Fun at Essex Care Homes Celebrating Dignity Week

Residents and team members at two care homes in Bocking, near Braintree, held a special Dignity Week to shine a light on dignity and diversity in care.

The week-long programme at The New Deanery and St Mary’s Court included a tea party, wear red day, cookery day and a sing-a-long musical Dignity celebration to round off the week.

The fun activities programme was launched to tie in with the Dignity in Care campaign’s national Dignity Action Day which aims to ‘put undignified care to bed’ and champion the rights of care service users.

Matron and Sonnet’s Dignity Lead Joan Sirett said: “We wanted to demonstrate and celebrate that everybody in our care homes is special and a person in their own right. Difference is good and we respect and support this wholeheartedly.

“It’s about treating our residents as individuals and ensuring they are given choice, control and a sense of purpose in their daily lives.”

The Donate £2 and Wear Red Day, plus the sale of homemade cakes, raised £133 for the National Dignity Council charity.

The week started with residents and team members’ dignity and diversity ideas being posted up on a special dignity screen in the Bistro of The New Deanery. Suggestions were posted on red and striped hearts to represent dignity and diversity. One of the most popular activities was Cookery Day, when residents iced and decorated heart-shaped biscuits.

Resident of The New Deanery, Joan Green, said: “I think the Dignity Week highlighted how important respect is for everyone. The staff are always really patient, and they deserve to be treated with respect just as much as the residents do.”