Activities at Laurel Bank Care Home

Residents of Laurel Bank were delighted to welcome pupils from Lancaster Steiner School for a visit into the garden.  The pupils put on an amazing performance as they danced around the maypole, as Residents clapped and cheered from the side lines before everyone settled down in the afternoon sunshine to enjoy refreshing smoothies.  It was a lovely afternoon for all and we look forward to our friends from the school returning soon!

We celebrated Nutrition and Hydration Week in style with a variety of delicious and healthy meals and beverages, alongside engaging activities.

During the week, our talented chef prepared nutritious sweet and savoury treats, super snacks, smoothies and fruit salads.

Our residents got involved in food tasting and cocktail making activities, cookery sessions and we all had fun submitting our entries for the Nutrition and Hydration competition, organised by Barchester’s Hospitality Team.

Happy Carers Week. We would like to take this great opportunity to recognise and thank our wonderful carers at Laurel Bank in Lancaster.

We are proud of each and every one of our care team for the outstanding care that they provide to our residents every single day. They always go above and beyond their role and for this we are truly grateful.

Our carers received numerous donations and gifts from local organisations and businesses and lovely thank you cards from our community members, relatives and friends.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Laurel Bank were invited to a virtual tour and talk about the wonders of Hereford Cathedral led by a team of staff and volunteers who look after the magnificent cathedral building.

Hereford is home to one of the oldest cathedrals in England.  The site of the cathedral has been a place of worship since the 8th Century, the date the cathedral was founded is thought to be 696 and religious services have taken place since medieval times. 

Residents were invited to join the team from Hereford Cathedral as they were given a glimpse of the spectacular building and its treasures as they were taken on a tour of the site. From the stunning gardens which lead down to the River Wye, to the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library, the virtual visit shared the history and beauty of the historic building.

As part of National Volunteers’ Week, we spent some time acknowledging the fantastic contribution that volunteers make to our community.

To recognise our hard-working volunteers and to say thank you, we prepared goody bags along with certificates to be delivered to our local volunteers’ organisations as a token of appreciation including our beloved PAT dog, Aggy and her owner Jo.

We’ve had many volunteers throughout the years and we are grateful for all they have done and continue doing for us and we’ve been lucky this week to interview for volunteers from Lancaster Royal Grammar School and Lancaster Girls Grammar School as part of our residents befriending service. Thank you.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Laurel Bank in Lancaster were treated to an exciting live streaming tour of Knowsley Safari, hosted by Engagement Assistant, Verity Dann.

Knowsley Safari has been welcoming visitors for 50 years since it opened in July 1971.  Situated in the Knowsley area of Merseyside, the safari park is home to 750 animals on a 550 acre site, it boasts the longest safari drive in the UK.

Verity’s workshop took a peek behind the scenes at Knowsley to find out what it is really like to work in such a demanding yet rewarding world.  Residents discovered what a day in the life of a keeper entails from feeding time with the giraffes and meerkats through to training sessions and everything in between.  Verity explained some of the conservation projects that Knowsley Safari is involved with and how this is positively affecting some of the world’s most endangered species.