Activities at Westergate House Care Home

We all got into the Christmas spirit when Santa turned up with gifts for all the residents on Christmas Day. Lee Austin, the Activities Lead, aka Santa, dressed up in a fabulous suit, and was barely recognisable as he walked round the home with his sack of carefully chosen presents. The Christmas party was in full swing throughout the home, with traditional food, music and games. Residents enjoyed a feast of festive fayre prepared by the home’s chef Chris.

General Manager, Paul Middleton-Russell said: “Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year and our fantastic residents love to get festive so we’ve pulled out all the stops.  It is so lovely to see them all getting into the Christmas spirit, it’s definitely my favourite time of year.”

Ann, resident at Westergate House said: “It has been a lovely day. It was wonderful to see everyone go to so much effort to get into the Christmas spirit. I really enjoyed the Christmas lunch, and the visit from Santa was a complete surprise.”

Look out, Look out! There’s an elf about!  Fun, tricks and high jinks were order of the day on Friday when Westergate House celebrated National Elf Day to raise awareness for the Alzheimer’s Society. 

Launched by the Alzheimer’s Society and delivered direct from the North Pole, Elf Day was created to sprinkle some festive cheer on fundraising towards finding a cure for dementia.  From stripy socks to head-to-toe elf outfits, anything goes – there’s snow way better to raise money to help beat dementia.

Members of staff dressed as naughty elves and were involved in all sorts of capers.  The day started with a Community Coffee Morning, where residents, friends and relatives got together over coffee, mince pies and pastries.  King Elf Lee, the home’s Lifestyles Lead, surprised all with high-kicks around the lounge that only an elf could do, and elfie jokes were told to entertain all.  The afternoon was spent with Christmas quizzes, competitions and more elf-antics, with tea and sweet treats served by Chef and his team.

Westergate House is putting plans in place for Christmas with each of the three communities busy with the preparation of Christmas gifts.  Residents living in the Memory Lane community have been busy creating pebble art gifts with Activities Coordinator Julie.  Pebbles have been painted with a foundation coat of white paint and decoupage robins have been added to create delightful festive ornaments.  Planting Spring bulbs drew a crowd in the House community, and residents were keen to impart their gardening tips with each other as they filled the pots knowledgeably. They were joined by Lee Austin, the new Lifetyles Lead at the home, and Lily, who has been working at the home on a work experience placement, from Chichester College, to complete studies for her Level 3 qualification in Health & Social Care.

Residents and staff joined the rest of the nation on Remembrance Sunday, in the opportunity to remember the service and sacrifice of all those who have protected our way of life. Coverage of the Cenotaph Parade and Remembrance Day service led by King Charles was shown, and the afternoon was spent singing wartime songs, and enjoying a traditional cream tea.

 Head Chef Chris can be seen here proudly wearing his medals honouring the two minute silence.

Excitement levels were through the roof at Barchester’s Westergate House Care Home in Fontwell as staff and residents celebrated their 30th anniversary! Parent company, Barchester Healthcare, who run Westergate House, started out in 1992 with just one care home, Moreton Hill, in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. Fast forward 30 years and Barchester is now the second largest care home company in the UK with 250 care homes and private hospitals all over the country. 

To celebrate, Westergate House threw open its doors on Saturday for a fantastic open day and everyone was invited! The day had a 90s theme and there was live entertainment from Mitchell Armstrong and Leo May, and delicious fayre from Head Chef Chris and his wonderful kitchen team for everyone to enjoy.

The staff and residents got into the spirit of the day, making lots of kind gestures; residents put together posies in every shade of pink to give to the care staff, and enjoyed afternoon tea together in the lounge areas. The smiles and the happy atmosphere proved that being kind to each other really does make the world a better place.

Celebrated annually on November 13, World Kindness Day focuses on the idea of people being nicer towards each other for the day by carrying out simple acts of kindness for someone else. The day’s ultimate goal is to increase the value that we as a society place on kindness and to make it a bigger part of our daily lives.