A Day In The Life Of A Respite Care Resident

Our wonderful care teams offer long stay and short stay respite care breaks, so your loved one can get round-the-clock outstanding care whenever it’s needed. But what does a day in the life of a respite care resident look like? Here is Meryl’s story. 

My respite care at Milford House

“I was really nervous about my respite care. My husband is my carer and having never been to a care home before, I didn’t know what to expect. I was only going for a week but it was the change of scenery that I felt unsure about.

When we arrived at Milford House, we were greeted by a lady, Claire, who welcomed me into the home. She seemed ever so nice and offered me a cup of tea and a slice of cake. She led me to my room to help me unpack my belongings whilst another young lady went to make the tea.

It was a lovely room and had everything I needed, including a wardrobe and lots of space for my knitting equipment, books and 1000 piece puzzles. As we sat and drank our tea, we chatted about the day-to-day and what I was to expect of my stay. Claire was very reassuring and I felt at ease.

When I was fully settled into my room, Claire walked me down to the communal lounge and introduced me to some of the other residents. A smiley woman, Karen, came over to see how I was getting on and told me not to worry as she had been there for 4 years!

 

Before I got ill, I used to be a keen gardener so I was eager to see the outside areas. Claire kindly sat me in the conservatory which looked out onto a gorgeous garden area which had squirrels running left, right and centre! I was shocked at how much wildlife there was and Claire even told me there was a resident pheasant that visited most days.

It was a beautiful day and the sun shone into the conservatory. It was so lovely to sit and admire a garden as I didn’t have one at home. Claire and I sat and filled out a form called ‘This is me’ which helped the staff determine what I’d previously done for a living, and what things I liked and disliked including my hate for football!

Claire went to see her other resident, so I continued to chat to Karen. Karen had just received a job role within the home serving breakfast to the other resident and told me how much she loved it. She also mentioned being on the Milford House news. I was blown away by how involved she was in the home. It definitely dismantled any beliefs I had about care homes being boring!

The head chef, Gill, came over to ask me about my likes and dislikes of food and whether I had any allergies. I’m really easy to please so I think she was happy with that but she also told me about this gel substance that is made to look and taste like food that some residents had if they found it hard to swallow. I didn’t even know such a thing existed.

Lunchtime came and went and I was nicely filled with steak and kidney pie, mash, peas and apple pie for dessert. I sat with some lovely ladies who made me feel very welcome and we bonded over tea and Downton Abbey.

Some gentlemen of the home were getting called up and asked if they wanted to join in with musical bingo. I was a bit dubious until I saw lots of people gathering and the ladies I’d sat with at lunch ushering me to join in. Kirsty, the Dementia Coach, started playing music and we had to guess the tune. I hadn’t heard My Kind Of Town for a long time and it took me straight back to dancing at tea parties with my mother in the 70s. It was fabulous to be able to reminisce on such memories and it was nice to hear other people in the room had the same memories too.

Kirsty offered to take us upstairs to the hair salon so the hairdresser Sally could give us a little trim. I was more than happy to get my hair washed as I’d never been able to do it properly myself since coming down with my illness.

All in all, I had a great day and was thoroughly surprised at the amount of effort and thought that went into every part of it. Each staff member and resident was so welcoming and put me at ease from the start. I was actually looking forward to waking up the next day and doing it again.”

Meryl is just one of many residents we admit for respite care at our Milford Care homes. Whether you’re coming for a week or a month, we are committed to providing the highest quality care with lots of fun thrown in too!

For more information about respite care, take a look at our Respite care page or for a no-obligation chat, email enquiries@milfordcare.co.uk.