A Sanctuary Care home in East Kilbride is celebrating double awards success after both its team, and Lifestyle and Wellbeing Coordinator were shortlisted for prestigious care sector accolades.
Forefaulds Care Home has been named a finalist for the Community Involvement Award at the Caring UK Awards, while colleague Kirsty Bagan is shortlisted for the Meaningful Activity Award at Scottish Care’s Care Home Awards.
The two shortlistings recognise the not-for-profit care home team’s commitment to enriching residents’ lives by helping them remain active, connected and valued members of their community.
From volunteering at a local food bank and taking part in litter-picking, to raising money for the NSPCC, residents and colleagues at Forefaulds Care Home regularly give back to the area they are proud to call home. Residents at the home, in Blackbraes Road, Calderwood, are regular food bank volunteers and proudly refer to their weekly role as going to “work”.
The home has also developed close ties with local schools, while its popular summer festival brought residents, relatives and the local community together for live music, food vendors, stalls, raffles and intergenerational fun. Residents and colleagues even went door to door to personally invite the home’s neighbours.
At the heart of many of these initiatives is Kirsty Bagan, who has been the home’s Lifestyle and Wellbeing Coordinator for five years. Her personalised approach sees her get to know each resident’s interests, experiences and goals, creating opportunities that are meaningful to them.
Alongside community volunteering, the experiences Kirsty organises have ranged from wheelchair ice skating and family events to helping residents fulfil deeply personal wishes.
These have included taking married couple who live at the home on a two-day holiday to Netherurd Garden House, as well as supporting another resident to return to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, where he had grown up, before he sadly passed away.
Kirsty’s work with the food bank and the opportunities it has created for residents also been praised by MSP Collette Stevenson, who visited the home recently to show her appreciation.
Kirsty Bagan said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been named a finalist in the Scottish Care Awards for Meaningful Activity. My residents mean everything to me, and everything I do is for them, so to be recognised in this way is truly special.
“It would be an honour to bring this award home to Forefaulds but being recognised as a finalist alongside so many inspiring people is already a fantastic achievement.”
Pauline Stevenson, Home Manager at Forefaulds Care Home, added: “I am incredibly proud of our team and everything they achieve each day. They work so hard to create opportunities for residents to get involved in the community, build relationships and enjoy new experiences, and this recognition is thoroughly deserved.
“None of it would be possible without the support of our families and, of course, our amazing residents, who throw themselves into everything we do. Being a part of the smiles, memories and friendships that are created through these experiences is a privilege, and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved.”
The winners will be announced at the Scottish Care Awards and Caring UK Awards finals, which take place in November and December respectively.
