News
Newsletter August 2012
Welcome to the Cornford House newsletter keeping you fully up to date with news and events.
Training
As part of our commitment to ongoing personal development, senior members of the care team and myself are currently completing a Safe Administration of Medication distance learning course run by Bromley College.
The course consists of four parts, understanding requirements of safe administration, supply storage and dispensing of medication, understanding medication and prescriptions, record keeping and audit procedures for medication administration and storage.
The course runs for three months with an external assessor reviewing and monitoring coursework, whilst also providing support and assistance where required.
Ongoing training ensures that staff are kept informed of current legislation and are compliant and competent in their day to day working environment which enables us to provide the highest standards of care to all our residents.
Social Networking
Recognising the importance of residents’ on-going relationships with their friends and family, we have developed a simple social networking system to help them to keep in touch.
All friends and family members are encouraged to register their mobile phone number on our website so that they can then communicate with the residents using text messaging.
Messages are copied to all friends and family so that everyone is kept in the loop and can benefit from knowing what is happening. As well as general chit-chat amongst the social group, messages can remind everyone of birthdays and important anniversaries, etc. The group can be reminded of events at the care home and notified of other significant happenings such as births, exam results, weddings and holidays.
Each resident has a social assistant
Each resident is assigned a social assistant who will help them read all the messages that are sent. In some cases the resident may be able to view the messages directly on a computer screen, in other cases the social assistant will print them out, perhaps in large type, or read them out loud to the resident. The social assistant may then elicit a response from the resident which they will then send out to everyone.
Friends and family can access their Social Network on-line
All messages can be sent and received directly as mobile phone text messages. Friends and family may also have a username and password that allows them to log in on the web-site and see all the recent messages that have been sent and received. They can also send messages directly on the web-site if they are unable to send via their mobile phone or find typing on a computer more convenient than texting on a phone.
If you require further information relating to any of the above topics please contact me by following this link.
Activities Update
The inclement British weather has not deterred the hardy residents, relatives and staff at Cornford House from enjoying their planned days out.
The Kingfisher river boat trip was a great success with residents from the care suites, nursing and dementia units enjoying a scenic cruise along the river Medway. Starting out at Wateringbury the residents were served tea and cakes whilst idling along the river enjoying the lush greenery. Bird spotting was the sport of the day as well as feeding the ducks and swans along the way. It proved to be such an enjoyable day that the residents have requested another day trip in September.
In contrast, a number of residents enjoyed a trip to the De La Warr Pavillion, which is a grade one listed modernist building housing a contemporary art gallery and auditorium. After enjoying an appetising lunch in incredible surroundings the residents visited an art exhibition, to soak up some culture.
Where possible we try to incorporate residents’ requests for days out, the Spa Valley Railway day out was one such event. One of our residents use to volunteer on the steam railways and was keen to re-live those experiences. The experience of riding on a steam train from a bygone era was enjoyed by all.
We have an exciting number of day trips over the forthcoming months including a visit to the Alpaca farm in Ashdown Forest, where residents will be able to see lamas and reindeers, enjoy the coffee and shop and purchase Alpaca knitwear from the on site shop.