Activities at Westergate House Care Home
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.
Read our brochure 'Life-enriching activities' for more information about life in our care homes.
Read our brochure
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
Remembrance Sunday
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.
Westergate House Celebrates 30th Anniversary
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.
World Kindness Day
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.
Art classes with Pallant House Galleries
Residents at Westergate House enjoyed the second in a series of art workshops delivered by Emily Robson, Public Programme Manager, Access and Engagement, of Pallant House Art Gallery. The focus was on the Sussex Landscapes exhibition, discussing the local landscape and then doing some watercolour painting with one of Pallant House's artist educators, Jo Downers. Lucy brought laminates of some of the landscape pictures in the gallery collection for the residents to work from. The results were amazing - beautiful muted colours complimenting the shades and hues of our local countryside.
A beautiful Afternoon spent at Brick Kiln Nurseries
The blustery weather did not deter our residents from taking a trip out in the minibus to a local garden centre, Brick Kiln Nurseries, today. With the beautiful festive decorations, a country-kitchen cafe and plants and shrubs galore, there was plenty for everyone to see and explore. After browsing and enjoying the lights, we all popped into the cafe, where we received a warm welcome from the staff, and homemade cake with a lovely cup of tea.
Bewitching Halloween Fun at Westergate House
Residents and staff were soon in to the spirit of things by decorating the home with seasonal decorations and munching on sweets and treats. Preparations were made on the Memory lane community, where pumpkins replaced vases for autumnal flower-arranging, amongst the Halloween backdrop of webs and spiders. There was fun to be had wearing witches hats and taking part in arts and crafts and spooky party games.
