Westwood Whisperer

Inside This issue

Dates for your

diary

Christmas plans

Christmas market trips

Visit to Millwall

Football Club

Intergenerational Activity

Hello and welcome!

Well, we are now enjoying this lovely autumn weather and

personally I really love seeing the autumn leaves-the colours

have been absolutely beautiful this year.

We are now fast approaching Christmas and all the celebrations

that involves. I hope you are all getting your shopping sorted?

Our young visitors are probably getting very excited and it will

be lovely to celebrate this special time of year with them all.

I would personally like to thank all of the staff here at Westwood House for another very busy year and for their continued support and commitment to all of the residents here with us. I wish them all a Merry Christmas with their families and hope they stay with us for many more years! If you think that a particular member if staff deserves a special mention please do nominate them for our employee of the month scheme or let me know and I can arrange that. Alternatively complete a review card at the front desk which is then placed on the carehome.co.uk website and everyone can then see it. It is really lovely when staff get special recognition for going above and beyond our expectations.

Westwood House Care Home

9 Westwood Hill, Sydenham, London SE26 6BQ

Tel: 0208 776 7065 • www.barchester.com

General Manager

Stella Bernatek

News in and around Westwood

Employee of the Month Our employee of the month for October was our Carer, Oscar Capinpin. Oscar was nominated because of his absolutely lovely manner whilst caring for our residents. Although he is a quiet member of staff he works tirelessly with his team of colleagues and always provides the highest level of care he can. We also nominated Ken Parsons, Volunteer Mini Bus Driver who has really helped us increase the number of trips out we have managed to arrange for our residents this year for a recognition award. He gives his time over and above of his usual full time job and so we thank him very much!

Intergenerational activity

As you have seen this year we have embraced the younger children in our local community and invited them into our home to interact with our residents. It appears to have been a very successful venture and one which we will be continuing for the foreseeable future. If anybody has any other contacts or ideas of how to get more involved with the community please do let me know as I am always keen to hear new ideas.

Millwall FC In the Summer Ken Parsons, Eve’s husband and volunteer Bus Driver, managed to arrange for Bill, who lives on Memory Lane to visit Millwall Football Club. This was a very special occasion for Bill as he was a professional footballer for Millwall in his youth, He really enjoyed this visit and, along with Ian, enjoyed standing on the pitch and sharing some very special memories. Thank you very much to Ken for managing to get this organised!

Christmas Plans

We are getting ready for Christmas now and have lots of things organised for you all to enjoy! In December we have 3 trips out to the Christmas Market at Southbank. Eve is currently making arrangements and will be in touch if your loved one is interested in going along. Dates planned are 3rd, 11th and the 20th December. They will also be able to see the Christmas lights and I am sure this will be a very enjoyable evening for everyone. If anybody would like to meet them there then you are very welcome-just speak to Eve.

News in and around Westwood

Thula Mama On the 29th November we welcome this new choir who will be singing songs of harmony with their young babies with them. Please feel free to come & meet them at 10,30am and enjoy some refreshments with them.

Christmas Party Our Christmas party this year is on Friday 14th December at 2.30pm in the ground floor lounge. Everybody is welcome-please do come and enjoy the festivities with your loved ones. We are also encouraging everyone to wear their favourite Christmas jumpers that day so get them on and show them off to us all! [If anybody is wanting to take their relatives home over Christmas please do let the nurses know in good time so that arrangements can be made in good time].

We enjoyed some lovely Halloween decorations this year-thank you Eve-and our young visitors especially seemed to enjoy them too!

Dates for your diary

3rd December-making the Christmas cake 4th December-entertainment by Chris-ground floor lounge-all welcome. 6th December-making Christmas decorations with Little Elms Nursery 7th December-Reminiscence with Ray on Memory Lane. 14th December-Christmas party day-wear your Christmas jumper-entertainment by Andrew. 20th December-Church service in main lounge-all welcome. 21st December-Dressing the Salmon with Robert.

Halloween

A few words from Barchester

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The Barchester Care Awards & Barchester in Bloom

A great day for Team Barchy

The Barchester Care Awards, including the garden categories (Barchester in Bloom), is an annual event that showcases the very best that Barchester has to offer. The Care Awards celebrates the fantastic individuals who work and volunteer in Barchester care homes across the UK; and Barchester in Bloom recognizes the beautiful outdoor spaces tended by residents and staff members. Our Divisional Winners have already been named, and the award ceremony will be held in Manchester on October 11th, when the National Winners will be announced. Good luck to all our Divisional Winners and thank you to everyone who took the time to make a nomination.

A huge congratulations to the Barchester staff members who completed the London 10k in scorching heat this summer. The atmosphere in Central London was fantastic, with Westminster shut down to traffic and transformed into a moving street party of thousands of people running, cheering and laughing. The runners were also extremely busy fundraising ahead of the big day, smashing their target and raising an absolutely fantastic £2,119 for Barchester’s Charitable Foundation, plus gift aid.

Barchester Blog

Have you read our latest blog post? Our care home blog offers news and insights about the healthcare sector, in addition to a glimpse into working life at Barchester and help & advice for older people. Learn about ‘A day in the life of a Barchester career’ and the right ‘Questions to ask when looking for a care home’ – plus much, much more! To find our blog, please visit our website at www.barchester.com and head to the ‘News & Press’ section at the top of the page, then click ‘Care Home Blog’.

Lichfield Welcomes New Barchester Care Home Barchester’s newest care home in Litchfield officially opened in July and is proud to be part of the local community. The 70 bed home provides residential care in a warm, homely and friendly environment, with a team of qualified and dedicated staff who work tirelessly to support residents.

Carehome.co.uk Carehome.co.uk is the UK’s leading care home website. It’s the care industry’s equivalent of Trip Advisor. If you are pleased with the care you or a loved one are receiving at a Barchester home, please consider sharing your experience with others who are looking for good quality care by submitting a review. You can pick up a review card to fill in at any Barchester care home or you can go to www.carehome.co.uk to submit a review online.