Care UK care homes celebrate Care Home Open Day

Company news

Apr 17, 2018

Care UK care homes across the country are opening their doors to the local community in celebration of Care Home Open Day.

A record total of 112 care homes will be taking part in the annual nationwide initiative, which celebrates and helps build on the relationships between care homes and their local communities. Care Home Open Day falls on Saturday 21st April, with some homes choosing to host events on Friday 20th April. 

The Care UK teams will be throwing parties inspired by either the Commonwealth or the Queen’s 92nd birthday in honour of the open day. Homes which will be celebrating the Commonwealth theme will be decorated in Commonwealth-inspired bunting that has been made by the residents themselves. Residents throwing royal parties have also been busy creating homemade crowns for guests to wear on the day. 

Care Home Open Day, now in its 6th year, aims to celebrate care homes and encourage people that would not normally visit a care home to step inside and learn a little about what life in a care home is really like. The day aims to dispel myths about care, and help care homes to create lasting links with their local communities and develop ongoing friendships. 

Care UK homes, from The Potteries in Poole, Dorset, up to Tor-Na-Dee in Aberdeen, have all arranged special days for their local communities. Residents and care home teams up and down the country have been planning exciting entertainment, activities and menus to show off what they do, and to celebrate this annual event. Some homes have chosen to showcase traditional entertainment, with retro singers and West End entertainers, whilst others have welcomed in school choirs, DJs and dancers from around the world. 

As well as special guests including local mayors and other dignitaries - and even an Olympic medallist at Abney Court in Cheadle - many homes have also invited some four legged friends to join them for Care Home Open Day. Tiltwood in Cobham, Surrey, is having a corgi show to celebrate the Queen’s birthday, and both Silversprings and Heatherbrook in Essex are welcoming pygmy goats along for the day to mention just a few. For those looking for a visit with a more unusual animal element, why not take a trip down to Darlington Court in Littlehampton, who will be having wallabies and meerkats at their day. 

To coincide with the Heads of Government meetings in London, some homes have chosen the Commonwealth as a theme, with many choosing to highlight the cultures of different Commonwealth countries through entertainment and special menus. With the Comonwealth Games at the start of April, some care homes have decided to run some exciting sporting activities at their Care Home Open Days. Both Paisley Court in Liverpool and Cumberland Court in Surrey will be putting on some competitions for both residents and visitors with sports including volleyball and lawn bowls, whereas two homes in greater London, Whitby Dene and The Burroughs, are planning an inter-home games with teams from both competing across several sports. Whitby Dene and The Burroughs are starting the event with an eight mile torch relay on the Friday to open the event, and a closing ceremony on the Sunday complete with a brass band.