Activities at Westergate House Care Home
Our teams are trained to enrich the lives of residents through stimulating the mind, body and soul, and taking the time to learn about each person to ensure everyone receives support that adds enrichment to their life.
Our activities team are great at building the activities programme around the likes and interests of the people we care for. Ensuring that our social events offer fun and adventure is part of the ethos of our home; it’s important that those we support can enjoy an active and social lifestyle. Of course, there will always be those who prefer peace and quiet, and in these instances, a cup of tea and a chat are always welcomed.
Lee Austin
My name is Lee and I am the Head of Lifestyle here at Westergate House.
I support our residents daily to do the things they enjoy and it is extremely important to me that we are offering a premium and person centred service to each resident. I support our residents on a daily basis by providing meaningful and quality activities either in groups or on a 1:1 basis, to help encourage and build confidence while creating an enjoyable environment for everyone. Westergate House is the home of our residents, we as staff are working in it, so it is extremely important to me that we are respectful of that, while offering a premium and person centred service to each and every resident.
I am a trained actor and professional vocalist and not shy in making a fool of myself. If I do that every day to put a smile on our residents faces then I’m happy I have played my part, along with the rest of the amazing team, to brightening their day. If you hear someone singing along the corridor or see them dancing in the lounges, it will probably be me.
Activities and Events Partnerships
As part of our bespoke life-enrichment programmes, we host a number of live virtual events in the home on a regular basis through a number of partnerships with places of interest and world class performance companies
Life at Westergate House Care Home
National Dog Day
In celebration of International Dog Day on 26th August we held a competition for our furry friends at Westergate House. Over the previous two weeks we had beautiful photos sent into the home from family, friends and staff, who entered their beloved four-legged pals into one of two categories; Pretty Pooch or Handsome Hound. Residents throughout the home had the tricky task of judging the winners. It was so hard to choose! After much deliberation, we were happy to announce Chilly Bean as Pretty Pooch and Max as the winner of Handsome Hound. Aren't they gorgeous?!
Indoor Exercise
When it’s a grey, blustery day outside, the Activities team get to work and provide indoor exercise sessions to help maintain our physical health, from the comfort of our chairs. The rain is soon forgotten with stretches and punches to the air, moving in time to music, and taking the lead from Julie, the Activities Assistant, who makes sure to show us how it is done. Each community takes a turn and the outcome is often the same; everyone is focused on a refreshing cup of tea!
We've achieved a perfect score on Carehome.co.uk
Staff and residents are delighted to reach their goal of a perfect overall score of 10 on the independent care home review website, carehome.co.uk.
Carehome.co.uk is often one of the first places people will look when searching for a care home for a loved one. It is independently run to ensure that all reviews are vetted and come from people who have genuine experience of the homes that they are reviewing.
General Manager Paul, said: “We are beyond thrilled to reach a perfect overall score of 10 on carehome.co.uk, it just goes to show what a credit to the home the team at Westergate House really are. I am so proud of each and every one of them for all of their hard work and dedication to the people they care for. We have a fantastic team here, I’m so lucky to work with such wonderful people and to have such lovely residents.”
Summer Garden Party at Westergate House
What a truly amazing day here at Westergate House! Our Summer Party ‘A Touch of Class, On the Grass’ was an overwhelming success, thoroughly enjoyed in the warm summer sunshine. We had an incredible turn out of over 120 family members joining their relatives on our lawn to enjoy the wonderful ‘Arun All Stars’ Jazz Band then the ‘Pebble Beach’ Ukulele Band.
Head Chef Chris and his fantastic team put together sumptuous picnic hampers for everyone to enjoy for lunch, followed by a range of extra-special ice cream complete with sprinkles and marshmallows.
The raffle was a great success; a selection of amazing prizes donated by local businesses, family and friends, including several bottles of wine, champagne, toiletries and chocolates.
The whole team came together, as they always do, to produce a memorable and very enjoyable afternoon of fun and laughter for our residents and their family and friends. Well done Westergate House!
Summer Activities at Westergate House
We are embracing the summer here at Westergate House with a range of fabulous activities. Following a morning with the option of joining exercise sessions, we took a minibus trip to Littlehampton Seafront and stopped off by Arundel Castle for a cup of tea. The perfect balance!
Back at home, Julie, our Activities Assistant, set up an ABBA sing-a-long, and the amazing Cheryl Williams sang for everyone in the main house. The Red Arrows display flew overhead that morning, celebrating the local Goodwood Festival of Speed. Some residents watched the aeroplane antics from the garden, and others jumped on the minibus and watched the whole display from a fabulous viewing spot while out.
Celebrating our Volunteers
A special day at Westergate House and a time to say thank you to our wonderful volunteers. We are very fortunate to have some amazing people who give up their own time to visit Westergate House and enhance the experience of our residents. They bring the community to the home, and contribute topical conversation and skills to share with the residents. Time spent reading a newspaper, gardening or playing a board game is invaluable and much appreciated by the residents and the staff team. Today it was a pleasure to invite our volunteers for a celebratory fish and chip lunch, where gifts and treats were also shared. The picture shows Annie and Terry with Paul and Nikki. Thank you to all our volunteers for taking time out of busy schedules and sharing special moments with our residents here at Westergate House.
