Residents at HC-One’s Eastbourne House in Whitley Bay enjoyed an afternoon of bingo and brownies with their Relatives, thanks to the video call capabilities at the home.
During the coronavirus lockdown, Eastbourne House introduced video calls to their daily schedule, so Residents and Relatives could keep in touch during the pandemic. Now that the situation at the home has eased, Colleagues decided to utilise their video call capabilities and invite Relatives for a game of bingo.
Colleagues gathered Residents in the lounge, and connected the laptop to the TV, so that everyone could see their loved ones clearly. Residents were absolutely thrilled with the surprise and loved having the opportunity to socialise with their loved ones, albeit over video call.
“How did you manage to get my niece on there, that was a wonderful surprise. I didn’t know it was happening,” said Moira Carey, a Resident at Eastbourne House.
Residents played a few games of Bingo, in which the Residents won prizes, then they had a break part way through, where they were treated to a trolley of special Christmas brownies which the kitchen staff had made.
All the care Colleagues joined in and helped out during the afternoon, making it one big team effort which everybody enjoyed.
Francesca Pattison, wellbeing coordinator at Eastbourne said: “The staff were absolutely incredible, I cannot thank them enough, without them the session would have been virtually impossible to achieve.”
“It was a wonderful afternoon, and a great way to involve the families and Residents. It was truly special to see the surprise and joy on the faces of the Residents whose families attended and well worth keeping it a surprise. It was such a fun afternoon for all of us.”
The lasting impact of the afternoon has been amazing. Some of the Residents on the homes Grace and Res units have remembered the ability to be able to see and speak to their families via the TV, so now anytime Colleagues hook the TV up, they remember that and don’t get confused.