news
Care with a personal touch Autumn 2011 Issue 06
Incredible award achievements
for Westward Care employees.
An amazing 143 individual
awards were handed out
to our brilliant employees
at The Westward Care
Employee Recognition
of Achievement Awards
evening, held recently
at Headingley Hall.
Individual awards, which recognise
employees for achieving various
qualifications, mentoring colleagues,
management skills, 100% attendance
and long service were given out by Yorkshire
TV presenter, Duncan Wood who’s good
humour and ready wit were enjoyed by
all. Duncan and the guest speaker, Sharon
Allen, CEO of ‘Skills for Care’, praised the
organisation for its obvious high standards.
To find out more about
Westward Care, visit
www.westwardcare.co.uk
“Training is one of the
cornerstones of our
organisation and we can
only achieve an excellent
standard through the staff
we employ. We place great
emphasis on providing the
best care to our clients we
possibly can and invest
heavily in developing our
employees to help
us achieve this.”
Peter Hodkinson, Westward Care
Managing Director.
Once the formalities were complete
everyone tucked into a first-class
buffet prepared by the brilliant
Headingley Hall catering team.
Westward Care News 02
New manager welcomed…
“Pennington Court is a lovely place to work and
I am looking forward to building new relationships
with residents, staff and the local community.”
Jennie Gilham, Pennington Court General Manager.
Jennie Gilham has joined us as the new
General Manager of Pennington Court,
our care home in Beeston, Leeds.
Previously General Manager of a home in
Harrogate, Jennie was attracted to the warm
and friendly atmosphere at Pennington
Court where she is being helped in her
quest by Alfie, her Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel
pup who accompanies her to work from
time to time.
When Jennie took over the reins at the
home recently, she wasn’t sure whether
or not her new employers would allow her
to bring Alfie to work, she was pleasantly
surprised:
“Not only did they consent to Alfie coming
in with me, they have actively encouraged
it because the residents love spending time
with animals.
Having Alfie here is making my job of
getting to know everyone so much easier
because he immediately puts people at
ease with his friendly ways and never fails
to leave a smile on everyone’s face,” The
first question I am asked every morning
is “Where’s Alfie and if he is not with me
everyone wants to know who is looking
after him” says Jennie.
Animals are banned from almost everywhere
nowadays, but research shows that regular
contact with our furry and feathered friends
provide both social and physical interaction
by fostering a positive environment,
boosts morale and stimulates interest in
the outside world. Animals are a source
of expectation, hope and communication
and are said to be an antidote for many
conditions such as depression.
“Jennie is a very experienced manager who is incredibly
enthusiastic about her new role and we’re delighted to
have both her and Alfie on board!”
Peter Hodkinson, Westward Care Managing Director.
We’re always looking for good people to join
our team at Westward Care, if you think you have
the right skills we would love to hear from you.
Westward Care News 03
New ‘At Home’ home care
service helps its first clients.
Following the successful
launch of this new
service in the late summer,
Westward Care is very
pleased to see ‘At Home’
offering support and care
to its first clients.
At Westward Care we have a variety of
services as we recognise that ‘no one
size’ fits all and have developed our latest
service ‘At Home’ which provides all the
support a person needs in the comfort of
their own home.
Designed especially to bring older people
greater independence, ‘At Home’ gives you
the freedom to live your life as you please
and choose as little, or as much everyday
help as you require. ‘At Home’ also brings
you all the benefits and peace of mind
of our award-winning professional care
services in the comfort of your own home.
Here are just a few of the ways in which we can help:
– Personal care and hygiene
– Bathing and showering
– Help getting up or going to bed
– Assistance with trips away from home
– Shopping
– Vacuuming, dusting and cleaning
– Help with laundry and ironing
– Washing dishes
– Visiting and keeping in touch
with relatives
– Paying bills
– Home repairs
– Collecting pensions and prescriptions
For more information on our ‘At Home’
service, and to discuss how we could help
you, please call us on 0113 331 4572.
Westward Care News 04
Indoor ‘Garden Party’
a resounding success.
Nothing could dampen the
spirits of the residents and
guests who attended the
Headingley Hall Garden Party,
which was renamed the ‘Lounge
Party’ after the torrential rain
drove everyone indoors.
More than 100 people gathered together
on the afternoon of Saturday 17th
September to enjoy music, dancing,
afternoon tea and the opportunity
to buy quality craft items from an
interesting collection of stallholders.
Many thanks to everyone that came
along, all the stallholders and the brilliant
musicians from Zezo Olympia Jazz Solution.
Headingley Hall Gardens: A Great Autumnal Success
Blooming marvellous news
Harvest Time
We’re all incredibly proud of our Westward
Care gardener, Angela Muskin, for picking
up the top award of a Gold Medal in the
2011 Leeds in Bloom ‘Business in Bloom’
competition for the beautiful gardens at
Headingley Hall.
Headingley Hall residents have been
reaping the rewards of their efforts this
autumn after all their hard work during
the summer. Barbara has been busy in
the vegetable garden and is now proudly
brandishing her homegrown marrow.
Angela is very knowledgeable about her
plants and often chats to the residents
about her planting schemes. She spends
hours and hours creating beautiful gardens
at all 3 of our Leeds Homes.
Frances has lovingly tended the tomatoes
– and what a crop! The fresh homegrown
vegetables were supplied to the kitchen
for Chef to incorporate into his fine
dining, while the residents made green
tomato chutney for sale at the recent
Marie Curie Cancer coffee morning.
Also, the residents enjoyed fresh flowers
in their rooms and apartments for weeks,
which were all homegrown and nurtured
in Headingley Hall’s own gardens.
Paul Brice, the Manager of Headingley Hall
says: “Well done Angela and a huge thank
you for your talent and efforts towards
creating such a beautiful environment in
which to live and work.”
To keep up-to-date on our news and events visit
www.westwardcare.co.uk or email rebecca@
westwardcare.co.uk to be added to our database.
Westward Care News 05
Something for everyone to enjoy:
At Westward we have always
believed that care and
support means more
than just looking after
our residents’ health.
Residents from Headingley Hall have
visited several Leeds Museums. The
Abbey House Museum at Kirkstall Abbey
proved a particular success affording a
fascinating and nostalgic afternoon.
That’s why alongside our
portfolio of care services,
we take pride in offering
a varied list of social
activities and pastimes.
Lifting the mood at Southlands…
Once a month “Music for Health” brings
laughter to the Home by providing
fun handling of musical instruments.
The various activities, all enjoyed by
the residents, are designed to help
synchronise the hemispheres of the
brain and lift the mood.
Halloween and bonfire night were
enjoyed by all homes with special events
including pie and pea suppers, ghoulish
buffets, fireworks and bonfires. Staff
and residents alike entered into the
spirit of the occasion by dressing
up and even making a very realistic
life-size “Guy” at Southlands.
Forthcoming events…
As Autumn draws to a close
we have the wonderful season
of Christmas to look forward
to. This is a very special time
in all our Homes with many
events to celebrate the Season.
Here is just a selection:
Southlands
Tuesday 6th December –
Christmas shopping at White Rose
Tuesday 13th December –
Christmas Panto “Beauty and the Beast”
at the Carriage Works
Friday 16th December –
Leeds Lights with a Fish & Chip supper
Pennington Court
Friday 9th December –
A days Christmas Shopping at
Meadowhall.
Monday 12th December –
Annie at Yorkshire Playhouse
Monday 19th December –
In house panto – fun for all
Tuesday 20th December –
Christmas Lunch at The Fox and Hounds
Headingley Hall
Tuesday 6th December –
Christmas sweet making
Wednesday 14th December –
Carol Service
Saturday 17th December –
An Evening with Lawnswood Choir
Thursday 22nd December –
Residents’ Christmas Party
with a festive afternoon tea
Christmas Eve –
Christmas readings and songs
Winner of the ‘Best Small Care Employer
Award’ in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Westward Care News 06
And the Winners are…
Quarterly Recognition Award Winners
For the past 2 years Westward Care has awarded a quarterly recognition
award across its homes. This award recognises those employees
who ‘go the extra mile’ in delivering care and service in the organisation.
The Autumn Quarters Recognition
Award was won by Pam Richardson, a
resident carer from Southlands. Pam was
nominated by a relative for the way she
looked after the relative’s mother on her
special birthday. “Pam was instrumental
in making Mum’s party a very memorable
event. She went above and beyond the
call of duty”.
Pam was a very popular winner at
Southlands when she was presented
with her award. Congratulations Pam.
Congratulations to our autumn runner
up, Anita Long, a carer from Pennington
Court. Anita was nominated for her sunny
disposition and for continual hard work.
She is always reliable and well liked by
staff, residents and their families.
Left: Pam Richardson with
fellow members of the
team at Pennington Court.
Below: Anita Long with
Peter Hodkinson, Managing
Director, Westward Care.
Yet more recognition for Westward Care
Westward Care has been
selected as finalist in all
three of the categories we
entered in this year’s Great
Yorkshire & Humberside
Care Awards:
•The Care Employer Award
(less than 250 employees)
•Homes With Care Award
(for the team at Headingley Hall
Independent Living Apartments)
•The Ancillary Worker Award
(Carole Simpson, Catering Manager
at Pennington Court Care Home
in Beeston.)
Winners will be announced in
November 2011. Wish us luck!
“Our recognition once again at the Great Yorkshire
& Humberside Care Awards confirms that we
are securing our position as one of the leading
independent providers of health & social care
for older people in Leeds.”
Peter Hodkinson, Westward Care Managing Director.
Our care centres are proud to be associated with the above organisations.