dover. At Hatfield Lodge Dennis Perry had his chest waxed by his grinning wife Mandy and maintenance man, Dan Hoad, had his head shaved. In the evening there was a terrific Charity Auction with a flight experience and 2 nights at The Dover Marina Hotel on offer amongst many other bargains donated by local businesses.
On Saturday Creedy House had a Multi-Cultural Day celebrating nationalities from all over the globe and the staff at Oakdale had a Best of British Day. Both had their local mayors attending the festivities. Tudor Lodge had a festival of waxing on Sunday with students from the Folkestone Academy removing the hair from Joe Harris’ chest and Damian Williams’ legs. Acacia House were a little more sedate organising a cheese and wine quiz and a sponsored silence. Finally on Monday Brambling House and Lodge joined the fray. There was a festival of music and dance at the House, whilst at the Lodge Tina Lewis, Kumar and Tom Skirrow all had their heads shaved. In all the efforts raised over £1000.
P A G E 5 I N F O @ 1 S T C H O I C E C A R E H O M E S . C O M
PICTURE INDEX
Over the page from top left to bottom right:
Lalitha and Vanessa come up smelling of roses on their three-legged walk.
Dennis Perry bares all. He didn’t realise he had any tattoos!
Mel and Doinia kick their legs at Oakdale’s Best of British Day.
The Mayor of New Romney gets lessons in Irish brogue with Anita O’Neil at Creedy House.
The madcap auction gets under way at Hatfield Lodge.
Tina realises there is no turning back as Karen Warner gets the clippers buzzing.
This page:
Jodie’s boy isn’t worried about sunburn after his hot wax experience.
Sue, Lalitha, Pam and Vanessa are ready to buzz off!
Joe Harris tries to keep his dignity intact at Tudor Lodge.
Oakdale’s fancy dress featuring Olivia Newton-Flint!
Dan’s the man—he has a hair raising experience thanks to Margaret Perry.
Damien’s lovely legs at Tudor.
Going going gone - Joe Harris gets Hatfield’s auction under the hammer!
P A G E 6
NEWS FROM
AROUND
THE HOMES
Up for awards
A BIG thank you!
Extension News We’re gearing up for
some big building pro-
jects over the coming
months at 1st Choice
Care Homes.
There are extensions planned
on a grand scale at both
Acacia House in Tenter-
den and the Bramblings in
Dover.
When the building work is
completed we will have
wonderful new additions
to both of these services.
1st Choice Directors,
Menon and Seelan have been
working closely with the Pro-
ject Management team to plan
and finalise the preparations.
It is anticipated that both
projects will begin in the New
Year.
Acacia House is going to
benefit from a fabulous new
extension, creating extra
rooms and better facilities.
At The Bramblings the exist-
ing homes will become linked
by a state of the art extension
creating one seamless
service providing care for
people with all levels of
residential and nursing
need.
Rest assured that we will
keep you up-to-date with
all of the developments
and progress.
grandaughter of former
Creedy House resident,
Evelyn Web-
ster, an-
nounced
that she was
doing a
sponsored
ride for the
benefit of all the residents
We want to say a huge
thank you to Rachel
Edmondson
and her
horse Mars.
Creedy House
manager, Anita
O’Neil was
absolutely de-
lighted when the
at our New Romney
home.
Sarah raised £290 for the
resident’s amenities fund
and the money has already
been put to good use. It
has gone towards purchas-
ing furniture and activities
for the home’s fabulous
Memory Lane corridor.
the Great British Care
Awards. Kim Dennis and
Stacey Jones were short-
listed in the Activity Co-
ordinator and Care Home
Worker categories re-
spectively.
After attending interviews
in Cambridge in front of
the judging panel both Kim
and Stacey have made it to
the last three.
On the 28th October they
will be attending the gala
award ceremony for the
final decision.
The awards will be hosted
by former Olympic swim-
mer, Sharon Davies.
We wish them both the
best of luck and hope that
they will be celebrating in
style on the night. Two Brambling House
staff have impressed at
Across: 2 Masters; 5 Carve;
6 Making; 7 Hello; 8 Reveal;
10 Strays; 12 Tapir; 14 Es-
tate; 15 Evens; 16 No Room.
Down: 1 Care; 2 Memory; 3
Tripe; 4 Regular; 7 Has
Been; 9 Esteem; 11 Rotor;
13 Inns
1 S T C H O I C E N E W S
Acacia House set for super extension
Award finalist Kim Dennis
Crossword answers
Manager
Spotlight
Name:
Melanie Rickett
Home:
Oakdale in Essex
Length of service:
5 years
1. British Broadcasting Corporation; 2. Care Qual-ity Commission; 3. North Atlantic Treaty Organisa-tion; 4. Tender Loving Care; 5. Laugh Out Loud; 6. Oh My God; 7. Ta Ta For Now; 8. Digital Versa-tile Disc; 9. Dover Athletic Football Club.
Abbreviations quiz
Sports News
P A G E 7 I N F O @ 1 S T C H O I C E C A R E H O M E S . C O M
Dover Athletic Under 13
FC have set about their
first season in the Kent
Youth League with the
mark of champions!
The 1st Choice Care
Homes sponsored team
have played 4 games of
their inaugural season
with a 100% record.
Athletic opened up
their cup campaign with
a narrow 1-0 victory
over Ramsgate. Man-
ager, Joe Brady said, “We had a
hatful of chances and should
have put the game to bed early
on, but we’ll learn from the
experience.”
The boys started their league
season with an excellent 3-2
win against Hollands and Blair
with goals from Eddie Wool-
ston, Harry Douglas and Lever
Lewis.
Dover really hit form against
Vintners in the cup strolling to
a 6-1 victory thanks to a Lever
Lewis hatrick and goals from
Woolston, Daniel
McHugh and Billy
Lewins.
A 3-1 win against Bex-
ley courtesy of a
Woolston hatrick has
seen Athletic through
to the Quarter-finals
of the Geering Cup.
We’ll keep an eye on the lads
throughout the season.
Come on you whites!
DAFC 1
Ramsgate 0
* * * *
DAFC 3
Hollands & Blair 2
* * * *
DAFC 6
Vintners 1
* * * *
DAFC 3
Bexley 1
Top Scorers
Woolston-6
Lewis-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Dover boys on the march!
CROSSWORD CLUES
ACROSS
2. Formal term for a young man (6)
5. Cut the roast dinner (5)
6. Creating (6)
7. Usual greeting (5)
8. Show all (6)
10. Goes off the beaten track (6)
12. South American pig-like mammal (5)
14. Property selling agent (6)
15. The favourite’s odds? (5)
16. Mary and Joseph found this at the Inn (2,4)
DOWN
1. What 1st Choice do best! (4)
2. Take a trip down ____ lane (6)
3. Cow’s intestines– old fashioned food (5)
4. Happen at set intervals (7)
7. Used to be famous! (3, 4)
9. Have high regard (6)
11. Turning blade (5)
13. Old name for pubs (4)
ABBREVIATIONS QUIZ: WHAT DO THE FOLLOWING ABBREVIATIONS STAND FOR?
1.BBC=________________________ 2.CQC=___________________________ 3.NATO=______________________________ 4.TLC=________________________ 5.LOL=____________________________ 6.OMG=_______________________________
7.TTFN=_______________________ 8.DVD=____________________________9. DAFC=______________________________
PUZZLES AND STUFF
Answers on opposite page
Specialists in
Palliative and
Dementia Care
Residential Care Nursing Care Respite Care Day Care
OUR SERVICES
ACACIA HOUSE
Ashford Road
St Michaels
Tenterden
Kent
TN30 6QA
01580 765122
BRAMBLING LODGE
48 Eythorne Road
Shepherdswell
Dover
Kent
CT15 7PG
01304 830775
BRAMBLING HOUSE
46 Eythorne Road
Shepherdswell
Dover
Kent
CT15 7PG
01304 830276
CREEDY HOUSE
Nether Avenue
Littlestone-on-Sea
New Romney
Kent
TN28 8NB
01304 830276
HATFIELD LODGE
1-3 Trinity Gardens
Folkestone
Kent
CT20 2RP
01303 253253
OAKDALE
123 Kiln Road
Benfleet
Essex
SS7 1TG
01702 553734
TUDOR LODGE
18-20 Manor Road
Folkestone
Kent
CT20 2SA
01303 251195
WHITFIELD
107 Sandwich Road
Whitfield
Kent
CT16 3JP
01304 820236
HEAD OFFICE
18-20 MANOR ROAD
FOLKESTONE
KENT
CT20 2SA
TEL: 01303 249933
FAX: 01303 249955
OPERATIONS MANAGER
CLARE SWAN
DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
JOE HARRIS
MAINTENANCE MANAGER
DAVE CLARKE
HEAD OF ACCOUNTS
SASE KUMAR
ACACIA HOUSE
Ashford Road
St Michaels
Tenterden
Kent
TN30 6QA
01580 765122
VISIT OUR WEBSITE
www.1stchoicecarehomes.com