Kenwith Castle

My journey within the health and social sector first started when my Nan became ill. She was diagnosed with dementia and the disease fascinated me. I saw the difference the care staff, nurses and all other professionals involved made to my Nan’s quality of life and wanted to be part of that journey for other vulnerable adults. I thought firstly that nursing was where I wanted my career to be focused, but quickly learnt that I could make as much if not more of a difference to a higher number of people within a senior management role. I found myself to be a good role model and leader and find home management deeply rewarding due to my passion for elderly care and knowing I was making a difference.

I believe the most import quality a care home manager should possess is empathy. As a care home manager I care about the wellbeing of, not only the residents, but my staff. This compassion and the drive I have, ensures my team have the knowledge, skills and motivation to ensure every resident receives person-centred, dignified care within a comfortable and safe environment.

Promoting social engagement is my top priority, I believe in creating opportunities to socialise and participate in meaningful activities are most important to support wellbeing. Here at Kenwith we have several beautiful social spaces. These are not currently utilised to their full potential and my main aim is to encourage residents to join in and give them choices to perhaps learn a new skill or be part of clubs/teams. I want to ensure residents have a voice and are part of decisions going on within their ‘home’. I want to do this by fostering a nurturing and supportive atmosphere, and increasing communication between residents, families and the home. Residents as well as their families will be encouraged to be part of the care planning process to enable person-centred care and foster a more inclusive and open environment.

I want to prioritise our residents’ wellbeing and make more opportunities for our residents to interact with each other and the outside community. The residents at Kenwith already have a varied range of activities to be part of which are all very much enjoyed. I wish for our families to be more involved and for activities to be communicated more effectively. This will be done by monthly newsletters and activity programmes being sent to enhance interaction between families and their loved ones.

I’m Jo, more commonly known now as Joey since our Home Manager Jo joined us at Kenwith.

Working at Kenwith alongside Jo and the wider team doesn’t feel like work, but more like a shared journey to give our residents the very best every day. I am in my 28th year at KC. I started as a carer and have progressed through the training opportunities provided by Care South to my current role as Deputy Manager.

When speaking to people, I often describe Jo and myself as the cruise ship and the tugboat—Jo is the fabulous ship that comes into port, and I am the tugboat supporting and guiding from behind. If I were a tree and you cut me down, instead of age rings you would see Kenwith Castle written right through the centre of me.

Kenwith Castle is dedicated to ensuring residents are able to get the most out of every day, whilst feeling safe and supported. For us, it’s all about delivering the three F’s – Food, Fun and Friendship – to help residents live a happy and fulfilling lifestyle. Recreational activities are organised by our activities coordinator(s) to ensure residents are having fun and making friends, and range from baking and arts and crafts to visits from entertainers and day trips out to local points of interest and attractions.

No two residents are the same, and we love to learn about their amazing life stories, hobbies and interests. This helps us to build strong relationships with residents and allows us to tailor our activities to suit their likes and favourite pastimes. Residents can be as involved as they wish and the activities team work hard to cater for residents’ recreational needs, enabling them to continue to do the things they love, even if that simply involves sitting down and enjoying a card game or a puzzle.

Scroll down for some of the activities that we have been enjoying at Kenwith Castle recently.