Brookfields Private Nursing Home

488 Burton Road, Derby, DE23 6ALMatron: 01332 343840Office: 01332 348395

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ROOKFIELDS GAZETTE

In this issue... - Brookfields Seasonal News- Meet our Staff- Residents’ News- Life Stories- Diary Dates

Summer 2017 Issue

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Welcome to the Summer Edition of our Gazette ...

Summer arrived at last, and we’ve been really busy building new structures in the garden continuing with the refurbishment schedule inside, and we are pleased to report that all is going well.

Our Activities Coordinators Rebecca and Sally have been busy planning trips and activities and we’ve added some further ‘Dates for the Diary’ inviting residents’ family and friends, and Friends of Brookfields to join in.

We have also welcomed Ella West to the Activities Team and three volunteers who are in their final year at school, to assist with our events.

We held our annual vintage themed Sports Day during July. The event was very well attended thanks to the families and friends of our residents and, of course, to our wonderful staff and their families who greatly entertained us with their antics during the afternoon.

We have a busy of schedule of interests planned for the Autumn, so keep your eye on our notice board as well as our posts on social media:-Facebook (www.facebook.com/wearebrookfields) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/BrookfieldsPNH).

C.I.T

Cristina, Kathryn, Celeste & Rachael

In and around Brookfields... Our New Carpet...

The fitting of new carpet in Louvain wing and the Atrium has now been completed by a local company, Meadow Vale Carpets of Duffield (www.meadowvalecarpetsderby.co.uk; 01332 841001). Their fitting team have done a great job and worked closely with us to keep disruption to a minimum. As you can see from the photos, the whole of the length of the Atrium and the Gallery carpet went down in one piece. The shear effort of getting the carpet into position was a great source of amazement to all of us, especially the staff on duty (pictured below). The preparation of the floor and the fitting took three days to complete but we can now begin the task of re-decoration throughout - that is, once Kath and Celeste can agree upon a colour scheme!

GARDEN PERGOLA

For a while now, we’ve been wanting to create somewhere special for our residents to enjoy the garden. After much consideration, we arranged for a bespoke, green oak pergola to be crafted. Together with its’ canopy (soon to be fitted), it will provide a huge covered seating area for our residents and their visitors during the summer months. All we need now are some more warm sunny days, so that we can enjoy this beautiful new facility.

The pergola, along with several other bespoke projects, was crafted by James Staley from Derbyshire Garden Buildings www.derbyshiregardenbuildings.co.uk tel: 07792 203281

Meadow Vale fitting team at work

Brookfields News

NEW PLANTED AREAS

We’ve been busy tidying up the garden borders at the driveway entrance. In order to overcome the poor soil condition and the tree roots, we have needed to construct a rustic raised bed which we have planted with a number of colourful variegated shrubs to provide all year round colour, leaving space at the front to plant seasonal bedding plants. You may have noticed that we have succumbed to pressure and have amended the sign on the driveway to read Very Slow. The original appears to have caused much hilarity with the general public! There’s also some new vegetation in the space between the trees to the side of the main car park area – hopefully this will grow and expand into this space but the shade from the trees may well affect growth so, we will have to monitor how well the plants fare (and hope that delivery vans don’t run over them!). If anyone has any further suggestions for the garden, please do let us know and of course, if you want to help out with the gardening club, you will be given a warm welcome!

CARE CONTROL SYSTEM UPDATE

Our Care Control System implementation continues to take shape and we are now working hard to bring the Catering module online which involves setting up our weekly menus on the system. This will enable our staff to take food orders from residents via a touch menu system on an iPad which transmits residents’ food and drink selections through to the kitchen.

This ties in nicely with some exciting developments in the kitchen about which we will update you next time - watch this space...

STAFF NEWS

During June, Kathryn Fitchett celebrated her 60th Birthday. Her colleagues treated her to a brilliant surprise gift of a Ferrari and Lamborghini Driving Experience - something that Kath has always wanted to do. Balloons, and cake were also part of the celebrations before Kath went home to another surprise party hosted by her lovely family. Amazingly, everyone managed to keep the party a secret and she was thoroughly surprised. Kath’s daughter, Bonnie, made a wonderful cake and Kath was completely delighted by the gathering of family and friends. She and Ges and Kath’s grandson, Finn, had a splendid time on the bouncy castle just to prove that they are still young at heart.

NEW STAFF

We have now completed the restructuring of the nursing team and are in a strong position, moving forward, to tackle the challenges of the changing face of healthcare provision. The new staff bring a wealth and variety of experience to strengthen our organisational knowledge, and we would like to welcome:

Staff News

Auxiliary Nurses..

• Sophie Sloan• Dominika Klimowicz• Monika Platten

Registered Nurses...

• Macarena Jausen• Gincy Francis• Angela Morstatt• Carol Broomfield

OTHER STAFF NEWS

Naomi Neate – Graduation and 1st Class Honours

We also say goodbye to a few members of staff including Naomi Neate who, having completed her university degree in Occupational Therapy, has taken up a full time post to practice as a qualified Occupation Therapist at the hospital. We are very proud to say that Naomi earned a First in her

degree - Congratulations Naomi!

We bid a fond farewell to Maria Papachristou who is moving with her husband to Liverpool where he has a new job. Good Luck Maria - we shall miss you.

In June, Nita Chunga, one of our night auxiliary nurses, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Divine - CONGRATULATIONS Nita to you and your family - Divine looks like an absolute sweetie.

Hana Tefera was recently nominated for the Derbyshire Carer Award 2017. The annual Awards are held in July, organised by the Derby Evening Telegraph and sponsored by local companies.

As a result of the nomination, Hana was awarded the ‘Newly Qualified Carer of the Year Award’ – a category sponsored by Treetops Hospice Care.

Hana was invited to attend the Pride Park Stadium presentation ceremonies along with 200 other guests and winners from the local Care Sector. She was presented with her award for ‘going above and beyond to provide the

best quality of care to her patients’ – well done Hana, we are all very proud of your achievement here at Brookfields.

We mentioned Ella West in our editorial piece. Ella is from Woodlands School, 17 years old, and is currently studying for her ‘A’ Levels. Ella will be coming in on Saturday mornings to help with activities and we have been very impressed by her quiet maturity and enthusiasm.

You can expect to see our v o l u n t e e r s Umar Kalirai, Arnav Rai and Ariah Khinda chatting with residents over the weekends. They bring tales of their adventures and studies and their contribution is most valued.

Staff & Resident News

NEW RESIDENTS

We’d like to welcome our new residents to Brookfields:

• McKay Alexander• Jessie Salt• Norman Coyne• Sheila Reynolds• Beryl Preston• Mary Watson• John Taylor• Doris Clough

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to May Ripping, who reached her 100th Birthday this May. She celebrated the grand occasion with an afternoon tea party with her family and Brookfields friends, some celebratory bubbly was splashed around and there was a beautiful birthday cake. May was proud to receive her special message card from the Queen too.

100th

Birthdays

Other Residents celebrating birthdays this period include:

JULY3rd Hussain Shah3rd Norman Coyne4th Eve Leveaux14th Ruth Barkaway

AUGUST8th Rosemary Innes (101 yrs!)13th Cynthia Pickles24th Olive Bradley (103 yrs!)30th John Smith

SEPTEMBER1st Hilda Ilsley6th Mary Goode7th Peggy Randel10th Alma Sheard16th Betty Kay

Unfortunately, Alma was absent on the day of her birthday, having made an unplanned

trip to the Royal Derby.

However, her family took a number of her friends and this beautiful cake to the hospital for her to enjoy and then they brought the cake back to Brookfields for everyone to carry on with the celebrations!

The cake was very much enjoyed by everyone, and we can happily report that Alma is now home and well.

by Kathryn Fitchett

Jakes is a Christian Ministry that operates out of the New Life Church, situated on Normanton Road in the city of Derby. It is currently the only ‘faith based’ Ministry in the inner city, and this year will be it’s 21st year providing services to those in hardship.

Kathryn Fitchett - General Manager at Brookfields - has personally been involved as a volunteer for 14 years, and has headed up the Ministry since 2007. We invited Kath to tell us, in her own words, a little more about the services that Jakes Project provides to the local community.

During the time that I have served with a team of dedicated volunteers, we have seen a rise in the social need of society in general. Jakes offers a service that is open to anyone who may find themselves in hardship; this can be a physical, emotional or spiritual need.

We offer support, primarily to give food and friendship, but the ministry is all about building lasting relationships with marginalised people that feel hopeless and very often alone without anyone to talk to, and often rejected by society. Many of our guests live in hostels or social housing. Some have mental health issues, and many have addictions.

In the early days back in 2003, when I first joined, we encountered many people with serious alcohol problems. This has evolved over the years and what we now find is a massive problem with a synthetic drug known as ‘Mamba’.

Until May 2016 it was a legal recreational drug but fortunately a law was passed making it illegal to sell. However, it is still available and people continue to smoke it. It’s a very destructive recreational drug and sadly people have died after they have partaken in its use and, at the very least, it causes hallucinations and paranoia has been reported in local and national news, it is creating massive problems for the health service.

Society in general will quite often view homelessness or addiction as a way of life that people have chosen. In our experience as a ministry this is not a genuine reflection of how they have arrived at that desperate point. Many of the people that we see, certainly during my time with the team, have been individuals that have served in the armed forces and encounter great difficulties in trying to adjust to civilian life.

We have had professionals including doctors, teachers and a many others that come to us for help - people that have gone through a sudden personal experience that has changed their life course!

Knowing and understanding this reality is why I chose to serve in this ministry as any one of us could find ourselves in a similar position without any idea of where to turn or what to do, and I would always hope that, if it were me, that needed help then there would be a service like Jakes that I could turn to. Jakes is a place where I could seek help and know that I would be accepted for who I was created to be, and not this changed person dealing with circumstances beyond my control.

Serving at Jakes does come with challenges but people respond well to boundaries and discipline and, at Jakes we do not allow access if someone is under the influence of mind altering substances. We operate a safe environment and our guests respect and understand this, so we rarely encounter any problems. In fact, Jakes is renowned for its Zero Tolerance and we are pleased that people are generally cooperate and are very grateful.

JAKES PROJECT

It is a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of such a fantastic team and I hope to continue my involvement for a very long time.

Jakes is open every Monday throughout the year from 6pm until 8pm and we serve a hot meal and a desert between 6-6.30pm. Afterwards we serve tea, coffee and biscuits. We play games and have different activities each week to help people to communicate with others and to feel included.

As a team we will go out into the community and take a sandwich meal for those that may be ‘under the influence’ that our strict ruling would deny access to at the ministry. This too is always welcomed by those in receipt of the meal and they appreciate our efforts.

Local supermarkets and food distribution companies know us well and help with food, usually letting us have items that are at the end of their shelf-life etc., and clothing donations are a great help too; for some of our guests, a change of clothing can make a whole lot of difference.

Kath is always pleased to take any donations that people may feel that they want to offer either of help or clothes, or anything that may be useful to someone in need, trying to rebuild their lives.

Staff Activities

even having the cake stall at the Christmas Bazaar. She was the only woman to keep a brace of pheasants in the freezer ‘just in case’.

When her children were both settled into Secondary School, Hilda returned to work, firstly for a local bank and then for Dudley Council, where she eventually ran the mortgage department up to the point of retirement. During this first year of retirement, Hilda battled through breast cancer and survived.

Sadly, in November 2004, Hilda was a passenger in a serious car accident, leaving her with multiple injuries, such that she spent over 9 months in hospital and was prevented from walking independently ever again.

A few years later, she suffered a major stroke, which triggered the onset of epilepsy.

Hilda has been living at Brookfields now for two years. Throughout all of this, she has held on to her amazing sense of humour and still enjoys getting out and about whenever possible.

Hilda has four lovely granddaughters; Rebecca, Aimee, Amelie and Lara, who love their Nanny very much.

Residents’ Life Stories: Hilda MylesBorn in Dudley on 8th November 1932, to Nancy and Howard Oakley, Hilda was one of five children; she had 3 brothers - Geoff, Maurice and Nigel, and a sister Marjorie.

Hilda met her husband, Richard, locally - he was the local butcher. They married in church on 20th June 1953, and her beautiful wedding dress and the bridesmaids’ dresses were all loving made by her mother.

Hilda and her family were very much involved in the local community and church. She ran the Dance Club with her mother in the church hall, created beautiful displays at the flower festival, and organised events to raise money for the church fund.

She worked for W H Smiths as a PA to the General Manager up until the day before becoming a mother for the first time.

Hilda and Richard were unable to have babies of their own, but were lucky enough to adopt two young children; a son, Richard in 1967, then a daughter, Rosie in 1968 creating their perfect family.

Each year Hilda would take her children for a two week holiday to Devon, making sure that they visited a different beach each day, and arranging sandcastle competitions and fishing trips.

Hilda was a stay at home mother and she dedicated her time to giving both children a plethora of experiences and the most amazing home cooked food.

Hilda was an amazing cook, catering for family parties, events at St Frances’ Church, Hilda is top left

Life Stories..

Hilda is top left

Sports DayOur 50’s themed Sports Day took place on Saturday 15th July 2017 with a great turn out – many of our residents’ family members brought additional visitors making it a very well supported event, and fun was had by all. There were even a couple of families with 4 generations present!

The Cream Teas disappeared rather quickly. The staff, as always, were great sports and joined in the racing, and we had children’s races too. Splat the Rat was popular and the old fashioned photo board was a hit with all the youngsters.

It was also the first opportunity for us to utilise our new Pergola and the steps in front which provided us with further seating.

Thank you all so much for your support!

Entertainment & Outings

ENTERTAINMENT & OUTINGS

Visit to the Poppy Installation at the Silk Mill, Derby

The Silk Mill in Derby City hosted the iconic Poppy Installation between 9th June and 23rd July to give people a chance to experience the impact of the ceramic poppies which were first installed at the Tower of London in 2014. This time, the display was installed in a range of places of particular First World War resonance. During the First World War, Derby Silk Mill was divided into two businesses; one grinding corn and the other making medical supplies. Both products were integral to the British war effort and scarce by 1916.

Derby as a whole played a vital part in production during the course of the First World War with Rolls-Royce developing the Eagle Engine, at the request of the government, to power allied aircraft. As Derby Silk Mill: Museum of Making, the museum now holds a great number of industrial and social history objects which help to tell the story of Derby’s companies and its communities.

The Weeping Window is from the installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ – an original concept by Derby artist Paul Cummins and installation designer Tom Piper – who originally installed them at HM Tower of London in 2014 and were visited by approximately five million people.

The poppies were seen pouring from the tower window down to the ground below creating a sweeping arch of bright red poppy heads suspended on towering stalks below. It was a beautiful and very poignant sight indeed.

The venue proved so popular with our residents that Rebecca and her helpers made 9 visits with different groups! Well done Rebecca for managing to organise so many trips within such a short window of opportunity.

Whilst there, the residents enjoyed browsing the inside of the Silk Mill too which houses early aircraft engines and other industrial memorabilia, including a place to leave a hand-written memorial to the brave soldiers lost in battle. As part of the visit, the residents also enjoyed refreshments and cake in the cafeteria area of the mill.

Entertainment & Outings

Fathers’ Day

Leila popped in to Brookfields with her mum on Fathers’ Day. She wanted to hand out the chocolates and bottles of beer to our gentlemen residents in celebration. So here’s a few pics of Leila and our residents during that visit.

Memory Tray

The memory tray game is always very popular, and we haven’t seen the residents in action for a while, but here are some recent pics of our residents still enjoying the challenge!

Wimbledon Day

We don’t need any excuses to bring out the strawberries and cream (and the Pimms) but during Wimbledon fortnight, we make the most of the occasion with our decorations and some fun and games!

Bingo

A game of Bingo always proves popular with our residents and we can safely say we’ve managed to play many times throughout the Summer!

Musical EntertainmentWe hosted a number of live entertainers and here’s some pictures of two of them entertaining our residents. Here’s Colin Jackson and Ukulele Dave who is a new musician who appears to have gone down with the residents rather well with the residents.

We also discovered that Monika, one of our new staff members is a very talented musician and has already played her violin and the organ for some of our residents to enjoy, we managed to capture some pictures of Monika in action.

Sherry at 3.00pm!

Just to remind everyone, Sherry and other beverages are is served at 3.00 pm daily and as well as serving this in the Atrium, the girls are now serving from the trolley too!

The Staff Wear Red!

Brookfields held an event in aid of the British Heart Foundation. Wear Something RED Campaign. They also organised an afternoon tea and cake event which raised £120.00 for the charity. Here’s a pic of our staff - all wearing something red for the event - well done ladies.

Entertainment & Outings

Dates for your Diary:Here are some dates for forthcoming entertainment; these dates are in addition to our other regular activities:-

Forthcoming Entertainment Schedule:

• 26th September (10.30 am) MacMillan Coffee Morning• 11th October (2.00 pm) Roland Wheatley • 15th November (2.00 pm) Colin Jackson• 18th November (2.00 pm) Pre-Christmas Fayre • 21st December (from 6.00 pm) Brookfields Christmas Party with Helen Hagan• 20th December (2.00 pm) Christmas Nativity Play

Next Issue : Winter 2017 - we’d love to have some more life stories or any other articles that may be of interest to our residents and their families, staff and Friends of Brookfields.

You can email stories to: admin@wearebrookfields.com or you can talk to Rebecca Yorke who will be happy to make some notes. Your stories should be submitted by early November 2017 for the next edition.

As always, we welcome feedback about anything at all, please email: admin@wearebrookfields.com

...helping our residents with something they

enjoy doing!

...accompanying our residents on a

trip out!

...just being friendly!

...partnering in a game of choice

...singing or playing a musical instrument

...helping us with the garden!

We’re looking for volunteers!Do you have time to spare?Do you sometimes wish you had some company? Do you enjoy reading, chatting or playing board games?Can you sing or play a musical instrument ..and want some practice with an audience?

If your answer is YES to any of the above, then we would like to invite you to come along and make friends with our residents and helpers here at Brookfields.

We are looking for volunteers of all ages, to help us keep our residents engaged and active.

Just pop in for a chat, or you could come and challenge them over a game, help them with crafts, and join us on outings (helping us with wheelchairs etc.), no talent required! ...but if you can sing or play an instrument then we’d be happy to listen to you!

We are a really friendly organisation, who pride ourselves in being part of the community, so if you think you would like to become ‘a friend of Brookfields’, please just call in and speak to Matron - she’ll arrange for you to meet some of our residents and there will be a warm welcome awaiting you from everyone.