Healthcare Interior Design Company Organises a Nationwide Charity Fundraiser

Access 21 Care Interiors offering interior design exclusively for the care sector and specialists in dementia design created a fundraising activity involving their suppliers across England to raise funds for Alzheimer's Society.

The Surbiton-based business works with clients across the UK designing across a full range of care schemes including general/extra care, nursing, learning disabilities, supported living, palliative and dementia.  The company is well known for its style of creating a ‘home from home’ atmosphere, ensuring optimum comfort and safety for residents, whilst avoiding an institutional look and feel by offering a relaxing and stimulating environment.  

Eda Brooks, Projects Director of Access 21 came up with the innovative idea of inviting their suppliers to join in a fundraising activity with a difference.  She donated £10 in cash to each of the company’s 10 main contacts, inviting them to use the funds to create an innovative and fun way of raising further funds for this worthy cause.  The fundraising campaign which took place at business premises across the country raised over £500 in total for the Alzheimer's Society.  As an added incentive Access 21 also offered a prize of £25 worth of M&S vouchers to the most creative money spinner.  The overall winner was Mark Dean and the team at Taplow-based furniture and office supplies company, Jolly Office Limited.  Mark got his customers in a spin by setting up a roulette wheel at their Head Office in  Taplow and inviting visitors to donate a £1 a go for the chance to win £20 in cash if their selected number came up. 

Eda Brooks Projects Director, Access 21 Care Interiors says: “We believe that it is important for businesses to give back to the community and this was a great way of involving our national contacts.  In view of the fact that we are designers working exclusively for the healthcare sector with specialist knowledge in dementia, the Alzheimer's Society was a natural choice.  The idea was well received with our suppliers and created a great team spirit.  The charity was very grateful not only for the much needed funds but also that this helped to raise their profile nationwide.” 

Anita Avery, Community Fundraiser, Alzheimer’s Society, South East Office says: “We are very grateful to Access 21 Care Interiors for not only raising over £500 but helping to raise awareness about dementia.  Currently 1 in 3 people over 65 years of age will develop dementia.  The support services that we are able to offer people with dementia and their loved ones in our local communities, relies heavily on fundraising events such as this.   We would like to thank Access 21, their suppliers and clients for enabling us to continue providing that support.”

www.a21interiors.co.uk

Somerset Health Care Provider Expands Following Acquisition of Third Care Home

Somerset based health care providers Aurora Care which own and operates the award- winning Hurst Manor Nursing & Residential Home at Martock and purpose-built Hendford Care Home with Nursing in Yeovil has acquired a third business for its fast growing portfolio in Somerset.

Michael Lawson and Sue Aldworth joint owners of Aurora Care have completed on the acquisition of Elliscombe House, a 40 bed nursing home based in Wincanton which currently has a T/O of £1.25m. This now takes the group’s fee income to >£4m with over 100 beds and more than 200 staff.

Managing Director Aurora Care Limited, Michael Lawson says “Both Sue and I are delighted to have acquired Elliscombe House. This expansion is part of the mid - long term plans for Aurora Care and complements our existing portfolio of quality properties. We have taken on the existing 50 members of staff and look forward to working closely with Home Manager Jacqui Lloyd and her dedicated team. There are some great plans going forward and we are very excited about this new project.”

The character period property was built around the early 1900’s and the previous owner, Ronald Clarkson, acquired the property in 1988 from Mrs. Pickford who converted the house to a care home in 1985. Mr. Clarkson sympathetically extended the home in 1989 and 2005 by way of two purpose-built wings. He recently secured planning permission to create a single-storey bedroom extension to the nursing home for an additional eight bedrooms.

Set in an idyllic rural location within around seven acres of beautiful grounds and well maintained gardens boasting spectacular views of the surrounding countryside, it is also home to two resident and well-loved peacocks, Percy and David. Within the grounds is Elliscombe Park which was built in the late 1990’s and comprises a quality development of ten retirement properties all of which have been sold on a long 125-year lease and are part of the sale.

The sale of Elliscombe House was carried out by the Bristol Office agents Christie + Co. Specialist healthcare advisors dealing with all types of care homes, including a wide range of nursing, residential and specialist care homes both freehold and leasehold the company works from a number of offices across the UK and internationally.

Rob Kinsman, Director Christie & Co Bristol says “We acted on behalf of the previous owner, Ronald Clarkson who asked us to manage the sale and we are delighted to be part of Aurora Care’s expansion in the region. Elliscombe House generated a good deal of interest from acquisitive regional operators and our client elected to sell the business to Aurora Care given their excellent reputation in the area”.

SOUND ADVICE

“To be cut off from hearing is to be isolated indeed.”

Rebecca Millington meets hearing specialist Curtis Alcock of Exeter based Broom Reid Harris who is actively raising awareness of the importance of hearing and modernising attitudes to both ongoing care and treatment.

Hearing v. Sight

The average person communicates over 16,000 words a day, just imagine the number you hear! This never ending flow of information through our ears affects some of the most important areas of life such as relationships, effectiveness at work and keeping our minds sharp. No wonder American author, political activist and lecturer Helen Keller who was both blind and deaf wrote, “To be cut off from hearing is to be isolated indeed”.  She was in the unique position of being able to compare the differences of being without sight and hearing, concluding “After a lifetime in silence and darkness, that to be deaf is a greater affliction than to be blind.”

We’ve all experienced temporary blindness; we simply need to close our eyes, but few can truly feel the reality of having reduced hearing and how it impacts on quality of life. So we often take our hearing for granted!  But many aspects rely on good hearing including safety and awareness; how we communicate with people and enjoying simple day to day pleasures such as listening to music. Watch a movie without the sound and you remove the emotion; the suspense of a horror film evaporates, the ‘tear-jerking’ scenes of a romance dry up.

The power of hearing

Apart from bats – humans are more capable than any other mammal at distinguishing pitch. A trained musician can detect a difference in vibration of one millionth of a second. It is so easy to take for granted the complexities of our hearing without realising. “When we close our eyes to go to sleep at night they are resting, however our ears are constantly monitoring the environment for any potential threat allowing us to sleep through a thunderstorm but wake instantly at the creak of a floorboard” says Curtis. “We take our ability to converse so much for granted that we become frustrated when the flow of conversation doesn’t just ‘happen’; when it doesn’t just flow from one mind to another.  Hence our unintentional impatience with people who ask us to repeat ourselves or when people can’t get their words out.”

Imagine yourself in a busy coffee shop talking over others to a person across the table. Your ears selectively push away the background hum of conversation to hear that person better, whilst picking up on the rhythm, intonation and subtleties of what is being said. The English language is extremely complex and we use our ears to decipher it to make communication successful.  Think of the number of e-mails and text messages that are misread without the help of our ears.  “Should we find ourselves in a foreign country where our grasp of the native language is minimal or non-existent, we feel robbed of our intelligence and our sense of humour.  We begin to realise just how much of whom we are as individuals is grounded in our ability to interact in a shared language” says Curtis.

"You could be missing all sorts of important things and be none the wiser"

Caring for your hearing

In the past people used to see hearing aids as a symbol of ‘being deaf’ but now that hearing technology has become more discreet and effective, they are increasingly used by people who refuse to miss out on everything their hearing can give them.  “Like wearing a pair of glasses, hearing technology is a way of correcting or enhancing what we already have. If you are having trouble with your sight then a trip to the opticians is a logical step, but if you don’t hear something, how do you know there was something there to hear?  You could be missing all sorts of important things and be none the wiser.  You don’t know how good your hearing really is unless you are having regular check-ups.”

Curtis explains how hearing care has only had the last 100 years to evolve in comparison to eye care which has been around since the 13^th century! “But evolve it has.  As a family run, independent hearing practice we have the freedom to tailor our service to your exact needs to make sure you are getting the best out of your hearing. The technology is becoming less and less noticeable, which is a huge step forward, but ‘out of sight, out of mind’ also means it’s unfortunately harder for some people to forget their old fashioned attitudes towards hearing problems.”

 www.brandh.co.uk

CARING IN THE COMMUNITY IS A REAL HOME FROM HOME

Glen King meets the team at Hendford Care Home with Nursing - the first new care facility for the 21^st century based in Yeovil….

Developed on the former Milk Marketing Board site at Hendford Hill on behalf of health care providers Aurora Care Limited, Hendford Care Home opened in spring this year.  Offering seven communal spaces and forty beds, the home provides much needed nursing, palliative and dementia care to the elderly population of South Somerset with 24 hour registered nursing staffing provided by Matron Sue Aldworth and her dedicated team.  “Our aim is to create a state-of-the-art care facility providing hotel standards coupled with personal care and specialist expertise.  We have taken on highly qualified staff with the relevant experience and caring values which are very important” says Sue.

Aurora Care also operates Hurst Manor Nursing Home based in Martock.  This won ‘The Caring Business Pinder Award for Best Development’ which aims to promote and recognise the very best developments in all types of care related property and this winning formula has been adopted at Hendford.  Michael Lawson managing director of Aurora Care accompanied by Matt his hearing dog is my guide for the day.  First stop is one of the individually interior designed en-suite bedrooms furnished with domestic lighting and pine furniture.   Residents are actively encouraged to make the accommodation their own, including the knocking of holes in the walls to put up mirrors, pictures and photographs from home.  To make it even more homely they have the option to replace some or all of the furniture with their own. “Our residents enjoy a home from home atmosphere with the knowledge that they have expert and friendly staff on hand for all their needs, physically, mentally and emotionally but without the clinical environment.”

In the spacious and tastefully designed lounge we are greeted with laughter and high spirits as the residents enjoy a fun game of giant dice organised by Chris Hewlett the resident activities manager. Michael says “There are no set visiting hours as it is important that they invite friends and relatives over, after all it is their home and we want them to feel happy, comfortable and enjoy living here”

The delicious aroma of food draws us to the kitchen boasting cutting edge equipment.  Here top chef Manager Dave Duggan serves home cooked cuisine to restaurant standards. A three course lunch is the main meal of the day with complimentary wine, bottled water and soft drinks served in one of the three dining rooms or in the resident’s room.  After lunch they can do as little or as much as they wish; sitting with friends in the spacious dayroom, resting or taking a walk in the garden which has raised beds for the keen gardeners, joining in crafts and hobby classes such as flower arranging or listening to talks on bee-keeping or vintage motorcycles.  “We have even had owls brought in and later this year we are expecting a donkey” says Michael.  There are also regular outings in the minibus with the most popular days out at West Bay and the bluebell woods at Batcombe Down.

Next stop is a designated leisure room enjoying a ‘No TV policy’ providing both residents and relatives access to computers and a library.  There is also a hair and beauty salon utilised by a visiting hairdresser and beauty therapist with many treatments including aromatherapy and reflexology.  Michael says, “In addition to providing specialist palliative care and general nursing care we want to enhance the quality of lifestyle for our residents.”

www.hendfordcarehome.co.uk