Dove Court Care Home, run by HC-One, located in Burnley, Lancashire, welcomed visitors and guests from the local community to participate in this year’s Care Home Open Week celebrations from 24th - 30th June 2024, with HC-One’s main celebration events taking place during Care Home Open Weekend (28th – 30th June).
Dove Court was delighted to open its doors to celebrate Care Home Open Week with residents, colleagues, friends, family, Deadpool and Thor, as well as the wider community which included Naomi Hartley, who plays for Burnley F.C. Women and the new Mayor of Burnley, Councillor Shah Hussain.
Care Home Open Week is a national event hosted by Championing Social Care, designed to connect care homes with their local communities. The week provided care homes with the opportunity to showcase their range of services, provide tours of their facilities, and highlight the activities that are offered to residents.
The event is also a reminder to the homes’ neighbours that they are there if they need support. Dove Court often work with members of the local community for national events, including throughout National Storytelling Week earlier in the year, when they invited students from Casterton Primary Academy to read poems, stories and jokes to residents. This school is also a gardening partner of Dove Court and has visited and helped plant throughout the summer.
HC-One’s chosen theme for this year’s Care Home Open Week was ‘dancing together through the decades’. Throughout the week, residents, colleagues, families, and friends enjoyed a variety of fun-filled activities culminating in an end-of-week celebration at the home.
Throughout the week, Dove Court Care Home hosted a variety of fun-filled activities. This included a 1980s themed party on Thursday 27th June, complete with a buffet lunch and even a disco, which was kindly put on free of charge by relative, Bo Irza. On Friday, the ‘Go on Tour Theatre Group’ visited and put on a show for residents, and then Saturday was time for the summer fayre!
There was a fantastic turn out for our Summer Fayre with lots of stalls for people to browse, which included a stall manned by resident Gordon Cligram, who handmade stunning greeting cards to sell. Home Manager Cat Brierley also hosted a craft stall.
Dove Court Care Home was decorated especially for the occasion and the celebration was a chance for everyone to come together as a community, and to learn more about life at the care home.
Visitors enjoyed learning from colleagues in the home about what a rewarding career in care looks like. They also found out about opportunities for community engagement and about the volunteering roles on offer designed to support their local care community.
Steph Tillotson, Wellbeing Coordinator, commented:
“It was a wonderful afternoon, and everyone really enjoyed themselves despite the rain!”
Cat Brierley, Home Manager at HC-One’s Dove Court Care Home, said:
“We were delighted to be able to open the doors of Dove Court care home again to welcome in our local community and bring everyone together to celebrate Care Home Open Week 2024. Everyone had an amazing time.
“We are proud to support Burnley, and our Open Week celebrations provided a great opportunity to reconnect with our local community and to support community engagement which is so important to our residents, colleagues, and the local area.
“The week was also a chance for us to showcase what life at our care home is like, share career and volunteering opportunities, and remind our local community that our kind care teams, and extensive facilities are here for them if they ever need support.”