Our services don’t stop for Christmas. Many thousands of people across the country need care and support on the 25^th December, just like any other day.

Guild Care staff will be there to make sure that people not only get the support they need, but that they’re supported to celebrate this special day too.

We have a variety of services which run 365 days of the year, including Home Care, a transport service and Christmas lunch at the Bradbury Wellbeing Centre and three nursing homes.

The Home Care service promotes independence by helping people with many aspects of daily living. This includes personal care, domestic help, emotional support and general assistance with other tasks. All of this will take place as usual on Christmas Day.

Dona Lacey, Home Care Manager, said: “The care and support our staff provide to people in their homes is vital to them remaining safe and independent and our customers will still need that care on Christmas Day. Our domiciliary staff may be the only person who visits someone on that day, so their visit could transform a lonely Christmas Day into one that was shared.”

Last year our fleet of 12 minibuses travelled a total of 132,769 miles (that’s the equivalent of traveling to Australia and back seven times) and carried out 1,600 journeys, providing a door-to-door service for over 500 passengers each week to Guild Care services. This Christmas Day will be no different.

Every Christmas Day four of our minibuses, driven by generous volunteer drivers, collect customers to spend the day at their Bradbury Wellbeing Centre, which hosts a traditional family lunch for older people who would otherwise be alone on the joyous day.

As part of the festive cheer, customers enjoy a three-course lunch, raffle, quiz and entertainment so that they can have a good old fashioned sing along. This Christmas even the Mayor of Worthing will be popping in to spend time with customers!

Julie Hockley, our Community Transport Manager, said: “Last Christmas Day we ensured every one of our customers were dropped off to enjoy the day and some of our volunteer drivers even stayed for the day, making it a real family occasion.”

Our three nursing homes also run as normal and host a range of Christmas fun to get residents in the festive spirit.

In the morning at Linfield House, staff will give out a present to each and every resident and then they’ll all proceed to have a special lunch together, with some family members joining in the festivities.

Julie Greenhalf, Registered Manager of Linfield House, said: “Christmas Day for us is really just like any other day but lots more fun! There will be lots of festive activities throughout the day and we sing lots of carols. We also sing outside the rooms of our more frail residents who are not mobile, so that they don’t miss out. We make sure that it feels as Christmassy as possible for everyone.”

We are proud of our team of dedicated staff and volunteers who give up their valuable time on Christmas Day to continue to deliver vital services, ensuring people that use its services remain happy and supported, even on this special day.

For more information about our services, call the Customer Service Team on 01903 327327.