Activities at Westlake House Care Home
Residents enjoy playing hoopla and bocce bowls, which combine exercise with the thrill of competitive sport. We invite entertainers and musicians to visit the home on a regular basis and residents very much enjoy watching them perform.
We also have our pet therapy dog, Marley, visit the home on a fortnightly basis, and residents love petting him. They also enjoy health and fitness days, where they get the opportunity to participate in armchair exercises and target games.
We always celebrate National Volunteer Week, which we use as a chance to say thank you for the wonderful work that our volunteers do that further enhances the quality of life for those who live at Westlake.
As well as continuing with our favourite activities, such as arts & crafts, bingo, knit & natter, Scrabble, board games, bridge, quizzes, pampers & manicures, reminiscence sessions and musical memories, we always like to launch new activities for residents, which give them the opportunity to socialise with their friends and families. These could be our own vegetable patches, flower arranging sessions, a book club or anything else that our imaginations conjure up.
Rosie Duhig
I joined the Barchester family in November 2024 and have instantly felt welcome and supported. As an activity coordinator, I am passionate about getting to know our residents and delivering person-centred care and activities to all residents, an approach supported by a holistic, whole-home view.
I have been in a Care support role since 2019 and an Activity Coordinator since 2020. I love that my role brings laughter and joy to others. It so wonderful seeing people engaging in an activity they enjoy and interacting with each other. I am very passionate about Intergenerational projects, as something magical happens when old and young get together.
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 Westlake House Care Home
Nutritional Seminar at Westlake
Our Head Chef, Ryan McFee talked about good nutrition and produced a range of delicious home-made smoothies for everyone to taste. There was also the opportunity for everyone who attended the seminar to ask questions and discuss their favourite smoothies and learn what’s best for a healthy and balanced diet.
We all know that healthy eating is important at every stage of life and not least of all when we are older and our nutritional needs change. Many of us will also agree that eating a delicious meal is one of life’s greatest pleasures and this enjoyment shouldn’t stop when a person moves into care.
At Westlake House, our chefs pride themselves on creating varied menus that change with each season and serve up dishes that taste great and are high in nutritional value.
Ryan McFee, our Head Chef said, ‘’ A great care home also seeks to give people as much choice as possible. We actively seek regular feedback from residents and relatives through meetings, conversations and surveys to make sure that the menus reflect the preferences of the individuals who live at Westlake House’’.
National Cupcake Week
National Cupcake Week (18th – 24th September) has been a real treat at Westlake House, where sweet-toothed staff and residents couldn’t wait to get out their aprons and mixing bowls for the occasion.
The week, organised by British Baker Magazine, is a celebration of all things cupcake and is the perfect excuse to get everybody together for a baking session or a cake decorating class.
Baking is a much-loved hobby for many people who live and work at Westlake House, so it’s no surprise that the week was full of excitement and creativity.
Harvest Celebrations
Residents, loved ones, friends and staff members at Westlake House celebrated the Harvest Festival by donating a food hamper to St Marks Church to be distributed in the local community.
The occasion was also marked with singing of hymns and light refreshments and the residents decorating the hamper boxes. This really helped everyone at the home to get into the spirit of the festival. Food donations brought in by visitors were gifted to the church, which were very well-received.
Making Dreams Come True
Resident, Nora, at Westlake House, had always wanted to go back to the bowling club to pursue her past interests; she had won the Ladies Coben Cup in 1987 and the Ladies Championship pairs in 1992.
Nora has lived at Westlake House for 10 years and is beloved by staff and residents alike. Staff at the home were delighted to be a part of making Nora’s wishes and dreams come true. Our staff members knew how much it meant to Nora for her to be back on the field playing the bowling games once again, and they all wanted to see the smile on her face.
Staff found out about Nora’s past interests and hobbies as part of her life history and wanted to revive her dreams of being back in the bowling club to play the games she most enjoyed when she was younger. Nora has been playing the game with her husband for many years and this reminded her of the precious time they both had.
The staff members, including the activities team, have been dedicated to helping Nora to achieve this and relive her past experiences. Nora was also accompanied by other fellow residents and staff members, who were there in support of the occasion.
Bringing the Community Together
Westlake House hosted a BBQ lunch on 19th August and fantastic, live musical entertainment, which was enjoyed by everyone who came to the event.
Staff at Westlake House made everyone feel welcome and were delighted to see everyone having fun together. Visitors enjoyed plenty of refreshments, such as cold beers and wine, burgers, hot dogs, a variety of salads, sauces and other refreshing beverages, which were prepared by the catering team, who were hard at work making sure that a great time was had by all – it really was a team effort!
Our New Care Practitioner
Senior Carer, Jane Matus, completed her training to become a Care Practitioner, a new role which will enable her to support nurses in the home.
Jane was presented with flowers at a celebration at Westlake to mark her achievement.
The Care Practitioner role has been introduced by Barchester in order to further develop talented care staff and enable them to give more support to the nurses working here.
Jane is the first person at the home to complete the course and she is already making a big difference to maintaining and developing our standard of care.
