Angmering’s new care home welcomes its first residents

 

The team at a brand-new care home in Angmering has welcomed its first residents after opening its doors earlier this month.

One of the first residents to call Care UK’s Ayton House, on Dappers Lane, home is 89-year-old Patricia Howe.

On her first day, Patricia cut the ribbon as she entered the home and was greeted by all the staff with a bouquet of flowers and a welcome card.

Patricia spent most of the day settling into her room with her daughter and received a visit from the home’s Head Chef, Anthony Molnar who was keen to find out her favourite meals, which include homemade soups and smoked salmon.

Patricia, who was a headteacher at a primary school, has always enjoyed travelling, and her favourite destinations include Thailand and Spain. 

Commenting on life at Ayton House, Patricia said: “I’m really enjoying the activities at Ayton House, especially the Love to Move classes and testing my memory on the Magic Table tablet, which has many crosswords, quizzes and puzzles.

As part of Ayton House’s delivery of high-quality dementia care, the team provide Love to Move exercises, a programme seated movements developed by the British Gymnastics Foundation to improve memory and mobility. 

Patricia added “I’ve placed my wish on the wishing tree and as a lifelong F1 fan, I’d really like to ride in a sports car.” 

Ayton House has installed a ‘Wishing Tree’, an initiative launched by Care UK which allows residents to suggest ideas for new hobbies they’d like to try, places they’d like to visit or even activities linked to past careers. The initiative encourages residents to live active and fulfilling lives – from skiing to a fish and chip supper, no wish is too big or small. 

There are now 14 residents living at Ayton House, with more people set to move in over the coming weeks. 

Joel Ignacio, Home Manager at Ayton House, said: “We are thrilled to have opened our doors to the first residents here at Ayton House. Welcoming Patricia has been an absolute joy. We’ve loved spending time getting to know her and hearing her wonderful life story, and we’re looking forward to making her dream of riding in a sports car come true!

“Seeing residents start to move into Ayton House is a pleasure. We are extremely pleased with the design of the home, and every single detail has been carefully considered to create a high-quality, luxurious setting that will allow residents to live active and fulfilling lives. Ayton House has been beautifully furnished to create the ideal environment for older loved ones to live comfortably.

“The team and I are very much looking forward to getting to know all the new residents and welcoming them and their families into our beautiful new home, as well as starting to provide more activities involving the local community.”

Ayton House is a state-of-the-art care home providing full-time residential and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Located just on the edge of the South Downs, and close to popular seaside towns such as Littlehampton and Worthing, Ayton House is designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives. The home has its very own cinema, hair salon, café, and large first floor outdoor terrace, along with plenty of space – both indoors and out – for relaxation and recreation.