Memories were brought to life for Springhill residents recently thanks to a special reminiscence session.

We spent time looking through wartime books which had been kindly donated to us and which will be enjoyed time and again.

There were also plenty of tasty treats to enjoy during the afternoon session and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

A leading care home in Lancashire has worked with staff, residents, family members and sector experts including nutritionists to create a new menu to reflect changing dietary needs.

The menu, from Springhill Care Home in Accrington, which will be available until the winter when new options will be brought in, includes everything from main meals, deserts and snacks, and specialist options for residents who need them.

The new menu was the brainchild of Anne Wareing, a nurse at the home and the nutrition lead, and head chef Dave Laithwaite, who joined Springhill last year.

The pair worked to create nutrition champions across the home and its different shift patterns and services, and met monthly to review options and suggestions. Local producers were also consulted over the menu.

Now the food has been presented to staff, residents, family members and professional contacts at a special tasting event who sampled the new options and gave their feedback.

The new menu, which runs on a four-week cycle, will begin in two weeks. A similar exercise will take place later in the year to create a new autumn/winter menu.

Anne Wareing said: “Good, wholesome food is such an important part of a healthy lifestyle and a key ingredient of modern care.

“We have more residents now than we used to who have extra nutritional requirements, so we decided this was a great chance to overhaul our menu.

“Dave looked at all the suggestions and feedback we had over the course of the exercise and has come up with some great ideas that we can’t wait to begin serving up. A lot of thought has gone into the menu, and the feedback was very positive and shows we are moving in the right direction.

“Our team is going to continue to meet on a regular basis to ensure the menu remains relevant and regularly updated, and we are looking forward to holding another tasting event at the end of the year when we introduce our autumn-winter menu.”

Springhill staff gathered to celebrate the 20^th work anniversary of valued colleague, Kim Smith.

Kim joined us on April 3, 1999, working in the laundry.  Following some time spent with the housekeeping team, she re-joined the laundry staff some years later.

During her time at Springhill, Kim, who lives in Accrington, has seen the home grow from 75 bedrooms to 110, but describes it as ‘one big happy family.’

She plays a vital role here at Springhill, and we’d all like to say congratulations!

Accrington’s Springhill Care Home has been named as one of the North West’s top 20.

The award, from carehome.co.uk, the leading UK care home review website, selected Springhill based on reviews from care home residents, their friends and family members.

In total, more than 120,000 reviews have been left on the website, and Springhill was among the top-reviewed homes in the region.

Curtis Bennett, General Manager of Springhill Care Home in Accrington, said: “Being named as one of the top 20 care homes in the region demonstrates our commitment to our residents and our staff is working well and being recognised.

“Our ethos is very much centred about being a person-centred care provider, but also one that invests strongly in our staff, their skills and their wellbeing.

“We place great importance on giving our staff the skills they need to not only do their job to the best of their ability, but to unlock their future potential. This may be through training as a nursing practitioner for instance, something which has made a real difference in our homes.

“We’d like to thank all our staff and residents for helping make this achievement possible.”

Photo L-R Anne Wareing (RGN/Clinical Lead) and Bernadette Bennett (Deputy Manager)