- Eagles Mount care home, part of the Luxurycare group, has created a wintry wonderland, complete with a grotto, where residents will be able to share some festive fun with visiting family and friends this Christmas.
Funded by Luxurycare and set up by dedicated care home staff, this magical space at Eagles Mount Care home, Birds Hill Road, has been established to make sure that residents at the home and their loved ones can enjoy a COVID-secure Christmas together.
Set in the garden at the Poole home, the walkway to the grotto is lined with more than a dozen white trees lit with lights, while masses of oversized white baubles fill the trees around. Three giant penguin decorations greet visitors at the door of the grotto, which itself is decorated in firs, flowers, and twinkling lights.
Inside visitors are met with a snowy scene – an arbour of frosted festive foliage curves over a cosy bench festooned with furry fabric, set against a shimmery golden backdrop and surrounded by Christmas trees – the perfect setting for some fun photos and happy moments shared with loved ones.
Thanks to new rapid COVID testing arrangements for visitors to the care home, those who receive a negative COVID test will be able to enjoy contact visits with their loved ones, even giving them a longed-for hug and a kiss – fulfilling the Christmas wishes of so many.
Visitors are being offered a Lateral flow test – one of the new tools being used to detect and fight COVID-19, which can deliver results in 30 minutes. While they will still need to follow additional precautions, a negative test result means they will be able to touch, hug, and kiss their loved ones at the start and end of their visit.
Eagles Mount Care Home manager, Alicja Wysocka, said:
“After a challenging year, we wanted to pull out all the stops to make sure this Christmas is truly special for our residents and their family members, who are now able to visit and be close to them once again, thanks to the availability of the new rapid testing kits.
“We love Christmas here at Eagles Mount, and this is our way of celebrating and showing our thanks to all our amazing families for their unwavering support this year.
“It has been such a joy to see loved ones coming together, and the special setting has made everything all the more magical.”
Edna, who is a resident at the home, said:
“They’ve done such a wonderful job with the decorations – it looks and feels very special – very Christmassy! Everyone has been commenting and talking about it.
“It means so much to be with family at this time of year – and this is the perfect place to share some special moments with them.’
Edna’s daughter, Judith said:
“I cannot thank the staff enough for creating this grotto for us – it’s beautifully done. It’s brought a lot of fun and smiles and made for some lovely family photos too. And of course, being able to see Mum and give her a hug again is just the best Christmas present of all.”
Luxurycare offers nursing and residential care at Aranlaw House (Branksome Park, Poole), The Branksome Park Care Centre (Branksome Park, Poole), Eagles Mount, formerly Birds Hill Nursing Home (Poole), Regency Manor Care Home (Lower Parkstone, Poole) and Seabourne House (Southbourne, Bournemouth).
For more information on Luxurycare visit: www.luxurycare.co.uk
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