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Recent events:

March was another busy month, showing glimpses of spring which is very welcome after what seems like a long winter!

We have had a busy month with lots going on…… Tina from High Kicks and Heels did her cabaret on the 5^th April which was fantastic as always. Residents and staff got up to dance, sang- along and waved flags.

We had our weekly visits from the school children from Bisley COE School. The younger children have been a delight to have at Elmfield and they bring so much pleasure to our residents. We have done a range of activities with the children including cake decorating, sharing memories, coloring, painting, singing and playing games. We highly anticipate their weekly visits.

On 7^th March we welcomed Bisley Beavers to the home to read to our residents to achieve their reading badges. We welcomed a very large group of Beavers and they spent time with each resident reading to them and all 18 Beavers were awarded their badges at Elmfield. Well done!

We had Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (and several days afterwards!) to celebrate Pancake Day. These were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.

We had our regular pub lunches except we missed one whilst Niccii was away. They shall be back to fortnightly from April. Hopefully the weather will be nice to us on our outings.

The visiting chiropodist and hairdresser have completed their frequent visits to Elmfield to ensure that footcare and hair remain in tip- top condition.

Sharon very kindly organised for an Elvis tribute to perform at Elmfield on 29^th March. This was thoroughly enjoyed by all and many residents danced and sang- along to the familiar songs. Thank- you to Sharon for arranging this and to Lee for his extremely kind offer to perform for us, it truly is appreciated.

We have also had our chicken eggs delivered on 29^th March and each day our residents are eagerly looking for signs of the eggs hatching to welcome our fluffy chicks to the world! Fun times are ahead as we excitedly await the chicks hatching so we can hold and pet the babies!

Several of our residents went out with their families for Mother’s Day on Sunday 31^st March. We had lots of visitors to Elmfield and our residents received some lovely cards and gifts.

Unfortunately, our planned fashion show with Bon Marche did not go ahead. They seemed to have forgotten to record our planned show despite many phone-call exchanges between the home and the shop. It is hoped that this can be re-arranged for the foreseeable future.

Upcoming events:

Hopefully we can attend the quarterly Easter tea dance at HG Wells on Wednesday 4^th April. We have been waiting on confirmation of the Surrey Heath Bustler bus as we are having difficulties booking this service recently. This is an event that our residents really enjoy and it brings back any memories of dances and music from days gone by.

We have a new monthly activity with Jasmine from G-Fitness coming to the home to do some exercise activities with our residents. We trialled Jasmine at Elmfield in February and her hour sessions were very successful. She performs exercises suitable for the elderly and does group exercises using different objects and utensils. Jasmine was excellent at engaging with individuals and adapting the exercise to meet individual capabilities and limitations. Jasmine will be with us on 8^th April and we look forward to this becoming a regular fixture.

We also have the Rainbows coming to Elmfield on 3^rd April to distribute some potted flowers they have made for us. This is a very kind gesture and I am sure that our residents will enjoy having the small children with us for an hour.

The school children will continue to visit us during April but not each week as they have their Easter Holidays later on in the month. We will enjoy their visits and miss them when they are off school.

Pub lunches will continue fortnightly and the dates are on the notice boar din the porch.

On 4^th April we will have our first visit from Surrey Heath visiting library. We will be welcoming two volunteers to the home who will bring with them a selection of large print books from different genres, as well as some audio books and CD’s. If successful, it is anticipated that the visiting library can come to Elmfield monthly to encourage our residents to read or listen to stories and books. We are looking forward to this and it has taken several months to organise this service so fingers crossed it will be a success!

Staff and resident changes:

We have said goodbye to our house-keeper Vicki McDermott who has left Elmfield to work in her son’s school as the hours are more convenient for childcare needs. Vicki is staying on as bank staff to help out in the school holidays when she can.

We have several new faces: welcome to Samantha Draddy who is new to our house-keeping team.

We also have a brand- new role of a kitchen assistant and Joanna Palkowska is our new kitchen helper Monday to Friday.

We have a new bank carer Awa Jagne who is covering weekend care shifts around her husband’s work commitments.

Birthdays:

We had two birthday celebrations in March. One for Margaret Horner who celebrated her 91^st birthday on 3^rd March. Margaret had a lovely visit from family and we held an afternoon tea party for her at Elmfield. Margaret was flatted by the fuss.

Janet Harrison also celebrated her 75^th birthday on 24^th March. She went out for a family meal and had a fantastic time. Janet also enjoyed an afternoon tea with her friends at Elmfield.

Other news:

We are changing the menu in May to reflect seasonal changes and differing tastes as our resident group changes. Questionnaires will be done with residents this month to identify favourite meals and to ask for suggestions of what we can add to our menu. Any suggestions from relatives or staff will be much appreciated!

We have received our draft CQC report which was five ‘good’ ratings in the five key lines of enquiries which were: is the service safe, is the service effective, is the service responsive, is the service well- led and is the service caring. Niccii has done an appeal with evidence for them to consider and we are awaiting their response. It is believed that we deserve a higher rating to acknowledge the on-going improvements and this was encouraged by the visiting inspector.

Employee of the month:

Employee of the month for March has been awarded to Sarah Daley. She has improved significantly since starting full- time in January. Sarah is eager to learn and uses her initiative. Sarah has been very helpful covering shifts at short notice when Niccii was on annual leave which was a massive support to the home. Well done Sarah and keep up the great work!