For all of us at Robertson Nursing Home, 2023 has been a year of positive changes and taking steps towards our primary goal, to always ensure our residents are happy, comfortable and well cared for.
This year started with some very positive news when Gabi received confirmation of her official registration as home manager at Robertson. Gabi worked incredibly hard to get everything in order for her registration and we are so happy to see this be made official in January.
Following the feedback we received during our quality survey at the end of the previous year, we created our maintenance plan for the home and quickly started work on renovations. To freshen up the décor of the home we decorated the hallways and laid new carpet, as well as decorating the doors on many of the residents’ rooms. The residents were pleased to give their input on these changes and were asked to select the colours for their doors. Our electricity boards were updated throughout the home and, after a few hiccups, we were delighted to complete the installation of a new lift.
We have introduced a water machine and beverage area for the use of our residents and visitors to the home, where fresh homemade cakes are available daily. We also began to implement steps to make the home more environmentally friendly, including reducing our consumption of single-use plastics. The disposable cups have been removed from our water machine and replaced with glasses for visitors to use.
We have also made some improvements to the exterior of the building, with new fences being installed around the front of the home as well as a new hand railing. We have decorated the front door and entrance area to create a more welcoming look for visitors arriving at home. All these changes have made the home more comfortable for our residents and we look forward to continuing to make improvements in 2024.
Earlier this year we received confirmation that as an employer we have maintained our Gold Award from Investors in People, the standard for people management in the UK. This accreditation means so much to us as we are proud to be an employer that supports our staff to grow and thrive in their career journeys.
Throughout this year our team have continued to build their skills and education with key skills training and by working towards specific qualifications. We have several staff that have worked towards their PIN numbers and NVQ qualifications which is a great achievement. We also carried out our ‘resident for a day’ training, where our staff were able to experience what life is like for residents at Robertson Nursing Home through a series of simulated scenarios.
We have welcomed several staff members this year who have been wonderful additions to our team, including Monica Pacala who joined us from our sister home Ashton Manor as our Support Manager. We have also been fortunate to have volunteers join us at the home from Prior’s Field School, who have volunteered as Care Companions to support our residents with activities and spend one-on-one time with them.
Teamwork is incredibly important to us at Robertson Nursing Home and is something we feel our staff are very good at. In order to strengthen the bonds between our team members we arranged several staff trips to Hayling Island this year, where groups of staff spent the day having fun on the beach, playing games and taking time to get to know each other better.
We were thrilled to have the hard work of our team recognised this year when we were named as finalists in the Surrey Care Awards. As well as Robertson being a finalist for ‘Nursing Home of the Year’, two of our team members were also named as finalists in other award categories. Our fantastic Chef, Sharon Fisher in the ‘Unsung Hero’ category and our wonderful Physiotherapist, Fiona Andrade-Brown in the ‘Service User/ Residents Involvement Champion’ category. Although we did not win on the night, we were so proud to be named as finalists amongst some of the best of Surrey’s social care sector.
For our residents, this year has been jam-packed with fun entertainment, exciting events and a vast array of activities to suit everyone’s tastes and abilities. We have welcomed musical entertainers, therapy animals and even children from a local nursery. Residents have taken part in arts & crafts, mentally stimulating puzzles and games, as well as gentle exercise activities to help their movement and coordination.
With many group activities taking place there has been lots of opportunities to socialise, as well as during our various celebrations and events. The residents celebrated the King’s coronation with their loved ones at the home, and we welcomed everyone for our annual summer party with music and an afternoon tea.
Throughout the summer our residents spent lots of time outside in the sunshine, playing games, enjoying some outdoor musical entertainment and even getting involved in some gardening tasks. We commemorated Remembrance Sunday by decorating the home, with the residents crafting their own decorations to be displayed.
The end of the 2023 was a busy time for us at Robertson with lots of festive activities taking place to get everyone in the Christmas spirit. The residents helped to decorate the home, which looked lovely for the festive season. The residents decided to spread some Christmas cheer by donating our Christmas raffle prizes to the local day centre, which was such a kind gesture.
After enjoying a wonderful Christmas Day and New Year’s celebrations at the home we are ready to venture into 2024 with lots of plans and hopes to make this year even better than the last, for both residents and staff at Robertson.
