Wessex Care Positive Stories During Lockdown – June 2020

A few years ago, we started to implement the use of iPad’s in our homes to support the activities we do with residents and now more then ever, we are glad we did. There are so many benefits of utilizing apps and technology for our residents such as helping to keep their minds active and stimulated, learning something new, giving them independence and helping them stay in regular contact with their loved ones.

Here is a photo of one of our residents, Ann, having a chat with her favourite feline after catching up with her son and daughter-in-law

We have been working with local organisation GeoVLE who provide online learning for children. Their resources have proven to be so important during the Covid-19 crisis and recently, the children they teach have been writing some beautiful letters to our residents who have then been able to make their own letters and cards to send back!

We are so pleased to be able to continue with intergenerational projects, even though we have been unable to have our usual craft workshops and visits from local children and their parents.

Here is Barbara receiving the first letter and a photo of her with the card she made in return! These letters bring such joy to our residents.

Local yoga teacher Sandi has been working with our residents for some time but with all the measures in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus over the past few months, we didn’t want our residents to miss out on this vital exercise.

Sandi offered to do online one-to-one sessions using video calls which have proved to be a great success! Here is a photo of one of our residents Nanci having a chair yoga session.

Nanci has recovered from a serious Stroke and finds that yoga really helps her to stay active.

Usually, if one of our residents wants to visit a place or an event, we facilitate this as much as we can. The past few months have meant that our residents have had to stay at home and miss out on some of the things they like to enjoy, like trips to the cinema, shopping or a pub lunch.

We have not let this get in the way of our residents doing the things they enjoy and where possible have facilitated the residents wishes, with their safety being the utmost priority.

Here is a photo of Mike admiring some of his favourite classic motorbikes on the front door step of Kimberly West, allowing Mike to feel like he is not missing out on visiting a motor show this year!

You may have heard about the fantastic sessions that we have held over the years with an unusual organization called Creature Teachers… who bring a wide range of animals to visit our homes and interact with our residents.

These sessions have always been so much fun and where we have not been able to have any visitors lately, we decided instead to arrange online sessions so that our residents can still interact and learn from the Creature Teachers. Many of us look forward to these sessions which bring smiles to everyone’s faces.