Introduction At Apple House care homes we strive to support residents to lead a healthy lifestyle and to be as independent as possible. We provide access to a programme promoting healthy living and wellbeing, with home cooked fresh food, regular exercise, and creative activities. This article outlines why it is important to give people with autism the opportunity to take part in creative activities and regular exercise. Challenges for people with Autism For people with autism, you may notice that they can have challenges in interacting in social situations as it can be overwhelming at times with direct verbal communication. …
Strategic Planning: Looking at Operational Goals. The Apple House Ltd Approach: The world of management and strategic planning can be full of jargon-based terms and phrases, which can take the core meaning away from readers who want to see the direction and aims a company wants to work towards. While it is crucial that our company has a clear strategic plan from directorship level, the methods which enable this plan to work through an operational route are key to achieving the common goal. This planning stage will assist the company forward through an ever-increasing demanding economy and climate. For our …
At the very heart of our work, our ethos, is the desire to facilitate those we support to recover their voice. Their right to be heard and understood. Being heard is so close to being loved that, for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable. –David Augsberger We take our voice, our opinion, our choices, for granted. We eloquently express our needs and our viewpoints and know that we are listened to, that the other person ‘gets us.’ The notion that we could be spoken for and on behalf of, that our voice translates not into our wishes but into …
“Apple House Ltd believes that its employees represent its greatest asset. By providing opportunities, facilities and financial support for training, the service aims to ensure that all of its employees are in possession of the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to perform their jobs to the highest standard. To this end, the service is committed to functioning as a learning organisation, providing all of its employees with the opportunity for training and re-training in accordance with their own needs and that of our homes. Without a skilled, committed and well-trained staff team, the service cannot possibly succeed in its aim …
In June 2019 the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published their review report, ‘Smiling Matters: Oral health care in care homes.’The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) had produced guidelines (NG48) recognising the importance of good oral care for adults in care homes. The aim is to maintain and improve oral health and ensure timely access to dental treatment.The NICE guidelines include recommendations for care home managers, staff and people who use services and their carers, focusing on: Care home policies on oral health and providing people with support to access dental services Oral health assessment and mouth care …
Visiting Policy During Covid-19 Pandemic [Click HERE for quick link to PDF] Our priority has always been your safety and wellbeing. Closing our doors to visitors has been one ofthe most difficult decisions we have had to make and we understand the impact that this has on youand the people you care about. We do not know how long the coronavirus will affect all of our lives butwanted to share with you what we are doing to keep you safe and well. Reducing the Risk from COVID-19 We closed our doors to all visitors at the start of the pandemic, as the situation escalated quickly across the nation. Any visitors, such as visiting health professionals, only enter the care home if it is necessary and if they have followed strict infection control procedures. This includeswearing the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) and of course, making sure that goodhand hygiene is always followed. You will have seen the news about concerns relating to masks, gloves and aprons. We want toassure you that we are following the correct procedures to make sure we protect you and our staff teams. We are keeping up to date with all the guidance and are making sure that our staff knowhow to use the correct equipment. Any staff with symptoms, or staff who have been in contact with anyone with COVID-19, arenot coming to work and are following the government’s guidance on self-isolation. We are monitoring all of the people we support for symptoms or behaviour that is considered different to their usual presentation. We understand that not everyone will have the samesymptoms of a persistent/new cough and temperature or loss of smell and taste, and our staffunderstand the need to look for other symptoms and act immediately. Responsibilities of Apple House Ltd We are responsible for ensuring that we support people within our care to meet with family and friends if they wish and that staff have the ability to facilitate this. This support includeshaving written policies and procedures so that all of our team understand what they need to do. We will identify other ways to connect with friends and family when face-to-face visits arenot possible. We will use technology such as video conference or telephone calls tocompensate for limited visits. We will ensure that we are open and …
“We spent the week before VE Day discussing the things we were going to do and how we were going to do it. D wanted songs, T didn’t want to call it a celebration, M wanted to have lots of food and T suggested Fish and Chips. Everyone was very excited about having games in the garden. Here is a poster we made with the events on it. Everyone had a great time in a socially distanced manner!” — John Caslake, Registered Manager, Summerwood. …
“For our VE Day celebrations, everyone chose to participate in preparations by making decorations and creating an information board. Individuals read out passages or discussed what VE day is about. ‘E’ then gave us all a fantastic concert of old time songs. We have made trench boxes, discussing about how these boxes were sent out at Christmas time for the soldiers at the front. We also made a tea party of favourate foods eaten in the 1940’s including Anzac biscuits which we put in the trench boxes. Great fun had by all!” — Sharron Eyears, Registered Manager, Redcroft. …
David Dellow from our senior team at Redcroft care home, along with S, shares more progress on the creation of their wonderful nature garden behind the chicken run and cabin: Nature Garden Creation, Third and Fourth Sessions: “Sessions 4 and 5 saw a continuation of the process of creating a footpath through the garden to ensure everyone has access. It was heavy work, but the end results were noticeable and made the efforts worthwhile. One highlight was digging round the fallen tree and in doing so starting the process of turning this once magnificent tree into a marvellous seat. The …
It’s very easy to announce that a care home is family friendly, but what does that mean? Historically, care homes and nursing homes followed the hospital model of rigid visiting times. This in turn meant that families may not have been considered to be intrinsic in the planning of care pathways or, in fact, in the individual’s life inside a care environment. Today, things are changing for the better but there is always more work to be done. Apple House care homes embrace an ethos of inclusion. Families and loved ones have a hugely crucial role to play and, as …
