Bury St Edmunds care home up for national award

A care home in Bury St Edmunds is celebrating after being named a finalist in the Care Home Awards 2023. 

Care UK’s Glastonbury Court, on Glastonbury Road, has been shortlisted for the ‘Best for Indoor/ Outdoor Communal Spaces’ category, which celebrates outstanding, purpose-built care homes and gardens.

The Care Home Awards recognise and reward excellence and innovation in UK care home management, operation, and delivery. 

Glastonbury Court, which is rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, has been recognised for its dementia-friendly, award-winning garden which was named second best in the region in the prestigious flower competition, Anglia in Bloom. The home has also been awarded the local Bury in Bloom Gold Award for the second year in a row.

The lifestyle and maintenance team have cultivated the home’s incredible outdoor space, with residents also playing an essential part in the success of the garden. 

The residents’ hands-on approach is led by the Lifestyle Lead, Trudy Jennings, and Robin Tabram, Head of Maintenance and the wider maintenance team. Those involved in the home’s gardening club help to choose and plant the flowers, as well as supporting with overall maintenance and creating floral arrangements.

Commenting on the home’s garden, Trudy said: “As a full dementia home, it is amazing to see the difference in residents when they go outside and interact with the garden. A lot of residents here can’t talk, but you can see their face light up when they’re outside – whether they’re outside with their family or just looking at or touching the flowers, it’s an incredible privilege to help create and maintain a garden that brings so much joy to people.”

Seeking to memorialise the past and celebrate the present, residents and team members also worked together to create a jubilee section of the garden which has given children from the local community lots of pleasure as they pass by. Creations included an impressive willow-work, flowerbed shaped crown to pay tribute to Her late Majesty, a flowerbed transformed into a royal British train and a traditional style pram filled with hand-picked flowers.

To honour the home’s late resident and avid-gardener, Peter Hobbs, the garden is now complete with an impressive water feature – providing residents with a tranquil space to unwind. 

Looking ahead, residents are keen for a third year of triumph for Bury in Bloom, and Glastonbury Court will be calling on the help of youngsters from a local school, the Sybil Andrews Academy, to help ensure the garden looks its best yet.

Ana Mihai, Home Manager at Glastonbury Court, said: “We are thrilled to have been shortlisted for ‘Best for Indoor/ Outdoor Communal Spaces’ at this year’s Care Home Awards.

“The team and residents here at Glastonbury Court put a lot of time and care into ensuring our garden looks as amazing as it does, creating a welcoming and relaxing environment for everyone to enjoy. It’s wonderful to see their hard work being recognised on a national level.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to the team, residents and relatives who have worked tirelessly and supported us to make this happen – we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a win!”  

Glastonbury Court is a modern care home which provides full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable its residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the care home has its very own cinema and hair salon, and there is plenty of space both in and outdoors for relaxation and recreation. 

For more information about Glastonbury Court, please call Customer Relations Manager, Chantal Sencier on 01284 844668, or email chantal.sencier@careuk.com

For general information please visit, careuk.com/glastonbury-court