Many local care homes opened their doors on 20 June 2014 as part of second National Care Home open day.
TV and radio presenter, Gloria Hunniford is the ambassador of the National Care Home Open Day which encourages local people to visit care homes to connect care homes with their local communities, challenge misconceptions about residential care and show local people the excellent services at the heart of their community.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Andrew Jones was welcomed by Bilton Hall and Grosvenor House.
Care homes taking part in the Harrogate and Knaresborough area are:
- The Pines, Harlow Moor Drive, Harrogate
- The Crest, Rutland Drive, Harrogate
- Grosvenor House, Duchy Road
- Ashfield Court, Tewit Well Road, Harrogate
- Granby Court, Granby Road, Harrogate
- Vida Hall, Station View, Starbeck
- Belmont House, High Street, Starbeck
- Bilton Hall, Bilton Hall Drive, Harrogate.
- Thistle Hill Nursing Home, Knaresborough
Andrew Jones MP said: Care homes and their residents are a very important but sometimes overlooked part of our society.
The National Care Home Open Day helps strengthen the relationships between care home residents, staff and their next door neighbours. I was impressed by the staff and by the charming and inspiring residents I met.
I hope that this Open Day may encourage a few people to think about volunteering to do something during the rest of the year to support and befriend residents in local care homes.
We spoke to Sue Alderson, a registered nurse and the Care Home manager at the Grosvenor House on Duchy Road.
Sue said: During the National Care Home open day we open our doors and welcome people to look around and chat.
It’s about letting people see the good things that go on and you can gain a feeling when you visit a care home as to what it is like – you should see a calm environment.
We promote independence in each individual and gear the care to what people want. As an example, some spend much more time in the communal areas and others more time in their own rooms. We never push people into doing things they don’t want to do.
We appreciate the visit from our local MP and many of the residents enjoyed chatting with him.
Photograph shows: Bert Verity, aged 100 with Andrew Jones MP at the Grosvenor House Care Home
