Activities at Lethen Park Care Home

Barchester’s Lethen Park was a den of ghoulish activity as the home’s spooky Halloween party got in to full swing.

Staff, residents and guests got in to the spirit of things with fancy dress,  music and games, it was a fun-filled day for all!  

General Manager, Anita Rowley cackled: “Our residents and staff love an opportunity to dress up and what better time of the year to do this than Halloween? We’ve had a whole range of tricks and treats for the people that live here and and we have all really enjoyed every moment of it!”

Resident, Jim Gordon has been recognised for his services during WW2 and was recently presented with is award by the British Legion, during which a bagpiper played. Residents of the home watched the short ceremony in the homes garden.

For some residents at Lethen Park care home the long awaited reunion with family and friends became a reality recently, as garden visits have now been allowed to commence at the home.

There has been much careful planning and preparation for this moment behind the scenes at Barchester Healthcare, who run Lethen Park care home. Social distancing was still in place, and homes that are able to take part must have a large accessible garden.

It was welcome news to so many residents, family, and friends, who were kept apart for so long following strict government guidance. Residents and their loved ones got together in the home garden and the garden was fully of joy and chatter.

Residents at Lethen Park have been hard at work creating cards to send to their loved ones as a surprise. They decorated the front and written personalised messages on the inside. They have also had great fun posing for pictures with our love message board, which will be printed and put inside the cards.

Residents have also been making use of Skype and Facetime so that they can video call their relatives – although some weren’t too sure about the new technology!

General Manager, Anita Rowley said “It is vitally important that we ensure that our residents can remain in contact with their family and friends during this time. New technology is great for this purpose, but of course a good old fashioned letter is just as welcome!”

The Easter bunny arrived for Residents of Lethen Park when they were surprised by the generosity of their local community. Jackee Tocher, activities coordinator and colleagues were on hand to accept the boxes filled with a selection of eggs all shapes and sizes sure to satisfy any chocolate lover!

General Manager, Anita Rowley said: “As always we looked forward to Easter. It’s such a nice time of the year – the residents loved all the colourful Easter eggs and we made Easter extra special for our residents during this challenging period for everyone, It was an eggs-cellent day!”

With the outbreak of the virus keeping entertainers and visitors away from the home, the residents have been enjoying a full programme of activities, alongside learning modern technology with Facetime and Skype calls to family and friends. Residents have been enjoying the garden and some much-needed spring sunshine. Activities have been taking place outside and the home have been delighted in receiving letters from the community.

They have also been creating their own messages to share. Residents drew round their hands which they then coloured and attached the sun. The messages are now displayed on the window so the community can see as they walk by.