Activities at Lochduhar Care Home

Residents of Lochduhar were delighted to receive bundles of Christmas cards and decorations made and sent into the home from their community friends,  Laurieknowe School, Northwest Primary School and Holywood Primary School.

Our residents have enjoyed opening the cards and reading the messages from the children and prior to lockdown at the start of the pandemic regularly enjoyed intergenerational visits and are looking forward to the time when they can welcome their friends back for a visit.  The residents enjoyed putting the decorations on the trees throughout the home.

Residents are overjoyed at Lochduhar care home in Dumfries, as Barchester Healthcare has implemented a visiting suite for residents to continue to spend time with their loved ones for the autumn and winter seasons in addition to the outdoor visiting that has been on offer for those able for many months.

Balancing resident wellbeing and safety is at the forefront of Barchester Healthcare’s thinking and they understand how important it is for residents and their family and friends to be able to spend time together in the safest way possible. The home invited Robert Beeton of Queensberry Tractor Parts, Lochmaben to cut the ribbon and officially open the visiting suite as he had kindly provided his marquee tent for several months to facilitate our outdoor visiting. 

There has been much careful planning and preparation for this moment by Barchester Healthcare, who run Lochduhar care home. It was welcome news for their residents and family and friends as we enter the colder season meaning catch-ups can continue to take place, instead of, or in addition to, outdoor visiting already offered for those able.

As residents countdown to Christmas there is lots of creative festivities this month from decorating the trees, wreath making and lots of baubles and glitter!

A popular activity has been making star wreaths from wire coat hangers and Yolandes, holy and Christmas lights.  As we showed our creative sides everyone shared what Christmas meant to them over a cup of tea and a delicious mince pie.

Residents of Lochduhar have been busy growing their own plants as part of the homes gardening club and life enrichment programme.  Residents took to the garden to pick the last of the crop and were delighted with their Leeks. The Leeks were given to the kitchen who prepared some delicious leek and potato soup.

Barchester’s Lochduhar care home 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, as residents enjoy a glass of their favourite tipple.  

General Manager, Gillian Ward 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 we have all really enjoyed every moment of it!”

Residents at Lochduhar enjoy a varied life enrichment programme to keep the mind, body and soul active. Each day there are popular group activities bringing everyone together along with individual Resident centred activities. 

The home have launched their own ‘Gentlemen’s Club’ and the gentlemen came together when senior carer, Brian who is also a trainee hairdresser volunteered to be a hairdresser for a day.  The gent’s gave Brian a thumbs up with a cut above as they felt brand new!