Volunteers have been helping to keep gardens at a nursing home bright and cheerful for residents to enjoy.
Rawreth Court in Rayleigh is run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and members of the local community have been helping to give the gardens a makeover over the last 16 months.
Their help ensured the gardens were bright and welcoming for residents throughout the summer and for the home’s summer fete in August.
They also helped to prepare a space which staff are planning to transform into a memorial garden to remember former residents.
Among the volunteers is Kerry Hull, whose mum Sylvia was cared for at Rawreth Court for 15 months before she sadly died.
Sylvia, who was 88, had been “incredibly independent” since being widowed in her late 40s. But following the onset of dementia and a spell in hospital, she moved to Rawreth Court as she could no longer stay safely at home.
Kerry said: “For my brother and I, we found that the care she received there was outstanding because we knew she was safe.
“There were activities to take part in, whereas at home she would sit on her own and say she liked her own company.”
Sylvia went on a few day trips including to a local garden centre and the Sealife Centre, and enjoyed visits from a therapy pony and an organisation specialising in birds of prey encounters.
Her family and loved ones collected around £300 at her funeral to go towards day trips for the residents, including a bowling trip.
Kerry and colleagues from their employer, Knights Solicitors, have also given their time to help to prune and tidy shrubs, hedges, plants and trees, and paint benches.
She said: “My mum loved her garden at home but that became too much for her. It’s nice to do these things because if she did get a chance to get out into the garden at Rawreth Court it was something she could enjoy. It’s a bit of fresh air and somewhere else for the residents to go.
“They were growing sunflowers this summer and having a competition for who could grow the tallest one.”
About EPUT
- EPUT has a vision to be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care: Who we are – Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
- EPUT provides services to more than 100,000 patients at any one time and our staff are focused on providing high quality care in often complex situations.
- The organisation has invested in inpatient facilities and community services to make them safer and more therapeutic. We have extensively invested in technology to keep patients safer, enhanced training, and are continuously working with our staff, patients, their families and carers to use learning and best practice to enhance our quality of care.
- While there is more to do, the Trust has made significant progress through innovation:
- Our 111 mental health crisis phone line ensures people in need can access support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- People with lived experience have been employed in designated roles across the Trust, ensuring patient voice is heart of the organisation and all that we do.
- A number of new initiatives have been launched, helping people access the support they need when they need it most. These include a mental health urgent care department, By Your Side maternal mental health service, Rough Sleeper team, mental health crisis ambulance cars, virtual wards and neuromodulation service.
- EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 and provides community health, mental health and learning disability services across Essex, Luton and Bedfordshire and Suffolk. We employ more than 7,200 staff working across more than 200 sites.
- To read more about our priorities and commitments to deliver the highest quality and safest care possible, visit https://eput.nhs.uk/about-us/2023-2028-strategic-plan/