The carers and Residents at The Polegate enjoy playing an important part in their local community. The home encourages an atmosphere of fun and inclusion and runs a weekly programme of events, which includes talks and demonstrations from local people willing to share their knowledge and talents. Performers from the area regularly visit and entertain Residents with songs, sketches, singing and dancing, and members of neighbourhood groups, volunteers and other locals often drop in for a cup of tea and a chat.

Assisted by suggestions from our Residents, our home’s Wellbeing Coordinators organise a varied year round programme of things to do. Many Residents take pleasure in hobbies, including baking, writing, gardening, dancing, painting, quizzes, and playing chess. Some enjoy being a member of the Residents’ forum. 

By getting to know each individual Resident, our carers are able to encourage everyone to take an active part in the life of the home. Simple pleasures are hugely important: the morning walk, feeding the birds, a little light weeding, baking cakes for one of our fundraising tea parties, laying the dining table, arranging flowers or distributing the post each day. But we also know and respect that our Residents value having some time alone too and we want these moments to be as joyful as any other.

Food and Nutrition

Our hospitality team prides itself on making mealtimes a special, stimulating part of each day. In our care homes, meals are as much about providing nutritious, tasty food as they are about enjoying a social occasion.

Residents are served three meals a day, as well as a mid-morning snack and afternoon tea. We use fresh ingredients, locally sourced wherever possible, with the emphasis on providing delicious seasonal meals. We understand the nutritional needs of older people and create meals that offer the correct calorific and nutritional content. We consider meals to be a fundamental part of every Resident’s care plan.

Eating is a social and an emotional experience, and our dining rooms are designed to create a relaxed and happy atmosphere, with menus that offer plenty of variety. We make a point of celebrating birthdays and special occasions, as well as national festivities such as St Andrew’s Day, Mother’s Day and Burns Night. We have built-in music systems to provide ambience and we dress our dining rooms in the evening.

We cater for special diets, but we’re also constantly looking for ways to make food and the dining experience as exciting as possible. There are more than 700 recipes in the HC-One cookbook and we’re updating this all the time. Our Taste and Try sessions are very popular with our Residents and they’ll often ask us to recreate a favourite classic dish. This can trigger a lively conversation and all kinds of memories, discussions and laughter.

Our family of care homes aim to deliver the kindest possible care and enhance the quality of life of Residents who choose to live with us. 

Within each of our care homes the Care Home Manager leads a team of care and support Colleagues with skills and experience relevant to their respective discipline. 

The number of Colleagues allocated to the respective roles in each of our care homes depends of the number of Residents living in the home, their respective needs which are identified through a pre-admission assessment and ongoing needs as outlined within the care plans which are reviewed regularly to ensure that they are up to date and relevant.

The Care Home Manager
Our Care Home Managers are carefully selected based on their experience and expertise in delivering quality care and lifestyle services and their values and commitment in leading a team to deliver the kindest possible care.  Care Home Managers are supported by a number of Colleagues with specific expertise and training in their chosen field as outlined below.

Our Care Home Manager can be identified by the following uniforms
Charcoal Suit, White Shirt, Blue and Orange Scarf or Tie

Head of Care and Unit Managers 
In our larger Care Homes the Care Home Manager is support by a Unit Manager or Head of Care; the type of person in this role will have significant experience and expertise in leading nursing and care teams. 

Nursing Care
In each of our Nursing Care Homes we employ registered nurses to deliver professional nursing care to Residents with complex nursing needs.

Our Nurses can be identified by the following uniforms
Royal Box Blue and Orange Trim Tunic and Black Trousers

Nursing Assistants
In response to the nursing shortage in the United Kingdom, HC-One has developed a team of highly skilled and qualified Nursing Assistants; our Nursing Assistants have all attended rigorous training and professional development so that they can support the nursing teams within our nursing care homes.

Care Assistants
Our team of Care Assistants and Senior Care Assistants receive significant training and development in delivering the kindest possible personal care to Residents living with both general care and memory care needs. Their comprehensive learning and development programme enables them to explore a number of ongoing development opportunities so that they enjoy a long and rewarding career within our care homes.

Our Care Assistants can be identified by the following uniforms
Convoy Grey and Orange Trim Tunic and Black Trousers

Care Home Administrator
An all-encompassing role; Administrators work tirelessly in our care homes to provide that all important friendly welcome and to support the Care Home Manager, Residents, Relatives and Colleagues with a wide range of duties essential to our operation; alongside our Care Home Manager our Care Home Administrators are a fountain of knowledge to everything that is going on in the home.

Our Care Home Administrator can be identified by the following uniforms
Charcoal Suit, White Shirt, Blue and Orange Scarf or Tie

Wellbeing Coordinators 
Wellbeing Coordinators work closely with our professional nursing and care teams to deliver meaningful lifestyles and a sense of wellbeing to Residents. Throughout the week wellbeing coordinators plan a range of activities that help Residents to maintain their hobbies, learn new hobbies and to have opportunities to engage with the local community.

Our Wellbeing Coordinators can be identified by the following uniforms
Gold Polo shirt, Orange Apron and Black Trousers

Hospitality Services

Catering 
Food and nutrition represent an important part of a Residents care; lead by our Chef or Head Cook our catering teams ensure we deliver balanced and nutritious meals to meet the needs of elderly people. All meals are cooked on site in our own commercial standard kitchens.

Our Head Chef or Head Cook can be identified by the following uniforms 
Black Chefs Tunic, Checked Trousers, Black Skull Cap, Black Apron, White Shoes, White Jacket, White Hat

Housekeepers 
Our housekeeping teams take great pride in overseeing the essential housekeeping duties that make the “house a home”. Care homes are very busy places and with all the comings and goings our housekeepers work tirelessly with laundry, cleaning and the general interior presentation of the care home.

Our Housekeepers can be identified by the following uniforms
Grey White Stripped and Orange Trim Tunic, Black Trousers

Site Maintenance Officers 
Site Maintenance Officers are responsible for keeping our care homes safe and well maintained so that Residents can enjoy a home from home experience. Their role extends to maintaining the interior and outside space that Residents enjoy; we separately employ regular contractors who maintain lawns and borders.

Our Site Maintenance Officers can be identified by the following uniforms
Grey Polo Shirt, Grey Fleece, Black Trousers and when safety clothing is necessitated they have additional High Visibility Jackets, Waistcoat and Trousers

For further information on Colleagues working in your care home, please speak to the care home manager.