Meet Judith, home manager at Colton Lodges, a Bupa care home in Leeds.
Judith has been working in care homes as a home manager and a nurse since 2001, and before that she was an NHS nurse for 15 years. So she has great insight into everything a care home must do to bring quality care to you.
“If we can keep the residents happy then everything else falls into place,” says Judith.
“If the food is of a good quality, the activities are entertaining, the environment is well looked after, clean and tidy, the residents are content. And that’s what we’re here for.”
To keep things running happily, Judith oversees every aspect of the home to make sure that it is safe, financially sound and always geared to caring for residents’ needs.
“There are no two days the same,” she says, but on a typical day she may meet a prospective resident and their family and visit the dining room to make sure the food is being served safely. Or she may be interviewing to fill a staff vacancy (she always wants to hear what applicants “can bring to a resident’s life”).
Judith makes sure she’s also got time to spend with residents whenever she can – to remind herself why she’s there.
“It’s so easy to get bogged down with the paperwork and the systems and signing things off,” she says.
“But I can always get up from my desk, walk out the door and go and sit and have a cup of tea with some residents.”
Being there for residents and their loved ones is a top priority for every Bupa care home manager. Judith has even found a way to stay in touch with relatives whose busy lives mean that they must fit visiting in around work and other commitments.
“Every Thursday, between 2pm and 8pm, my door is open for relatives, residents and my team to come and talk to me about anything they want to,” says Judith.
Judith uses posters to make everyone aware of her open-door sessions. She always holds the sessions in the administrative block so that relatives, residents and staff can open up in privacy, away from the residential area.
“In fact, a couple of conversations have turned into counselling sessions,” she says.
Following up with relatives to let them know how their concerns have been addressed helps Judith keep the communication flowing.
“We’re part of the support system around a resident that makes sure they get everything they need,” says Judith. That’s what a ‘partnership of care’ means at Colton Lodges.
According to Judith, “the partnership not only involves the resident themselves but their family, their doctor, their social worker and anybody else that’s involved with that person – whether it’s a psychiatrist, nutritionist, dentist or even a hairdresser.”
“Care is not just about your physical wellbeing”, says Judith, “it’s about you as a whole person”. It’s also about treating residents as individuals, and making sure the care home truly becomes their home.
“The way we make a person feel individual is to give them a little bit of what they’re used to,” she says.
“The ‘map of life’ and the ‘lifestyle plan’ that all staff do for new residents is all about who that resident is as a person, where they’ve come from, where they’ve been, what they’ve done and who they are. I think that’s the most important part of the plan.”
For Judith, encouraging residents to personalise their room – “their sanctuary” – also helps in “keeping that individuality and not cutting ties” with the home they’ve come from.
“We’ve got one lady who’s got a grandmother clock and a small sideboard that she brought from her home,” she says. “Because she’s had it for 60 years, it’s part of her.”
“You want to feel part of the community,” she says.
Judith’s job also involves raising the profile of the care home in the community and making sure that residents are a part of local life – whether that’s about going to a church service or spending time with children from the local school.
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