A groundbreaking dementia forum established earlier this year at Springhill, closed for the summer recently with a meeting looking at a highly topical issue.

The forum was set up earlier this year as a welcoming and confidential setting for people to share their experiences of the dementia journey whether as a family member of one of our residents or a friend.

Led by General Manager Theresa Swan, these meetings have been very successful, and recently the group held its last gathering until after the summer, with a discussion on cuts to publicly-funded healthcare.

This was a great, timely topic to examine, and our forum led a healthy debate looking at how such cuts affect those people who need support the most, and contrasting this with the quality of care to be found at Springhill Care Home.

The next meeting of the dementia forum will take place on Tuesday, September 2.

Springhill Care Home is opening its doors to visitors from the community as part of the National Care Home Open Day initiative.

This fantastic initiative is a national programme aimed at highlighting the great work being done in homes across the country. It takes place on Friday, June 20th.

Pop in and have a brew and a chat with us – you’ll be made very welcome.

Care homes are urged to throw open their doors and welcome members of the public to take a look at the activities and lifestyle enjoyed by residents.

The event is supported by leading care organisations including the Care Quality Commission, Alzheimer’s Society and the Department of Health.

Nationally it’s easy to believe that the care sector has a poor reputation, with the media often featuring high profile, negative stories.

What the care home open day is trying to do – with the full support Springhill Care Home and the whole Springhill Care Group – is to show people what care homes are really about.

Organisers say the day is ‘about connecting people’ and we are taking this to heart. We have always been proud of our relationship with the local community, and we’d love to welcome people into our homes to see the activities that go on, the wonderful meals prepared by our chefs, and the high standard of living our residents have.

For further information call us on 01254 381719 or visit http://www.nationalcarehomeopenday.org.uk/

Each month we are privileged to host a Church of England Mass which is celebrated in The Sanctuary and attended by many of our residents.

Fr Lawrence and Fr Terry usually host the celebration and are generous with their time, staying for afternoon tea and chatting, as well as visiting people in their rooms who may be too poorly to attend the service.

This is certainly one of the highlights of the month for all those who have been part of a worshipping community and much appreciated by our residents.

We are delighted to report that Springhill Care Home has received glowing feedback from residents following a routine inspection.

The home was visited by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the organisation which checks whether hospitals, care homes and care services are meeting essential standards.

Springhill Care Home met all standards which the CQC were checking, which include ‘respecting and involving people who use the service,’ ‘care and welfare of people who use services’ and ‘cleanliness and infection control.’

Most encouragingly, the inspectors report back that the residents they spoke to were overwhelmingly positive about their experiences at Springhill.

A few of the comments collected are as follows: “I’m so glad I’m here,” “I love it here, the staff are excellent,” and “I’m looked after incredibly well, the staff are angels.”

The CQC also noted that the daily routine of residents is flexible, meaning people can choose, for instance, when to get up and go to bed, and that residents are given the opportunity to discuss their care plans.

Our regular activities were also singled out, from arts and crafts to baking and film days, and the CQC noted that obtaining information from other health and social care professionals ‘helped to ensure that people’s individual needs could be met.’

It’s important to achieve a good result on our inspections, but that alone is not enough if our residents did not have positive things to say about the levels of care they receive.

We were all delighted to learn what had been said, and would like to thank everyone who took part in this inspection for their understanding and support.

Download and read our latest inspection report below.

Attachments:

CQC Inspection Report SCH 21 01 2014

[CQC Inspection Report SCH 21 01 2014]

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