PAGE 12 | THE CARER DIGITAL | ISSUE 59
Sunrise of Bassett Care Home Celebrates Anniversary of Heart-Warming Friendship Sunrise of Bassett, a luxury care home provider, is celebrating the anniversary of two resident’s three-year friendship. Since meeting in June 2018, Peggy Budd and Marjorie Muir have become best friends. However, prior to arriving at the care home, Peggy was extremely apprehensive about her move. To join the care home meant leaving behind the familiarity and relationships she had established over 16 years of living in her flat. Nevertheless, for Peggy, living alone had become increasingly challenging, with the management of household chores and cooking becoming more and more tedious. However, since making the bold decision to move to Sunrise of Bassett, she has not looked back with any regret. Sunrise of Bassett team could not have chosen a better match-up of residents. The two established an instant rapport, sharing the same sense of humour, interests and values, even learning that they may well have crossed paths in the past. It was clear a bond had well and truly been formed between Peggy and Marjorie. Over the past three years, the pair have spent much of their time
Anna Chaplaincy: Here To Help! Anna Chaplaincy began just over 11 years ago with one person - the former broadcaster Debbie Thrower, in Alton in Hampshire. Now, it’s a rapidly growing, widely respected nationwide ministry with Anna Chaplains and people in equivalent roles, in places as diverse as Orkney and Cornwall, south Wales and the Scottish highlands, Cumbria and Kent, Cheltenham and Newcastle. The purpose of Anna Chaplaincy – named after
the widow, Anna, in the Bible – is to offer spiritual care for older people and their carers, to advocate on their behalf and to champion their contribution to the wider community. As Debbie Thrower explains: "Our vision is to see an Anna Chaplain in every small- and medium-sized community in the country, and for the Anna Chaplain name to become synonymous with spiritual care for older people." Anna Chaplains work closely with care home managers and staff and carry out a wide range of activities in care homes and in the wider community. In normal times, being an Anna Chaplain involves visiting older people wherever they may be living, meeting one-to-one, hearing life-stories, taking services and home communion, drinking tea, praying, making music or simply holding someone’s hand in
together. Whilst Peggy is now the Resident Shop Manager at Sunrise of Bassett, and Marjorie enjoys her own hobbies, including reading, knitting, and assisting in the decorative flower arrangements in the dining room. They always make time to enjoy their daily crosswords, chat during mealtime, and visit each other’s bedrooms for a catch-up. Reflecting on their friendship, Marjorie Muir said: “Peggy is extremely thoughtful, caring and a supportive friend who always encourages and supports me. She helps me out with the food menu and often surprises me with a sandwich that she brings by my bedroom. These small acts of friendship mean a lot. When Peggy’s daughter visits, she brings me some food and snacks as my daughter lives far away.” Santa Bukovska, Director of Community Relations at Sunrise of Bassett added: “Peggy joined our care home not knowing any of our residents, but, at Sunrise of Bassett, we try to introduce our new residents to others who they share things in common with. This is a perfect example of a friendship that has blossomed over the years. It is so encouraging to see that no matter what age you are and where you live, you can meet good friends for life anywhere.’’ companionable silence. They also offer pastoral support to front-line care home staff. But for Anna Chaplains, as for everyone else, these have been far from normal times. They haven’t been able to go into care homes or make home visits for months but, ever creative and adaptable, they’ve switched to Zoom and FaceTime, window visits, telephone calls, handwritten notes and individual gift bags of tea and cake. Former nurse, Sally Rees, was ordained priest and commissioned as Anna Chaplaincy Lead for Wales, in a small socially distanced but very special service at Brecon Cathedral late last September. "I’ve been part of the Anna Chaplaincy network from the very first gathering,’ she says, ‘so I’ve been witness to Anna Chaplaincy growing. "Lockdown has been very difficult for Anna Chaplains, their teams, and the people for whom we care. But in this time when we can’t ‘do’, our praying for people is no small thing – praying is never a small thing, but in these times I really do believe our
goal is to do that deeper prayer, which protects and holds and keeps." As the whole area of social care, and support for the older members of our communities, moves centre stage as a result of the pandemic, (The Carer 12.04.21), Anna Chaplains are uniquely placed to share their wisdom and experience with practitioners and policy-makers alike. Increasingly, team leaders Debbie Thrower and Julia Burton-Jones are consulted by government, church leaders and academics and there is an increasing demand for Anna Chaplaincy training and resources. In an indication of the growing regard for the work of Anna Chaplaincy, Debbie Thrower was honoured to lead a special service on BBC Radio 4 to commemorate the 125,000 people who lost their lives in the first year of pandemic. For more information go to www.annachaplaincy.org.uk. Anna Chaplaincy is a ministry of the charity BRF. For more information go to www.brf.org.