Putting the I in Individual

On Friday 5^th October, Romford Nursing Care Centre took part in Silver Sunday, a national day of celebration of the older generation’s continued and valued contribution to society and our lives. Set up in 2012 by Westminster City Councillor Christabel Flight and The Sir Simon Milton Foundation after shocking findings highlighted the sheer scale of loneliness and isolation among the elderly, Silver Sunday is a campaign we at RCH Care Group are very proud to be a part of.

Romford Nursing Care Centre travelled back to the 1950s’ as part of their Silver Sunday celebration and were thoroughly entertained by worldwide performer Debbie Watt whose endearing personality, interactive show and excellent performance covering a variety of genres from Rock ‘N’ Roll to Sinatra’s Swing had our residents still talking about her performance weeks later.

Singing and dancing are a regular occurrence at Romford Nursing Care Centre with regular singalongs to the residents’ favourite songs and the most recent performance being a spooktacular performance by Tracy Lee on Halloween. While most consider Halloween to be a day for only children to dress up, our residents had no intention of allowing any potential trick-or-treaters to outdo their love of dressing up as they (along with our staff) happily decorated the care home itself in the build up to Halloween.

From ghost and pumpkin balloons to homemade Keep Out signs, our residents could be seen giggling away every time they set foot in the lounges, with some keen to wear skeleton masks and try to scare our wonderful staff. Afterall, just because they’re living in a care home now, it doesn’t mean that they’ve left their sense of fun and joie de vivre behind at Romford’s front door.

Although singing and dancing are favourite pastimes of many of our residents, we tailor our activities to all interests and hobbies that our residents may have. From table and card games of which Elsie Coleman is a huge fan and happily remarks that she “remembers how to play the game rummy now” after she’s won yet another round, to a knitting club that another resident is a keen member of and delightedly informs us of how much she enjoys herself every time they meet (unfortunately, knitting was a hobby she hadn’t been able to spend any time on in recent years before coming to our care home), our staff enjoy planning personalised activities for all of our residents.

Living in a care home is no excuse to have to give up on primping and feeling good about yourself. We have a hair salon within the building itself, and a weekly nail artist who visits to do the residents’ nails. Rose Gordan commented “I love having my hair washed and set. I used to go every Wednesday when I was at home, it always used to make me feel better and I’m glad that I don’t have to stop now”.

It’s not just the women who are pampered though as we take our residents on regular day trips too. In recent weeks, we have visited the local pub which is a firm favourite of resident Jim Hensley (he always hugely anticipates the pie and mash there as it reminds him of treats from when he was younger), and the bowling alley where Brian Ryder was keen to prove that he’s still able to bowl a strike.

Although our residents at Romford Nursing Care Centre like to remain abreast of recent news, they also thoroughly enjoy having a good gossip about events from when they were younger. The Daily Sparkle is a reminiscence newspaper which has been designed specifically for those living with dementia, providing a source of daily stimulation, enjoyment and interest for them.

Kathleen Marchant and Zena Shotton are two of our residents who both eagerly anticipate receiving their daily dose of sparkle. For Kathleen, she loves to hold the memory cards of famous icons as the famous faces bring her joy. Zena, on the other hand, is an avid reader of the “On This Day” section, especially enjoying discovering new trivia which she was not previously aware of.

Each of our residents are unique individuals with their own personal experiences, thoughts, feelings and interests. At Romford Nursing Care Centre, we pride ourselves on our person-centred approach to care, continually striving to find new ways to allow our residents to live their lives to the fullest in the manner which is most appropriate to them and without ever undermining the compassion, dignity and respect which all individuals are entitled to.

For more information on our care services, our home or our team of skilled professionals, please either contact us at marketing@ranccare.co.uk, call us on 01708 379 022 or pop in for a coffee and a chat at 107 Neave Crescent, Romford, RM3 8HW.