How do you celebrate a birthday while the whole of the country is in lockdown? It’s one of the many new questions we may ask during our ‘new normal’ of the Coronavirus pandemic.
At Featherton House care home, we have faced a number of new challenges over the last few months. One of the most important is how to ensure that our residents continue to enjoy life to the full while their relatives are unable to visit. Birthday celebrations are the perfect occasion to bring people together and to lift spirits. However, with visiting restrictions in place to safeguard our residents and team members, we have had to think outside of the box.
Technology has played a vital role in keeping our residents connected with the outside world. In the last weeks and months, we have all had to embrace new ways of keeping in touch. Video calls have provided a crucial link for our management teams, healthcare professionals, quality assurance, and most importantly our residents and their families.
Featherton House is set in the heart of the Oxfordshire village of Deddington. This makes it easy for friends and relatives to pop in whenever they wish. With our doors closed to visitors, residents have been enjoying regular video calls with friends and loved ones instead. While phone calls are great for a chat, you cannot beat seeing a loved one’s smile, particularly on your birthday.
At Featherton House, we treat our residents like family, and birthdays are always made special. Pamela West, who has been a resident at the home for six years, recently celebrated her 84th birthday. To ensure Pamela’s birthday was just as special, the team asked our head chef Sue to make a birthday cake. Sue is famous for her delicious bakes, and her sponge is a firm favourite for afternoon tea among residents.
During her working life, Pamela had a distinguished career in fashion. So the team knew attention to detail would be key in providing a fitting cake. Sue spent time crafting delicate flowers out of icing and finished the cake with a glittering heart befitting our fashionable octagenarian. On the big day, the Featherton House team joined Pamela to sing and clap while she was presented with her cake.
What really made her day special though, was the birthday video call she enjoyed with her family, where she told them about her cake.
Video calls and birthday cakes are just a few of the things that have been keeping our residents connected and entertained. Our activity coordinator Jenny has been organising pamper days, bingo, and has even had some of our favourite entertainers performing via video call.
At Featherton House, we strive to ensure our residents continue to live fulfilled and meaningful lives. We are proud to say that, despite the current circumstances, this has not changed for those in our care.
If you would like to make an enquiry about the excellent care offered at Featherton House please click here.
