Our carers rock!

Our wellbeing champion at Cramlington House, Kim Stubbs, has showed just how rewarding a role in care really is.

While cooking tea one evening following a busy and demanding day at work, Kim thought of a wonderful idea that’s been incredibly well received by residents.

In her role, she’s often visiting local Northumberland landmarks and places of interest. Because of this, she has lots of photos of all the visits residents have enjoyed throughout every season both indoors activities and outside occasions.

Kim decided to make prints of some of her favourite photos and laminated them to create place mats that resident use at mealtimes.

The place mats feature places including Northumberlandia, Beamish Museum and Alnwick Castle and provide a great conversation starter for residents at mealtimes as they take huge interest in discussing what is on the place mats, if they’ve visited and the memories that creates for them.

Kim said: “I was just cooking a chilli one night and the idea came into my mind. I thought the residents would like it, but I didn’t expect it to go down as well as it has!

“The place mats have created so many new conversations and interactions; it’s been amazing to see. Before a meal, the scene on the place mat provides a topic of conversation that’s discussed during the meal and then following it, residents are keen to remove their plates to look at the place mats again and discuss the photo some more, talking about whether they’ve visited the place or, importantly, whether it strikes a chord with them and helps them to recall a nice memory both recent and a while ago.”

At Craig Healthcare, we really value that personal touch in care, and this is exactly what the place mats provide. We love that such a simple idea has created some regular, engaging interactions between residents and their carers too.

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What people are saying

"I am very pleased with how my mother has settled in and generally how supportive and caring the staff are. This has given us peace of mind knowing that she is safe & well looked after. Thank you."
"Our mum has been a resident at Cramlington House for over a year and we have nothing but praise for the friendly, approachable staff and management. We always feel like part of an extended family and when we visit nothing is too much bother. We are completely happy with the standard of care, support and understanding we all receive as a family."
"From the first day, I knew it was the place for my mum. Clean, friendly staff, lovely environment! My mum would not get the opportunity to do the activities she is experiencing if she was not in Cramlington House. It is home from home and we can visit anytime. I can't say enough of how great Cramlington House is. "
"This is an absolutely superb care facility. The staff say that this is the home of the residents, in which they work - and they evidence that philosophy every day. In the last months of our mother's long life, we took comfort form the fact that she was safe and secure, being well-fed and looked after. The entire care team are brilliant. "
"All the staff at West Farm have provided such wonderful care, compassion and support to my auntie. We both feel incredibly lucky to have found West Farm, it’s been the perfect home for my auntie. I can honestly say, hand on heart, every aspect of the care provided by each member of staff at West Farm has been outstanding."