Our Summer Fair on Saturday, 12th August, was a resounding success, with a fantastic turnout from our local community, families and friends.  The event, opened by the Worshipful Mayor and Mayoress of Stafford Borough, Andy Cooper and Mrs. Judy Cooper, gave the opportunity for people to enjoy lots of fun activities in our beautiful gardens.

The weather was kind to us, with the sun appearing at just the right time. We were all thoroughly entertained by singer, Becca G and the local Dance Troupe, Dance Fusion, bringing lots of smiles and fun to the afternoon. There was a vast range of games and activities, from a coconut shy, face painting to a bottle stall and raffle, with the main prize of an original Brooklyn Bicycle bike ridden by Anne Hathaway in the 2015 film ‘The Intern’ generously donated by local resident Julie Rickerby,

Jayne Wood, Director of Nursing and Registered Manager, said, “We are delighted with the success of the summer fair. It was great seeing the residents, family, and friends enjoying the day together.  A huge thank you to our Activities Team for putting it all together.  

Staff went above and beyond, with many volunteering their time to help on the day, Dave and Sam from the Maintenance Team made the stocks and coconut shy, and Sophie baked all the cakes for the cake sale. We are so fortunate at the Manor House to have such an incredible team that genuinely cares about the home”. 

On opening the fair, The Worshipful the Mayor of Stafford Borough, Andy Cooper said, “I am thrilled to have been invited today to open the Summer Fair.  It’s clear to see the huge amount of work that has gone into

the event, the stalls are fantastic.  The Staff here are clearly very committed and have gone above and beyond their jobs to do this.

The work that Manor House do looking after and supporting those with a range of conditions is vital.  I have been chatting to residents and their families and you can tell they are very well cared for and very happy here.”

Bertha, Unit Manager, said, “It’s so lovely, nice to see so many friends and relatives come to support. It has really been a nice opportunity to meet and get to know more of our residents’ family members, and it’s lovely that so many staff have volunteered to work at the event.”

The day was made extra special with resident Anne’s twin sister Cath, flying in from America to attend the event. Cath said, “Anne is really happy here at the Manor House and has settled in so well since arriving six months ago.” Anne added, “It’s a good atmosphere, and there is plenty for the children; it really is a lovely day.”

We look forward to hosting more events over the coming months!

We greatly enjoyed welcoming a work-experience student to the Manor House this month. Declan, who is in year 10 at school and lives locally, proved extremely popular with all residents and staff.

Activities Coordinator Mandy said, “It’s been really nice having Declan helping us; residents have loved him”.

Working with the Activities Team, Declan helped support and encourage residents to take part in a variety of activities.  Declan worked with us for a full week and said he ‘really enjoyed himself, especially taking part in the Tennis Tournament’.

Emma from our Activities Team said, “It’s been really lovely having Declan here; it’s fantastic seeing a younger person spending so much time with our residents. Everyone at the Manor House has enjoyed having him with us”.

One of our residents took the time to pass on some advice saying, “If I can give you one piece of advice, it’s that as you get older, remember who your family and loved ones are. Remember your family and the people you love because there may be a time when you can’t.” “This was a really heartwarming moment,” said Emma.

Following in the footsteps of 3 relatives that work at the Manor House as a nursing assistant and 2 senior carers, Declan plans on finishing school and getting started straight into a career in care.

Jayne Woods, Director of Nursing said, “a career in care is extremely rewarding, and work experience is a great way of seeing what it is like.  We thoroughly enjoyed having Declan here and believe he’ll go on to have a very successful career in care.”

To view our latest vacancies please click here.

A number of the team from the Manor House attended the Dignity in Care Awards last week. Several of our teams and individual staff members were nominated for awards, including Bertha, Jayne, Lucious, Sarah, the Activities Team and the whole Team. When asked how he felt, Lucious said, “I didn’t expect it at all; being nominated is truly wonderful”.

Jayne spoke of how proud she is of the team, “we just feel so honoured to have been nominated; we work so hard, and the team are so dedicated, so to have been nominated was just wonderful. It was a great day to celebrate the dedication of people working in care”.

Sponsored by the Centre for Health Innovation at Staffordshire University and hosted by Newcastle College Performing Arts Centre, the Staffordshire Dignity in Care Awards honours people who demonstrate exceptional dedication in upholding the principles of dignity, empowering people in care, and enhancing the quality care provided to vulnerable people. Young people, family carers, community groups and organisations from across Staffordshire were recognised. In the words of the host, the awards are “to say thank you to everyone working in the care sector for the hard work you do and celebrate your extraordinary efforts.”

The Staffordshire County Council-run event is part of a wider campaign to celebrate how important carers are and the many opportunities for people to make a difference and feel valued by working in the care sector. Over 70 guests joined family members and work colleagues for the annual celebration that recognises care services, teams and individuals who put dignity, respect, as well as quality care at the heart of everything they do.

“The host, Patrick Monahan, made the event so much fun, having us all singing Harry Styles, Watermelon Sugar. The event was really special from start to finish and very well organised. Whilst we did not bring any awards back to the Manor House this year, to be nominated in the first place is very special, with nominations being made anonymously by colleagues and relatives”, Jayne said. 

Julia Jessel, Cabinet Member for Health and Care at Staffordshire County Council, who presented some of the awards, said, “Not only do the awards give us a chance to showcase the care sector, but it’s a great opportunity to thank and celebrate everyone working in care, whether informally or formally. Putting compassion and dignity at the heart of care is so important, and here in Staffordshire, we do everything we can to support carers to do that every day”.

The granddaughter of one of our residents has taken on an enormous challenge to raise money for the Manor House!

Abbi took on a 6-day Highland Way hike and raised over £1300 for the home. The challenge saw Abbi walk 122 miles across challenging terrain, in adverse weather conditions, carrying a 15kg backpack and sleeping outside.  Abbi said, “it was really really tough, I had blisters on my blisters, was exhausted and at times wanted to pack up and go home, but the lovely messages of support and knowing I was raising funds for the Manor House kept me going”

“when times were really hard, I thought about my Grandad and all of the people who live at the Manor House Nursing Home, I thought about the amazing lives they might have lead and the stories they might have to tell, I thought about how lucky I was to be out there when so many wouldn’t be able to be for one reason or another and that kept me going”

Jayne Wood, Director of Nursing said, “we want to extend a massive thank you to Abbi for completing this amazing challenge and to Brenda, Pauline and all of Trevor’s family.  We have a defibrillator in the main building but to now have one on the Coppenhall Unit is excellent and all staff will be trained.  A defibrillator is of course not only a potentially life-saving piece of equipment for residents, but also staff and visitors. Abbi’s challenge looked so hard and we think she should be really proud of herself!”

Trevor’s wife, (Abbi’s Grandma) said, “we’re immensely proud of Abbi and everything she achieved.  We are so grateful to the Manor House for taking care of Trevor and as a family to be able to support and give something back was really important to us.  My daughter, Pauling works at AED Donate in Stone, which is why we thought it would be perfect for Abbi to raise money for the defibrillator.  I also want to say a massive thank you to Star Private Hire Ltd, the taxi company that bring me to see Trevor every week, for donating £100”.

Collection boxes are now situated at the Manor House where anyone can donate and any future funds will be contributed to more defibrillators to install at the home, the online link is also live here

We thoroughly enjoyed getting involved in Glad to Care Awareness Week 2023, a national awareness week dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary contributions that carers make to the lives of care recipients, their families, and community members. The week aims to champion the incredible work of carers whilst simultaneously allowing them to shout about why they’re glad to work in the care sector.

This year’s theme was ‘wellbeing’, with all participants invited to join various fun and innovative activities. The programme of events is designed to ensure the whole care community and residents can get involved.

It was an excellent week for staff and residents’ wellbeing, with many fun activities. Everyone loved the 70s dance workout, with the team showing their moves to YMCA.

The staff took time out to think about what they were thankful for and why they were glad to care. Residents joined in, writing about what they were grateful for. We have displayed some of these notes in the Hub as a reminder of the week.

A bake-off competition showed off the hidden talents of many of our team, with their entries looking impressive and tasting fantastic. To finish Glad to Care week, we had a barbeque and sports activities. Both residents and staff enjoyed relaxing in the sunshine after an active week!

Jayne Wood, Director of Nursing said, “It was great to be a part of Glad to Care Awareness Week and celebrate the work of carers.  I am immensely proud of our team and their commitment to care.  The theme of ‘wellbeing’ was a natural alignment for us we are dedicated to ensuring we look after the wellbeing of our residents and staff. We look forward to supporting this awareness week next year.”

The Manor House Nurses Awards 2023 was a great success last week. It was well attended by staff, residents and relatives, showing how important the nursing staff are to everyone.

The Activities Team made a huge effort, with The Hub being beautifully decorated and the buffet tasting amazing. All the small touches made the event extra special!

The Director of Nursing, Jayne Wood, presented the awards and expressed her gratitude to all staff and nurses. Everyone at the Manor House helps make it the great care home it is; we are very thankful for that. Jayne said, “The nurses work really hard; they are fantastic and deserve recognition for their wonderful work”.

We had a fantastic response when we asked staff, residents and relatives to vote for who they felt deserved to receive the Nurses Award. Thank you for taking the time to do this; the comments were lovely and heartfelt.

Our 3rd place winner was Seth. Several people commented on Seth being amazing with the residents on Coppenhall, showing great patience and always being willing to assist the care staff. Emmanuel received 2nd place, with him being described as “always really nice and supportive”.

The overall winner was Bertha, with many commenting on her professionalism and compassion. One lovely comment written about Bertha was, “Very compassionate, caring and understanding. A very good listener, professional. Just fabulous all round”. Another comment, “The time she takes, the care she shows, her professionalism and standards are second to none”, shows just how well thought of Bertha is.

Bertha looked visibly moved to receive a beautiful star trophy for the accolade. Seth and Emmanuel both were presented with a medal, champagne and a gift. Sarah and Diane also received recognition for their work, receiving a wonderful hamper of chocolates. All nurses were given a goodie bag and a beautiful keyring inscribed, “May you be proud of the work you do, the person you are and the difference you make”. 

Additional recognition was given to Jemima Oduro. Jemima was our first-ever sponsored nurse and is now a fully qualified nurse. 

Jayne added, “we are so proud of every single member of our team, they work together to support each other and provide the best possible care for our residents.”