VSA - Care Homes

Care Home Information

Crosby and Ruthrieston House

vsa.org.uk

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VSA Adult and Communities

Welcome!

I am delighted that you are considering one of VSA’s care homes, this brochure will provide you with further information about who we are, our people, our care home environments, and the technology we use that enables us to provide you or your loved one(s) with the best of care.

At VSA we have been providing care and support to vulnerable children and adults living in Aberdeen and beyond for 150 years. We support a person’s physical, mental, emotional, and social wellbeing through a range of residential and outreach community support services.

We strongly believe in providing everyone with outstanding care and support to enable each person to enjoy life and realise their dreams and potential. Over the past few decades, we have harnessed our expertise, knowledge, and experience to enhance and evolve the care services we provide, in order to deliver better outcome focused and person-centred care that is unique to each individual.

All of our services are registered with the Care Inspectorate and our dedication to providing the best of care, so that people can live the best of lives, is recognised through their regular independent audits.

These audits provide the people we support with peace of mind and reassurance that they are receiving quality care.

We have excellent partnership relationships locally with the NHS, Aberdeen City Council, and the Aberdeen Health and Social Care Partnership; we work together to ensure the best possible outcomes for you and that you receive the best of care.

I hope you find this brochure beneficial in explaining how VSA can provide you or your loved one(s) with outstanding care that is tailored to their individual needs. Should you have any further questions then please get in touch, as we would be happy to talk further with you.

I very much look forward to welcoming you to the VSA family.

Kenneth Simpson Chief Executive 3

Crosby House 1 May Baird Avenue Aberdeen AB25 3BD

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Ruthrieston House 199 Broomhill Road Aberdeen AB10 7LN

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VSA Adult and Communities

VSA Care Homes At VSA, we have two residential care homes situated in Aberdeen city that provide 24 hours a day care for people in their mid-later years in life who need extra care and support in their daily lives.

Deciding to move into a care home or placing your loved one into residential care can be an emotional and stressful time for you and your family. Often, people move into a VSA care home due to their personal care needs and because it has become unsafe for them to continue living in their own home.

Across both our care homes, we strongly believe in providing everyone with outstanding care and support to enable each person to enjoy life every day. We work with each individual and family on a specific care plan which is personalised to each resident’s needs. Our aim is to support people to be as independent as possible.

Not only do we provide the highest level of quality care, our homes have a range of facilities including: communal areas, dining lounges, landscaped gardens and reminiscence rooms. Each home offers a diverse range of physical and social activities designed for cognitive and social stimuli.

Our team of trained care workers are on hand 24/7 to support you or your loved one’s health and wellbeing.

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Advantages of VSA Care Homes:

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VSA Adult and Communities

Independence Ability to keep your independence in an environment that enables you to access enhanced care and support services when you need it.

Access to care and support Our fully trained support workers are on hand 24 hours a day to help you with daily activities such as shopping, personal hygiene, and medication.

The team will work with you to deliver an outcome focused and personcentred care plan which is unique to you.

Lifestyle Our care homes will provide you with friendship, group activities, entertainment and dining opportunities which will help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation and help boost your mental, social and physical wellbeing. and wellbeing.

Environment Our service provides modern facilities and the uses latest technology such as Ipads, to help provide you with the best of care so that you can live the best life possible.

Safety Your health and wellbeing is of the utmost importance to VSA, and we can provide you and your family with peace of mind that your room is in a safe and secure complex

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Assisted Living Communities

Our locations:

Crosby House Based in the Ashgrove area of Aberdeen, Crosby House is located on the outskirts of the city centre on May Baird Avenue. You can access Crosby House from the city centre via bus or taxi, both of which are just a short 5-10 minute journey.

Crosby House has 39 spacious individual bedrooms, with en-suite toilets, which are all:

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Fully accessible for people with disabilities.

All doors are suitable for wheelchair access.

There is also a lift to gain access to all floors.

Each individual room has a an en-suite toilet and washbasin with a main bathroom and showers on each floor.

Rooms are fully furnished but each resident can have their own homely possessions.

VSA Adult and Communities

Example layout of a room at Crosby House:

Bathroom

Bedroom

Facilities include: Entertainment

Cafe’s

Hair salon

Garden 9

Within Crosby House, there are communal lounges, dining room, a hair salon and an outdoor garden space.

We encourage our residents to particpate in our wide range of activities offered throughout the day.

Crosby House provides: Breakfast, lunch, evening meal, snacks, teas and coffees whenever a resident would like a refreshment.

We actively encourage friends and family to visit at any time they wish. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions for visiting may apply as per guidance from the Scottish Government.

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VSA Adult and Communities

“ I like that I can make my room my own. It’s important to me that where I live reflects who I am. I have all my own belongings, furniture and bedding. The staff said they could supply these if i wanted but I felt it was important for me to feel like I was moving house rather than into a care home. The staff helped me with this and made the transition easier to deal with.”

- Crosby House Resident 11

Our locations:

Ruthrieston House

Based in the west end of Aberdeen city, Ruthrieston House is located on the outskirts of the city on Broomhill Road. You can access via the city centre by bus or taxi, both of which are approximately a 10-15 minute journey.

Ruthrieston House has 41 spacious individual bedrooms, with a toilet which are all:

• • • • •

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Fully accessible for people with disabilities.

All doors are suitable for wheelchair access.

There is also a lift to gain access to all floors.

Each individual room has a an en-suite toilet and washbasin with a main bathroom and showers on each floor.

Rooms are fully furnished but each resident can have their own homely possessions.

VSA Adult and Communities

Example layout of a room at Ruthrieston House

Bedroom

Bathroom

Facilities include: Entertainment

Cafe’s

Hair salon

Garden

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Within Ruthrieston House, there are communal lounges, dining room, a hair salon and an outdoor garden space.

We encourage our residents to particpate in our wide range of activities offered throughout the day.

Ruthrieston House provides: Breakfast, lunch, evening meal, snacks, teas and coffees whenever a resident would like a refreshment.

We actively encourage friends and family to visit at any time they wish. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions for visiting may apply as per guidance from the Scottish Government.

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VSA Adult and Communities

“I can’t believe the difference the care and support from the team at Rutherieston has made to my mum’s quality of life. My mum’s dementia had become unmanageable for us as a family and I felt tremendously guilty putting my mum into a care home; however, it has been the best decision we have ever made for us and my mum”

- Ruthrieston House

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Example weekly activity calendar: Ruthrieston House and Crosby House offer wide range of activities that will boost mental and physical wellbeing. Taking part in any activities is optional, and our team of support workers will try and actively encourage all tenants to take part in activities that are suitable.

Please note that the below is just an example and is subject to change

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Morning (start at 11am) Therapet session

Healthy Eating Nutrition Workshop

Music Therapy Session

Carpet Bowls in Games Room

Arts & Craft in Reminiscence Games Room in The Games Room

Weekly Current / Local Topics Discussion

Afternoon (Start at 2pm) Bingo

Knitting Club

Games and Quiz

Knitting Club at 6pm

Games and Puzzles in the Red Cafe

Games/Quiz ---------Social Tipple and chat 7.00pm with other residents

Gentle Exercise Class

Due to service delivery unfortunately at times activities may be subject to change, in this case apologies for any inconveniences

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VSA Adult and Communities

Further Advantages of VSA Care Homes: Friendship Moving into our care homes can be daunting, but we are here for you. All residents experience a range of mixed emotions and our team are here to listen to any concerns and anxieties or help you cope with any mixed emotions you have. Our care homes provide you with an opportunity to make new friends, and share your hobbies and interests with others.

In addition we have a range of daily and group activities available, all of which are designed with your health and wellbeing in mind and will help to reduce feelings of loneliness or isolation. We strongly encourage all residents to take part in at least one activity as it will help to improve your overall quality of life.

House Keeping Dedicated General Assistants will fully support residents with the cleaning of their room twice weekly. It is also our aim within our Care Homes to promote independence and to maintain life skills, so with this in mind, residents are encouraged to take part in any activity involving room cleaning where possible

Laundry Package Residents laundry is washed, dried and ironed at least twice weekly. Depending on individual needs, this can be increased where required. All items of clothing being washed in our Care Homes must be machine washable and labelled with resident’s name.

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Meal Package We work in partnership with award winning catering company, Apetito, who specialise in providing high quality, delicious and nutritious meals that are created by chef’s and dietitians to guarantee they are nourishing and packed with nutrients. We are able to cater for all dietary and medical needs including malnutrition, dementia, diabetes, dysphagia, vegan, low fat meals and cater for religious dietary requirements such as kosher and halal. To view what options Apetito provide you can here: https://www.apetito.co.uk/

Practical Care and Support At VSA we fully understand that we may need to help with personal care in later life, however, each person is unique. That’s why at VSA, we work with you to create a care plan that is bespoke to your individual needs and practical requirements like dressing, eating, and showering.

Specialist Help and Support Ruthrieston House and Crosby House do not offer intensive nursing support services, however, we do have decades of care experience in supporting people with significant care needs.

Our support workers are fully trained to provide support with mobility, communication difficulties or fatigue and will work with you to build a care plan and daily routines that suit you.

Our team will also help you if required to get access to a local GP, Optician, District Nurse, or any other specialist support you need.

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VSA Adult and Communities

Services included: Onsite 24 hour care and support team Each room fitted with emergency call/intercom system State of the art fire detection system throughout complex and apartments Security door entry system Professional gardening and ground maintenance teams Wifi in communal areas A variety of daily activities* *activities may be subject to change

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VSA Adult and Communities

Talk to us

There are a variety of sheltered housing and care home providers across Aberdeen City.

We want you to be confident that VSA is the most suitable place to become you or your loved one(s) new home and that you have the reassurance that we will deliver the best of care.

We hope this brochure has highlighted the better quality of life and outcomes we can offer, but we appreciate that for many this will be one of the biggest decisions you and your family will make. Our admissions manager will be happy to answer any questions you have and can arrange for you and your family to tour Ruthrieston and Crosby. Come and see the environment and speak to some of our existing tenants to find out what life is like at our assisted living communities.

Contact Maureen Harvey our admission manager on: T: 01224 358531 or email maureen.harvey@vsa.org.uk

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Care Standards At VSA we are committed to providing the highest level of care possible to ensure the health and wellbeing of all the vulnerable people we are entrusted to provide care and support for.

• All of our services are registered and regulated by the Care Inspectorate and copies of our latest inspection reports can be found here: https://www.careinspectorate.com/ • We adhere to all the latest regulation and guidance provided to the health and social care sector • O ur own robust quality assurance processes allow us to put what we do under scrutiny, to make an honest appraisal of how we’re doing and measure our performance against national standards • All our employees undergo a thorough Disclosure and Barring Service check and receive regular training • W e seek regular feedback for everyone who uses our services to help evolve our services in delivering better outcomes for people • We take health and safety regulations and guidance very seriously and we have robust infection control measures and risk assessments across all of our sites • Our care is tailored to your individual needs and requirements

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VSA Adult and Communities

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About VSA As a leading social care charity with over 150 years of experience, we have always been at the forefront of providing vital care and support to vulnerable children and adults living across Aberdeen and beyond. We support people through the most challenging times they have ever experienced, and we help them take control of their lives for a better future.

Each day we change lives by supporting a person’s physical, emotional, mental and social wellbeing through a wide range of health and social care services, such as residential services and community outreach programmes.

We support vulnerable children and adults who are living with: Mental health diagnosis, learning disabilities, loneliness and isolation, living with long-life conditions such as Dementia and Parkinson’s, complex learning and additional support needs, people who are in recovery from addiction and living in extreme poverty.

Despite the tremendous challenges that a child or an adult can face, it is amazing to see how much it can change a life by providing proper support, care, experiences, and opportunities.

As a charity we rely on the generous support of the general public and others to give vulnerable people in Aberdeen the skills, opportunities, experiences, and environments they need to realise their dreams and lead more independent and integrated lives.

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VSA Adult and Communities

Celebrating our Achievements

24,000

people supported

40 services

Care Inspectorate rated our services very good

2,500,000+ = 500 People

hours of care provided 25

VSA Vision , Values and Mission

Our Values The charity is founded upon values that reflect a desire to engage with and listen to the people who need and use our services, volunteers, partners

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People who are in need of our services and support will be at the heart of our policies, planning and work

Our Mission

“T o provide the best of care to enable the best of lives; supporting individuals and communities to fulfil their potential .”

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VSA Adult and Communities

Our Vision VSA has a vision for what we want the charity to achieve over the long term: "To build a strong and caring community."

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We will work to provide the best care to meet the needs of people who use our services

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We will embrace, promote and foster partnerships to deliver our services in the most inclusive way for individuals in our care

We will respect and value the people we work with – those who need and use our services, partner organisations, volunteers and staff – treating them with kindness and dignity

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vsa.org.uk | info@vsa.org.uk | 01224 212021 | 38 Castle Street, Aberdeen AB11 5YU

Patron: Her Majesty the Queen President: Lord Provost of Aberdeen Chief Executive: Dr Kenneth Simpson BA BSc MPA (Hon) DBA CMgr FCMI FloD FRSA.Registered in Scotland as Aberdeen Association of Social Service, operating as VSA Company Registration No. SC018487; Registered Scottish Charity Number SC012950