Activities at Strachan House Care Home

Strachan House care home, in Edinburgh was filled with flowers, cards and sweets in celebration of St Valentine’s Day.  

Staff and residents celebrated the day of love by everyone creating heart-shaped decorations to decorate the home and gifting each other home-made sweets, cakes and treats. 

General Manager, Eileen Crawford, said: “It’s been a very different Valentine’s Day but we’ve all had a lovely day nonetheless. Lots of our residents were able to see their loved ones either using our visiting suite or on a video call. We’ve had a whole range of treats and Valentine’s themed fun and we have enjoyed every moment of it!”

A carer at Strachan House in Edinburgh has received a prestigious 15 Year Service Award in celebration of working at Barchester Healthcare for 15 years.

Virgina Quillao, now carer, started at Barchester in January 2006 and has worked with residents and their relatives to ensure that their needs have been met over the years.

The fun and laughter has continued at Strachan House care home, in Edinburgh as residents recently enjoyed trying out our planting projects, as part of the homes gardening club and life enrichment activities.

Residents at Strachan House care home have enjoyed a variety of new activities consisting of basic gardening as the residents look to planting in the homes gardening as they look forward to the early signs of spring.  A number of these new activities are also linking residents virtually to the homes local community groups.

The activities coordinator, Lynne Hiddleston supports the personal interests of residents so they can continue with their individual hobbies in an effort to celebrate life as often as we can. All group and individual activities offer a choice of mental, physical and spiritual activities of people we care for.

Catherine, a carer at Strachan House braved the shave to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.  Her luscious locks were cut to raise funds for a charity very close to her heart and with an initial goal of £200.00 and a little help from residents, friends, colleagues and neighbours she achieved her goal with an astonishing £1,160!

Eileen Crawford, General Manager said: “Our team at the home have all been supporting Catherine with donations to help reach her target of £200. Catherine has achieved her target for ‘brave the shave’ in aid of Macmillan cancer support which has always been a fantastic charity which we try and support in any way we can. We are very glad to be able to do our bit to raise further awareness and money for the charity.”   Catherine would like to say a massive thank you to all who have supported her.

Residents are overjoyed at Strachan House 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.

There has been much careful planning and preparation for this moment by Barchester Healthcare, who run Strachan House 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.

The visiting suite has been designed with both comfort and safety in mind, and has been recently adapted from a room which is accessible internally by residents and externally by visitors. The room is similar to a living room with comfortable furnishings and heated to create a welcoming and warm environment for residents to continue to spend time with their loved ones in the upcoming months. The room has an intercom system fitted so residents can clearly communicate, and engage in conversation, whilst being able to see their friends and family through a Perspex glass divider fitted for safety to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus

Staff and residents at Barchester’s Strachan House care home, were delighted to be invited to have the vaccination which has lifted everyone’s spirits after what has been a very challenging year for everyone.

General Manager, Eileen Crawford said: “Last year was a year like no other and the vaccine feels like the light at the end of the tunnel.  Our teams have been magnificent in how they have risen to every challenge during this pandemic and we are proud to play our part in this next phase to ensure the most vulnerable are protected.”