PORTHAVEN CARE HOMES BLOG

Choosing a Care Home: A Complete Guide

Choosing a Care Home: A Complete Guide

Your complete guide to choosing a care home   Selecting the right care home for your loved one is a significant decision that requires  careful consideration and research. It means finding a place where they will be safe, well  cared for, and supported to enjoy their best quality of life. In this article, we will provide you  with a guide […]

Read more
When Should Someone Go Into a Care Home?

When Should Someone Go Into a Care Home?

As we age, our health, needs, and capabilities all inevitably change. At some point, the  question of whether a care home is necessary may arise. While this is a deeply personal, and  often difficult decision to make, it is an important one. Ensure you consider all factors  involved in order to prioritise the well-being and quality of life […]

Read more
Are Next of Kin Responsible for Care Home Fees?

Are Next of Kin Responsible for Care Home Fees?

There is a lot to consider when moving a loved one into a care home, with  one of the biggest considerations being how the fees are going to be paid  and by whom. Unless a signed contract is in place, the next of kin is not  responsible for the care home fees of their loved one.   This article […]

Read more
Care home vs home care: Why choose a care home?

Care home vs home care: Why choose a care home?

As we age, we’ll likely each need a little care and support at some point. Whether that’s help carrying out day-to-day tasks, or assistance with developing medical conditions, it’s important that we take the time to choose the correct care for ourselves and our loved ones. What is the difference between a care home and […]

Read more
Children’s Art Week: Woodland Manor Care Home News 

Children’s Art Week: Woodland Manor Care Home News 

In July the exceptional Marie from Fired Works ran an incredibly successful workshop here at Woodland Manor in Chalfont St Peter for our residents and friends from Childlink Day Nursery & Pre School! Together our residents and the children had a fantastic time working on their glass art whilst sharing jokes and learning something new. […]

Read more
Beautiful bird spotting 

Beautiful bird spotting 

Recently our Wiltshire Heights residents John and Margaret took a trip to the gorgeous Langford Lakes for a bit of bird spotting! The nature reserve, which is comprised of four lakes and a scrape, provides an invaluable habitat for approximately 150 different species of bird, including the occasional osprey. Langford Lakes is close to us […]

Read more
Goodwood Festival of Speed at Upton Mill Care Home

Goodwood Festival of Speed at Upton Mill Care Home

To mark the Goodwood Festival of Speed, here at Upton Mill Care Home we decided to host our very own car show! Our fantastic Tetbury community delighted our residents with their classic cars, and we were even joined by the award winning David Long and his ice cream van, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all! […]

Read more
International Chess Day

International Chess Day

To mark International Chess Day here at Tonbridge House Care Home, a number of our residents, their loved ones and our team members spent some time in our garden enjoying a casual chess tournament! Together we relearnt how to play chess, all whilst enjoying a lovely break from the rain and some classical music, and […]

Read more
Children’s Art Week: Thirlestaine Park Care Home News

Children’s Art Week: Thirlestaine Park Care Home News

As part of Children’s Art Week, our lovely Client Services Manager, Laura, was delighted to unveil our pop-up art gallery at Cheltenham Library. We would like to say a big thank you and well done to all of the young budding artists who contributed to this excellent display, as well as our very own residents. […]

Read more
A spiffing tiffin!

A spiffing tiffin!

World Chocolate Day here at Savernake View in Marlborough was certainly one to remember! Our fantastic Kitchen Team delighted our residents with a range of chocolatey treats including this very tempting cake stand full of tiffins! We enjoyed them with fresh fruit and tea and coffee as we spent the afternoon sharing our favourite chocolate-themed […]

Read more
A marvellous visit from Manchester Historic Vehicle Club!

A marvellous visit from Manchester Historic Vehicle Club!

In July our residents enjoyed a special visit from the Manchester Historic Vehicle Club, who brought with them a number of fantastic cars for us to look at. This is the third year that we have held a car show at our home, and it is truly a one-of-a-kind event that our residents and team […]

Read more
Meet the goats!

Meet the goats!

In July we surprised our animal-loving resident Liz with a trip to All Things Wild Nature Centre! Here at Penhurst Gardens Care Home, we always enjoy finding out more about our residents’ lives and Liz has told us many stories about her love for farm animals, so it was wonderful to see the look of […]

Read more
Intergenerational art sessions

Intergenerational art sessions

For Childrens Art Week in July our residents thoroughly enjoyed multiple visits from our friends at The Early Years Nursery! From collages to playdough, there have been plenty of creative activities on offer for the children and our residents to get stuck into, and we are incredibly grateful for the fantastic team at Early Years Nursery […]

Read more
Beautiful ballet!

Beautiful ballet!

Last month our Lavender Oaks residents were treated to a spectacular performance by pupils from the London Children’s Ballet. The dancers performed a show called ‘Anne of Green Gables’, which thoroughly captivated those in attendance. Engaging with the community is a core part of London Children’s Ballet’s mission, so it was wonderful to be able […]

Read more
Classic car visit!

Classic car visit!

Last month Eric from Bodycraft in West Horsley kindly brought his Jaguar E-Type to Hartfield House for our resident car enthusiast John to marvel at! John was delighted to see this classic car parked outside our home, and he had a fantastic time inspecting the vehicle’s pristine engine and asking plenty of questions. John has […]

Read more
A riveting reptile encounter!

A riveting reptile encounter!

Last month our Activities and Wellbeing Team arranged for a number of snakes and reptiles to come visit us here at Falkland Grange Care Home! The braver amongst us had a go at holding a few of them, like our resident Sylvia pictured here, whilst others opted to admire these fascinating creatures from a distance. […]

Read more
A trip to Cadbury World!

A trip to Cadbury World!

Last month our residents Ian and John took a trip to Cadbury World in Birmingham for a day full of chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate! The duo had a wonderful day watching the chocolate making process as they enjoyed a tour around the factory, and they were even able to sample a few sweet treats! […]

Read more
Anybody fancy a flake?

Anybody fancy a flake?

In July our residents and team members were thrilled to receive a bit of respite from the summer sunshine in the form of National Ice Cream Day! To celebrate the occasion our team surprised our residents with a visit from a local Farnham ice cream van, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Everybody had a […]

Read more
Lunch by the River Severn

Lunch by the River Severn

In July, here at Avondale Care Home our residents requested an afternoon by the River Severn as part of our regularly scheduled trips, so our Activities and Wellbeing Team were more than happy to organise lunch at a riverside restaurant for those interested! A fantastic afternoon was had by all enjoying delicious food, fresh air […]

Read more
Hoping for a ‘wheel’ success!

Hoping for a ‘wheel’ success!

Every year our residents here at Astbury Mere Care Home enter the Congleton Wheelbarrow Challenge in the hopes of having the best decorated wheelbarrow in the community. This year’s theme was ‘Celebrations’, so our residents decided to create a wheelbarrow inspired by His Majesty’s Coronation! The Congleton and District Horticultural Society judged the wheelbarrows earlier […]

Read more
Our defibrillator donation

Our defibrillator donation

Here at Haddon Hall Care Home we recently donated a new defibrillator unit to our Buxton community that will be installed at the end of the high street. Pictured here is our Home Manager Julie handing the life-saving equipment over to James, who works for the East Midlands Ambulance Service. Our team are proud to […]

Read more
Get Out Together with Ledbury Primary School

Get Out Together with Ledbury Primary School

In July our residents enjoyed weekly visits from a number of Ledbury Primary School pupils, an initiative organised by Rachel Freeman from Everybody Dance Company and facilitated by the Community Action Ledbury minibus. Every Monday the children joined our residents for a catch up and walk around our gardens. It has been fantastic watching our […]

Read more
Cavell Park meets the Mayor!

Cavell Park meets the Mayor!

In July we hosted a VIP sneak preview of our home for local professionals ahead of our opening on Tuesday 1st August, and we were overjoyed with the reception we received from those that visited! Our team were especially honoured that the Mayor and Mayoress of Maidstone took time out of their schedule to have […]

Read more
Do dementia residents have to pay care home fees?

Do dementia residents have to pay care home fees?

At Porthaven Care Homes, around 70% of the residents that we care for are living with dementia and due to their memory loss and other symptoms, they are often unable to manage their financial affairs alone. So, who is responsible for paying care home fees and is there any funding available for dementia-specific illnesses? In […]

Read more
Magnificent model village!

Magnificent model village!

Our residents here at Woodland Manor Care Home in Chalfont St Peter recently took a trip on our minibus to Bekonscot Model Village. We feel incredibly lucky to have the attraction so close to us and so make a regular effort to take a look around the beautiful village. It was a beautiful day, and […]

Read more
Day trip to The National Arboretum

Day trip to The National Arboretum

In June our residents here at Wiltshire Heights in Chalfont St Peter were delighted to visit The National Arboretum in Westonbirt. Home to 2,500 different species from the far corners of the globe and 5 national tree collections, Westonbirt is the perfect place to escape, relax or have an adventure! The rhododendrons were particularly beautiful, […]

Read more
World Milk Day

World Milk Day

In June we were joined by local Tetbury dairy farmer Treena, who spent the morning telling our residents about the various products that are made using milk from her farm. Everybody agreed that it was fascinating to find out how many unique things milk is used for! Later in the afternoon our Upton Mill residents […]

Read more
The perfect picnic!

The perfect picnic!

Our residents here at Tonbridge House were delighted with a recent trip to Haysden Country Park to celebrate International Picnic Day. Our talented Kitchen Team prepared a delicious lunch for everybody to enjoy al fresco and it went down a treat. It is always nice to get out and about to discover new places in […]

Read more
International Picnic Day

International Picnic Day

This June our Thirlestaine Park residents took advantage of the beautiful weather here in Cheltenham and enjoyed some time in our garden for International Picnic Day. We were delighted to welcome family and friends to enjoy an alfresco afternoon tea complete with finger sandwiches and a range of cakes as we reminisced over some of […]

Read more
Superb Sausage Roll Day!

Superb Sausage Roll Day!

In June our Savernake View residents were thrilled to celebrate Britain’s favourite savoury snack as we marked Sausage Roll Day with a sampling session! There were plenty of delicious sausage rolls to choose from, but in the end our own talented Kitchen Team’s homemade sausage rolls were the clear winner.

Read more
Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day

In June we took a trip to the Macclesfield Cenotaph with our resident Pat to pay our respects to members of the armed forces both past and present. With an army instructor for a father, Pat was born and raised in a military household, and later went on to marry an army officer. Throughout her […]

Read more
Marvellous Mark Hix!

Marvellous Mark Hix!

In June we were delighted to host a live cookery demonstration here at Penhurst Gardens led by celebrated chef, restauranteur and food writer, Mark Hix MBE! The event was attended by our residents’ loved ones, members of the Oxfordshire community, local professionals and even the Mayor of Chipping Norton, Councillor Sandra Coleman. Mark prepared an […]

Read more
The Lincroft Singers !

The Lincroft Singers !

Here at Lincroft Meadow, our residents always look forward to a visit from the wonderful Kate Wilkinson, who hosts our weekly choir sessions. Kate begins each session with some warmups, and once everybody is ready our choir begins their practise! Alongside singing, Kate also teaches our residents how to play different instruments, which is thoroughly […]

Read more
Captain Jim Forbes

Captain Jim Forbes

On the 6th of June our resident Captain Jim Forbes received an emotional welcome when he returned to Normandy to mark the 79th anniversary of D-Day alongside fellow British veterans. A navy man, Jim was captain of the Empire Russell and has been awarded four British military campaign medals over the years for his service […]

Read more
National Volunteers Week!

National Volunteers Week!

In June we used National Volunteers Week to show our appreciation for our wonderful volunteer Griff, who regularly brings his superb therapy dog Oscar to Hartfield House to spend quality time with our residents. Griff and Oscar’s visits never fail to bring a smile to our residents’ faces, and we all look forward to seeing […]

Read more
Horsing around!

Horsing around!

Our home is full of animal lovers, and we are always looking for opportunities to spend time with new furry friends, so in June our resident Ann took a trip to Enborne Equestrian Centre to do just that! Ann had a fabulous morning meeting all of the gorgeous horses at Enborne and thoroughly enjoyed spending […]

Read more
Say hello to summer!

Say hello to summer!

In June our residents took advantage of the wonderful warm spell we experienced with an action-packed month full of trips, garden games and al fresco dining! Our minibus has seen plenty of use this past month, from visits to our local ice cream shop to a trip to Brighton Pier, and for those preferring to […]

Read more
Gabriel the music maestro!

Gabriel the music maestro!

For Make Music Day in June we decided to leave the performing to the professionals and instead welcomed the wonderful Gabriel into our home to play the piano for our residents. Gabriel was incredibly talented and very professional – he even stood up to present each piece of music before he played it! Our Bourne […]

Read more
Plants for Ukraine

Plants for Ukraine

In June, Richard Novack, a friend of our Activities and Wellbeing Team, assisted the Chilterns Support Group for Ukraine as they sold home-grown plants at local events in Chesham and Little Chalfont to raise funds that will be used to buy supplies and medical equipment for those in need in Ukraine. Here at Avondale Care […]

Read more
A beautiful day for boating

A beautiful day for boating

Our Astbury Mere Care Home residents love the opportunity to get out and about when the sun is shining, so in June we took a trip to Rudyard Lake in the Staffordshire Moorlands for a picnic and boat ride! Those in attendance enjoyed sailing down the reservoir on the Frolic 31, which is an Edwardian […]

Read more
Thank you, Cynthia!

Thank you, Cynthia!

We know how important it is for our residents to feel part of our Buxton community, so we are always looking for ways to maintain strong links with those in our local area. One of the main ways we do this is through our wonderful volunteers, and in June our residents enjoyed plenty of quality […]

Read more
Superb sunflowers!

Superb sunflowers!

Back in April our Deer Park residents got together to plant sunflower seeds in preparation for the annual Porthaven Garden Challenge sunflower competition, and after some time in our greenhouse and plenty of warm weather it was time to plant them in the garden! So in June ten of our residents picked out the best […]

Read more
Introducing our Deputy Manager, Jane

Introducing our Deputy Manager, Jane

This month we would like to introduce you to Cavell Park’s new Deputy Manager, Jane! Jane has been working in the care sector since 1977 when she started her career as a healthcare assistant. A year later Jane began her state-enrolled nurse training at South East Kent School of Nursing, qualifying in 1980. Jane also […]

Read more
Dementia Action Week

Dementia Action Week

In May we marked Dementia Action Week with a number of activities, including a dementia information session, a talk all about nutrition and a seaside-themed sensory reminiscence morning. For our sensory session we invited our friends from The Town Nursery in Chipping Norton to join us, and our residents had a fantastic time interacting with […]

Read more
Ring for the King

Ring for the King

Here at Falkland Grange Care Home, we kicked off the coronation celebrations with a fantastic party complete with decorations, food fit for royalty and plenty of superb entertainment! The Mayor of Newbury, Councillor Gary Norman, even popped in to join the festivities and ring for the King with us – here he is getting into the spirit of things […]

Read more
The Royal Air Force Museum

The Royal Air Force Museum

Last month, our Avondale Care Home residents enjoyed a visit to The Royal Air Force Museum in London. Together we learnt about the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force before touring the museum to see all of the incredible aircrafts. Pictured here is our lovely resident Alan.

Read more
Our Coronation celebration!

Our Coronation celebration!

Last month we held a party fit for royalty to celebrate the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III complete with a five piece band! The group played a number of pop and rock classics, such as ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Brown Eyed Girl’, and everybody had a fantastic time singing and dancing along. […]

Read more
Beautiful bluebells!

Beautiful bluebells!

Last month our wonderful bus crew Sally and Joli took our residents Jill, Clive and Val on a trip to visit an amazing springtime display of bluebells in the woods near Marlborough. The trio enjoyed absorbing the lovely scents and scenery before them with a freshly prepared cup of tea, and Val noted how privileged […]

Read more
Our very own constable!

Our very own constable!

To mark National Police Week in May, we spent some time speaking to our resident Greta about her time in the Worcestershire Constabulary. Early on in life, Greta decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and join the police force and, after some time, interviewed for the Worcestershire Constabulary. However, before Greta was offered the […]

Read more
A celebration fit for a King!

A celebration fit for a King!

Here at Tonbridge House, our highlight for May was celebrating the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III by inviting our residents, their loved ones and our wonderful Tonbridge community to join us for the festivities! Attendees enjoyed incredible entertainment by vocalist Kristy, and our talented chefs also prepared an exquisite array of food for […]

Read more
Community links

Community links

Here at Thirlestaine Park we are always delighted to welcome members of our local community into our home, so we are thrilled to have built a relationship with a number of fantastic students from Cheltenham College who visit us every Wednesday. In May, the focus of their visits was to work with our residents on […]

Read more
Our coronation competition!

Our coronation competition!

To mark the coronation of King Charles III, here at Savernake View we decided to hold a competition for budding young Marlborough artists by asking them to decorate a paper crown for our Home Manager Rachael to judge. There were a number of fun and fantastic entries, which meant that Rachael had a hard task […]

Read more
Let’s get gardening!

Let’s get gardening!

Last month we officially began working on our garden ready for the annual Porthaven Garden Challenge. Our fabulous resident Dotty was delighted to spend some time outside in the sunshine planting petunias and violas on our balcony and remarked how lovely it was to have space on the balcony to simply sit and enjoy a […]

Read more
Meet Snoopy!

Meet Snoopy!

In May we were once again visited by our lovely local Police Community Support Officer Ian, who brought with him his wonderful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Snoopy! Our residents had a fantastic time giving Snoopy plenty of fuss whilst catching up with Ian, and we hope that the duo will visit us again soon. As […]

Read more
If you like Pina Colada!

If you like Pina Colada!

For World Cocktail Day, here at Lavender Oaks our residents spent some time sampling a range of cocktails and mocktails thanks to our fabulous Activities and Wellbeing Team. There were plenty of classics on offer and, after much deliberation, everyone was in agreement that there isn’t much better than a creamy Pina Colada! Pictured here […]

Read more
Coronation celebrations!

Coronation celebrations!

We celebrated the coronation of King Charles III here at Hartfield House Care Home with a fantastic street-style party! Our residents had a wonderful time decorating our home with bunting and plenty of crafted crowns. We watched the monumental event on our big screen before enjoying a delicious meal made by our talented kitchen team […]

Read more
International Firefighters Day

International Firefighters Day

Here at Chiltern Grange Care Home, we are extremely proud to be a part of the wonderful Stokenchurch community. Recently, to mark International Firefighters Day, we welcomed Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service into our home to thank them for all of the amazing work that they do. After time spent chatting with our staff and […]

Read more
The King’s Coronation

The King’s Coronation

Here at Bourne Wood Manor Care Home we had a fantastic weekend celebrating the King’s coronation. Our residents were delighted with the decorations on display in our home, and everybody enjoyed coronation chicken made by our talented Kitchen Team. However, the star of the show was our incredible cake, which took the shape of a […]

Read more
A feast fit for a King!

A feast fit for a King!

Here at Astbury Mere Care Home, in May we watched along with the rest of the world from our corner of Congleton as His Majesty King Charles III was coronated! It was spectacular to watch the monumental event on the big screen in our home, and afterwards we celebrated with a party in our gorgeous […]

Read more
A regal celebration!

A regal celebration!

Here at Haddon Hall Care Home, we celebrated the coronation of King Charles III with our very own indoor street party! The talented Sam Jones, pictured here alongside our resident Elaine, sang us a number of fantastic patriotic tunes whilst our residents danced along and waved their union jack flags! We certainly worked up an appetite, so everybody was […]

Read more
Forget Me Not Friday Club

Forget Me Not Friday Club

At last month’s Forget Me Not Friday Club, which is our monthly dementia café, we were joined by Charlotte and Tash from Dementia Matters Herefordshire as we marked Dementia Action Week. During the event, Charlotte and Tash explained how Dementia Matters supports individuals living with dementia in remaining a part of the Ledbury community through a range of […]

Read more
Introducing our Home Administrator, Hollee

Introducing our Home Administrator, Hollee

Here at Cavell Park Care Home we would like to introduce you to our newly appointed Home Administrator, Hollee! Hollee joins us with over ten years of experience working in the care sector, having started her career as a care assistant. Hollee is looking forward to welcoming residents and their loved ones into our beautiful home and making […]

Read more
Porthaven Care Homes Recognised as a Top 20 Mid-size Care Home Group

Porthaven Care Homes Recognised as a Top 20 Mid-size Care Home Group

Carehome.co.uk, which determines its ratings based on reviews from residents, service users and their family and friends, recently recognised Porthaven Care Homes as a top 20 rated mid-size care home group. With a group review score of 9.8 out of 10, this is the eighth year in a row that Porthaven have been presented with […]

Read more
24th National Care Awards 2022: Porthaven’s Victory

24th National Care Awards 2022: Porthaven’s Victory

Here at Porthaven we are thrilled to announce that we were awarded ‘Best Care Home Group over 10 settings’ at the 24th National Care Awards on Saturday 26th November. The National Care Awards honour the very best within the long-term care sector by recognising those who display unending dedication towards providing exceptional care. We competed […]

Read more
Porthaven Chefs Go Foraging with Mark Hix MBE

Porthaven Chefs Go Foraging with Mark Hix MBE

At Porthaven Care Homes, food has always been one of the pillars of quality we pride ourselves upon. Our chefs play a key part in the health and wellbeing of our residents and so we ensure they are trained well and have a constant source of inspiration to create exceptional dish after exceptional dish. Over […]

Read more
Angela Rippon Officially Opens Deer Park

Angela Rippon Officially Opens Deer Park

On Friday 2nd September, Deer Park held its official Grand Opening after opening earlier this year. We welcomed members of the local Ledbury community, along with relatives of our residents to join us for a celebration in our beautiful garden. Angela Rippon, CBE, delighted everyone with an engaging talk and touched on her connection with […]

Read more
Porthaven Care Homes partner with Mark Hix MBE

Porthaven Care Homes partner with Mark Hix MBE

Celebrated chef, restaurateur and food writer, Mark Hix MBE, has partnered with the award-winning Porthaven care home group as their latest Ambassador. In his many years in food and hospitality, Mark has established himself as one of this country’s leading chefs and food writers, known for his original take on British gastronomy. He is the […]

Read more

Categories