Having the benefit of beautiful and diverse settings and our commitment to genuine inclusion at Godfrey Care, during a recent nature walk some of our staff and service users took part in collecting water reeds from the canals.

These were used as part of the weekly craft session that we hold with our service users. The aim of these sessions is to try and develop skills that encourage self-expression through creativity and promote imaginative and independent thinking, whilst promoting personal confidence and growth. The reeds that were collected were interwoven and formed into different shapes. One of our service users, David excelled with this and managed to make some very good shapes as shown in the pictures.

Since March we have been working with all the service users in Field House to plant a variety of vegetables in the garden. Not only has this been a very healthy way of getting the service users to eat some organic and delicious vegetables but it’s been great to get everyone engaged and taking an active role in nurturing their own plants. The service users have been responsible for everything including watering, weeding and making sure there are no pests eating away at the vegetables! Already we are seeing great results with some very healthy looking cabbage greens, lettuce, tomatoes and a wide variety of herbs that have been used in many dishes that the service users have helped cooking. As this has proved to be so popular with the service users there are plans to get several more planters put into the garden and take full advantage of the great weather that we are having and getting everyone out and about doing something that they have all found to be educational and also very rewarding.

As part of our ethos to develop access to new opportunities for Field House service users, the team and two service users went to Blackpool Beach at the end of May. One of the service users had been very keen and mentioned that he wanted to go to Blackpool Beach several times. On  31^st the weather was amazing so we took the service users out on a day trip to the sea side. Sun cream on and sandals ready everyone had a great time splashing in the sea, playing on the arcades and eating ice cream! Not only did the service users get to experience something completely new by going to the sea side but these types of days out really help develop the inter personal relationships of the service users with the staff and one another!  

On the 3^rd of April staff at Field House arranged a trip for service users to go and visit West Midlands Safari Park following a request by one of the service users who has a keen interest in animals. The aim of the day was to offer an experience to our service users that they had not had the chance to take part in previously. Before going on the trip service users were helped by staff to make their own packed lunches that they had whilst out on the trip. The service users had the chance to get up close with all sorts of animals including tigers, giraffes, rhinos and elephants to name a few of the animals they saw.

When asked about the trip Nick said, ‘My favourite animal is the Tiger, I really like this, and I want to go again soon’. When James was asked about the trip he said, ‘I liked all the animals but my favourite would have to be the Lion wouldn’t it, I touched a deer too, I want to go back again one day perhaps’.

Service Manager, Tia Cain said, “I am really please that everyone had a brilliant day out and got the chance to try something completely different. These kinds of activities go a long way in helping our service users work with our staff and further develop their confidence and independence skills”.

Good News!

Following an unannounced CQC inspection carried out on the 31^st of January 2017 Field House attained a good CQC rating across all areas. We are extremely proud of this positive recognition and in a time where there seems to be so much negative press around the care sector, it goes a long way to show the expertise and dedication that we have in our teams at Godfrey Care.

We are very pleased that our person centred approach to delivering care to all service users was recognised and how this tailored approach was utilised with each individual person so as to ensure the best levels of care are delivered in a way that relates to each individuals specific preferences.

Some of the key points that were highlighted in the report that we are particularly proud of:

• “People were supported by a consistent staff team that knew them well and promoted their independence”
• “People’s needs were assessed and support plans where developed with people to enable them to be supported in their preferred way”
• “The delivery of care was tailored to meet people’s individual needs and preferences”
• “The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service to enable them to drive improvements”

With this we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank the whole team. We are all proud of the significant difference that we have made in our service users lives during this short period. Without your passionate approach and dedication this wouldn’t have been possible!

For full details of the report please click here