Christmas was a truly special time at Aberleigh. We invited family members to our Christmas Family Gatherings. It was such fun getting out the fancy china and the three-tiered cake stands for these events! Residents and family members were treated to some special food, including the ever-popular savouries, club sandwiches and Christmas cake. These gatherings were made special by those of you who were able to join us. We enjoyed good company, laughter and a delicious afternoon tea.

Our residents have also enjoyed a very musical time since the last newsletter. The Salvation Army band came to play carols in the car park. Phil’s Rock n Roll Music sang 50s and 60s music and played the guitar. Castaway Ukuleles again entertained us with their beautiful playing and singing. Stuart, the son of one of our residents, played Christmas carols on his keyboard from the terrace outside the Kowhai Lounge.

Here at Aberleigh we are very fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteers who come to our home and enrich our resident’s lives. These volunteers include Mike, who has a long-standing connection to Aberleigh and has been a pillar of support to our residents through the years; Annie, who brings in her dog, Oscar; Jo, who comes with her dog, Arku; Lorraine, who is our pianist; the RSA Singing Group; and six different church groups who take it in turn to come in to take services for our residents. In January, it was such a privilege to host a morning tea to thank some of these volunteers. Aberleigh would not be the same without them.

We have been fortunate to also recently welcome two new registered nurses, Jismy Joseph and Darly Abraham. It is wonderful to have them join our team. We also welcomed our new activities coordinator, Vicky Oorthuis. Vicky has a natural affinity with people and we are enjoying working with her.

As the summer days draw to an end, we wish you all the very best  for the rest of 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

Magic Moment

We had our first ever pottery group and 12 residents created a piece each to then be taken away to be fired in the kiln. There was lots of fun and laughter as one person rolled up balls of clay to represent food and one resident made a clay hat – so much fun!