Activities at Mount Vale Care Home

Staff and residents at Mount Vale Care Home were pleased to be able to dive into the wild safari life of Knowsley Safari and to enjoy an amazing live stream tour of the park’s grounds.

Our residents were smiling and laughing as they got up close and personal with some of the safari’s most popular animals, including giraffes and meerkats.

We had a wonderful time learning more about the animals and enjoying some live feeding demonstrations. 

There were happy scenes at Mount Vale Care Home as staff and residents celebrated Barchester Healthcare being placed 43rd in the top 75 Best Companies in Yorkshire and the Humber to work for.

The Best Companies awards recognise companies’ commitment to their employees and to workplace engagement and are made all the more meaningful because they are awarded based on feedback from a randomly selected cross-section of the company’s own employees.

It is absolutely wonderful to be recognised as an Outstanding company to work for, we are all so proud. We all love what we do and I think that shines through. At Barchester, we are a family and the past year has shown that we can do anything if we all pull together.

During our morning arts & crafts session on a rainy morning, our residents enjoyed exploring the magical aqua paints. An enjoyable activity to keep residents stimulated, engaged and relaxed.

Aqua painting give a great balance of creative touch, sense of achievement and pure joy. Simply brush the paper with a wet paintbrush, and watch as the pictures magically appear.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Mount Vale care home in Northallerton were treated to an interactive virtual floristry masterclass courtesy of Master Florist, Michal Kowalski, from Blooming Haus. 

Blooming Haus started with a small pop-up shop in Chelsea.  They have since blossomed spectacularly on to the floristry scene as ‘floral engineers’, carving themselves an outstanding reputation as one of the UK’s most innovative floral design studios. The company is the vision of Master Florist, Michal Kowalski and his business partner, Michael Dariane. The pair bring a completely fresh approach to floristry and their ambition to push the boundaries of traditional floristry has laid the foundations of Blooming Haus’ success to date.

There were smiles all round at Mount Vale care home in Northallerton, as live entertainers were allowed to perform in the home once again.  Aquatic Finatic visited the home, bringing a selection of their exotic animals for staff and residents to meet and handle. Prior to the pandemic, visits from Aquatic Finatic with their Pet Therapy sessions were a regular spot on the homes activities programme so it was a welcome return to near normality.

Just like the rest of the country, Government guidelines for care homes are starting to relax and performers can now entertain residents again safely.

Helen Lewis, General Manager at Mount Vale Care Home commented: “It is great to be able to open up our home and have some live entertainment for our residents.  We have really missed being able to welcome performers into our home during lockdown, although we’ve had lots of virtual concerts, quizzes and talks.  It’s lovely to be able to host events again now that lockdown is easing.

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Mount Vale care home in Northallerton were treated to a photographic tour and talk about the era of ocean travel by V&A Dundee Curator, Charlotte Hale.  The presentation forms part of a series of six talks and virtual tours that V&A Dundee is hosting for Barchester Healthcare’s care homes and private hospitals across the UK.

V&A Dundee is Scotland’s design museum, it showcases Scotland’s outstanding design achievements and features world-class exhibitions alongside the permanent Scottish Design Galleries, and a changing programme of commissions, events and activities.