Care Team Update

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Alan Fry

I thought I’d take the opportunity to welcome two recent new joiners and welcome back a familiar face.

Wendy and Robert have recently joined the Care Team at Valerie Manor as Care Assistants and have settled in well.

You may recognise Robert, as he volunteered with us a while ago, in order to gain experience with a view to becoming a Doctor.

Wendy comes to us with a vast amount of experience in health and social care.

We were all very upset when Collette left last year due to health reasons, but I am pleased to say that she has rejoined which has pleased the residents and staff no end!

Welcome to all of our new starters/re-joiner!

Pictured, left to right above: Wendy, Robert & Collette

Brighton Marathon – Our Winners!

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Zoe

Well Done Linda & Alan!

What can I say? I am so proud of Linda and Alan who both completed the Brighton Marathon in great times last Sunday 14th April. What an achievement for them both. You’d hardly have known it though as they were both back at work early this week as if nothing had happened!

Linda completed the marathon in 3 hours 50 minutes and 56 seconds and out of over ten thousand runners was the 1,914th runner and 229th female to finish! Alan completed in 4 hours 8 minutes and 47 seconds and was the 3,573th overall and 2,885th male to finish which is fantastic for his first marathon.

All the residents and staff are delighted with what the two have achieved and as well as a personal accomplishment they have raised an amazing £1,624.78 for St Barnabas Hospice who Valerie Manor has been supporting for the past year. Well done to them both!

Same again next year?!

Marathon Training – Update!

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Alan Fry

As part of our Brighton Marathon training, Linda (above) and I competed in the Steyning Stinger Half Marathon last Sunday, and although we started at different times, we both finished just over the 2 hour mark – which we were both so pleased with – in fact Linda beat me by 1 second and was the 7th Lady to finish.

We both feel our preparations are going well, we plan to increase our training runs up to 20 miles about three weeks before the big day (14th April 2013), then taper down to ensure we are ready for the marathon.

I personally would like to thank Linda, who has been very encouraging and supportive to me, and as you will see from my picture (right) – I’m not the most attractive runner you’ll ever see!!

I know everyone at Valerie Manor and St Barnabas House would like to thank you if you have already sponsored us, and if you would like to please visit our Just Giving page by clicking on the link, or text your donation to 70070 (see below).

Running the Brighton Marathon for St Barnabas

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Zoe

We are coming to the end of our fundraising year for St Barnabas Hospice and our final event approaches!

We are all very proud of Linda & Alan who are well into their training for the Brighton Marathon, which is on Sunday 14th April 2013, and we have had numerous enquiries about how people could make a donation to the cause!

We have found the most popular way to donate is to do so online via our Just Giving webpage, but of course if you prefer we do have sponsor forms which will be available around the Home when you visit.

Throughout the year we have been amazed by everyone’s generosity, and know that our friends at St Barnabas, really do appreciate it as well.

Thank you for your support!

The Great South East Care Awards 2012

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Zoe

The Great British Care Awards are a series of regional events throughout England and are a celebration of excellence across the care sector. The purpose of the awards are to pay tribute to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field of work. You may have read recently that Alan Fry, our office manager and Michele Stubbs, our in-house trainer, were short listed for two awards this year in the Regional Finals.

The Awards ceremony took place on Friday 30th November at the Hilton Hotel, Brighton. Although on this occasion they did not win, it is a great achievement to each be one of 5 South East Regional Finalists, and they should be very proud of the trophies and recognition they received.

The Gala Award evening started in style with a champagne reception, followed by a superb gourmet dinner and the awards presentation with television star Dr Hilary Jones and then dancing into the night. Michele and Alan were both very nervous but managed to enjoy what turned out to be a very special evening. I am very proud of my team having finalists throughout 2012 which shows how hard they work and their dedication to Valerie Manor and its staff and residents – they are all winners in my eyes!

The awards support a chosen charity; The Care Professionals Benevolent Fund is the registered charity for the Care Sector and are there to support current, former and retired care professionals, by providing assistance to relieve financial hardship or sickness.

2012 National Care Awards

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Zoe

Last Friday saw the 14th National Care Awards take place at the London Hilton Metropole hotel. The National Care Awards has been the social care sector’s premier awards event since 1999, promoting excellence in the care industry.

Head chef Chris was one of the finalists for Care Chef of the Year (you may remember Chris spent a day up in Milton Keynes back in October cooking a delicious menu for the judges) and he was joined by myself, office manager Alan and our partners for the Gala Awards Night. It was a great evening and wonderful opportunity for the care industry to show its appreciation for the tireless work that goes on each and every day in the care world. Although Chris did not win the award it was a great achievement becoming one of just five finalists and all of us at Valerie Manor are extremely proud of him.

This Friday we’re at the Great British Care Awards for the Regional Finals in Brighton where Alan and our care trainer Michelle are finalists – we’ll report back with news from the event next week!

Staff Training

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Zoe

I’m sure that several of you may be aware that we have to have mandatory staff training each year which includes Fire, Health & Safety, Food Hygiene, Infection Control, Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and First Aid. Valerie Manor has also made the decision that all staff will have training in the care of residents with dementia to ensure we meet the needs of all of our residents.

This week we had our final training day for 2012 and it is so lovely for the staff to get together as well – very unusual as well to see me sit down for a whole day! We of course have to split the training into two sessions due to the number of staff but the day is always extremely valuable.

I wanted to say a huge thank you to Nick and Michele our local trainers who always provide the appropriate training at the right level for our staff and make these sessions enjoyable. I am delighted to say that Michele was nominated by staff recently and was selected as a finalist for the Care Trainer of the Year for Valerie Manor and we will be attending the awards ceremony on the 30th November so fingers crossed!

Martyn’s Milestone!

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Alan Fry

Staff and residents joined together on Friday to wish our Hospitality assistant Martyn a very Happy 18th Birthday on Sunday. Those that had attained the legal age for alcohol consumption raised a glass to him as well! Chris the chef produced another masterpiece in the form of a football cake to mark the occasion.

Good Luck Holly

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Alan Fry

We had to say goodbye to Holly this week, as she’s joining the staff at Worthing Hospital on a surgical ward. We all wish her well and thank her for all her efforts here at Valerie Manor.

Good luck Holly.

Care Chef of the Year Finalist

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Zoe

We are all absolutely delighted that Chris is one of 5 National finalists for Care Chef of the Year at the 2012 National Care Awards. What an achievement and much deserved as all the staff, residents and relatives at Valerie Manor agree! Please do have a look at the full nomination to see what we all had to say about him.

Chris spent a nervous day in Milton Keynes on Wednesday cooking a three course meal in front of the judges and was given 1.5hrs to undertake the task and it looked delicious!

We are all keeping our fingers crossed for the National Awards on the 23rd November where we will find out the results at the Gala awards night in London – Good luck Chris!

Here’s Chris’s delicious menu for judging day below…

Butternut squash and coconut soup
with chilli flatbread
~
Chicken, bacon and leek with smoked applewood cheese
in an open pie with a puff pastry top
Accompanied with a fresh vegetable medley
and creamed potatoes
~
Roast pears in cardamom and lemon butter
served with mascarpone and pecan nuts
~

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