Glad to Care Awareness Week at Manor House

#GladtoCare Awareness Week 2023

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.”

Now Open, Coppenhall Unit for adults with complex mental health needs.

We have recently extended our range of services to allow the Manor House to care for adults living with complex mental health conditions, including schizophrenia, personality disorder, and bipolar affective disorder, as well as adults living with mental health conditions brought on by substance misuse.

Our fully equipped and recently refurbished Coppenhall Unit, located within the CDL building, has ensuite bedrooms, lounge and dining areas and access to our secure, beautiful gardens.

Supported by our 24-hour specialist mental health care team, individuals receive a personal care plan; following initial assessment and collaboration with external professionals, including social workers and psychiatric nurses, doctors and, of course, the family, a personal care plan is created for each new resident, creating pathways for positive outcomes for each individual service-user and their needs.  From here, and following admission, our team take the time to get further to know the residents, to understand them, and to help them and to support them to live an enriched and fulfilled life, to understand any triggers for challenging behaviours and to create support strategies to help residents manage them.

As with every resident at the Manor House, our service users who reside in Coppenhall still receive everything the home offers that supports their wellbeing, including working with our activities team, who are on hand 365 days a year to offer suitable and varied activities for residents to get involved with from bingo to dancing, crafts to baking or more focussed one to one engaged activities depending on the needs of the individual.

Jayne Woods, Registered Manager & Director of Nursing, said, “we’re really happy to have been able to extend our services to support adults living with complex and at times challenging mental health conditions.  The nurses and care assistants based within Coppenhall have a wonderful ability to get to know and take the time to understand the residents and help each of them individually on their journey to allow them to live a happily and safely.

We support our community in Stafford and the surrounding areas by offering a home to people with complex mental health needs and ensuring they are well cared for. We are here to help people in crisis and provide positive behaviour support plans centred around the needs of the individual but also, through offering them a safe environment to live in, we are also supporting their family.  We encourage visiting and invite friends and family to come in as often as they can to visit on a one-to-one or join in with our many events.”

You can contact us for further information on 01785 250600

Celebration at Manor House

The Manor House Nurses Awards 2023

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.”

“It’s A Wonderful Life” – Out and about in our minibus…again!

On Wednesday, 22nd February, we went to see the Stafford Gang Show’s 25th Anniversary special, “It’s A Wonderful Life”, at the Blessed William Howard School, located just 10 minutes down the road from the Manor House. It was the first outing in our minibus for quite some time, so there was much excitement!

We were really fortunate to have been contacted by the Stafford Gang Show team, offering us tickets. In total, 14 of us attended the local event. We were made to feel so welcome, with great seats and parking right by the door. Sophie, Facilities Manager at the Manor House, said, “we had the most wonderful time; it was so nice to take some of the residents out for the evening.”

Stafford Gang Show is a traditional variety performance presented by the members of the Scout movement in Stafford. The show includes several sketches, dances and musical items based on the original idea by Ralph Reader CBE. Stafford Gang Show started in 1998, performed at Walton High School and has been performed every 2 years since. The show was initially produced by one of the original London Gang Show members, Dave Cregeen.   

The amazing gang of over 60 Scouters from Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and Leaders put on such a fantastic show.

Jayne, Registered Manager and Director of Nursing, said, “both staff and residents thoroughly enjoyed themselves; we can’t thank the Stafford Gang Show team enough for their kind hospitality.

We had to stop our minibus outings due to Covid, and it is just brilliant to see the minibus up and running again; to be able to take our residents to events such as shows, afternoon teas or sight-seeing will be a welcome addition to the activities we offer.”

We can’t wait to have many more outings in our minibus in the months ahead.

Residential Care

Meet the team: our Healthcare Assistants

Our Senior Healthcare Assistants

We have a team of Healthcare Assistants and Senior Healthcare Assistants at the Manor House whose role is exactly as the job title suggests – to care.  This care covers everything from assisting with washing and dressing, assisting residents in moving around the home, nutrition including meals, drinks and snacks including keeping a comprehensive log of every resident’s consumption, as well as spending time with the residents supporting the activities team, chatting with them, sharing stories and anecdotes, singing and dancing and ensuring their happiness and comfort within the home.

We chatted to two of our Senior Healthcare Assistants to find out a little bit more…

Sarah Evans has worked in care for 27years, having worked with elderly people as a youngster, after her children were grown up, she returned to care and hasn’t looked back.  Sarah has worked at several nursing homes in Stafford and joined the Manor House 3 years ago as a Care Assistant on the Mental Health Unit.  Sarah has recently been promoted and works on the General Nursing Unit.

Sarah says, “I love looking after people.  The people here have in the most part lived a long life and done everything for others or perhaps raised a family, now it is their turn to be looked after and I find it a privilege to spend this time of someone’s life with them.   It’s the last and most important thing you can do for someone, and I find it an honour to spend this time with our residents.”

Diane Wright has nearly 40 years’ experience as a carer. Like Sarah she has worked in a number of care and nursing homes across Staffordshire and has been with the Manor House for over 15 years.  Diane works on the Mental Health Unit.

Diane says, “doing this job brings a reward that comes from the heart.  It’s the kind of job I would do as a volunteer if I could, getting to know our residents and care for them in their hour of need is incredible fulfilling.  Also, at the Manor House I feel incredibly supported, we are one family, and this is everything from the comprehensive training to the equipment, for example we all receive manual handling training, and, every room has a hoist we are all trained to use meaning we can move residents in a way that is safe for both them and us.”

Diane and Sarah are both currently undergoing their Level 5 training to become nursing assistants as part of the Manor House’s commitment to ongoing training and development of the team.

If you would like to join the team and discover how rewarding a career in care can be we’d love to hear from you.  Our latest vacancies can be found here.

Dementia Care

Meet the team: Unit Manager Bertha

Read about Bertha and find out about working life for our Unit Managers

Bertha joined the Manor House nursing home in 2015 as a registered nurse and has since been promoted to Unit Manager.

Bertha is a highly experienced medical professional, having qualified in 2013 from Buckingham University then working with people with specialist needs such as epilepsy in Slough and as a nurse at the Royal Stoke Hospital.

Bertha says of the Manor House,

it feels like a second home coming to work here, it’s such a lovely team who work together to look after each other and everyone who lives here

Bertha has a very varied role and can be found in all units across the home.  Bertha’s day typically consists of completing a comprehensive handover, checking in on residents, completing medical rounds, reviewing care plans and any health issues that need to be address such as dressings, taking bloods if required, re-stocking medication and auditing medication, and taking the time to sit with residents. Bertha continues,

my role is really varied, the clinical side always comes first and foremost to ensure all of our residents are cared for, but alongside that is the wonderful time we get to spend alongside the Healthcare assistants with the residents that makes this so much more than a job and why it feels like being in my second home, it’s truly rewarding job and I could never imagine being anywhere else.

If you’d like to join our team, find our current vacancies and apply here.

Dementia Care Tamworth

Meet the team: Registered Manager Jayne

Getting to know Jayne Wood.

Director of Nursing & Registered Manager Jayne Wood’s nursing management career spans over 30 years.  Following a successful interview process with the CQC, Jayne moved from Acting Registered Manager to formal Registered Manager in June 2021.

Jayne began her career as an eye nurse in Wolverhampton before becoming a fully qualified nurse.  In the mid-80s, Jayne worked as a nurse at The Manor House, becoming Matron in 1988.  Jayne moved on from the Manor House to spend the next 25 years in nursing and medical management in both the NHS and private sector. Jayne created and delivered training programmes for Derby Hospital and worked across the country, running audits and troubleshooting at numerous care homes, identifying areas of improvement to help them become the best they could be.

Jayne returned to The Manor House in 2016 as a nurse; over the years, her knowledge, level of care and expertise has not gone unnoticed, and she has recently accepted the Senior position.  Jayne has already been instrumental in improving relationships with GPs to ensure we obtain all required records to have a thorough medical history of all new residents.

Jayne says about The Manor House,

coming to work here feels like working with family; to me, this isn’t just a job, it’s a vocation.  The residents always come first, and everyone here genuinely cares

Zahir Teemil, Regional Manager of The Manor House, said, ‘Jayne has been a loyal and dedicated member of the team for years now.  She is a highly experienced nurse and committed to care”

If you would like to speak to Jayne, she is always more than happy to take your calls.  Jayne can be reached on 01785 250600.

If you are interested in a career in care, please see our latest job vacancies here.

Care Quality Commission

The Manor House achieves overall ‘Good’ rating from the CQC

The Manor House has recently received an inspection from the CQC and received a rating of Good for every service.

The services the Care Quality Commission are assessing are, ‘safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.’

The Manor House Nursing Home in Stafford was bought from the previous owners in the summer of 2022, since the new management team took over, they have worked swiftly and efficiently consulting with long-standing staff members to focus on any areas that required improvement.

Angela Sands, Director of Operations commented, “we are delighted to have been rated as Good in every service assessed by the CQC.  This rating is testament to the hard work and dedication of our team whose number one priority is and always has been the care, happiness and dignity of everyone who lives here”

We’re extremely proud of the commitment the team have shown since we took over back in the summer and are excited to see how we can further work together with a culture of continuous improvement.  As we grow and look to open the third unit within the home, training and staff support will be a focus for us to maintain the highest of standards.”

Jayne Wood, Director of Nursing added, “to be recognised by the CQC saying ‘people were supported by kind and caring staff who knew them well and people’s dignity, privacy and independence was supported’ means everything to us, because this is what we strive to every single day.”

You can read the recent CQC report here.

 

Manor House Nursing Home

DanceSing on Demand: Staff Wellbeing

The wellbeing of our team is incredibly important to us which is why as well as launching DanceSing for the team to enjoy with residents, we have also invested in their ‘on Demand’ programme for our staff to use.  Every member of our team now has access to a pool of resources they can enjoy at work or at home with their families.

Angela Sands, Director of Operations said, “we are like a family here, we care deeply about our residents and about each other, therefore it’s essential we look after every single member of our team.  At the staff launch of DanceSing, the smiles across the team, the feeling of togetherness and the energy from the room was palpable; the launch alone demonstrated the impact on someone’s wellbeing this can have.

We will be actively encouraging the team to use the package available to them now.  We’ll seek their feedback throughout the trial and as long as the team find it valuable to them, DanceSing will remain a resource our staff can access on a permanent basis.

Natalie Garry said, “the beauty of DanceSing is it is an inclusive, intergenerational, feel-good wellbeing experience that can be used anytime, anywhere”

Angela added, “We don’t need to run marathons to add physical activity into our lives, and there is a proven link between activity and our overall well-being, our intention is to support our team at work and at home, whenever they need a little boost or as part of a daily routine.  The beauty is this programme offers so much variety so everyone should be able to find something that makes them smile”.

Find out more about working at The Manor House Nursing home here.

General Nursing Care

Thanks to the Prince’s Trust Community Impact Project

The Year 11 Princes Trust Group at King Edward VI High School chose The Manor House as beneficiaries of their Community Impact Project.

The young people wanted to visit and spend time here at the nursing home doing different activities around National Biscuit Day, but due to Covid restrictions this was not possible, so instead they created a wonderful box of activities and treats for everyone to enjoy.

Each of the students took the time to write a letter to introduce themselves which came to the home, along with a box including a recipe, suggestions for games, a quiz, icing, and sprinkles to decorate Rich Tea biscuits, a colouring sheet and treats.

Jodie McVay, Managing Director said, “we were absolutely delighted to have been chosen by these young people to be beneficiaries of their Community Impact Project.  The time, care and consideration that went into the letters and box was truly lovely.  Our residents have enjoyed reading the letters and finding out about the students involved in the project.   The Biscuit Games have been great fun too!  The creativity of the young people involved has lead to a lot of fun with Biscuits here.  We’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone involved.”