7 September 2020

An honest interview with Zoe, Lifestyle Leader at Regency House

We caught up with Lifestyles Leader at Regency House Care Home, Zoe Tucker, to find out what her role entails and what makes her proud to work at the industry-leading, residential and nursing home.

What does the role of Lifestyles Team Leader entail?

The role of Lifestyles Team Leader is a very varied and exciting role. A big part of the role is organising activities and events that are meaningful and engaging for the residents. We have a busy activities calendar with lots of different activities to meet everyone’s lifestyle needs.

We run activities such as sing-alongs, gardening, a gentleman’s club, stretch and smile, quizzes, arts and crafts and we play films in the cinema. Luckily, a lot of these can be adapted to 1-2-1 activities so the residents can still keep to a routine that they enjoy.

The role involves a lot of planning and organisation but most importantly spending time with the residents to find out their life histories, their likes and dislikes and working together to provide a programme of activities that they will enjoy.

What does an average day at Regency House Care Home look like for you?

A usual day at Regency House usually starts with a quick check of my emails to see if there are any important emails that need a response. After that I like to go around the communities and say hello to the residents and find out what activities the residents want to take part in that day.

I then spend the day either taking part in 1-2-1 activities with the residents or small group activities and assisting residents to video call their families. The rest of the afternoon I spend time writing my activity reports and planning my to-do list for the next day as well as organising an exciting activities calendar.

How has the lifestyles provision changed since COVID-19?

During the COVID-19 lockdown, residents were unfortunately not able to take part in big group activities and this was restricted to mainly 1-2-1 activities. We tried to keep residents as engaged as possible by spending time with each individual, getting to know them better and coordinating activities they enjoy. We have just started re-introducing small, socially-distanced group activities such as gardening, bingo and our popular music and movement class which has been great for the residents.

How do you keep residents connected to their loved one?

We are currently facilitating garden visits for residents and their loved ones in our comfortable visiting suite and we support residents to regularly video call their families. We have also installed an app called RelsApp which allows residents and their loved ones to share messages, pictures and videos that can be replayed again at a later date.

How do you ensure that all residents embrace the activities programme on offer?

The most important thing about our lifestyles provision is ensuring that we know the residents well and include them in the planning of our activities as much as possible. When a new resident moves into Regency House, they fill out an about me book which allows us to get to know their personal history and likes and dislikes so we have a good idea of the types of things that they enjoy. Our activities are always adapting and evolving to meet the resident’s needs.

Do you have a personal highlight in your role?

I don’t have one big highlight at the moment, however, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing the residents smiling and laughing during an activity. That is always the highlight of my day and makes going into work so worthwhile.

What is the most important part of your role?

I think that the most important part of my role is being enthusiastic and maintaining a can-do attitude. Knowing that you are making a real difference to the resident’s lives makes the job so rewarding. Also promoting the importance of lifestyles provision and meaningful engagement is a very important part of the role as we strive for a whole-home approach, with each and every team member being as involved as possible.

What makes you proud to work at Regency House?

We have a great team at Regency House and we are very supportive towards one another. Everyone is so passionate about their job role and about providing the best standard of care.

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