Who we are, and what we do?
The Dales residential care home, situated in the village of Ellenborough on the outskirts of the coastal town of Maryport, was opened in November 1986 to meet an ever increasing need for quality care in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Having been established for many years, we have built up a wealth of experience in caring for the needs of the many elderly people who have chosen to make The Dales their home. This expertise however covers all aspects of moving into care, enabling us to give advice and practical support to prospective residents and their families and friends, at what is potentially a difficult time for everyone involved.
The home is ideally located within the village, making for easy access to the local amenities and from the town and also the surrounding villages of Dearham, Broughton Moor and Flimby, whether visiting by car or public transport, there being ample parking and a bus stop, right outside our front door.
We feel that it is essential that anyone contemplating a move into care not only chooses the right home to suit their individual personality, but that they also choose the right category of home to suit their individual care requirements. There tends to be four main categories of home, these being Nursing homes, Elderly Mentally Infirm (EMI) homes, Residential Care homes, and Convalescent homes. Because each individual is exactly that, a unique person with individual needs, abilities and disabilities, it can be difficult to assess a person as being a perfect fit for any one particular category. Indeed it may be that someone with mild confusion, yet also requiring a minimum of nursing care, (such as daily changing of wound dressings etc), and looking for short term convalescent care, may actually find all their needs better met by a residential care home giving good all round care, rather than any one specialist Nursing, EMI or Convalescent home.
We are therefore happy to visit people in their own homes or in hospital, to initially assess their needs and then to express our opinion as to the category of care we feel is most suitable for them Indeed it is a prerequisite of moving into The Dales that we meet with any prospective clients, and where appropriate, their families, in order that we assess them to make absolutely sure that we can fully meet their individual care needs.
Whilst The Dales is registered with Cumbria County Council Social Service as a Residential Care home, we are very experienced in caring for people with a wide range of physical and mild psychological conditions such as dementia. This experience has come about for the simple reason that we firmly believe that when someone chooses to make The Dales their home, it is their home until such time as they decide to leave. Many elderly people moving into The Dales or indeed any other care home find that with increasing age, their physical and mental health can start to fail them, however we have an enviable reputation for adapting to an individual’s ever changing care needs. This enables residents to enjoy living in The Dales, secure in the knowledge that deteriorating health will not necessarily force them or their family to find them alternative care in an EMI or Nursing Home. This simple reassurance is often a great comfort to both the residents themselves and also their family and friends, who may find the whole process of having to move to another care facility at a later date very traumatic.
Acknowledging that moving into care can be a big step for any elderly person; we are pleased to be able to offer respite care at The Dales, in addition to our long term and day-care facilities.
Respite care in itself is very useful in that it gives a carer looking after someone at home a welcome break, but at the same time it is an excellent introduction into care for the aged person themselves. It allows the individual to sample first hand what it is like to live in a care home for a short while, without having to make any long term commitments such as giving up their home, and this often makes the transition into care all the more satisfying and certainly a lot less traumatic for all concerned.
There has for far too long been a stigma attached to moving into an "old folks home". Indeed the very words "old folks home", conjure up images in the minds of many people that are very different to the images you will see in this online brochure. We respect the individuality of everyone who chooses to make The Dales their home.
Indeed to preserve a persons independence and dignity for as long as possible, we feel that it is essential that they have ample privacy as well as the companionship of other residents, along with the overall security offered by living in a residential care environment.
All rooms at The Dales are single occupancy and come complete with en-suite wash and toilet facilities. There are television and telephone points in each room to enable easy installation of these items, and each resident can summon help throughout the day and night using the very latest type of wire free call bell system installed in all bedrooms and lounges throughout The Dales.
With regards to lounges, we have seven of these throughout The Dales along with two conservatories and our spacious restaurant style dining room. Whilst this may appear rather excessive for forty or so people, however we acknowledge that some people prefer a quiet lounge to read or entertain friends visiting the home, whilst others prefer the more lively atmosphere found in the television lounge. We incorporate this philosophy of ‘caring for individuals’ into all aspects of day to day life at The Dales, which is why we have three bathrooms at The Dales, each one being very differently styled. This allows more able residents to bathe in surroundings similar to those found in most peoples homes, right through to our bathrooms containing the very latest specialised bath aids, enabling very immobile residents to bath in comfort and with dignity.
Since opening in 1986 we have developed an enviable reputation for giving the very best of care to the many elderly people who have made The Dales their home. To achieve this we feel that it is essential to not only provide excellent facilities but also to involve all members of staff in ongoing vocational training programmes. In addition to the qualifications already gained by members of staff in the past, (see our ‘Meet The Team’ page), we currently have staff being trained to NVQ levels 2, 3. however where our own staff cannot provide a particular specialist service, we encourage outside individuals and agencies to come into the home to facilitate these.
We currently have regular visits to the home by a hairdresser, physiotherapist, chiropodist and reflexologist, in addition to the normally weekly visit by a GP from Maryport Health Services, this being supplemented by regular, frequent and much appreciated visits by the towns team of dedicated District Nurses. We are also visited regularly by an outside optician and also, on occasions, we have been visited by a local dentist, as and when required.
We feel that this provides a comprehensive package of care enabling elderly people staying at The Dales to live as active and rewarding lives as possible, realising their full potential for as long as possible.
Visitors to the home are a vital ingredient to making The Dales such a rewarding place to live and are therefore made welcome at all times. We do not have set visiting times, and we encourage all visitors to have refreshments whilst visiting their relative or friend, just as they would if the resident were still living in their own home. For resident’s family and friends living out of the area we have facilities to enable visitors to stay overnight if desired.
Mealtimes at The Dales are special, not only because of the excellent food provided, but also because it is a good opportunity to chat with other residents about the day’s events. Many residents choose to have tea and toast in their own bedroom when they first awake, followed by breakfast in the dining room. This is followed by morning coffee at mid morning and then lunch at about mid-day. Afternoon tea is served at 3.00 p.m. followed by high tea at 5.15 p.m. and supper at about 7.30 p.m.
Hot drinks and snacks are available throughout the day and night, and visitors are most welcome to partake of these when visiting the home.
There is a choice of meals on offer, and residents are encouraged to make active choices about what they eat and drink. Special diets whether for medical reasons or by choice, such as diabetic or vegetarian are catered for. All meals that we serve are prepared by one of our two cooks and are served by waitresses or suitably qualified carers in the dining room. Whilst most residents enjoy the company of others by taking their meals in the dining room, we are happy to serve residents their meals in the privacy of their own bedroom or one of the many sitting areas throughout the home.
I hope this brochure has conveyed to you an idea of what it is like to live in The Dales. We have in the past had residents who have spent one tenth of their whole lives in The Dales and in view of this we feel it of the utmost importance to make any time spent here as happy and fulfilling as possible.
Realistically we know that anyone moving into care is likely to be unable to join in with all the in-house activities, however we feel that it is important to give support and encouragement to everyone staying at The Dales in order that they maintain as much independence and dignity as possible, irrespective of failing physical or mental health.
We would urge anyone contemplating a move into care to obtain as much information as possible about the home or homes they are considering moving into, and then having visited the home, stay there for a week or two before committing themselves to any long term stay, to really get a feel for the place. We would of course be delighted to show you around The Dales, and welcome the opportunity to let you and your friends or relatives see first hand what we have to offer.
In the meantime if you would like any further help or information about The Dales, or details about funding or moving into care in general, then please do not hesitate to contact us.