When we welcome a new resident to any one of our homes, we complete their “See Me Story”. This is where we try to find out as much as possible about that resident, with the help of their family. The more we know about any given individual, the better we can tailor our care to that person.
See Me Story
This is a resident’s life story. It is a biography of all aspects of their life including questions like:
- Where they grew up? What they did for a living? Were they married and do they have children or grandchildren? Their pets.
- What are their hobbies, likes and interests? Are they sporty or musical? Enjoy the theatre and cinema, crafting or baking?
- The foods they like and dislike? Our chefs discuss this with them so we can include requests on the menus. Also, dietary requirements and allergies?
- Do they like to travel abroad or closer to home? Favourite destinations and holiday memories. Museums and galleries.
- Their comforts – what makes them feel relaxed? Their day to day routine.
The See Me Story allows out team to see the whole person. It provides conversation prompts between that resident and the staffing team which help build friendships. It helps staff enable residents to pursue their hobbies and interests. The Story is an ongoing life narrative, so is regularly updated and reviewed. To help with this, we liaise with the named contact for each resident every month.
Resident of the Day
Our Resident of the Day also gives attention to each individual. One resident is a focus of discussion in our daily morning meeting that takes place across each of our homes. Everyone in the team from carers to maintenance, contribute to a particular resident’s well-being.
What can we do to make a difference for that resident? This means identifying the small things, such as wanting an extra pillow on the bed, to the bigger things, such as sourcing a musical instrument that they love to play.
To this end, if there is anything you would like to see us do, to enable us to make that difference, please get in touch.
We all have a part to play to achieve our vision, namely to enable every resident to live the life that they wish to enjoy.”
Some examples of making the difference
At West Eaton, Mike told us about how he spent his younger days playing piano accordion in various local bands. So we bought him an accordion on Ebay and he is now entertaining us with his tunes. Music is such a powerful thing – it is amazing how you don’t forget the notes and songs. It is bringing Mike so much joy.
At Newstead, one resident Sister Francis loves orchestral music and especially Mozart. Through lockdown she enjoyed online concerts from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. She told us how much she loved listening to the violin, specifically listening to ‘The Lark Ascending’ by V. Williams. This piece had a lot of sentimental meaning to her and she dreamt of listening to the piece live. So we made that happen! Thank you to Hannah Roper, a solo violinist from The Royal National College for the Blind Hereford, who visited to play for our residents and played this piece especially for Sister Francis.
At Astley Hall, one residents is a keen photographer. We have helped him to frame his photos which are now displayed around our home for everyone to enjoy.
At Abberton, our handyman Chris learnt how to ballroom dance with our resident Joyce. Joyce in turn learnt how to used the iPad and mastering the colouring App. Proving again at 95 that you are never too old to try new things!
At Newstead one resident Peter was painting a model RAF Red Arrow Hawk that he received for Christmas. He served in the Royal Artillery for 15 years and has a great passion for aircrafts and trains. Our carer Kris helped him paint the fiddly bits and loved hearing the stories from Peter’s time in the force. He served his country for us, and now we have the honour of serving him.
