Hot Breakfast Month

February is National Hot Breakfast Month.  Within our homes porridge is a popular choice as is some or all elements of a full English Breakfast.  Breakfast is often reported to be the most important meal of the day with sayings “eat like a King at breakfast” often quoted.  It breaks the fast of the night and is important part of achieving good nutrition and hydration. Many of us grab something on the go, or quickly eat a bowl of cereal or round of toast before dashing off.  On these recent cold mornings something hot may break the cycle of coldness.

So what is your favourite hot breakfast?  In Japan the traditional breakfast would include rice, seafood and fermented foods.  In India different areas have their own traditions and specialities which may include stuffed breads and spicy vegetables.  In America the stack of pancakes, bacon and maple syrup is popular.    Other options you could consider eggs benedict, scrambled eggs on toast, and boiled eggs with soldiers, frittata, pancakes or waffles.

To accompany your hot breakfast what is your drink of choice: cold juice, nice cup of tea or a coffee? Or maybe you prefer brunch combining breakfast and lunch!

National Bird Feeding Month

February is National Bird Feeding Month. It is a time to welcome back the birdsong and the early signs of Spring. As the February and March weather can be quite unpredictable, our homes have started to make simple bird feeders to hang in the gardens for our little friends. See our recipe for Bird cake below:

Make a speedy bird cake, this quick and easy cake to keep the birds happy!

You will need:

Good quality bird seed

Raisins

Peanuts

Grated cheese

Suet or lard

Yoghurt pots

String

Mixing bowl

Scissors

Important notes

Not suitable for people with nut allergies. Note that bird seed, including peanuts bought for birds, is not suitable for human consumption.

Step-by-step guide

1. Carefully make a small hole in the bottom of a yoghurt pot. Thread string through the hole and tie a knot on the inside. Leave enough string so that you can tie the pot to a tree or your bird table.
2. Allow the lard to warm up to room temperature, but don’t melt it. Then cut it up into small pieces and put it in the mixing bowl.
3. Add the other ingredients to the bowl and mix them together with your finger tips. Keep adding the seed/raisin/cheese mixture and squidging it until the fat holds it all together.
4. Fill your yoghurt pots with bird cake mixture and put them in the fridge to set for an hour or so.

Hang your speedy bird cakes from trees or your bird table. Watch for greenfinches, tits and possibly even great spotted woodpeckers.

Have fun bird watching!

National Hot Tea Month

January is National Hot Tea Month a fantastic excuse to have an extra cup of tea and indulge in a biscuit or piece of cake.

Tea has been drunk for thousands of years, originating from China. From there it grew in prominence until it was one of the most important beverages in the world. Some say it rivals coffee as the drink of choice for mornings.

Tea is mostly drunk hot but iced tea or cold tea because you simply forget to drink it while it was hot is often experienced.

What’s your favourite tea? We have arranged some tea tasting within the homes from fruit teas, herbal teas to different leaves of tea. Our tea tasting adds to our collection of activities to encourage hydration. We will see what the favourite is and then have the discussion on how to make the perfect cup of tea. Does the milk go in first or not at all, lemon, honey, weak tea or “builder’s brew”, cup and saucer or mug and so many choices.

Previous years tasting challenge of Cornerways had a winner of strawberry & raspberry tea with no one liking the peppermint tea.

So put the kettle on and enjoy your favourite tea whatever that may be. If you’re in Moretonhampstead on January 30th please do join our coffee/tea morning.

National Soup Month

January 2020 is National Soup Month. The cold, dark (and mostly wet) days in January are often used as the perfect reason to indulge in a bowl or mug of your favourite hot soup.

There have been celebrated soup dates dating all the way back to around 20,000 B.C where boiling was not a common cooking technique until the invention of the waterproof container. Interestingly the word soup derives from the French word soupe, meaning broth or soup, which was then sold as a cheap meal by street vendors to provide an antidote to physical exhaustion. Serving soups then become popular in restaurants around the globe and many cookbooks were published offering the best recipes and methods for homemade soup.

Nowadays you will head to the canned food isles in the supermarket for a tin of soup. This is thanks to Chemist, Doctor John T. Dorrance, who back in 1897 invented condensed soup with household name Campbell Soup Company. Originally the cans required water or milk to be added to double the quantity, however this is no longer the case as soup tins have become a very popular “ready-to-eat” meal and a lunchtime favourite.

To celebrate the goodness a bowl of soup can bring the stomach and soul, we’ve been enjoying some favourite soups over the January month. We have also been trying recipes found in an old cookbook which was written by one of the ladies at Bramble Down Nursing Home.

There is no clear soup winner, but as we all know you can’t beat a bowl of hot tomato soup with crackers or bread. It is also said chicken soup can help you get over a cold! What is your favourite hot soup and how will you be celebrating this month?

Recruitment 2020

Happy New Year everyone! We have some exciting new nursing job opportunities to start the year.

Are you looking for your first role as a registered nurse?

We will support you through the first months of your preceptorship allowing you to develop your nursing skills in a safe, nurturing environment. Our team of experienced registered nurses will be on hand to guide you through every aspect of your preceptorship pathway, allowing you to become a confident and competent practitioner.

We are also recruiting for an experienced day and night Registered Nurse to join our team.

Bramble Down Nursing Home is situated in the village of Denbury, between the market towns of Newton Abbot and Totnes.

Bramble Down has an excellent reputation offering what we sincerely believe is the highest standard of nursing and palliative care for up to 33 people. Our nursing team take responsibility to ensure the well being of the people living with us, which includes their physical, emotional and social needs. You will be expected to initiate, update and maintain automated care plans and medication charts. (Person Centred Software and eMAR) training provided.

Benefits:
Some of the benefits of working at Bramble Down Nursing Home include:
· Excellent Hourly Rate (£17.00 – £20.00 per hour)
· A named mentor to guide you
· Free DBS
· Free initial uniform
· Automatic enrolment to our pension scheme
· Unlimited access to our Refer a Friend bonus scheme currently £100
· Full-time and part-time hours offered
· Paid induction and training programmes
· Free onsite parking
· Free hot meal when working a 12 hour shift
· Access to a free independent & confidential helpline service
· Ongoing training & Development, supporting future revalidation

Experience & Qualifications:
· A valid NMC Pin
· To have a genuine passion to care for people
· Be able to communicate at all levels
· Be a team player
· Have exceptional organisational skills
· Willing to participate in Vocational Training Programmes

If this interest you, we would love to hear from you! Call us on 01392 346442 or email enquiries@peninsulacarehomes.co.uk for further information or for an informal chat.

Don’t forget you can also visit our Facebook page to find other job roles available across our five homes https://www.facebook.com/PeninsulaCareHomesLtd/

National Hobby Month

January is National Hobby Month. Perhaps the New Year Resolution is to try a new hobby or focus on the hobbies you enjoy.

Hobbies are great as they can relieve stress, challenge your brain, be social, good or bad for your health.

Within our homes we have individuals interested in so many different things. We try to cater for as many hobbies as possible. We have armchair exercises, gardening (vegetable allotment, flower arranging), music (playing instruments, outside entertainers, dancing and singing. Let’s not forget interest in animals, falconry, cooking, iPad clubs and knitting.

Which new hobbies are you going to set yourself this month?

Our homes are focusing on linking with their local communities including links with nursery’s and local schools. Perhaps one of your New Year goals is to take part in some volunteering, if so we would like to hear from you.

We have numerous activities you can get involved in throughout the month. Email enquiries@peninsulacarehomes.co.uk or call 01392 346442 for more information.

Loneliness Awareness Week

Loneliness Awareness Week was created three years ago by The Marmalade Trust to raise awareness of loneliness throughout the UK and to start talking about it.

This year the campaign focuses on reducing the stigma of loneliness and to promote #LetsTalkLoneliness

Many people will experience loneliness at some point in their lives. However it is known that older people are particularly vulnerable to loneliness and isolation which can have an effect on their health.

Avoiding loneliness in our homes has always been at the forefront of our work. Our staff create loving, social and active environments for everyone to take part in.

Parkland House have recently been accredited as an Eden Alternative home and joined the Eden Alternative UK Register.

The Eden Alternative is an American philosophy which compliments our vision for our homes. It is a person centred approach to care aimed to support residents play a full and active role in their community by challenging loneliness, helplessness and boredom.

We believe it helps us provide exceptional care and support from our team who are committed to promoting resident independence and well-being.

The Eden Alternative believes the solution to the three challenges are:

• Loneliness: loving companionship, contact with people and animals in and out of the home.
• Helplessness: create opportunities to give as well as receive care.
• Boredom: Daily life full of variety and spontaneity.

Help raise awareness this week and get chatting about loneliness by tagging #LetsTalkLoneliness

The Parkland Poets – Outstanding

The Parkland Poets Lyn, Bekki and Rhianne have written another lovely poem to celebrate the Parkland House Outstanding rating from CQC.

Thank you very much for sharing with us and we would love for you to share with friends and family.

Outstanding by The Parkland Poets

National Growing for Wellbeing Week

This week we are celebrating National Growing for Wellbeing Week, which highlights the positive connection that growing your own produce can have on your physical and mental wellbeing.

Evidence shows the benefits of gardening can have improve mental and physical health, confidence, concentration, communication and is a great way of bringing others together.

Our homes each have a Gardening Club who help tend to the gardens, repotting plants, weeding and flower arranging. The clubs are always well attended with those that participate and those that just like to watch.  

Parkland House have recently established a herb and flower garden on the lounge terrace. Taking inspiration from the recent Eden Association Accreditation, Parkland wanted to create a more personal gardening space. This has allowed everyone to enjoy the outdoors and grow some of their favourite herbs and flowers. So far they have grown strawberries, lavender and sunflowers for their ‘dig a sunflower’ competition.

Parkland House Gardening Club re-potting the terrace plants

We know summer has arrived when the hedgehog planters start to appear in the Coppelia House gardens. Coppelia’s Gardening Club re-use plastic bottles to create effective hedgehog shape planters so they may grow herbs and flowers. They have also re-used milk cartons as planters to fill with their favourite flowers.

Coppelia House Gardening Club Hedgehog Planters

We look forward to sharing more of the homes Gardening Club projects.

#NationalGrowingforWellbeingWeek #growyourown

Parkland House recognised as Outstanding by CQC

Congratulations to everyone at Parkland House Exeter, part of Peninsula Care Homes who have been recognised by regulator Care Quality Commission (CQC) as outstanding in four areas: – caring, responsive, effective and well-led. 

We join only 3.1% of England’s care homes who have an overall ‘outstanding’ rating.  The Parkland House team work so hard to provide the highest possible standard of care and we are so thrilled to be recognised for our work by the CQC, and to be rated ‘outstanding’ overall.

Peninsula Care Homes are delighted with the recognition of the hard work and continual journey of improvement Parkland House takes.

CQC inspected the home unannounced on March 4^th and 7^th and the report has just been published (soon to be available on the CQC website).  The report states that “people receive an outstanding, personalised, caring service.  People receive very kind and respectful support from staff who promoted their abilities, knew them well and genuinely enjoyed their company.”

Managing Director, Louise Arnold is thrilled with the outstanding rating and recognition of the caring and empathic care each member of staff contributes to the team led by Ann Boardman, Registered Manager. The comments within the report from residents, relatives, professional agencies are all high praise including “staff are very kind to mum…we can leave mum here and know she is alright”

Parkland House is a residential home for 52 specialising in caring for those living with a dementia.