Transcript

[TEXT ON SCREEN: What relationships do you have with different people in the care home where you work?]

JACQUI:

I see my residents most days and will be either supporting them to get to activities, talking to them about activities, or actually leading activities with them. And then relatives when they're when they're in the home, yeah, we talk and and I email relatives as well because I can't plan engagement without knowing what it is that gives them sense of well-being and what works for them. So you know, my role is to understand their needs, but also the day to day experiences that they're having. If they're unhappy because something's gone wrong with their care or their illness has progressed, then they're not going to be able to do engagement. So if I'm not there to see them, to see what's happening, how they're feeling, then I won't know-- I won't be able to help them engage and to have those.

And also, it's about being-- we kind of-- I think of us as a kind of family. If you don't see people, you don't know how they are. I can't support them. That contact's important. It's two-way.

And it's about-- encouragement to attend things can be the hardest part, actually helping people to get to the things. Because they might be feeling low or they don't feel they want to get up or they might feel, oh, I don't want to ask for help. So if I go and see them, if they're in their rooms or waiting, I can find out what's happening, what they need.

We talk about it a lot about care and about institutions and relationships. And for me, it is about getting to know people and we do become a Nightingale family. We're a group of staff and residents in one area of the home on Ronson floor. I get to know those residents really well. I spend time with them. I spend time liaising with their families.

And it is caring. It's not a cold, clinical, you know, process. You get to know people. You're there to care for them. You're there to help them. And so, yeah, and you're there for the emotional needs.

So it's really important that I can respond to that and give them emotional support. Because without that, all the other stuff doesn't mean anything if they don't feel connected. And it's about the connections between residents as well, helping them to make friends, relationships with volunteers, really important, and people are coming in regularly. And I think we do get to feel like a family. And at the times when things are good, that's what it feels like; sharing meals together, discussing how we feel together, supporting each other, sorting out problems for each other.

That contact with people each day, that's really important to me. That's what gives me a sense of well-being and seeing good results from the work that I do. We have people that are upset, so they're dealing with physical things or with dementias, and yeah, there has to be some boundaries. So you know, I also get a satisfaction from being able to do that.

And people die. So I'm not I can't be immune to feelings of sadness when we lose people and how that affects me and also other residents. We want to be able to express that we miss someone. And also, we share that with the family, share part of their grief.

It gives me-- it's not-- yeah, it's a sense of having a place in society. My working life has not contributed to anyone in terms of wealth. I've not produced a thing. I don't make things. I don't-- but I've given something to other people that I hope on the whole is useful.

PHIL:

I'm the head gardener here. And we also do intergenerational with the children and residents. So most of them are through coming to the garden club or just even in the garden because they come out and chat to me that way.

It's an open group. They just come along as and when they feel like it. But also, when they're in the garden and having a walk in the sunshine, they always have a chat to me. Obviously, everybody knows me here, I'm the gardener. So yes. So if there's any plant that they don't know, it's always like, oh, what's this? And obviously, the family as well. So you know, when they're pushing residents around, they'll always have a chat and ask about plants and fruit.

JACQUI:

There's never enough time to give people the time that they want. We're very lucky to have a wonderful group of volunteers who can give time, but there's always-- you know, people always need more time. We all need more time to spend with other people.

And yeah, the communication within an organisation can be challenging. To talk in more depth about individuals, to share our experiences, to share our knowledge. Again, that's time. Time to sit and talk, and you know, in a more meaningful way about what we could do to support. Lots of just trying to respond to the current issues. So that's always a challenge.

It is about consistency. So if people are coming in, like volunteers, we need to know what the commitment is. Yeah, consistency. People tend to thrive on knowing who's come in and who's there and who how they can-- how they can have consistency. Trust, building up trust. Takes a lot of time.

PHIL:

I think rather than the residents just staying in their rooms, they come out, they want to do things, which is why we do all the different activities for them, from honey making, spinning. You know, we do demonstrations for the residents, the children, the families come along, all the regular ones that come to the garden with the family. So they now all know me and they're asking me questions, and what's the plant. They buy the honey as well because we do have the honey for sale here.

French lady, she's blind. So she comes to garden club. So I always buy her herbs so she has the sensory smell. And then when we go on gardening trips. We did one to Kensington Park recently because I used to work there. Go through the park and pick everything so she smells it.

Until two years ago, so we never had any blind people. So obviously, it was a visual, from spring bulbs and plants that were flowering. But now with Colette here, we kind of do the sensory side as well.

As they get older, it's more of a supporting them while we're doing gardening. And obviously, they used to be able to walk around the garden. Now they're obviously either in a wheelchair or they're being supported by someone, so maybe they don't get around the whole garden as they used to. Which is why we've put a lot of herbs on the arts and crafts terrace so that if they do come down and with support, they can just sit out there and enjoy the herbs and flowers rather than they can't get to the whole garden like they used to.

So it's more of a supporting role as they get older, rather than just going, you can't come to gardening club. You can't do nothing anymore. It's like, well, you know, you can pick the flowers, you pick what you want, and I'll plant them and then you take them out of the pots. And so it's changing as they get older.

We do intergenerational with residents and children once a month and then with the residents once a week during growing times. So they're getting the residents down. I'm preparing everything ready for that activity. I can come up with a project idea and go to Alistair, who's head of activities, obviously, see if he's got any budgets. But same with the bees. You know, come up with that idea, we went through with the CEO, people come up with a donation.

I think with myself, I kind of do it because I think when I get older I would want someone to, wherever I am, to do some gardening with me. So I think it's such an important idea. Because they do then come out with what they used to do when they-- before they come to the care home. You know, oh, with my husband, we planted this. And so it kind of gives them memories from when they used to be able to do gardening, and then they tell us about their grandchildren. And so it takes their mind off things. You know, they're going back and then obviously discussing things. So it's not just all about the care home.