Activities at Red Oaks Care Home

HART (Henfield Area Response Team) joined us to deliver a demonstration & talk. HART responders are all local volunteers from the Henfield area, committing time on a regular basis to offer support to the local community. They are dispatched by the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) to provide immediate care to those in the area who have fallen ill. HART responders are trained to attend emergency calls received by the ambulance service, giving life-saving care in the minutes before the ambulance arrives.

Some of our residents were treated with an outing to Brighton. The residents went to see a recital at the Chaper Royal at the end of August. They listed to 'Songs for Summer' by Yvonne Patrick – Soprano and Gary Prior – Pianist.

The recital was thoroughly enjoyed by all, with a picnic lunch and an additional treat of driving by Brighton's race course. The races were a hit among the residents. Joan said that the music was lovely to listen to and a real treat. Kate said that she had a ‘fabulous time’.

One of our residents made a request to have a meal with a captain of a cruise ship. Having dressed up for the occasion, the resident not only had lunch with the captain but sat on the captain’s table in our dinning room.

Our nurse enjoyed swapping his career and becoming a captain for a day. This event made everyone smile and a wish came true. Making wishes come true, listening to our residents and understanding enhancement of well-being is important to the whole team. 

Red Oaks Care Home, in Henfield was full of animal mischief when Dooley the 3 year old Miniature Shetland Pony came to visit the home.

Residents at Red Oaks were pleasantly surprised to see Dooley roaming around their garden as pet therapy.

General Manager, Linda Ryan said: “Our residents have really enjoyed their unusual visitors today.  We knew that having Dooley here would be a bit of fun for all our residents, especially as some find it difficult to go on many outings in our minibus.  We are always looking for new activities for the residents and today we have seen the seen the enjoyment and the therapeutic influence animals can have on people.”

The residents were very excited and touched by the Pet Pal Therapy's pony: “As a child I used to love all the animals on the nearby farm. Today was very enjoyable and it was wonderful that the animals were free to roam amongst us.”

Red Oaks Care Home in Henfield once again hosted the “Village Proms in the Park” event which has been going for the past 6 years. The event was organised by the Henfield based Brass Fusion Band and Royal Opera Singer Sidonie Winter.

This started as a jubilee concert and has now become annual event which raises funds for local charities. Red Oaks provides the venue and the legendary Red Oaks Pimms Tent.

This was a quintessential English summer event with everything from contemporary music from Abba to unusual songs from Jerusalem, Land of Hope and Glory, Sussex by the Sea and finally ending with the National Anthem.

Over 250 people attended the event, had a great time and enjoyed our food and drinks selection. 

Louise Smith at Red Oaks in Henfield has been crowned Dementia Care Champion for Barchester’s south division in the Barchester Care Awards 2019, and has made it through to the national finals.

The awards celebrate staff and volunteers who go the extra mile for the benefit of individuals living in Barchester care homes. Categories range from ‘Registered Nurse of the Year’ and ‘Carer of the Year’ to ‘Maintenance Champion’ and ‘Team of the Year’.

More than 1,900 nominations were received from homes across the UK. All entries have been of a very high standard and Louise is thrilled to have been named top in the region.

As the winner for the south devision, Louise has automatically gone through to the national finals, where she will be interviewed by the judges for the last round of judging. In October, Louise will join the other finalists from across the UK at a special awards luncheon to celebrate their achievements and discover if they have won the national awarding title.