Celebrate British Flower Week 2017

June 19-25^th marks “British Flower Week”, a week-long celebration of British Flowers and the UK cut flower industry.

British cut flowers are enjoying a resurgence in demand as people want to enjoy the beauty and fragrance of locally grown flowers and foliage. British Flower Week believe that our flowers have charm, grace, scents and sustainability.

Personally I love fresh flowers. My favourites are sweet peas and peonies and they make me smile seeing them in a vase at home. Coppelia House usually have some stunning design arrangements using peonies and an assortment of foliage from the garden. They are usually lucky enough to be donated dahlias which also look beautiful around the home.

Residents at Cornerways are always keen to have a flower arranging competition. Maybe they will try and copy one of the five top florists who are commissioned to create 15 exquisite designs, exclusively for each British Flowers Week.

Residents at Plymbridge House are busy ensuring their garden is stunning and are hoping to win Plymouth in Bloom for the fifth year running.

If you are visiting one of our homes perhaps bring a bunch of fresh British flowers with you or perhaps you’d like to become a volunteer in our gardens or arranging flowers within the home. We would love to have more volunteers and never say no to a fresh bunch of British flowers.

National Picnic Week

In the warmer months our residents enjoy taking part in picnic lunches in the gardens. Our homes have various spots with benches and tables to provide the perfect picnic spot. And on occasion residents may enjoy a picnic on a trip out to the seaside.

Putting together a picnic is great fun and something we all love to do when the sun is shining. It is also a great opportunity for our residents to join in social interactions in what may have been considered a family and friends summer tradition.

Top tips for a picnic:

Be prepared: Fill up your picnic hamper with all the essentials and the extras. Don’t forget the cheese and crackers for light nibbles and plenty of plates!

Let’s entertain: As well as lots of lovely food and drinks to choose from, packing some books, games and perhaps a music player would be great for those looking to relax.

Cover up: As the perfect picnic weather appears, it is important not to forget to apply sun protectors, such as creams or sprays and be prepared for insect bites or high pollen counts. Pack items which may provide shade and covers for food.

Keep it clean: Enjoy a great picnic and always leave the area as you found it!

Walking up the down staircase with dementia.

Those lovely Parkland Poets have done it again with another very moving poem about their understanding of dementia.

Walking up the down staircase with dementia.

My life hadn’t ended,

When my dementia descended,

I felt confused when it came,

But my passion for life remains the same.

Even though my life has changed.

 

I re-live sad moments, comfort me when these times come,

Remind me of the good times of when I had so much fun,

So if I have a sad moment and cry,

I can’t help it, even if I try.

So when I can’t understand,

Sit with me and hold my hand.

 

Dementia sometimes makes me feel confused and unwell,

I get frustrated with myself when I don’t remember everything you tell,

Occupy me with things to do,

This will remind me that I’m still a person too.

 

Having dementia is like re reading a book,

You’re with me on this chapter but there’s many more, just take a look.

Help me to remember with pictures of family and friends,

I may have forgotten them, but the love never ends.

 

Even though this chapter in my life is unclear,

I know you’ll help me through and take away the fear

Walking up the down staircase each and every day,

Makes it better when you’re here showing me the way,

 

Even thought my youth has left and gone,

I still feel young and will till my times done.

Life with dementia is a different chapter,

But I know I’ll get through this chapter with my new family.

 

Written by Rhianne, Bekki and Lyn “The Parkland Poets”

The Importance of Silent Call Bells

Instacare systems are our local independent company who support our nurse call system. They are able to supply, install and commission new systems and service existing systems.

They installed a new system for us at Parkland House and have been servicing our other homes since 2015.

Director of Instacare, Gail, has recently written an article about “The Importance of Silent Call Bells”.

Extensive studies carried out in dementia care show that sufferers are extremely sensitive to their surroundings with several common environmental triggers. One of the most distinct contributor to high levels of stress and upset, is noise. So, creating an environment that is free of repetitive, high volume noise is essential if you are striving to create a calm and happy environment for your dementia residents.

A study published by the University of Stirling, found that call bell noise is one of the most common causes of stress to dementia patients, suggesting “fitting call alarms which alert nurses but do not resonate throughout the whole building. Alarms can be particularly disconcerting as they may encourage the person with dementia to respond or investigate the sound. At the very least the loss of sleep will compromise a person’s ability to concentrate. It can affect their attention levels and capacity to cope, as well as being detrimental to their overall state of wellbeing. Personal paging systems are preferable to bells and buzzers.”

Louise Arnold of Peninsula Care Homes decided to do just that. InstaCare Systems installed the BlueBell paging system in their Exeter home. Louise said “the change at the home was immediate, by eliminating the intrusive ringing of bells, instead now we can hear music, conversations and laughter”.

So, let InstaCare Systems turn off the call bell noise in your home and create a silent nurse call system. You don’t even need to replace your existing system to achieve it! We have access to all the major paging brands such as Scope and CST, plus we can supply the unique BlueBell pager which has many additional benefits including being waterproof, built in staff ID, exit alarm and is incredibly robust. We can integrate any paging system with any call bell system, so there’s no need to replace your existing asset.

Why not give us a call today and let us help you work out the best solution for your home.

Tel: 01392 877267 Email: info@instacaresystems.co.uk Web: http://www.instacaresystems.co.uk

Virtual Dementia Tour 2017

PCH staff recently took part in the Virtual Dementia Tour training and our Parkland House poets have produced another touching poem to share their experience of the tour.

Walking the Dementia path.

You are you and I am I,

Today we walked in your dementia shoes,

The experience made us sad,

The emotions you feel every day,

We have never been able to fully understand,

As we entered the room, time stood still,

This is how you must feel,

The darkness overcame us all,

It was hard not to fall,

Our senses had disappeared,

Then the unknown had appeared.

We had no feeling in our hands and feet,

Our eyes were covered with what seemed like a black sheet,

You live each day like this,

Staring sadly into the abyss.

During the tour we took comfort in knowing we can return,

But this saddens us you can’t, but we’ll help you and learn,

We felt the daily obstacles that get in your path,

We will take these away with a smile with all the staff,

The voices that you hear are loud and unclear,

We can now understand to try and ease that fear,

The sounds you hear must make you disorientated,

But we can promise- our reassurances won’t be belated,

Now we can walk beside you, we’ve been in your shoes,

We will live in the moment with you, we have nothing to lose,

We’ll make the moments as special as you are,

Even if they are few and far.

Now we’ve walked the dementia tour,

We can help to comfort you more,

The darkness that surrounds you,

We felt that too,

We’ll help to bring the light,

We will make it shine, make it bright.

By Lyn, Bekki, Rhianne

Guest Blog: #UnitedAgainstDementia for Dementia Awareness Week

Peninsula Care Homes are raising awareness for Dementia Awareness Week from the 14th to the 20th of May 2017. This week’s guest blog comes from PCH Marketing and Admin Coordinator, Nikita Morgan.

I am the Marketing & Admin Coordinator at Peninsula Care Homes and I look after the company’s social media, website and publications. In this blog post I am looking back at my first year at PCH and my experience with dementia.

This time last year I joined PCH and took up my first role in the care industry. Being completely new to the industry, I quickly learnt how important it was to be aware of dementia and how to help those living with it. Visiting the care homes for the first time I could witness just how much hard work its staff members put in daily and nightly. Almost instantly I was completely drawn into the passion the caregivers gave doing their jobs and helping residents.

It has been heavily reported that dementia is set to be one of the UK’s biggest killer. With too many facing it alone, it is more important now more than ever to unite against the condition and to understand how to help those living with it. This was something I turned my focus towards.

As each of our residential homes care for residents living with dementia, this was something I familiarised myself with quickly. From watching the PCH staff when visiting the care homes for the first time, it was clear this kind, caring and patient nature was not just essential but almost second nature as they went about their duties

Part of my role at PCH is to keep up to date with local communities and strengthen our relationships with our organisations. PCH are members of the Exeter Dementia Action Alliance, a group founded by Gina Awad with one goal, ‘to create a more dementia friendly community’. More recently our Plympton care home have become members of the Plymouth Dementia Action Alliance, another great opportunity to help support their local events and raise awareness in the Plymouth area.

The Alliance has created some fantastic opportunities for local care homes, including ourselves, and families to get involved in fun events and exciting activities in the city. It has also raised significant awareness in the city for those living with dementia, from the Royal Albert Museum holding craft classes for those living with dementia to come with their families or carers, to dementia friendly screenings at the local Picture House. All of which are to help Exeter become a more dementia friendly community.

In addition to Company training on dementia many PCH staff have chosen to become Dementia Friends. You can become a Dementia friend by taking a course that inspires and teaches the fundamentals to understanding dementia and those affected. I joined the course and received my lovely forget me not Dementia Friend Badge, with the little book of friendship as part of completing the course.

I recently completed the Virtual Dementia Tour; a course that puts you through a virtual reality experience simulating how an individual may experience living with dementia. It was such an incredible experience which will stay with me. It was almost like a light-bulb moment and after the course I understood a great deal more about the symptoms of dementia and how I can help the care homes and residents going forward. For an example, I learned that the primary colours are the last colours to be identified – this helps me when I am designing posters, newsletters and food menus, etc, to make them more dementia friendly.

My understanding of dementia has grown as well as my passion to help those living with the symptoms. I hope you join us and the national conversation this Dementia Awareness Week and stand ‘United Against Dementia’. Contact our homes or your local community to find out what activities are taking place across the week.  Or simply join in the conversation across social media by using #UnitedAgainstDementia and #DAW17.

Donkey Awareness Week 2017

You will often see Donkey’s visiting our care homes and as its Donkey Awareness Week we thought we would highlight why we have donkeys and other animals visit our homes.

Donkey Awareness Week is a time to encourage everyone to get up close and personal with the donkeys at our local Sanctuary. For many of us Sidmouth is our local Sanctuary and we are fortunate that donkeys visit our homes too.  Residents and staff enjoy petting and stroking the donkey visitors and sometimes even feed them a treat or two.

Pets and animals generally hold a special place in many people’s hearts and lives, and there is compelling evidence that interacting with pets can be beneficial to the physical, social and emotional wellbeing of humans.  Dr William Thomas who designed the Eden Alternative training believed that animals could lessen the sense of boredom and loneliness for those in care.

Moving into a care home shouldn’t be the end of animal contact and that’s why we arrange many visits.  Some of our recent animal visitors have been: – staff pets, donkeys, Birds of Prey and local zoos with a collection of reptiles and other creepy crawlies.  Some of our homes even have their own animals with fish, turtle, tortoise, guinea pigs, birds and rabbits all looked after by staff and residents.

Many residents look forward to the animal visits, they spark conversation which can lead to sharing of memories and emotions. Or an animal just may provide companionship and enjoy sitting on a resident’s lap being stroked.

Parkland House Poets present ‘This is your home’

Following the success of their Christmas and Easter message, the Parkland House poets have surprised us again with another touching poem reflecting the removal of wearing a uniform in the care home.

This is your home, and we’d like to welcome you,

We’ll open our arms and guide you,

Now this is your home, we’ll help you to embrace,

We’ll ensure you have your own space.

 

We are all here together to share the day,

We will help the bad days fade away,

Nothing is more important than wearing a smile,

To provide that extra mile.

 

Uniforms we used were once adorned,

Now we have been reformed.

No longer do we wear the barrier that separates us,

Wearing our smiles and our individuality is a must.

 

Now the uniforms have gone,

As carers we feel re-born,

We can unite as one,

As the uniforms are done.

 

Uniforms say to dementia you are ill and different from me,

Now our own clothing says we are a part of your family,

Everyone likes our bright colours we wear,

It makes them smile, comment and stare.

 

The uniforms gave a clinical air,

Now our clothing says we are fair,

We still approach with respect and care,

We are a part of the family that’s always there.

By Rhianne, Bekki, Lyn, Ann

Quote – “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same”

Nelson Mandela.

Easter at Peninsula Care Homes

Peninsula Care Homes would like to wish everyone a lovely Easter and invites you to join in our Easter celebrations in our Devon care homes. Our budding Parkland Poets have surprised us with another touching poem to reflect Easter time at Peninsula Care Homes.

Easter at Peninsula is a special time,

To over indulge in chocolate and wine,

We’ll sing and dance along to the Easter parade,

While drinking a sherry and lemonade.

 

We will help residents to make an Easter bonnet,

And they will choose what they want upon it.

They may choose a rose or a love bird two,

With a wide floppy brim to keep off the dew.

 

Everyone loves visits from family and friends,

But Easter time is not where it ends,

We will all celebrate with yummy food,

simnel cake, hot cross buns and chocolate too.

 

We will still remember why Easter is here,

And let residents know to us they are very dear,

We’ll celebrate the re birth of Christ,

And we will make the day for everyone ever so nice.

by our lovely Parkland Poets

Guest Blog: #NationalGardeningWeek

It is National Gardening Week from 10th-16th April and our care home gardens are starting to spring into action. Parkland House gardener Nik, shares her guest blog with us.

Hello there, I am Nik from Trusty Tools and I take care of the garden at Parkland House.

As the garden awakens in April there are some sunny days perfect for sitting in the garden, hearing the birds and bees calling in the Spring.

The Daffodils, Narcissus and Crocuses planted last Autumn are already in out in all their glory, and the tulips are following closely behind. The Hyacinths planted by the residents look splendid, they were potted up for some to be taken indoors so that all the residents could experience them.

It is time to be vigilant against weeds as the longer days trigger faster growth and to keep watch for the warning silvery trails of slugs and snails that love the Hosta shoots starting to appear now.

When selecting what plants to grow, we try to pick ones that satisfy as many of the senses as possible: bright colours, strong scents and tactile plants like Amaranths.

We are now planting bulbs for Summer: vibrant Sparaxis, Lilies and Gladioli. The Sweet Peas planted last Autumn have been hardened off and moved out to the raised beds. We all look forward to the smell of the Sweet Peas. This year’s one is called “Dusty Springfield” and we chose it for its fast growth, bright pink colour and heavy scent.

The residents enjoy getting involved with the new raised beds, they were designed for easy access so no needing to bend down to plant a seed or to get at the dandelion you want to pull out! In one of the beds we have planted a few vegetables, these go into the kitchen for soups and salads, so the fruits of labour can be savoured by all.

Please let your care home manager or activities co-ordinator know if you would like to help out or join in the residents gardening activities, we would like to hear from you.