We hope you have all enjoyed a summer with whānau and friends.

We had so much fun beginning the festive season with our Christmas Family Gathering. It was a truly special event because of the huge number of you who came. We had 80 participants who joined our party! It was lovely to see all the family and friends who visited through the holiday period and it was great to catch up with those from out of town. We had fun waiting for the lucky draw winners and everyone enjoyed it when Santa Claus made his appearance. Thank you to our diversional therapists; Lynne, Rachel, and Marphy, for organising the party; and to Ken, who played Santa Claus. Extra special thanks to our cooks Goretti and Donell for the dedication and effort they put in to prepare sumptuous meals for the holiday season events.

During the summer season, our residents are enjoying being outside in the warmth and sunshine. They are engaged in outdoor activities like gardening and going to the café.

We would like to take this opportunity to warmly welcome our new team members to Leighton House:  Janine Whatuira, George Catameo, Mariya Sajeev, Anitha Ashiok, and Fevelyn Umblas. Please feel welcome to introduce yourself when you see them around our home.

As we move into 2024,  we wish to continue to be a pillar of support for our residents and their families. We would like to thank our residents and EPOAs for the feedback that you provided through our survey. We are happy and thankful for all your positive comments and appreciation. Please know that you are always welcome to share your concerns with us. Continue to give us feedback; it enables our improvement so that we can offer your loved ones the best care possible.

Wishing you all the best in your journey through 2024.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed the summer as we have at our homes. It is a lovely time to get out and about and enjoy the garden.

We have changed the format of our newsletters for this year. We know that most people receiving emails do so on their phones, this new format will cater to phone users better. It will also mean that we can send newsletters more regularly.

If you prefer to read a printed copy we will still have these available at each of our homes.

As with any new service we will look to improve as we go, so we will be asking for your feedback during the year.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the development in our homes over the course of the year. We will have a strong focus on staff training this year, we are further upgrading our IT systems and continuing to focus on our cultural care. Lots to look forward to.

We are also preparing for our Clinical Managers day in April. These have happened online for the past few years so it is wonderful to be able to plan an in-person session. These days are so important for sharing ideas and experiences from around our homes and improving the care we provide to each of our residents.

I enjoy meeting families as I travel around our homes so please do say hello if you see me when you are visiting.

I wish you and your whānau all the best for the year ahead.

Andrew Sheard, Managing Director

A Magic Moment from our Christmas Gathering

Santa’s helper elf was handing out chocolate whilst residents connected with their loved ones. A special moment happened when Santa appeared and the children got quite excited. One of the children could not wait to have a hug and a photo with him which brought a smile to all of us.