2 years ago
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admin
It’s been a great summer for Springdene as we celebrate the 55th anniversary of our foundation. We had a splendid party at Springview to mark the occasion, which we all enjoyed, including our Enfield neighbours, who joined in enthusiastically.
There was a multiplicity of activities, including a raffle and a tombola and a sumptuous choice of food and drink. The local fire brigade came along to give a demonstration.
But the high point was an exhibition of vintage cars and commercial vehicles, which sparked lots of golden memories among our residents. These were laid on by the neighbouring Whitewebbs transport museum, which is one of the hidden jewels of Enfield. Thanks to them – and we strongly recommend a visit.
One of the joys of the party was raising the magnificent sum of £1,700 for our favourite charity, Medical Detection Dogs. The charity does marvellous work with its animals which are trained to “sniff out” the early signs of serious illnesses, such as cancer and diabetes. Our very own sponsored dog Spring, whom we have adopted since he was a puppy, is busy saving saves, thanks to your input.
The cheque was presented at a special ceremony by Mrs June Powell, joint founder of Springdene Care Homes (right, in the picture). “Our residents and families are proud to play their part in funding the good work of this excellent charity,” said Mrs Powell.
With the recent summer weather, the gardens of the homes are looking splendid. There are colourful blooms everywhere thanks to our green-fingered director, Stacey-Louise Balcombe.
At Spring Lane, the patio garden has been re-planned and is looking lovely. At Springview we are keeping our fingers crossed for the results of the Enfield in Bloom competition – and, indeed, one of their inspectors was spotted the other day sussing out our gardens.
Our residents have not only been enjoying the gardens in the summer weather, but they have been getting out and about, too. Fraser, our dynamic new wellbeing coordinator at Spring Lane, has been busy organising visits, with two memorable outings – to the RAF Museum at Hendon and London Zoo in Regents Park.
So it’s welcome to Fraser, and also to Erika, our new clinical lead who has joined us to support our group operations supremo, Mark Clements. Mark will now have the time to focus on strategic issues for the future. We are also looking forward to the arrival in the autumn of a new manager at Springview to replace Iva Petrova, who has moved on to a new job.
At Spring Lane, Alex Codrescu continues to hold the fort while manager Lori Vela enjoys maternity leave with her beautiful new baby.
Also at Spring Lane, we are excited with the countdown to the completion of the modernisation programme in the upstairs bedrooms. We’re also getting a lovely new lounge and entrance area, which will enhance everyone’s lives. Over at Spring Grove the new cinema room is in operation, with enhanced viewing for everyone.
As always, live music continues to flourish in all our homes. Our old favourite Roddy Skeaping continues to entertain with his much-loved singalongs while the Dance Well team keep everyone on their toes.
This involves exploring various movements to music using all sorts of props. The staff join in, and everyone has a good laugh. And we mustn’t forget Lost Chord, who do such good work among those with memory issues.
For us in the management team, the arrival of a new government means some change on the care landscape. The Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has declared dissatisfaction with the Care Quality Commission, the care home regulator, and undoubtedly there will be some changes. At the same time Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, has abandoned the idea of a cap on care costs, although there is talk of a Royal Commission on the subject.
Meanwhile prepare your diaries for a party in the early autumn to celebrate the completion of the works at Spring Lane. It promises to be a great occasion. Until then, enjoy your summer!
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4 years ago
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admin
WELCOME to our Springtime newsletter. We thought we’d cheer you up with this wonderful picture of our oldest resident on her 109th birthday.
Gladys Gathergood was born in 1913, sharing a birthday with the Queen, and the staff at Springview put on a wonderful party to celebrate a long life, well lived. She is distinguished as one of the 25 oldest people in Britain. It is amazing to think that Gladys was a 13-year-old girl when our 96-year-old Queen was born.
There was an abundance of cards, a delicious cake and, naturally, a message from Her Majesty herself. Gladys, who was made queen for the day, wore a tiara and looked very glamorous. “Thank you so much for all the brilliant care everyone has given me,” she said. Gladys also starred in a story about her in the local newspaper, the Enfield Independent. You can read it here https://tinyurl.com/y7jucvc2. Many Happy Returns, Gladys!
Life has been busy in the homes. Last week our CEO Michael Williams joined more than 100 people who turned out at the Camden Art Centre in Finchley Road to celebrate an art project created by our Spring Grove residents. Curated by the prestigious Royal College of Art, it was the fruit of a collaboration between artists, students and our very talented residents.
“It was a wonderful and touching occasion,” Michael said. Titled “It Matters What Happens Next”, artists Youngsook Choi and Eva Freeman helped create a dialogue about care, exploring themes such as vulnerability, strength and resilience. The residents reflected and shared stories whilst engaging in various forms of artistic practice such as sculpting and watercolour painting.
Pierce Eldridge, curator for the Royal College of Art, said it was “really brilliant working with your residents. Everyone was truly impressed. And our team loved coming into your home. It was so clean!” And Matt Williams, curator at the Camden Art Centre, observed: “It was great seeing young and old work so well together. It was a truly inter-generational venture.”
We’d especially like to thank our very own Odile Kidd at Spring Grove for helping make it all happen and all the residents who joined in the workshops so enthusiastically. The RCA and Camden Arts Centre teams will be back soon to share stories with all the residents about this very remarkable project.
Meanwhile, we are introducing more outside entertainment now we have thrown off the restrictions of Covid. The venerable Roddy Skeaping keeps folk entertained with his ever-versatile musical repertoire. We have booked a live music season at Spring Grove over the summer with musicians arranged by the brilliant charity Live Music Now. They have also announced they are coming to Spring Lane, too.
There have been some other fantastic activities, the highlight of which was a cocktail afternoon at Spring Lane, at which some tasty mocktails were mixed and served from a proper bar. Cheers, everybody, and thanks to Emily who was our mixologist par excellence!
With the early summer sunshine so brilliant, it has been a lovely time to walk in the gardens, too, and we are hoping for some glorious weather so folk can get outside more. Everyone agrees that the clematis and jasmine at the front of Springview are quite sensational.
But the highlight of our forthcoming calendar will be the celebrations for Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in early June. We are veterans at royal celebrations, and we are certain this one will be better than ever, with “street parties” in every home and much joy to be had by all. There will be union jacks all round and a glass of Pimm’s for a royal toast. Neighbours and families will be invited. And, for Her Majesty, there will be cheers to the rafters from all at Springdene!
Meanwhile we have had some good news from our sponsored Medical Detection Dogs puppy Spring who recently celebrated his first birthday – and what a busy year he’s had. Over the last six months Spring as been out and about as much as possible as he continues his assistance dog apprenticeship.
While most puppies are just learning to catch balls in the garden and bring toys back to their owners, Spring is learning to save lives. He has been doing well with his public access training and has mastered good behaviour during his sessions in a variety of scenarios – including supermarkets and high streets: exactly the kind of environments he might go to with whomever he is eventually partnered.
with. Of course, he is still very much a cheeky and inquisitive puppy when he isn’t working and loves nothing more than chasing a ball or playing with his handlers when off duty.
Spring has all the basic behaviours well-rehearsed and is now moving on to some of the more advanced training such as retrieving to hand, off-lead control and recall. His handlers are focussing on Spring’s use of nose by introducing regular search games with his socialisers and will continue to introduce exciting and fun scent games to continue his development of these vital skills.
He can look forward to trying to find hidden tennis balls in odd places as well as on people and finding the ball is reward itself, as he gets to play fetch. In time, we hope this will later be changed to finding the odour of a particular illness or disease such as Covid or type 1 Diabetes.
You’ll know from his previous update that Spring was rather distracted by other dogs, and we are pleased to say that this area of his behaviour is much improved. He still loves a good walk and free runs and is very happy character.
We are really proud of Spring and all he has achieved so far. He still has a long way to go, so we would like to thank you once again for supporting his training. If you would like to donate and help medical science, please contact Kathy Dunn at svadmin@springdene.co.uk
Lastly, you should by now have received a satisfaction survey from us in your inbox. We know you probably feel somewhat bombarded by such things, but this one is very important as it helps our regulator, the Care Quality Commission, to rate us. Please fill it in and return to us. It will only take a few minutes If you haven’t got one, please contact Zoey Baik at zbaik@springdene.co.uk Thank you in advance.
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4 years ago
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admin
A HAPPY New Year to all of you. It was a wonderful moment on Christmas Day when Steve, our activities coordinator at Springview arrived in the guise of Santa. The smile on people’s faces was a pleasure to behold. It was one of the highlights of the recent festivities, which were many and joyous, crowned with delicious Christmas lunch with all the trimmings.
Manager Lori organised a splendid party at Spring Lane, and we reported in our last newsletter on the grand celebration at Springview, with the Salvation Army’s carols around the fire-pit. You can see some of the pictures of folk having fun on our social media feeds, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – which you can access through our new website www.springdene.co.uk.
New Year was a delight, with parties in the homes and Buck’s Fizz all round, followed by one of Steve’s wonderful horse-racing sessions on New Year’s Day. The winner was the delightful Doreen, who reported that she was chuffed with her victory
Unfortunately, the shadow of Omicron has hung over us, as it has for everyone else throughout the UK. At each of our homes a small number of staff have contracted the illness and have had to be off work isolating. There has been an outbreak among the residents at Spring Lane, which luckily is mild and mostly limited to a few sniffles so far.
Inevitably, there are knock-on effects. In Spring Lane, residents have had to stay in their rooms to comply with official guidelines. Visiting has had to stop, too. It has been possible to continue it at Springview, using the outside gazebo, but it has had to be halted at Spring Grove, since the layout of the building means the gazebo cannot be accessed without passing through the interior of the home.
At all three homes it is possible to make face-to-face calls with loved ones, using the digital tablets that are provided. We know is not much compensation, but the facility is there. Rest assured that meanwhile every effort is being made with infection control. All our staff are vaccinated and have to take a daily test before entering the home. The same applies to essential contractors, who must also show their vaccination status and take a test before entering.
Like all of you, we hate having to close the homes to visitors. However, the good news is that we are studying a new plan, which would allow each resident to have a designated “essential care giver”. This would allow the possibility for one nominated member of the family (or friend) to have much wider access to their loved ones, including visiting in their rooms for much of the day. Tests would have to be taken and full PPE would have to be worn. We can’t promise at the moment that this will happen, but our Group Operations Manager is carrying out a risk assessment and we will let you know the outcome as soon as possible.
Meanwhile we are celebrating our lovely residents of the week who are presented with flowers and chocolates and the chance to make their wishes come true. At Springview, our chosen resident is the fantastic Mrs Gladys Gathergood – 108 years old and still going strong. With a fantastic smile and a lovely laugh, Gladys is one of the oldest people in the country. Born in Stratford, east London, Gladys is the heart and soul of Springview. She loves the Salvation Army, with which she was brought up and tells us that her favourite food is steak and kidney pudding. We’ll try and oblige you, Gladys.
Over at Spring Lane is another national treasure, the veteran peace campaigner Pat Arrowsmith. Pat is famously the co-founder of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. She is a writer and a poet and a legendary campaigner for women’s rights. As those who know her observe, there’s plenty of fight in Pat yet! A slightly ascetic lady, Pat has no particular wishes for celebrating being resident of the week, but we’ll make sure she is thoroughly pampered.
Eve Upton at Spring Grove is a very private lady who likes peace and quiet and enjoys studying nature. She describes herself as an observer rather than a participator. A former secretary before she got married, she takes pleasure in her three children and three grandchildren. Eve is especially fond of her daughter’s dog Hermes and is partial to cottage pie, spinach and carrots.
We’re also celebrating our “Three Musketeers” – three wonderful ladies (above) at Springview, who are marking their centenaries and more in 2022. Glady Gathergood (centre), who has been with us since 2015 is 109 on April 21, while Violet Stone (right), who joined us in 2018, will be 101 in June. Kathleen Taylor, with us since 2019, will also be 101. Her birthday is September 30. Congratulations, ladies, and long may you thrive!
The excellence of care at Springdene is a major factor in longevity and we’ve just received some lovely testimonials to the quality of what we do. Felicity Moir writes of her sister’s life at Spring Grove: “The home provides excellent care with a friendly and homely environment. Some of the care team have been there for a long time and have gotten to know the residents well. They provide lots of activities that keep the residents stimulated – something so necessary as visiting has been restricted and visits away curtailed with Covid. I am very happy with the care my sister receives. In the same home,” Ola U. writes: My father was at Spring Grove for some months of rehabilitation, and I was very happy with the care he received. The staff are so friendly and caring. They ensured he was comfortable, and it was so nice to see him laughing and joking with the carers whenever I came to visit him. They knew members of the family by name and always had time for a chat.
“It was such a pleasant atmosphere, and I could see that my father was well taken care of. The receptionist was amazing and would always do his best to ensure that he could work out a convenient visiting time slot, taking into account the Government Covid visiting guidelines. The activities timetable has a variety of things to suit a wide range of hobbies and interests. I was happy that the staff encouraged my father to join in, and he loved going for activities. Having the activity schedule sent to relatives was helpful, as I could let the staff know the sort of things my father would like. A brilliant home-away-from-home care home!”
Thank you to everybody who has endorsed us. If you feel you could do the same, we’d be delighted to hear from you. On a final note, we know how many of you are interested in the progress of our sponsored Medical Detection Dog puppy, Spring. Well, there’s a lot of tail wagging going on and we’re happy to report that Spring’s sniffing skills for illnesses such as Covid are getting better by the day.
We’re very touched by the generosity of the family of Springview resident Harriet Cullen who were so impressed by the work of the Medical Detection Dogs that they nominated the charity for donations, instead of flowers at Mum’s funeral. The charity was Harriet’s favourite. As a result a cheque for £620 has been sent off today and Spring will be the beneficiary. Thank you one and all!
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