ELDERBERRY CHAT

Newsletter 1st January2018– 31ST March 2018

Dear Friends,

The arrival of January brought with it a few sniffles from staff and residents but also a chance to take stock and recharge our batteries after a busy but fun filled festive period. The first of the year began quietly but ended with us celebrating “Rabbie Burns” in true style, starting with the haggis being piped in by our guest pipers for the second year, Hamish Aitkin (Chamberlain) & Maxim Grieve (Cluny Lodge) both George Watsons students; the toasts to the haggis were then very ably recited once again by our friends: Rev John Cameron (Cluny Lodge) & David Gordon (Chamberlain). We were serenaded throughout both evenings by Sara Laing with traditional Burn’s songs as well as some Scottish favourites and ending with a rendition of “Auld Lang Syne”. This trio are becoming a tradition in their own right; also a big thank you to everyone who helped make the evening a great success. February arrived bringing with it pretty miserable and changeable weather. Never the less that didn’t dampen our spirits; we made the most of the fine days getting out and about. Residents of Cluny and Chamberlain enjoying another tradition on Shrove Tuesday - homemade pancakes with lashings of fresh cream, strawberries, maple syrup, butter and let’s not forget homemade raspberry jam, courtesy Liz Swarbrick (retired Senior Unit Manager), who spent the whole afternoon at Cluny Lodge making over 600 pancakes, 100 more than last year in a bid not to have anyone miss out. The pancakes were made fresh to order, in front of an audience of residents, family and friends … This was swiftly followed this year by Valentine’s Day which was celebrated with chocolate hearts and pink fizz as well as a single red rose for the lucky residents of Chamberlain. And then it was March… well, where to begin… in true tradition it arrived like a lion…. with the “Beast from the East”, grinding Edinburgh - indeed the whole country to a halt, but not for the loyal and dedicated staff of Elder Homes who braved the elements and one way or another managed to get to work… Well done and thank you all so much; it was much appreciated.

Hopefully now that the clocks have changed, announcing the arrival of spring… things will slowly improve with brighter and longer days, making the loss of an hour in bed a little more bearable. Anyway, let me tell you more about what to expect next here in Elder Homes.....

Building Alterations & Decorating

Chamberlain

No internal work for now, but the garden is taking shape with spring flowers being

planted in the garden and window boxes, brightening up a dreary start to spring.

Cluny Lodge

Kitchen upgrade –

Cluny Lodge is now the proud owners of a new fully fitted and purpose built kitchen. It

was ergonomically designed to specification, providing designated work areas for the

preparation of, salad and vegetables, baking and raw foods. Well done to our Kitchen

team who kept business as normal regardless of the upheaval and to our maintenance

team who worked relentlessly to complete the refurbishment in record time.Thank you

to Mrs Helen Buchan who did the official opening, cutting the red ribbon

Carpark Upgrade-

The carpark at Cluny Lodge was also upgraded; it was resurfaced and two new parking

bays have been created.

The Refurbishment of Rooms, 6, 7, 9 on Argyll Suite, and 18, 19, 20 on Balmoral Suite, has

begun, with the external work under way. The upgrade involves changing the layout of

all six rooms, making the rooms more spacious. It is anticipated that the refurbishment

should be fully completed and ready for their first occupant by August.

As always Elder Homes and Charlie Wright, the Maintenance manager, continue to

appreciate the co-operation that the Residents, Staff and Visitors have shown during the

unavoidable disruptions that can occur from time to time. Remember, if any resident or

relative has any questions regarding work being undertaken, please do not hesitate to

speak to the relevant Unit Manager.

Residents’ Meetings

Residents’ Meetings in both Cluny Lodge and Chamberlain were held in January and both

were as always well attended. The minutes are available on request.

Care Inspectorate Visits:

Cluny Lodge had its unannounced annual inspection from the Care Inspectorate on 20th

and 21st February. The two “focus” areas for the inspection were: Care and Support as

well as Management and Leadership. We have just learned that both areas were graded

at 5, which means Very Good. The report should be published soon, and copies will be

available at reception and throughout the home.

Elder Homes Family & Friends’ Group Meeting

This February we held our first Family and Friends group meeting. It was very informal,

and there was no set agenda. Eight relatives attended, which was really appreciated

especially as that night was the start of “The Beast From The East”. Most people reported

that they enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and meeting other relatives as well as staff

members. Thank you to the chefs for the wonderful food they provided.

Staff News

Elder Homes are very proud of our In service education programme, and we would like to

take this opportunity to remind residents and relatives that you are very welcome to

attend training sessions which may be of interest to you. So, if you would like some

information regarding any of the training, please let us know. This can be done by

contacting reception, the Nurse in charge of the unit or by getting in touch with Cheryl

directly-c.hendederson@elder-homes.co.uk

On that note we at Elder homes would like to take this opportunity to congratulate two

of its staff, May Buckle Social and Leisure, Laura Wright Balmoral, in attaining SVQ 2 in

Health and Social Care.

Our Dementia Champions

Cheryl Henderson – Dementia & Education co-ordinator And

Anna Rose – One of our in house physio team.

Elder Homes were honoured and extremely proud to have two of our dementia

ambassadors selected to present a Workshop at the Scottish Dementia Champion’s

graduation, where Cheryl herself was graduating as a Dementia Champion.

They spoke of the changes Elder Homes have put in place to help all those living with

dementia and the support needed for their families and friends. They also spoke about

training those working within Elder Homes have had to help gain a better understanding

of difficulties faced by everyone involved. However more importantly the role the staff

play in improving the quality of life for those living with dementia.

In case you were wondering about the above picture of Cheryl and Anna, no… they are

not the world’s oldest internationals; the graduation was held at Murrayfield just after

the Scottish Rugby Team won the Calcutta cup. The photographer on the day, Mrs Rees

(Director of Care), thought such a photo opportunity irresistible.

Social Work Student

We are very pleased and proud if I say so myself... not only are we a recognised area of

placement for future health care professionals, mentoring Student Nurses and HNC

students but helping them to gain as much knowledge and understanding of care of the

elderly with the daily challenges they face. We would also like to welcome to Elder

Homes, Alison King; Alison is presently a 3rd year social work student at Edinburgh

University and has taken up her placement with us here in Cluny Lodge – the first we

have been involved with. We wish her well.

Welcome to All new Residents at Cluny Lodge & Chamberlain

January, February & March 2018 Mrs Patricia May Millar – Argyll Suit

Mrs Joan Somner – Balmoral Suit Mrs Isobel Tait – Chamberlain

Dr/ Prof Ernest Jellinek - Chamberlain

Happy Birthday to the following who celebrated birthdays during January, February &March 2018

Argyll Residents

Mrs Elizabeth Watson Mrs Betty Snell

Dr Austen Gardiner Mrs Sally Murray Usher

Mrs Harriet Millward Alexander Mrs Anne Broughton

Mr Ronald Cramond (CBE) Mrs Elizabeth (Libby) Porteous

Balmoral Residents Dr Christian Thin Mr Helen Buchan

Mrs Margaret White Lord Donald Sage Mac Kay

Mrs Myra Hughes Mr George Thomas Dr Derek Sneddon

Mr Richard Mc Kinley

Chamberlain Residents Mrs Isobel Tait

Dr Charles Mercer

Dates for your diary Chamberlains Residents Meeting May date to be confirmed Cluny Lodge Residents Meeting 17th April 2018 at 2.pm

Have you managed to look at our website www.elder-homes.co.uk recently?

If not, please do so. It is having a bit of a face lift; so far it has a new layout which should

be easier to navigate, and new photographs will be added soon. You will find all the latest

information on what is going on within Elder Homes. Thank you – as always – to Cheryl

Henderson, Education and Dementia co-ordinator for keeping the website up to date with

news, photographs and information. Our current fortnightly Social and Leisure

Programme is also available through the Web Site, allowing residents and relatives to

view our programmes and plan ahead for any activities they wish to take part in. The

element is password protected; please ask the Nurse in charge of the Unit or the

Receptionist at Cluny for further details on how to access.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The staff at Elder Homes would like to thank you for all the ways you have already shown

us your appreciation – be it verbally, in a card or by e-mail: BUT, we now need a little bit

more.

Moving into care is one of the most difficult decisions anyone may have to make. To

enable people to make a choice, it is vital that they have informed opinions.

www.carehome.co.uk - is an independent review body which anyone can access to get an

overview of a care home by reading the reviews which can only be given by residents,

families and friends.This is where we need your assistance. We need you to complete a

review of Elder Homes. This can be done by completing and returning one of the prepaid

cards that are available in the reception area or online. No matter which method you use,

your opinions will remain annonymous, if you prefer. So, if you have a relative/friend in

our care homes, we would welcome your constructive feedback on Cluny Lodge or

Chamberlain.

While the information will also appear on our website, confidentially will continue to be respected. Thank you to those who may have already given feedback, as we appreciate your input.

This helps us maintain our high standards and improve the service within Elder Homes.

As usual our fortnightly Social and Leisure Programme is on the site which allows

residents and relatives to view our programmes and plan ahead for any activities they

wish to take part in. The element is password protected; please ask the Nurse in charge of

the Unit or the Receptionist at Cluny for further details on how to access.

Complaints Procedure Likewise, when things go wrong, there is a procedure available to you; this is posted in

the entry vestibules at both Cluny Lodge and Chamberlain Care Home, with copies also

available in every resident’s room.

Please remember, Elder Homes operates an “open door” policy, and if any issues do arise,

we would actively encourage you to contact the appropriate Unit Manager in the first

instance, to allow us to the opportunity to address the issue.

If, however, there was an issue you felt unable to raise directly with us, there are

independent bodies for you to contact, and they would approach us on your behalf: for

example www.earsadvocacy.org.uk is a free, confidential, independent advocacy service

which is based locally.

Burn’s Supper & Pancake Tuesday Cluny Lodge 2018

Smile George!

These Are

Delicious!

More please

this time with

jam

They look

so... tasty!

Mm... Hope

this is mine

Thank You For the Pancakes

Back Stage at Festival Theatre

Mr Bill Brown & Mrs Helen Buchan

How

many has

she

made?

Apparently

it’s 600

and

counting!

I’m supposed

to be retired!

This is not

nearly enough!

Burn’s Supper, Chamberlain Nursing Home 2018

Recently passed away

Argyll Suit

Mrs Pauline Snowdon

Mrs Annette Mc Cluskey

Mrs Jenny McLaren

Balmoral Suit

Mrs Mabel Edwards

Chamberlain Nursing Home

Mrs Ruth & Mr Walter Harwood

To the families and friends of these residents, we thank you for allowing us to be part of

their lives. Our thoughts are with those residents and staff colleagues who have recently

lost loved ones.