Activities at Orchard House Care Home

Residents had a bee-rilliant time meeting a local bee keepers, Terri and Carol from the Ark Park Apiary who gave a fascinating talk about their bees, the history of bee-keeping and also brought along their own Isle of Wight honey for a tasting on World Bee Day   

Joan, a resident said: “I have always found bees fascinating, they really are marvellous little creatures.  We had such an interesting day today, I loved the bee keeper talk and sampling all the local honey, it was absolutely delicious!”

General Manager, Kim Fleming, said: “Our residents all love to watch the wildlife in our garden so they were only too happy to help plant some bee-friendly flowers after the bee keepers talk to attract more bees and butterflies in. It is so important to look after all our wildlife but especially to help protect our bee population given their importance in the food chain.”

Our varied life enrichment programme keeps residents active, and provides a daily choice of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities tailored to residents’ interests and abilities.

We visited the team at Mountbatten Hospice yesterday with gift bags for their nurses. Thank you to Bev, Jackie and Michaela who accepted the bags on behalf of the team, Liz Arnold, Director of Nursing at Mountbatten said:

“International Nurses’ Day is a moment in time for us to reflect on what it means to be a nurse, particularly a Mountbatten nurse and what Mountbatten Nurses mean to our community. Florence Nightingale once said, ‘for the sick, it is important to have the best’. We know at Mountbatten that we have the very best and we thank each and every one of them.”

Our Orchard House team are so pleased to support you and we hope you enjoyed the handmade cupcakes by our chef Claire!

We wanted to show appreciation for our nurses here at Orchard House today to celebrate International Nurses Day, what better way to start than a wonderful handmade cakes by our head chef Claire!

With gift and certificates for every nurse from Barchester Healthcare it was a lovely celebration - thank you everyone for your commitment to our residents

Residents completed a 100 lap wheelchair relay in order to raise money for Captain Sir Tom’s Challenge 100, which will be donated to the British Legion.

Captain’s Tom’s challenge is to set yourself a goal of 100 and raise money for the charities close to the heart of the late great Captain Sir Tom.  On the day we had raised £80 but continued to receive donations so the final total was over £150!.

Residents decided that their challenge would be to have a wheelchair relay.  Luckily the weather held for us and we were able to clock up the 100 laps! The residents had a marvellous time out in the fresh air counting their laps, and also looking at all the cars, birds, squirrels and flowers. For Debbie Webb, Activities Co-Ordinator, and Keely Heald, Activities Assistant, it was a complete workout as they were pushing the wheelchairs and certainly had their own challenge to keep going!

Residents decided to bake their own shortbread biscuits today and shared with the whole home! There was plenty of chatter around the table about making biscuits with their own mothers and then their children - baking truly is a multigenerational activity and as Sheila said our efforts do look 'very profession

Staff and residents paid their respects to the Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh on the day of his funeral, Saturday 17 April 2021.  The whole home came together to honour Prince Philip’s long and extraordinary life of service to the Queen, the British people and the Commonwealth over his 73 year marriage to the Queen, making him the longest-serving Consort to any British monarch.

Residents and staff watched the televised service that took place at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle and observed the minute’s silence in memory of the Duke.  After the ceremony, staff and residents discussed their memories of Prince Philip and the Queen and what the royal family has meant to them over the years.  They reminisced about royal tours and the Duke’s contribution to many different aspects of British life.

After the service residents were served a delicious high tea to bring back happier memories of royal events celebrated over the last 100 years. 

General Manager, Kim Fleming, said: “We all felt it was really important to mark this occasion.  Prince Philip achieved so much over his 99 years.  We wanted to come together and give thanks for his life and to celebrate his many achievements.”