Bethel House Care Home in Barton on Sea has started a brand new ‘wish list’ for residents who live with dementia to enable them to explore new hobbies and interests.
Care home manager Aga Gierek and her team from the New Forest Care Home have turned in to fairy godmothers (and godfathers) to organise and grant wishes for the residents.
The bright idea for the bucket list or ‘wish list’ originated from conversations between the residents and staff about their favourite activities, which revealed a list of hobbies to pursue.
Bethel House resident Austin has a keen passion for gardening and has a desire to plant vegetables. In the spring of 2018 he was able to successfully plant and grow potatoes and a highly anticipated ‘Gardening Club’ will start at Bethel House, this spring.
Richard was eager to pick up a fishing rod again, so Aga and her team planned a day trip to Orchard Lake in New Milton. Bob McMahon runs Fun2Fish at the lake to reacquaint people with the skill of angling, while providing tips to cast a line. Richard was joined by Len and Austin for the fun day and the gentlemen perfected their technique to catch many fish while enjoying the great outdoors.
A summer day excursion to the Isle of Wight was the next wish granted for resident Patricia, who was originally born on the island and was excited to return to her ‘home island’. Peter, Jean, Austin and Joyce joined Patricia for the ferry and mini bus journey.
The trip also included a visit to Highfield Nursing Home, another Hartford Care care home in Ryde. The New Forest group met fellow residents and new friends to enjoy an afternoon tea. They were also greeted with welcoming cards signed by all staff and residents and small painted pebbles as homemade souvenirs.
The friendship and companionship was extended with a beautiful hand made wall hanging depicting “The Highfield Tree of Life”. Every resident in the Ryde based nursing home added their thumbprint to a drawing of a tree to represent many little leaves.
Care home manager, Aga Gierek, says: "It makes me feel so happy to see the smiles on the faces of our residents when their wishes are granted. Individuals living with dementia still have interests and fulfilling these wishes can make the world of difference to their wellbeing and confidence.
"We pride ourselves on the supporting our residents to live a life with purpose so myself and my team are happy to make their wishes comes true! When the residents came back from the fishing trip, we noticed subtle improvements to their memory, they were stimulated, chatty and I believe it improved their general wellbeing and mindset.
"All of our residents enjoy talking about their ‘wish life’ experiences. We are planning another one for our June who would like to attend dance classes and we can’t wait!"
