Local care home wins national award

Home news

Oct 24, 2018

Glastonbury Court has been recognised after winning a highly-coveted award at the Suffolk Care Awards.   

The home was nominated alongside 114 other care homes before making the shortlist of five – alongside fellow Care UK home, Cleves Place. 

The five shortlisted homes were visited by verifiers who spoke to various team members, residents and relatives about the steps the care home takes to ensure end of life care is treated with the utmost respect and importance, both in terms of the resident and their loved ones. 

The End of Life Care award was presented to the home at the Suffolk Care Awards. The ceremony was founded by Care Development East and the Suffolk Association of Independent Care Providers (SAICP), and exists to highlight and celebrate the innovation and excellence of care providers in the county, by recognising the unsung heroes of the sector.  

Judges praised Glastonbury Court’s approach to end of life care, care in particular the introduction of the Sunset Suite, a calm reflective space for friends and families to stay when the time is needed. The suite is away from the hustle and bustle of care home life, and comes complete with kettle, fridge, sofa bed and fresh linen. The home also provides a fold up bed should anyone wish to be closer to their loved one. 

Speaking about the award win, Sharlene Van Tonder, home manager at Glastonbury Court, said: “Here are Glastonbury Court we’re often talking about our fantastic activity based care, our partnerships with wonderful community groups and milestone birthdays that we always love to celebrate. End of life care isn’t something people generally want to talk about, but it’s an important part of the work we do and it is essential we give it the attention and respect it deserves, so we can assure families that when the time comes, we’re here for them.

“Earlier this year we opened our Sunset Suite, with the help of Friends of Glastonbury Court (FOG) and the lovely feedback we’ve received from relatives since has made it all worthwhile. No matter how long a resident is with us here at Glastonbury Court, everyone is treated with the same level of care and respect, but for us, what really matters is the little things. From the personalised photo book we give to relatives once their loved one has passed, to putting the decision in the relatives’ hands about how they want their loved ones’ last days to be spent. 

“We’re delighted to have been recognised as a leader in this field at the Suffolk Care Awards, and I would like to thank the wonderful team at Glastonbury Court for their continued hard work and commitment to the residents and their families.”