By Kevin Burke, Director of Care Homes, and Dementia Services at Guild Care

When you or a loved one chooses to live in a Guild Care home, you immediately become part of our family. That’s certainly true of Mary and Jo, along with their beloved budgie Dusky, who joined us at Caer Gwent last Autumn.

Mary and Jo have found their forever home at Caer Gwent. “We actually feel so much more at ease
and independent than we used to”, explains Mary. “Jo used to care for me before we came here, and it made us both feel quite nervous about doing everyday tasks. It’s a lovely feeling to be here and feel safe”.

That’s because our care homes blend superb residential living with expert nursing care – all while keeping the family feel that’s so important to the people who live with us.

A home from home

Making sure everyone feels this sense of belonging is vital. “There were so many reasons for choosing Caer Gwent!”, Mary says. “From the moment we walked through the door the staff have gone above and beyond for us”.

“We’re both vegetarian and the chef always makes us our favourite veggie meals!”, adds Jo. “We were also able to bring our budgie, Dusky, who’s very popular with everyone!”

Mary and Jo have always been close and lived together before coming to Caer Gwent. Moving here was also a chance to be closer to their younger sister, Evi, who can now visit them more easily. But it was also important that they could make their space feel like their own.

“Our new room is really cosy and has its own lounge – we love it! We’ve decorated it with our favourite ornaments and pictures, so it feels like ours”, says Jo.

Fantastic activities and trips

Mary and Jo love the range of fun and engaging activities we run, all of which are tailored to the needs of those staying with us.
“We both really enjoy armchair yoga with Sammy, and going out on day trips is always fun”, says Jo. “We went to Littlehampton recently and had lunch by the river while watching the boats go by!”.

For Guild Care, it’s about creating a caring and safe environment where everyone feels loved, supported and heard. We always ask people what they want to do and where they’d like to go, so we can put them at the heart of everything.

A place where friendships flourish

Our activities also bring people together. As Mary explains: “The team set up a Bible study group for us which was really heartwarming, and we’ve made lots of friends through it. It’s little things like this that have made us feel at home”.

“Everyone here is so lovely, and we’ve made great friends.” Jo adds: “We both love Brenda (who you can read about here), she’s so funny.”

Across our Caer Gwent, Haviland House and Linfield House care homes, our fully inclusive services adapt to deliver the right level of care as needs change to offer stability, peace of mind and a forever home for all.

For more information about Caer Gwent, or Guild Care’s other homes and services, please contact
our friendly customer relationship team on 01903 327327 or [email protected]