- Caroline Dinenage visits award-winning Home in Solihull
- Ms Dinenage looked at award-winning dementia support provided at the Home and viewed the new day care service
- The Minister described day care service as “a real asset to this community”
The Minister was given a tour by The Royal Star & Garter Homes’ Chief Executive Andy Cole and Home Manager Cheryl Harbourne during her visit on 5 November.
The Charity provides 24-hour care for veterans living with disability or dementia and recently increased the number of people it helps by launching a day care service.
During her visit, the Minister was shown around Roundel House, which provides round-the-clock specialist care for people living with dementia, and the activities room, where she saw the day care service in action.
She also viewed residents painting poppies on 100 pebbles as the Home prepared for Remembrance Day and the Armistice centenary on Sunday (11 November).
The tour finished with a visit to the Physiotherapy department, before Ms Dinenage chatting to several residents.
The Minister said afterwards: “It was a great pleasure to visit The Royal Star & Garter Homes in Solihull and see first-hand the excellent, specialist care they provide to our military veterans living with disabilities or dementia. Their new day care service is a real asset to this community and will enable more veterans to benefit from their quality care.”
The Royal Star & Garter Homes’ Chief Executive Andy Cole said: “It was wonderful to welcome Caroline Dinenage to our Solihull Home. We’re always looking at how we can adapt our care to meet the needs of veterans living with disabilities, so we’re really pleased the Minister was able to see our new day care service in full swing. This is allowing us to help even more veterans.”
Joan, a resident at the Home, spent time talking to Ms Dinenage. She said: “It was very nice that she came down to see us. She’s a lovely lady. She was very approachable and easy to talk to.”
The Star & Garter Club day care service runs Monday – Friday with dedicated days for people living with dementia.
The day care service runs in tandem with care provided to 60 residents living at the Home.
The tour was arranged by Vic Raynor, Executive Director at the National Care Forum.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes in Solihull was rated ‘Outstanding’ in its last report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
In August 2018, it retained its Level 1 Accreditation from Dementia Care Matters for its exceptional dementia care. Only 1% of care homes within the UK achieve a Level 1 distinction.
For further information please contact:
Goolistan Cooper
Communications Officer
e: goolistan.cooper@starandgarter.org
t: 0208 481 7669
Cally Madden
Marketing & Communications Manager
e: cally.madden@starandgarter.org
t: 020 8481 7692
About The Royal Star & Garter Homes:
The Charity provides award-winning care for veterans and their partners who live with disability or dementia.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a charity founded in 1916 to care for the severely injured young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. Today we provide specialist care to the whole military family in our friendly, state-of-the-art Homes. Disabled ex-Servicemen and women, and their spouses, can all benefit from our pioneering approach to nursing, dementia and therapeutic care.
We are in the process of building new Homes around the country to provide specialist nursing care for disabled ex-Service people in the best modern surroundings, including dementia care facilities to address this growing need. The Charity has award-winning Homes in Solihull, West Midlands, and Surbiton, Surrey, which also enables the Charity to offer interim care for young disabled Service personnel. Following the successes of the first two Homes, a third Home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is being built, with a planned opening in 2019.
We are proud to have enjoyed Royal patronage since our foundation, including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to the present day.
The Charity celebrated its centenary in 2016: providing specialist care for disabled veterans since 1916.
Twitter: @starandgarter
Facebook: facebook.com/starandgarter
Website: www.starandgarter.org
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a member of the National Care Forum – the leading voice for not-for-profit care providers. A national perspective may be available from info@nationalcareforum.org.uk or by contacting 02476243619. More details on NCF available at www.nationalcareforum.org.uk.
