Changes in daily life at Bramble Down

It’s always really positive when changes you make have a positive impact on resident’s day to day lives.  At Bramble Down our activities coordinator recently attended a course with NAPA.  NAPA is the National Activity Providers Association. There wish is to help every care and support setting to be full of life, love and laughter.

As a result of the NAPA course and discussions with residents at Bramble Down some changes have been made and others planned.  One of the first changes was the introduction of a mobile shop.  Residents provided a long list of items they wished to see within the shop rather than having to rely on others to get provisions for them.  A drinks trolley now is regularly seen visiting residents with their favourite tipples – currently gin, wine and beer are the most popular choices.

To add to the weekly Tai Chi classes we are pleased to be working with GFitness, a national company helping to provide health and fitness classes for those in care settings. The classes will change to reflect residents needs but will likely include strength & balance work, flexibility and mobility to name a few.

With the sun shining in recent weeks many residents have been making the use of the garden: relaxing in the sunshine, tending to the vegetable patch, playing games and enjoying the visiting ice cream parlour and an evening bbq.

The gentleman in the home have been enjoying the new pop-up barbers and everyone has appreciated the pampering including foot massages.

We look forward to making more changes and ensuring we provide exceptional care for each individual.

Picnic Week 2018

We are celebrating 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!

Diabetes Week 2018

Amongst our staff and residents we have a number of individuals living with diabetes.  These include those that are newly diagnosed as well as some who have lived with the condition for years.  This year’s focus of Diabetes Week is sharing top tips and encouraging more conversation regarding diabetes.

Diabetes UK website states that someone is diagnosed with diabetes every two minutes.  With that in mind we thought we would share some information from their website which we found useful.

Knowing the facts, rather than relying on out of date or incorrect information.

Myth 1: People with diabetes cannot have sugar.  Having diabetes does not mean you have to have a sugar-free diet. However those with diabetes should follow a healthy balanced diet that is low in salt and sugar.

Myth 2: People with diabetes should eat ‘diabetic foods’.  Diabetic UK does not recommend individuals eat ‘diabetic’ foods, because they still affect your blood glucose levels and for some can give you diarrhoea.

We also believe their link to the “Evidence-based nutrition guidelines for the prevention and management of Diabetes for adults” is a useful resource.  The guidelines was to draw to together and formulate recommendations from all available evidence highlighting the importance of foods, rather than focusing on individual nutrients, wherever possible.

The guidelines recommend

• An individualised approach to diet taking into consideration the person’s personal and cultural preferences
• People eat more of certain foods such as vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, fish, nuts and pulses
• People eat less red and processed meat, refined carbohydrates and sugar sweetened beverages.

Lastly with 12.3 million people in the UK currently at serious risk of developing Type 2 diabetes then it is worth visiting the Diabetes UK website for suggestions to prevent type 2.  These include maintaining a healthy weight, eating well, and being active.  They even have a risk tool test to “Know your risk” which you can complete in less than 3 minutes.  Many of our staff have recently attended Well Being training which included information on diabetes.

If you have any top tips then please share them with us and on diabetes UK website https://www.diabetes.org.uk/ #TalkAboutDiabetes #DiabetesWeek

Volunteers Week

Happy #VolunteersWeek

We would like to encourage you to get involved with our homes. The volunteering opportunities are diverse and we could use your skills and talents to help others. It’s about giving your time, making friends, sharing hobbies/ interests and creating new experiences.

We welcome any suggestions but ideas could include helping a gardening club, help the knitting group, reading, accompanying residents on a trip or just come enjoy tea & cake and reminisce. We would love to have volunteers of any age as everyone plays a vital role in making connections, improving lives.

We believe volunteers would complement our staff and would have a big and positive impact on the quality of life for those in our homes. Research suggests that volunteering has health as well as social benefits. In addition it brings a sense of pride, satisfaction and knowledge of giving back to society.

We would love to hear from you if you are interested to know more, contact the home manager and arrange a visit to the home. We will need satisfactory enhanced DBS (free of charge) prior to starting and an understanding of what you’d like to do.