What a month it has been. A rollercoaster of emotions felt by all of us amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. We hope you and your families are bearing up through this very anxious time. In the words of D-Day veteran Harry Billinge on the BBC news “we might be in lockdown, but our minds are still free”. From the generation who have been through so much and who we care for each day, we take out inspiration. Our residents may be the most vulnerable, but they are incredibly stoic, and our incredile team are drawing strength from them at this difficult time.
A new team leader for Abberton
We have welcomed our new home manager Ruth Merchant, who has a wealth of experience in all sectors of nursing and a very hands on approach. She has been a nurse for 40 years and a specialist adviser to the CQC for the past 3 years.
On a personal note, Ruth says
“I am proud to be working with such a dedicated team, who have worked really hard to make the home one of the best within the area. Being able to look after our residents and their families to the best of our ability is a privilege. I live locally and have a family, including young grandchildren. Abberton Manor is an extension to my family.”
Ruth Merchant, home manager
Thank you to Matthew Cox, our interim manager, who was an enormous support at Abberton and who is now managing one of our Heritage Manor homes in Worcestershire.
At this time of unprecedented demand for PPE (personal protective equipment), Matthew managed to secure an interview with Chinese state television, to discuss the risks of coronavirus at UK care homes. That has led to some provision of PPE from China across our Heritage Manor group, for which we are incredibly thankful.
Closing our home to visitors
For the safety of our residents, we had to make the decision towards the end of March to close our home to visitors. It was particularly poignant, being just before Mothering Sunday, but a decision made in our residents best interests and our team ensured they had an uplifting day.
Our activities co-ordinator Carol, wrote a beautiful poem for families, which truly sums up the Abberton spirit. Our team had a special Mothering Sunday lunch with residents and everyone chatted about our families and loved ones, memories of childhood, mothers and motherhood.
Keeping busy and keeping in touch
Our residents’ art group have been focusing their time on completing the huge fabric collage, which is now pride of place in our entrance hall. Our home has been brightened up further with Spring pictures and rainbows sent in by local children. We are delighted to hear from you.
The joy in receiving pictures from little ones 
The sun on our faces
With the beautiful weather most recently, residents have been getting out into our gardens. We have daffodils galore! Plenty to pick for Easter florals displays. We are missing the laughter from the Muddy Tots kiddies, but the sun warming our faces and a dose of fresh air is just the tonic.
Would you like to be a pen pal to our residents? We would love to hear from you. We are keeping our residents in touch with family and friends through Facetime, WhatsApp, email and phone. You can also follow our news on our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/abbertonmanor/