Wish-granting Sevenoaks care home wins national awards
The activities team at Lavender Fields Care Home in Seal received two Greensleeves Care Awards last week: ‘Excellence in Resident Experience’ and ‘Provision of an Outstanding Activities Programme’.
The CQC-Good-rated home, which offers residential and dementia care, was commended for its thoughtful and person-centred approach to activities- in particular, its ‘Wishing Tree’ initiative.
Diane Nolan, Activities Co-Ordinator, and Caroline Millen, Activities Assistant, have instilled the ‘Wishing Tree’ whereby residents write down three wishes – things they would love to do whilst at Lavender Fields – which are hung on the tree outside the home. The activities team then do their best to make the wishes happen.
Wishes range from the smaller scale- a Big Mac, or a pint and a Sunday Roast with friends at the pub, to the more ambitious, as the award nomination described:
“There is a resident who was in the RAF and his wish was to see a Spitfire plane take off. The activities team contacted Biggin Hill Airport, and the magic happened.
The resident received a VIP tour of the site, he was given a miniature spitfire plane as a gift to take home, he chatted with the youngest pilot, saw a spitfire plane take off and was given the opportunity to write and sign his name on the army jeep.”
The wishing tree perpetuates the person-centred approach to activities and care at Lavender Fields, ensuring residents are celebrated for their individuality, and encouraged to remain as independent as possible.
The ‘wish tree’
Diane Nolan, Activities Co-Ordinator, said:
“I am so thrilled that my team has won these two awards and been recognised in this way… However, we don’t do our jobs for the recognition, we do it because we care about giving our residents a truly fulfilling life within Lavender Fields.
Sometimes it can be as simple as having a one-to-one lunch with a resident, or taking them for a drive where they used to live. Other times it’s our wishing tree activities that really do make a huge difference in people’s lives.
The main thing when delivering an activities programme is meeting the needs of the individual. No two residents are the same, and this is reflected in the activities that are on offer.”
About
Greensleeves Care is an award-winning, not-for-profit care provider offering residential, dementia and nursing care across 28 homes in England. For more information, visit www.greensleeves.org.uk
Lavender Fields is a highly rated care home that operates on a Not-for-Profit basis and provides high-quality residential, dementia care in a homely setting. For more information about living or working at Lavender Fields, visit https://www.greensleeves.org.uk/n/care-homes/lavender-fields-sevenoaks-b/
