Staff and residents at an Oxfordshire care home have starring roles in a film, which aims to educate GCSE students about working in Health and Social Care.
Westgate House in Wallingford, one of The Orders of St John Care Trust’s (OSJCT) 73 care homes, is the focus of an educational series on care, due to be broadcast on Teacher’s TV (Sky 880, Freesat 650 and Freview 88) on 27January 2010 at 11.45am. It can also be viewed on the Teacher’s TV website at www.teachers.tv/video/37120 http://www.teachers.tv/video/37120 .
The series of programmes, entitled Handle with Care – Health and Social Care offers students an insight into the roles of people working in the health and social care sector.
The 30-minute film features interviews with employees and residents at Westgate House, including Manager Stella McNeill, who discusses the different kinds of personal, social and spiritual care offered at Westgate House. Activities Coordinator, Wendy Bowden, talks about the various activities available, tailored to suit the interests of each individual and resident Mary Barron speaks about her experience during her past three years at the home.
Hugo Mander, of Brook Lapping Productions, which produced the film, said: “We chose Westgate House because it is one of the most state of the art care homes in the region. Given that the programme aims to highlight good practice, we felt that the work at the care home exemplified the high standards of care offered by OSJCT to older people in Oxfordshire.”
Leonie Huie-Martin, Health and Social Care teacher from Lillian Baylis Technology School, London, who came up with the idea for the programmes said: “As a Health and Social Care teacher I found it difficult to find videos that related to the topics my students were studying. Westgate House was very helpful and allowed filming to take place there. This gave my students an insight to what a care home is really like and helped them to complete their coursework.”
Dan Hayes, Oxfordshire County Director of OSJCT said: “We are delighted that Westgate House was chosen to be filmed for this project and our staff and residents found it quite exciting to be followed around by a film crew all day.
“It’s important to the Trust that our staff enjoy working at our homes and that they have access to the best opportunities for both their career and personal development.
“I hope that this film helps to educate more people of the prospects available to them as well as showing them how enjoyable and rewarding a career in the care sector can be.”
-ENDS-
Issued on behalf of The Orders of St John Care Trust by Lava. For further information contact Louise or Steph at Lava on 01522 842 800 / louise@lavapr.co.uk or steph@lavapr.co.uk
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Notes for Editors
The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) was established in 1991. It is a not for profit charity sponsored by the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Venerable Order of St John. These two historic Orders have a long tradition of offering care and service and today provide the Trustees for OSJCT.
OSJCT’s core activity is providing care for older people of any background, irrespective of race or religion. Having started in Lincolnshire, running 16 former local authority care homes, the Trust now operates 73 homes, across four counties (16 in Lincolnshire, 20 in Wiltshire, 17 in Oxfordshire and 20 in Gloucestershire) and cares for some 3,250 residents.
The Trust is dedicated to delivering the highest quality, person centered care. Our broad range of services includes residential, nursing and dementia care. We also provide intermediate, respite and day care. Our ethos of care, which underpins all our activities, is based on our belief that all older people living in our care homes, should be given care, both material and spiritual, that suits their individual needs. We also believe that our residents and day care visitors should enjoy life in an atmosphere of warmth, harmony and understanding, being cared for by people who appreciate their need for privacy and who will respect their dignity and freedom of choice.
To that end, OSJCT is currently involved in an extensive development programme, working in partnership with local authorities and other stakeholders to ensure that our residents and staff can live and work in a modern environment and can benefit from the latest care aids, equipment and technology. We are also committed to providing the best possible training opportunities for our staff in terms of their career progression and personal development.
www.osjct.co.uk http://www.osjct.co.uk
