THE lives of residents in a Douglas old people’s home have been changed for the better thanks to Pride in Mann customer services nominee Alison Cain.
Mrs Cain is the part-time cook and activities co-ordinator at Marathon Court Nursing and Residential Home in Victoria Road, Douglas, where residents enjoy activities ranging from ball games to steam train rides thanks to her efforts.
The home’s manager, Jessie Buttery, said: ‘She has transformed the activities in the home – it’s no longer a game of bingo and a cup of tea.
‘The best people to ask about it would be the residents themselves really: their lives have changed beyond recognition.’
Mrs Buttery said Mrs Cain started out at the home some years ago offering healthcare, then took over as full-time cook.
‘After her daughter was born three years ago she started doing holiday cover in the kitchen but took over as the activities co-ordinator, which she is able to fit in around her daughter,’ she said.
‘She takes them on the steam railway down to Port Erin – including disabled residents who are able to travel in the guard’s van.’
The fun doesn’t stop there: among the other attractions the residents have enjoyed are shopping trips, runs out in the car, going out for lunch and church services.
‘For those residents who really can’t get out, the minister comes in to them,’ Mrs Buttery said.
‘We also held a fantastic summer fair here last year, as well as a Christmas fair, and both the residents and the staff get involved in the organisation.
‘The activities are all resident-led as well. It’s what they want to do, not what we want them to do.’
Mrs Cain was delighted with her nomination. ‘I’m very surprised by that,’ she said.
‘But I love my job. I’ve been there for 12 years now and it is very rewarding. We work on a week to week basis deciding what the residents want to do and putting dates into the calendar.’
She said ideas generally evolved from residents’ suggestions: ‘One resident said they used to live where Tesco is now, near Douglas station, and they used to love the railway, so we went on the train down to Port Erin for lunch.
‘Sometimes you can spark off old interests too – we’ve got one person back into knitting again – and we do other things – not bingo, but ball games, hoopla and have afternoon tea. Sometimes we’ll do a big day out – to the Wildlife Park, for example.’
She said the home was both residential and nursing so some of the 36 residents were simply not able to join in with many activities. For them, she plans to invest in some sensory equipment and, in the longer term, create a sensory garden with a variety of stimulating scents, sounds and textures.
Mrs Cain is also keen for her residents to savour their experiences and remember them.
‘One of the things we have done is taking photographs and putting them up on the memory board so we have pictures there from the royal wedding day last year, as well as our garden party and Christmas party,’ she said.
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Pride in Mann is an awards scheme from Isle of Man Newspapers and Flybe which aims to recognise unsung heroes in the Manx community.
The competition sees the public invited to nominate people they feel are worthy recipients of an award across 10 categories. Each person nominated will be recognised in one of our newspapers and later there will be a public vote to find the categories’ winners.
The categories for this year’s Pride in Mann awards are: Promotion of Manx Culture, Performer of the Year, Teacher of the Year, Sporting Acheivement, Young Person of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Linking with Schools, Customer Service and Family Business.
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Who will you nominate?
You can find a downloadable nomination form by clicking {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/pride_in_mann_1_4040786|this link.}