Carer hoping to win big at awards for improving the quality of life for residents at a Lancaster care home

A carer at a Lancaster care home is through to the final stages of the Barchester Care Awards and won the regional Activity Coordinator of the Year award for the Northern Division of Barchester’s homes.
Jamie Hodgson is activities co-ordinator at Laurel Bank care home in Lancaster.Jamie Hodgson is activities co-ordinator at Laurel Bank care home in Lancaster.
Jamie Hodgson is activities co-ordinator at Laurel Bank care home in Lancaster.

Jamie Hodgson, activity co-ordinator at Laurel Bank Care Home, has been selected for his achievements in improving the quality of life for residents across the home.

Before March, this included three monthly church services from different denominations of Christianity, visits from a team of eight volunteers from the local grammar schools and a PAT therapy dog, monthly visits form a local primary school, visits from a zoo once a month, weekly live entertainment, and a packed activity schedule on top of this including cheese and wine evenings, cinema afternoons and, of course, bingo.

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Residents were also going on weekly trips to local places of interest including Barton Grange, The Grand Theatre and Morecambe promenade.

Post-Covid-19, the focus has been on maintaining contact with families through organising 20-30 Skype calls every week and more recently up to 40 garden visits a week, in a custom built marquee to protect residents and their loved ones from the elements.

Families have also been kept in the loop through regular phone calls and emails to reassure them that their loved ones are OK and still involved in the group activities in the home.

At the end of June there was a large barbecue to celebrate the end of lockdown, with a big sing-along culminating in “We’ll Meet Again”, which was especially apt as this was around the time that families began to visit in the garden again.

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The prestigious Care Awards are organised by Barchester Healthcare, and aim to promote and recognise high standards in quality of care and life experience for residents in Barchester homes.

Lyndsay Scott, general manager at Laurel Bank, said: “This award celebrates individuals who have demonstrated outstanding excellence in their work and Jamie could not be more dedicated to our residents. We are all so proud of him for reaching this stage of the competition and hope he goes all the way!”

The awards ceremony will be held virtually via Zoom on October 8, 2020.

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