At
HC-One’s Ashton View care home, in Ashton-in-Makerfield, near Wigan, the wellbeing team, consisting of mother and son Ann Marie Roberts and Ashley Smith have been celebrating an award win this month and talking about how they make a difference at the care home, ahead of ‘ National Make a Difference Day’ on Saturday 28th October 2023.
Ann Marie Roberts had worked at Ashton View care home for two years before Ashley came on board. Ann Marie worked on the domestic and kitchen duties, before moving over to her role as Wellbeing Coordinator.
Sarah Smith, Home Administrator at Ashton View (and Ashley’s wife) recommended and prompted Ashley to apply for a Wellbeing Coordinator vacancy, as she felt Ashley would make a difference in the role. Ashley successfully joined as Wellbeing Coordinator and has worked alongside his mother for the last 18 months.
Ann Marie commented:
“Although it seems like a small amount of time working together, our hard work and commitment to the roles has promoted our resident's wellbeing in a huge way.”
An example of just how much Ashley and Ann Marie do to ‘Make a Difference’ is their determination and willingness to succeed in the role by providing everyday activities, from entertainment to trips out, and planning their yearly residents weekend trip to Blackpool. They even perform live to residents, with Ashley singing songs, which are very popular.
The feedback that they receive from both residents, relatives and colleagues has been outstanding. This has been awarded at the recent 2023 Wigan Borough Palliative and End of Life Care Awards, which took place on Friday 13th October, where they won the Patient/Resident/Family Nominated Award.
Kathleen Gaskell, who is a resident at Ashton View, living on the Pilling Community, commented:
“Ashley and Ann Marie work really hard in looking after us, there’s always activities to do, nothings too much trouble for them. We also love it when different events are on and especially when Ashley sings, it's like having Tom Jones on your doorstep!”
The duo say that they work well together because they can work round each other, understand residents’ needs, as well as each other’s. They say that they believe and trust each other's capability and work well when sharing creative ideas.
Ashley Smith commented:
“We both enjoy working at Ashton View as we feel that our role is so important within the home and makes a massive difference to our residents’ wellbeing. Each day is different at our home but one thing that stays the same is that we’re a big family, and we look after each other as we would look after one of our own.”
Theresa Emons, Deputy Manager at Ashton View, said:
“Ann Marie and Ashley are a credit to the Ashton View team; they continuously work hard in organising events and delivering high standards in the wellbeing role. Not only do they ensure that the residents within our care have the opportunity to do activities that they enjoy, but they also continually work alongside other organisations and the local community to continue to promote the wellbeing of our residents and ensure the activities they do provide have a positive impact on the residents’ wellbeing.
They are setting the standards for care settings around the Wigan borough. The award just signifies the hard work that they both do and the positive impact this has on the residents within our care. The Home Manager Laura Aspin and I are immensely proud of them both.”