1. Art and Diseño

MeallmoreMatters
Winter 2014/2015
Encore for
Antonine House!
Quality is our priority – and
we need YOU to be involved
We’ve started the New Year with a new initiative –
to establish a Quality Forum in every home.
The Christmas panto at Antonine
House – Jack and the Beanstalk
with a Harry Potter twist – proved
so popular that the sell out show
had to run for three nights in
a row! Bobby Dougan, Care
Home Manager, said: “Everyone
thoroughly enjoyed the staff’s
performance with more than 150
people, including visitors and
family members, coming along
to see it. There was a great party
atmosphere and we included lots
of local references to Glasgow to
make the residents laugh.”
A pilot will take place in two homes between January and April before we roll
out to all our homes. The purpose of each Quality Forum is to support the
Home Manager to drive and influence the quality of life and experience for
those who live and work there. The forum will embrace the quality agenda,
audit the services within the home, make recommendations and implement
improvements by being a positive role model. Gerry Hennessey, Managing
Director, said: “It’s our people who make our homes such special places to
live and work. We aim to empower all our staff to make decisions locally that
will improve services for residents and ensure our homes continue to offer the
highest quality, personalised care.” Gerry has produced a video message for
staff so please take time to view it via the link on your e-learning account.
Putting the Oomph into Belleaire
Residents at Belleaire House have been enjoying a new exercise regime called Oomph! The classes
focus on the day-to-day quality of life and health of residents through group-based exercise.
Chair cheerleading and aerobics are enjoyed in a party-like atmosphere featuring familiar music
and dance-led routines.
www.meallmore.co.uk
MeallmoreMatters
Local
employment
award winner
In December, Meallmore Ltd
was invited to the annual Jobs
and Business Glasgow (JGB)
Achievement Awards which
recognise and celebrate the
achievements of Glasgow
residents who have overcome
challenges to achieve success.
Cillian Hennessey, Area
Manager, said: “During our
recruitment campaign for The
Oaks, we worked collaboratively
with JBG to appoint candidates
from the local area. We were
delighted to be presented with
the New Employer Engagement
Award to recognise the
contribution Meallmore has
made to the development of a
vibrant and sustainable local
economy in Glasgow. The
recruitment campaign for The
Oaks was very successful
and we are looking forward to
developing our relationship with
JBG in 2015.”
Cillian Hennessey accepts the JBG
Achievement Award on behalf of Meallmore Ltd
Residents support
Remembrance Day tributes
Residents from the Manor
Care Centre and Grigor
House (the onsite day care
support service) worked hard
in the run up to last year’s
Remembrance Day to craft
handmade poppies for sale
in local shops. Catherine
Reynolds, Care Home
Manager, said: “We are very
proud of our residents who
worked hard to raise £146
from the sale of their poppies.
On the Sunday, several
residents watched the parade
and were accompanied by
Alasdair MacDonald proudly holds the wonderful wreath
members of the local Boys
made by the residents
Brigade to lay a homemade
wreath at the cenotaph. Remembrance Day is an emotional time of year
for many residents and we ensure that they have lots of opportunities to
appropriately mark this significant date.”
New appointments
We are delighted to welcome two new members to the Meallmore
management team. At The Oaks, Julie Stevenson has been appointed as
Care Home Manager. A Registered Mental Health Nurse, Julie began her
career in the NHS focusing on acute admissions. She then moved to a
community psychiatric nursing position. She later transferred to the private
sector to gain further experience.
At St Olaf, Elizabeth Macrae has taken on the role of Care Home
Manager. Elizabeth started her career as a Registered Mental Health Nurse
working in the private sector. She has previously managed two care homes,
one of which focused on the care of the elderly and the other specialised in
helping those with mental
health conditions.
There’s only onsie Auchtercrag
Staff from Auchtercrag House in Aberdeenshire raised smiles all
round when they bounced into work wearing onsies for the day!
Donning outfits ranging from dogs to dinosaurs, the team raised
£60 for the residents’ fund.
Raising funds in their onsies – the staff at Auchtercrag House
www.meallmore.co.uk
Festive round up
Rebecca McLaughlin,
Care Home Manager
at Parklands, said:
“We’re building a
relationship with our
local food bank and,
at Christmas, we
donated a basket
of products. The
residents were so
pleased to give back
to the people who
needed it and the
Residents felt proud to make a food bank
visit from the food
donation
bank representative
sparked a conversation about the war and food rationing.
It was so nice to hear everyone getting involved.”
David Howie, Care Home Manager at Belleaire House,
said: “Our Christmas party and raffle raised nearly £500
for the residents’ fund. We enjoyed carolling visits from
local nurseries and secondary schools and Jaswinder
Kaur, our wonderful Activities Coordinator, added sparkle
to the month by dressing up in a different outfit every day –
showcasing Christmas jumpers, a Mrs Claus outfit and
even an elf costume!”
Sheree Gregg, Activities Coordinator at Meallmore Lodge,
said: “Christmas is always lots of fun at Meallmore Lodge. Our
residents loved the carol singers from our local primary school
while our own Mike Brinkler did a wonderful job as Santa.”
At Redwoods, travelling theatre group Presto staged a
performance of Aladdin for residents.
Meallmore Lodge was buzzing during the carol singing concert
Winter 2014/2015
Kincaid House Winners (left to right): Michelle McManus (Host),
Barbara Lawson (Deputy Manager) Anita McKenzie (Dementia
Specialist Nurse), Andrea Wylie (Manager)
National Care Home
Award winners
In November, representatives
from across our homes attended
a glittering ceremony for the
Scottish Care Awards 2014.
We were honoured to receive two prestigious
awards, the Nutrition and Eating Well
award for Meallmore Ltd and the Dementia
Service Award for our Greenock Care Home,
Kincaid House.
Selected from over 300 entries, we were
also finalists in the Specialist Adult Service
Care award category for Manor Care Centre
and the Ancillary and Support Staff award
category for Irene Sutherland, Hotel Services
Supervisor at Meallmore Lodge.
Mary Preston, Operations Director, said:
“These awards are testament to all of the hard
work our staff put in to ensure our residents
are well looked after. We firmly believe that
providing nutritious healthy meals should
continue to be a stimulating experience which
can be shared among our residents. Over the
coming months, the Nutrition and Eating Well
award will tour all our homes across Scotland
with each care home manager organising a
special event to mark its arrival.
“We are very proud of our team at Kincaid
House who have worked in partnership
with our residents, relatives and local
professionals to ensure the level of care and
support provided has a tremendous impact
on the lives of our residents with a diagnosis
of dementia.”
MeallmoreMatters
Winter 2014/2015
Investing in our
Highland homes
As part of our ongoing commitment to
providing the best quality care for residents,
we are investing in upgrading two of our
elderly care homes in the Highlands this year.
St Olaf in Nairn and Meallmore Lodge
in Inverness are currently undergoing
refurbishment programmes. Every inch of
the homes is being redecorated and rooms
at the historic Meallmore Lodge are being
sensitively transformed and expanded with
new en-suite bathrooms.
With work nearing completion at St
Olaf, residents and staff are over the
moon with the new look and feel of the
home. A residents’ forum worked with
the management team to choose colour
schemes and curtains. New furniture has
been purchased, gleaming bathrooms
installed and two new kitchen areas and
a lounge created for residents to enjoy at
their leisure.
Elizabeth Macrae, Care Home Manager,
said: “Getting the views of residents is very
important and we are delighted with the
enthusiasm and ideas that everyone has
contributed. Making our residents feel cared
for, comfortable and at home, is our top
priority and we can’t wait to unveil the final
transformation later in the spring.”
Work is also well underway at Meallmore
Lodge. Each room is being completely
reconfigured with new carpets, lovely decor,
like-for-like replacement sash windows
and fresh furniture. Jean MacCallum,
Care Home Manager, said: “We are
very pleased with the work that has
already been completed. The rooms look
wonderfully inviting and our residents
are delighted. This latest work follows on
from the installation of our environmentally
friendly biomass boiler last summer.”
Look out for updates on our
refurbishment programmes in the next
newsletter.
www.meallmore.co.uk
An artist impression of the courtyard at our new home
Work started on new £8 million
care home for Newton Mearns
The state-of-the-art home is being built by Marshall Construction Ltd
and will provide quality, personalised care for up to 68 people with
general nursing needs, including those with dementia and related
conditions. Up to 90 local jobs will also be created.
Due to be complete in 2016, the two storey building uses glass
extensively throughout to create bright airy spaces with generous
lounge, dining and activity areas for residents. Gerry Hennessey,
Managing Director, said: “This new home has been designed to offer
the highest quality facilities for our residents, making the most of the
outdoor space available. With a focus on local recruitment, we will be
putting together a team of professionals who will give our residents
the highest standard of care, based on their individual needs.”
Meallmore Ltd
supports SAMH
The Oaks has started 2015 by hosting a cheque presentation
to the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH). Instead
of sending Christmas cards this year, Meallmore Ltd gave
£1,000 to SAMH. Julie Stevenson, Care Home Manager for The
Oaks, presented the cheque on behalf of the company. She
said: “We are delighted to contribute to SAMH’s campaigns
which are such important initiatives. We will be working
closely with local mental
health organisations,
including SAMH, to help
support the reduction of
discrimination around
mental ill-health.”
The Oaks welcomed
its first residents in
late 2014 after staff
Julie Stevenson, Manager at The Oaks,
and resident Hugh McGeachie, present
completed an intensive
£1000 cheque to SAMH
training programme.