Activities at West Abbey Care Home

The staff and residents at West Abbey have been flipping and turning pancakes all morning in preparation for their annual Shrove Tuesday pancake flipping competition.

West Abbey has marked this year’s Pancake Day with a whole home pancake flipping competition, involving residents and staff and of course, lots of pancakes! Andy Pippard, chef at the home, flipped more than 100 pancakes, serving them up with sweet and savoury fillings for all the eager staff and residents.

He said: “My secret to the best pancakes is all in the whipping. Give it some elbow grease when mixing the batter and you’ll get perfect pancakes every time. I like experimenting with the fillings – the residents’ favourites are chocolate spread and banana and of course, good old fashioned lemon and sugar!”

We are so pleased to offer relatives and friends time with their loved ones in our visiting suite, we just had to share this lovely email from a relative on what it means to them:

"Had such a wonderful visit with mum today. She looked amazing, she laughed and smiled all the way through the visit. I cannot explain the gratitude I have to every single person at west abbey . You all make such a huge impact on our loved ones every day. Thank you Becky for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me. Was so nice to chat with you . Not only is mum so very much cared for by you all, you all take the time to be so very involved and friendly to the family’s . West Abbey you overwhelm me by your care compassion and dedication".

Staff and residents at West Abbey welcomed in the Year of the Ox with a day of celebrations and activities.

Inspired by Chinese culture and traditions, lucky red envelopes were exchanged and the home was decorated with hanging lanterns. Residents learnt all about the traditions and superstitions of Chinese New Year.  Head chef Louis Buys and his team cooked up an oriental feast for lunch and residents enjoyed the delicious food washed down with pots of Chinese tea. Residents were also treated to being able to try out a homemade Chinese dragon costume, made by the homes activities team alongside the homes residents.

Caroline Carter, General Manager said: “We have had a brilliant day, the home looks absolutely wonderful decorated and we all had such fun finding out what animal we are, the associated traits and reading each other’s horoscopes.  The residents loved watching videos of traditional lion and dragon dances too, as well as being able to attempt a dragon dance of their own!

Residents recently appreciated receiving letters and cards from the local primary school, Preston CofE Primary School, who treated the residents to intergenerational fun with cards sent to the home. Residents at the home enjoyed being able to look through the cards at all the brilliant designs, as well as being able to think about the things that made them happy.

Margaret, a resident at the home was able to enjoy thinking about what makes her happy. Margaret said “It’s so lovely that we can still write and send letters and pictures to our local community. Hearing all about their days makes my day too. Today also made me remember all the times when I was younger and used to go skiing with my family! It’s amazing what simple things like this can bring back.”

Staff were delighted to be given badges by Barchester Healthcare to show recognition of Covid vaccinations they recently received. The badges are for those who have had the vaccine to wear with pride and show their residents and colleagues that they have had the vaccine to protect them.

General Manager, Caroline Carter said: “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. We will all be wearing these badges with pride!”

Helen, Deputy Manager at West Abbey Care Centre said: “I am so proud of all our team for ensuring everyone has been given the first dose of the vaccine.  It will help to keep our residents safe, and is the first step in getting things back to normal and having a buzz of visitors in the home once again. We’re looking forward to getting our second doses as soon as is possible.”

Residents enjoyed celebrating National Hug Day on Thursday 21st January. This year however things had to be done a little differently, however still very special

Activities Coordinators at West Abbey Care Centre created small teddy bears holding fluffy pompoms to give to each and every resident in lieu of a hug. They were then delivered throughout the day and were very happily received by all within the home.

Peggy, a resident at the home was very happy to receive her gift. Peggy said “It was such a thoughtful idea, I am definitely going to keep it with me to squeeze if ever I feel like I need to. Thank you for all the hard work that went into making them!”

Caroline Carter, General Manager at West Abbey Care Centre said: “In these unprecedented times, providing a range of engaging physical, mental and spiritual activities for our residents is more important than ever. Our residents really enjoyed being able to receive these handcrafted gifts, and I get the feeling they will be treasuring them for a long time. Our varied life enrichment programme for residents includes ways to stay in contact with relatives digitally, such as Skype, and we have new ways to keep residents active, whilst ensuring that the group activities are smaller, adhering to social distancing advice”