5 years ago
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admin
EVEN WHEN there are grey skies (of which there have been many recently!) the mood is always sunny at Springdene. Lori, our enterprising manager at Spring Lane, hosted a wonderful barbecue the other day, where residents chomped on burgers and other delicious grilled food. Just how much folk enjoyed it can be seen from the picture above!
At all three homes, residents have been soaking up the last bit of sun among the late blooms in the gardens before autumn approaches. But with this in mind, folk have been busy knitting for the colder months. And they have been enjoying the Spotify playlist “Summer Hits of the Sixties” so as to make the season last that bit longer.
At Spring Grove we celebrated Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and made some lovely apple prints to denote the occasion. We also celebrated Linda Dean’s 82nd birthday and she asked if she could watch “Hamlet”, which, of course, we fixed for her. She very much enjoyed it. Lori, at Spring Lane, also organised a fantastic cheese and wine party.
We’ve also been celebrating our lovely residents of the week, for whom we grant special wishes, as well as giving chocolates and flowers.
Frances Wilson at Springview loves listening to music and, like her sister Joan (who also lives in the home), was a big fan of dancing in her youth. Frances enjoys participating in most activities and can always be heard singing along to entertaining musicians or joining in with quizzes and offering her answers.
She very much enjoys spending time with her sister Joan and loves to eat chocolate. She’ll no doubt get her fair share this week as well as her favourite tipple – a nice big glass of white wine!
At Spring Grove, Pat Tavignot is a quiet woman who likes to keep herself to herself. She does occasionally enjoy joining us for quizzes or interesting documentaries. She is an avid reader and spends a lot of her time reading in her room. In fact, her first job was at the Marylebone Road Library, the perfect spot for a bookworm!
Pat spent most of her life working in the information bureau which she very much enjoyed. And she spent many holidays in France, one of her favourite places. She hasn’t requested a lot this week, but she adores fruit, so she’ll be given lots of lovely fruity treats all week.
Mary Kelly at Spring Lane is a wonderfully bright and cheery lady. She hails from County Galway in Ireland and is a big lover of music and especially dancing. She jives like no other when a bit of rock ’n’ roll comes on, and can often be seen swinging a member of staff around the room as she leads them in all sorts of lively dance moves!
She is also a very keen cook and loves to help us with baking. She was a huge part of the Great Springdene Bake Off this spring and we look forward to tasting some more of her baked goods in next year’s competition.
Mary has always worked incredibly hard all her life, but her favourite job was working in a kitchen in Palmer’s Green, so it’s no wonder she’s a pro in the kitchen in our home! She has requested Irish stew for her dinner, so we’ll make sure we get her a lovely big portion!
There was another delightful moment when our thoughtful Spring Lane manager Lori organised a birthday celebration for carer Belinda Juco (below), whose husband Mario also worked for us but sadly died after contracting Covid-19. “What a lovely surprise!” said Belinda.
On the business front, our dynamic modernisation plans are starting to bear fruit. Our new website is close to completion. Staff and residents contributed to some wonderful video interviews, which we will share with you soon. Our social media accounts are thriving – try dipping into https://www.facebook.com/Springdene. And we’re thrilled that the pre-application about to be submitted for planning permission for our state-of the art development at Spring Lane.
Here, as well as a general refurbishment, we are increasing the number of rooms and creating a wellbeing centre, complete with hydrotherapy pool. When finished, it will be one of the finest in north London. We’re also pleased to note we are receiving more inquiries again from potential residents after the dip in occupancy due to Covid-19.
And some other good news. We’re pleased to say that all our care staff – and indeed anyone who works in or enters our homes – will have been fully vaccinated by November 11. This is another vital piece in our armoury in the battle against Covid-19.
Finally, this will be our last newsletter in a fortnightly format. The next issue will be published in a month’s time. When we first started these newsletters, back at the height of the pandemic, there was much information to convey to you, especially relating to the exigencies surrounding Covid-19 – infection control, new visiting rules and so on.
Now things have settled down and the homes are humming along nicely (they have been Covid-free for several months), we’re happy to serve you with all our news and views on a monthly basis, though we will, from time to time publish special one-off editions. Have a good weekend and we’ll see you in four weeks!
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5 years ago
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admin
Do WE need to be vaccinated to visit our loved ones at Springdene? This is a question some of you have asked this week. To recap, the government has announced that all staff in our homes must be double vaccinated by November, otherwise they will not be permitted to work.
The new rule also applies to everyone who enters the premises, whether they are maintenance staff, hairdressers, beauticians or entertainers. However, there is one exception – visitors and friends who come to visit their loved ones in the homes. This is designed to protect the human rights of families.
Nevertheless, we appeal to you to ensure you are double vaccinated before coming to visit Springdene. Predictions are that the highly transmissible Delta variant will become even more rampant in the autumn, especially as schools and universities reopen. The hard work by our staff in testing and cleaning has made sure that our homes have been free from the virus for some months now. We are determined to keep it that way.
But there is a silver lining. The requirement for vaccination means that the door will be open in the not-too-distant future to bring in more outside entertainers to enhance our activities programmes. As you know, since the first lockdown, most of our enviable range of activities have been generated internally. But now we see an opportunity to open it out to more entertainers, lecturers and musicians, who we will be able to verify as safe. Watch this space!
While on the subject of activities, we are very sorry to announce we are saying goodbye to our much-loved group activities manager Eirlys Roff, who is moving on to a new position. Many of you will be familiar with Eirlys, with her huge energy, her lovely smile and always a cheerful word for every resident. She has been responsible for many innovations, including the activities planners, which are sent to you every week. And the entertaining Great Springdene Bake Off and the Springdene Olympics, which so many enjoyed, were developed by Eirlys, too.
Eirlys will remain on hand as a consultant for a short while, but we wish her all the best for the future as she leaves the homes. In the meantime, activities in the homes are in D Issue 45 the capable hands of the rest of the team – Tegan, Magda, Malwina, Steve and Odile while we interview for a new group activities manager.
While on the subject of activities, the best of them were shown off this week as we filmed and photographed for our exciting new website, which we hope to launch in the next few weeks. Tegan and Eirlys sang some of the old songs, Steve invited everybody to his Day at the Races, as well as his very popular Casino, and our very talented Spring Grove resident Marcelle Jay (above) played the piano. It was wonderful to hear her fingers on the ivories.
In her previous life, Marcelle was a distinguished ophthalmologist and is one of many folk at Springdene with a marvellous life story. She was so eminent that a room at University College London was named after her. Another is 99-year-old Lilli Segel, who has just joined us at Spring Lane. Lilli is one of the few people still alive in the UK with memories of pre-war Berlin in the Nazi era where she grew up as a young girl. She came to England as a refugee from Hitler in 1939.
“I call it my Fairy Story,” says Lilli, her bright eyes animated as she tells her tale. As a Jewish child, she had been forced out of her grammar school even though she was a star pupil. “I recall my teacher crying because I had to go. The atmosphere in the city was terrible. I remember all the broken glass from Kristallnacht – it was horrifying.” [In November 1938, in an incident known as “Kristallnacht”, the Nazis torched synagogues, vandalised Jewish homes, schools and businesses and killed close to 100 Jews.]
But by chance, while in a cafe in the Tiergarten, Lilli had found a handbag belonging to an English girl, with whom she subsequently struck up a correspondence. The girl, Dodi, who lived in Liverpool, encouraged Lilli to escape from Germany and so she fled on a terrifying journey, leaving her parents behind. “Before I got to the border, I saw a Nazi take a child’s teddy bear and slash it open with a knife,” she says.
But Lilli (above) was well looked after and flourished in Britain, marrying and making up for her lost education by doing a degree with the Open University, eventually becoming an academic teaching drama at the University of London, where who worked up to her retirement aged 90. Lilli also occupied a distinguished position at the National Theatre
After retiring she returned to Berlin on a nostalgic visit to her old school and the headmaster was able to dig out her records. “It was amazing after all that time – ‘very good pupil’, it said.” Now, aged 99, with the help of her daughter, Lilli has written up her life story. “I thought that sometime in the future, the world should know about all these events,” she says.
It’s been birthday time for another distinguished resident – Ian Willison CBE, former head of rare books at the British Library. Ian, one of the authors of the “Cambridge History of the Book”, was so thrilled with his birthday celebration that he stood up and made a speech and wrote a card to all who attended, donating two of his books to the Spring Grove library. Thank you, Ian and many happy returns!
And, of course, we mustn’t forget our cherished residents of the week, who we pamper with flowers and chocolates and to whom we grant special wishes.
At Spring Grove our celebrity this week is Lady Elizabeth O’Brien. Elizabeth has lived in many areas of the UK. She was born in Halifax, and has also lived in Birmingham, Wakefield and London. She read medicine at university and is a big lover of the arts, particularly classical music, painting and singing. She was a consultant child psychiatrist and really loved her work. She mostly likes to spend her time relaxing in her room but does like to join in with parties and classical music events. She has requested a gin and tonic and a fish supper, so we will absolutely organise this for her.
Maureen Bennett at Spring Lane adores music and every time she hears it her face lights up. She regularly sings along to her favourites and beams when listening. She is also a huge fan of “Dad’s Army” and “Father Ted”, which she finds hilarious. She was born in Dublin and grew up there. Her favourite job was teaching. She enjoys a sherry, lager or a gin & tonic so we’ll get her at least one of those this week! She has requested scrambled eggs on toast as a treat for breakfast.
Joan Gallaway is one of the quiet people at Springview, but she loves music and used to go dancing all the time. She grew up in Wood Green and has a brother and a sister, who also lives at Springview and the two of them spend all their time together often holding hands.
Joan used to enjoy football and snooker and has very much relished watching the various sporting events in the Paralympics. She has requested a roast dinner and a glass of wine, which we will happily provide her with.
Lastly, we are delighted to receive the following warm tribute from Garry Davison, whose mother is in Springview: “The care and facilities provided at Springview are second to none. I live in South America, and due to Covid restrictions, have not been able to visit Springview to see my mother for over 18 months. I used to visit her every three months.
“It is so comforting for me to know that she is being so well looked after, and at least I get the chance to see her on the weekly Skype video calls that we have. She is doing very well and seems happy with life. The staff at Springview are all amazing, and I would like to send a big thank you to them all for looking after Mum so well.”
Thank you, Garry. It is very much appreciated.
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5 years ago
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admin
WE HAD looked at quite a few care homes for our then 96-year-old mother. She was increasingly struggling with living at home and we were very pleased to have found Spring Grove,” writes family member Jeremy Bilder, among a number of lovely tributes we have received recently.
He goes on: “The warm atmosphere was immediately apparent, with cheerful, friendly carers and staff. The smiles and laughter from the residents being entertained in the main lounge added to that feel and we were most impressed with the thought and care taken to provide a daily schedule of activities and entertainment. A copy of the schedule is also emailed each week to relatives, together with a really good, creative and amusing newsletter highlighting the past week’s events.
“The happy environment has been there each of our many visits since our mother moved to Spring Grove. In those two years, she has repeatedly told the family how content she is there, and she is always full of praise for the lovely staff. It is so nice to so often see her and the carers pulling each other’s legs and enjoying a laugh and joke together!”
Thank you, Jeremy, for your kind comments, and we are happy to report that soon we will have more communication channels open so that we can interact even better with our families and prospective new residents. First of all, we are revamping our website with a more modern look and exciting new graphics and pictures.
The website, which we aim to launch at the end of next month, will incorporate video and contain useful information such as activities planners and copies of this newsletter. We are planning to undertake the photography in the first week of September, so photographers will be out and about in the homes, working to capture images of them at their best.
We are also launching Instagram and Twitter accounts – all the better to bring you the latest news and pictures from the homes. Our Facebook page is also flourishing, with lots of pictures and news about Springdene. All these social media channels are essential tools in the armoury of modern communications, and are crucial to spreading the news about the work of Springdene Care Homes.
Our Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Springdene Please give it a “like” when you have read it. Meanwhile our Twitter and Instagram feeds can be found at @SpringdeneCare and http://instagam.com/springdenecare respectively.
We’re delighted to report that our homes continue to be free from cases of Covid-19, thanks to the hard work put in by our staff in infection control, as well as rigorous and regular testing of everyone. Meanwhile, there is a major new development affecting our staff.
The government have decreed that from the autumn, all care home workers must be vaccinated. The new legislation means from November 11 anyone working in a CQC-registered care home in England for residents requiring nursing or personal care must have two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine unless they have a valid medical exemption.
It will apply to all workers employed directly by the care home or care home provider (on a full-time or part-time basis), those employed by an agency and deployed by the care home, and volunteers coming into the care home.
Those entering care homes to do other work, for example healthcare workers, tradespeople, hairdressers and beauticians, and CQC inspectors will also have to follow the new regulations, unless they have a medical exemption.
We’re pleased to say that some 90 per cent of staff have been double jabbed, but there are some who have yet to make their appointments. We’re very much hoping that they will go ahead and stay on board with us.
While we’re all a bit disappointed by the grey August weather, folk have been able to get out to enjoy Stacey-Louise’s beautifully landscaped gardens, exquisite with colour and fragrance. And a huge amount of fun was had by all with the Springdene Olympics – next best to the real thing, everyone agreed.
Folk made their own Olympic torches out of coloured paper, and you’d be amazed at how competitive Team Springdene were, with wheelchair races, walker races and Zimmer-frame races. The shotput produced some impressive results and the medals (below) were well-deserved. Eirlys is putting the final touches to a video of the events, which we’ll post on our Facebook page and on YouTube when it is done.
Cookery has been on the menu, too. For Afternoon Tea Week last week, Steve at Springview led a group baking some delicious scones, while Magda at Spring Lane laid on a delightful spread in the high dependency unit. There was a splendid repast to coincide with Christine Moir’s 75th birthday at Spring Grove.
Fans of Indian food got a treat when our chefs rustled up a special meal for Indian Independence Day last Sunday. Mulligatawny soup with samosas was on the menu for starters, followed by Butter Chicken Curry with pilau rice. The meal was polished off authentically with some sweet and delicious Gulab Jamun. Namaste!
We’ve also been celebrating our lovely residents of the week who are presented with flowers and chocolates as well as being generally pampered. Lilli Segel at Spring Lane is one of the newest additions to the family. She has a rich and incredibly interesting history. She grew up in Berlin and in 1939 at the age of 17 went to Llandudno as a refugee from Nazi Germany, where she worked in a hotel as a general “dogsbody”.
She is a big fan of exercise, attending yoga and Pilates classes for many years and loves music and theatre. She worked for the National Theatre and even very recently was still teaching theatre studies to adult students at the University of London. She likes small, healthy meals and hasn’t requested anything special as a treat, but really likes very hot coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon, so we’ll make sure she has it!
At Spring Grove, Ian Willison CBE is another fascinating man, highly intelligent and loves to assist us in performing for most projects we ask him to participate in. Ian was the former head of rare books at the British Library and has led an incredibly interesting life, having been been honoured by the Queen – something he is immensely proud of. He likes a Scotch and soda so we’ll treat him to that, and has asked for a medium cooked steak with mashed potatoes and lots of red cabbage!
Joan Barnett at Springview is another recent addition to the Springdene family She likes her own space, but is very keen on doing regular exercise with us in the mornings and walking regularly to keep her legs working. She used to love to travel and went on many trips to Australia and America when she was younger.
Joan worked for National Children’s Homes, which she thoroughly enjoyed because the charity’s mission was wonderful, and she felt she was helping children. She also worked in a solicitor’s office for a long time. Joan has requested some Chinese food for a special meal and a Coca Cola. Well done to all these distinguished folk!
One of the special features of life at Springdene is our Relatives Support Group, which is made up of relatives, friends and professionals who have a common purpose – to support one another in their journey through the lifechanging process of entering a care home. This applies to both the person joining the home and those nearest to them.
We appreciate just how difficult it is to make the decision to place someone into residential care. We also recognise that it is often more distressing for the relatives and friends than for the person being “re-homed”.
The group is open to anyone who currently has a relative or friend in any of the Springdene Group’s homes or has previously had a relative or friend in the homes. We can also help those wrestling with the decision to place a relative or friend in a home.
The group, which meets on Thursday evenings every four weeks, is professionally facilitated by an experienced dementia specialist nurse. In earlier, non-Covid times, the group would convene face-to-face at Spring Lane over tea and cake but now we meet virtually. We discuss difficulties being faced, hear how others have dealt with similar situations and tap into the experts’ opinions on how best to manage issues that are raised. If you would like to join us, then call us at Spring Lane on 020 8815 2000. Meetings are confidential and there is no charge for attending.
If you can’t make up your mind, then listen to this endorsement from our company HR Director Adrienne Rosen: “I found moving my father into a retirement home was a very difficult decision. The support group showed me I was not alone. Subsequently, the group has helped me adjust. It is a place where I can be open and where we can laugh and cry. And the tea and cake [in normal times] are delicious!”
Lastly, we hope you will dig deep for our forthcoming raffle to support our new sponsored charity Sepsis UK, which raises money for research into this devastating condition which kills people needlessly. We have some splendid hampers (see below) to be won. Please contact tfazekas@springdene.co.uk if you would like to give. Thanks so much!
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6 years ago
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admin
HEARTFELT thanks for all your responses to last week’s newsletter, voicing your appreciation for the heroic and incredibly tough work our staff are doing in the face of the Covid-19 crisis.
“Thank you so much for the newsletter. It means so much to me to hear how you are all getting on. You are all doing such a marvellous job,” writes Anne, Helen Joplin’s daughter. Meanwhile, Kay Thompson emails: “Thank you for keeping us all updated on life at your care homes. It must be a very stressful time for you all but I’m sure you know that what you do is so greatly appreciated by all friends and family.”
Alan and Linda Almond express a view held by many: “We wanted to reiterate how grateful we are to all you guys. The care and diligence that every one of you have displayed has been fantastic. We really do appreciate everything you are all doing.”
We’re delighted to hear that every Thursday evening you are all clapping or rattling saucepans to express your support for our hard-working carers – as well as their counterparts in the NHS. And for that, a big vote of thanks to you too!
We are also grateful for the many tributes to Vivien Frey, our much-loved activities coordinator, who died suddenly earlier this month. They include one from the distinguished actor Simon Callow who first encountered Vivien when his mother Yvonne was in Spring Grove:
‘Vivien stood out as a powerhouse of kindness and enthusiasm, never ceasing for a moment to think about what would enliven the residents’ days. I can see her now, reading out loud from the day’s newspapers, drawing the residents into discussions about world affairs, the arts, personalities of the day – everyone came alive. Vivien was a sparkling, generous, loving spirit and she’ll be terribly missed, not least by me.’
Meanwhile, the hard work at Springdene goes on in these hugely difficult times. You will have read in the press over the past week of the problems with the national supply of personal protective equipment. Well, we are pleased to say that we have been able to source our own supplies for the weeks ahead. Our staff are wearing the full PPE gear as recommended by Public Health England, and because we have adequate quantities, no corners are being cut.
Testing is proceeding apace, with more residents undergoing tests this week. However, testing for staff has not been as fast as we would like because the closest government testing station is a drive-through centre at Wembley and many of our staff do not have cars. However, the government has now offered a pilot scheme for testing at home and the first home testing kits have arrived this week.
You will know that over the past week residents continue to be asked to stay in their rooms for personal protection. We appreciate how frustrating this can be as many of us enjoy a natter with our friends or a comfy seat in the lounge. It’s made even harder in
the absence of visits by friends and relatives. But this is decided on the best medical advice for everybody’s welfare.
Rest-assured, though, that our room-bound residents are getting lots of extra attention from their carers, who make sure they never go short of company. We have a plan in place, as soon as the restrictions are lifted, to allow residents into the communal areas on a phased basis, while keeping social distancing rules. We’ll keep you posted when this happens.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of things to keep folk amused and entertained. Caroline, our activities coordinator at Spring Lane, is presenting everyone with a special pack each day.
The packs have been fun to assemble and each resident gets one tailor-made to meet their requirements. On one day, for instance, the pack contained an ‘Important events from this day in history’ article, an April poem by Laurie Lee, the joke of the day, a ‘name this vegetable’ visual quiz and an animal quiz.
This week Caroline has been taking individual residents on garden visits, with fruit plates and some April flower quizzes. Shakespeare’s birthday on April 23 saw residents working on recognising famous actors who had played a Shakespeare character and the Queens’ birthday on April 21, featured another visual quiz, ‘Name that Royal’.
The quote from the Queen that day was very apt for staff and residents alike: ‘When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.’
Over at Springview, activities coordinator Eirlys has set up a ‘Pen Pal Club’, deploying members of her extended family to write letters to the residents. We hear this is going to be very popular. How nice to get a good old-fashioned letter rather than a cursory email or text! Meanwhile the Vicar of Hampstead Parish Church is arranging for his parishioners to write cards of encouragement to the residents of Spring Grove.
There was another marvellous moment when Gladys Gathergood, our oldest resident at Springview, celebrated her 107th birthday on the Queen’s birthday. Morrison’s supermarket sent her a cake and some flowers. “I was truly Queen for the day,” says a delighted Gladys.
We remain indebted to all our staff for their incredible hard work and devotion to duty during this crisis. Where staff have been self- isolating, extra carers or volunteers are being brought in and we are proud to say that no shift has been left uncovered. We have made sure everyone knows they are appreciated by offering extra sick pay.
Many of you have asked how you can help the staff in their magnificent efforts. One simple way of showing your appreciation is by sending in a treat – it only needs to be something simple like some fruit, a box of chocolates, cakes, some handcream or even a simple ‘thank you’ card.
Getting a treat is a bit like getting a hug, said one, after being presented with a ‘goody bag’ donated by a group of volunteer ladies from Highgate last week. And we all need more hugs these days…
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