Activities at Drummond Grange Care Home

The staff at Drummond Grange have been awarded ‘Team of the Year’ award for the North NE Division in the Barchester Care Awards 2024 and is through to the national round of judging.

The Barchester Care Awards celebrate the staff who go the extra mile for the benefit of the 13,000 residents living in Barchester’s 261 care homes and private hospitals across the country. Categories range from ‘Registered Nurse of the Year’ and ‘Carer of the Year’ to ‘Dementia Care Champion’ and ‘Activities Coordinator of the Year’.

Over 5,000 nominations were received from homes and hospitals across the UK. All entries were a very high standard and Mary is over the moon to have been named the winner for the North beating hundreds of other nominees.

Staff and residents are celebrating because their wonderful Managing Director, Fiona Fagan, from Barchester’s North East and Scotland Division, has stepped completely out of her comfort zone to compete in the Barchester Charitable Foundation Cook Off 2024.

Fiona went head-to-head with the Managing Directors from Barchester’s four other divisions and cooked up a storm to raise a phenomenal £24,595 for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation which helps connect vulnerable people and those living with a disability to community groups in their local area by providing grants to improve mobility and quality of life.  Each year the Foundation distributes thousands of pounds to individuals, small community groups and charities across England, Scotland and Wales.  

Residents across our homes had a fantastic time exploring the Eden Project virtually - an educational charity and visitor attraction based in Cornwall, featuring sprawling outdoor gardens and breathtaking biomes that house the largest indoor rainforest in the world.

During the session, residents who joined were reconnected with nature through their senses, memories and stories.  A big thank you to the community team at the Eden Project for the wonderful event.

Our four wee chicks are not so wee any more! Wee Ali, Poppy, Bucky and Jessie Broon are getting big and growing quick. They have outgrown their indoor coop and on the 11th of May made the big move to the bottom of the garden! Head of Activities and her partner (who just happens to be a joiner) got busy building the bigger and better permanent coop at the bottom of the garden. The chickens seemed eager to move in and have been happy chirping away in their new home.

We have two therapy dogs that regularly visit Drummond Grange, our friend Sammy who comes every second Monday and our Friend Puku. Puku and her owner Lori however had been very busy the last 6 months so hadn’t been free to come visit. Everyone was very excited when we for a free day that suited everyone for Puku to come over and play.

The residents in Buccluch and Melville were very excited to get some cuddles with Puku and everyone was very excited she was back. Hopefully it won’t be as long till Puku and Lori can come play again!

After a lot of organising Drummond Grange is super happy to have set up a weekly session with local nursery Pinnoccios in Lasswade. We are working together with local movement coach Mhari from Boogie beats to alternated the organising of the sessions from one week being boogie beats running and the next Drummond. We have only had two sessions so far but everyone has loved getting involved and having the children in the home.

When it is Boogie beats turn to organise the children and residents join together and in a movement and music class mostly aimed at the children but involving exercise and conversation to encourage intergenerational discussions and friendships. When it is Drummonds turn to plan Head of Activities Katie plans to look at current themes such as Bee day and British Flower week.