In the words of Noddy Holder, “It’s Christmas!” That wonderful, magical time of the year that makes everything sparkle as we gather with family and friends to celebrate.
The warm glow of the Christmas Tree lights; the beautifully wrapped packages; the smells of holiday baking; the sound of carols floating in the air; the decorations inside and out; houses decked in fairy lights, Christmas pagents; parties; carol concerts; and the way mince pies tend to be in an infinite supply.
The hustle and bustle of holiday shopping – whether for food and drink or gifts; the generally cheerful nature of everyone we meet, and the lists we write of things we must remember (that somehow go missing just when we need them).
Then, there’s the things we overlook – the queues; the crowded shops; the cold ears, noses, fingers, and toes; being rushed off our feet with the errands and places we need to be; making sure everything is posted on time and that we haven’t forgotten to send someone a Christmas card; hearing “Wondeful Christmas Time” for the 10th time in a day …
Corner Lodge Ltd
185-193 Meadow Way
Jaywick Sands, Essex CO15 2HP
Phone: 01255 220228
@ Business Office: lodgeadmin@cornerlodgecareclacton.co.uk
Manager: mgrcornerlodge@aol.com
Senior Care: senior@cornerlodgecareclacton.co.uk
f www.facebook.com/corner.lodge.77
And finally, it’s New Year’s. We collapse from exhaustion and vow that next year we’re going to do things simpler with less stress and more time to relax and enjoy the Holiday. We need the next 11 months to recover …
We even convince ourselves that this is holiday attire
This is a brief look at what we did in November. For all the pictures and videos of what happened at Corner Lodge last month, please see our Facebook page.
Everyone enjoyed our singer!
Pamper session for the ladies
Residents enjoyed arts & crafts
Ron celebrated his big birthday with family
Obi paid a visit
Residents cooked up some tasty treats
Save The Dates
On the calendar, we’ve included some of the special holiday-themed Activities in which we think you’d enjoy taking part . Please check our Facebook page for all the times and information.
Christmas Jokes
What do you get if you eat Christmas decorations? Tinsel-itis!
Why does Santa have elves in his workshop? Because the Seven Dwarves were busy!
Why was the snowman looking through the carrots? He was picking his nose.
What falls at the North Pole and never gets hurt? Snow!
Emailing Corner Lodge
We enjoy hearing from you. But from time to time, we’ve noticed that there have been occasions when our response has been delayed because someone was off duty and/or the email needed to be forwarded to the correct person. If an email arrives after 5 PM on Friday evening, it’s likely that it will not be read until after 9 AM on Monday morning. Sometimes, the message can’t wait that long and it needs to be acted on promptly.
For emails regarding an invoice you’ve received, items you have sent or will be sending to your loved one, ordering or cancelling newspapers, toiletries, complaints and concerns, or other general queries: please send your emails to lodgeadmin@cornerlodgecareclacton.co.uk
For emails regarding Doctor or Hospital appoints, health related questions, arranging an appointment with the hairdresser or chiropodist, clothing queries, etc: please send your emails to senior@cornerlodgecareclacton.co.uk
For emails regarding meals, the operation of the kitchen, suggestions, recipes, or general questions regarding catering: please send your emails to catering@cornerlodgecareclacton.co.uk
For emails regarding medication, health related questions, or complaints and concerns: please send your emails to deputymanager@cornerlodgecareclacton.co.uk
For emails regarding health related questions, complaints and concerns, staff members, general staffing, policies and proceedures, safeguarding, the operation of the home, or other related queries: please send your emails to mgrcornerlodge@aol.com
Inflation
If your true love were to give you all 364 gifts from “The Twelve Days of Christmas, the cost would be approximately £51,135.48! That’s 3.8% higher than last year.
By the twelfth day, your true love will have turned your home into a chaotic petting zoo with a marching band:
• 40 maids milking with 40 cows
• 42 swans and 42 geese flapping about
• 36 calling birds, 30 hens, 22 turtle doves, and 12 partridges all competing for the same bread crumbs and bird seed
• 30 lords leaping over 36 dancing ladies
• 22 pipers piping and 12 drummers drumming at full volume
• And, of course, 12 pear trees
Of course, you will be responsible for providing:
• Lodging for the maids, lords, ladies, pipers, and drummers
• A barn for the cows
• An aviary for the calling birds and turtle doves
• A shelter for the swans, geese, hens, and partidges
• A lake for the swans
• Hiring someone to feed, clean up after all the birds
• Feed for the animals
• Food for the maids, lords, ladies, pipers, and drummers
• Land for all this nonsense
(I’m assuming that the maids will look after their cows and that the people will do their own cooking, cleaning, and laundry.)
Would it seem ungrateful to “settle” for just the 40 gold rings?
The residents, directors, management, and staff of Corner Lodge
Christmas-time can be manic at Corner Lodge – the carols, staff wearing funny Yuletide clothing, the sounds of bells and laughter, visitors, entertainments, tasty treats, … and we love every minute.
We’d like to stop for a moment and take the opportunity to ask you to help us make the residents’ day a bit brighter and less stressful: When leaving cards or gifts for your loved one, please write their name on the envelope or gift tag. We have a building full of Mums, Dads, Nans, Granddads, etc and we have no idea which one the card or gift is for. We understand that it lacks the personal touch, but we’d rather that the item was given to the person it was intended for.
It would also be helpful, when bringing in several gifts for someone, if you’d put them together in a bag to avoid them getting separated and/or misplaced.
If you’re stuck for gift ideas we suggest you consider “The 5 Christmas Gift Rule (the goal of which is to give a variety of meaningful gifts that cater to different aspects of a person's life):
c Something they want
c Something they need – toiletries, electric razor
c Something to wear – we can provide clothing sizes and ideas
c Something to read or listen to – a plushy that plays a tune
c Something to do – a puzzle, a game, a word search book
Sundry Medication
In 2018, The NHS stopped issuing prescriptions that were appropriate but were for medicines, products or treatments that do not require a prescription and can be purchased over the counter from pharmacies, supermarkets, petrol stations, corner shops or other retailers in some cases at a much lower cost than the price paid by the NHS.
The NHS believed they could save around £190 million a year by cutting such prescriptions for minor, short-term conditions, many of which will cure themselves or cause no long term effect on health.
Since 2018, some of the conditions that have been affected by NHS prescription crackdown are:
• Acute sore throat
• Infrequent cold sores of the lip
• Conjunctivitis
• Coughs and colds and nasal congestion
• Haemorrhoids
• Mild irritant dermatitis
• Dandruff
• Diarrhoea (adults)
• Dry eyes/sore (tired) eyes
• Earwax
• Fungal rash
• Indigestion and heartburn
• Infrequent constipation
• Infrequent migraine
• Insect bites and stings
• Mild dry skin
• Sunburn
• Sun protection
• Mild to moderate hay fever/seasonal rhinitis
• Minor burns and scalds
• Minor conditions associated with pain, discomfort and/fever. (e.g. aches and sprains, headache, back pain)
• Mouth ulcers
• Oral thrush
• Ringworm/athlete’s foot
• Mild toothache
• Warts and verruca
If the resident’s GP, Community Matron, or District Nurse recommends a particular non-prescription treatment. Since this change was put in place, it has been our practice to purchase the recommended treatment and follow the instructions provided to us. The cost for the treatment is then added to the monthly invoice as a sundry expense.
As with the provision of toiletries, you may choose to purchase these treatments yourself for your loved one. If that is your decision, we ask that you notify us in writing to prevent any confusion. Your instructions will be added to the resident’s care plan.
In such cases, a member of the Senior Care Team will contact you and advise you of the situation and recommendation. We will wait for you to deliver the recommended treatment.
The Health Provider may still prescribe a medicine for a condition on the list if:
• The need treatment for a long-term condition, e.g. regular pain relief for chronic arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease.
• Treatment for more complex forms of minor illnesses, e.g. migraines that are very bad and where over the counter medicines do not work.
• An over the counter medicine required to treat a side effect of a prescription medicine or symptom of another illness, e.g. constipation when taking certain painkillers.
• The medicine has a licence which doesn’t allow the product to be sold over the counter to certain groups of patients.
Important Reminder: Visitors should not enter the home if they are feeling unwell, even if they have tested negative for Covid-19, are fully vaccinated, and have received their booster. Viruses such as the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and norovirus can be just as dangerous to care home residents as Covid-19. If you have any symptoms such as: a cough, fever, diarrhoea, or vomiting, you should avoid visiting for at least 5 days after you feel better.
Visting times are
10:30 AM to Noon
1:30 PM to 5:00 PM
6:00 PM to until the resident has retired for the evening.
There is no restriction to the number of visitors a resident may have at one time.
Visitors are asked to use the alcohol hand gel at the door on entering and exiting the home.
If you are visiting during an outbreak in the home, we may require you to wear a face mask, particularly when walking through the home. Face masks may be removed when the visit is not in a communal area of the home or when you are eating or drinking. However, if you have removed your mask, we ask that you limit any close contact. Children under the age of 11 may choose not to wear a mask but they should be encouraged to follow the other guidelines.
You are welcome to visit in the main lounge, the conservatories, a resident’s bedroom, in the 1st -floor lounge (if available), or in the garden (weather permitting)
In the event of an outbreak, residents will be able to have One visitor at a time (unless other arrangements are agreed with the manager).
During an outbreak, visiting will be limited to the front conservatory and garden. Because time and space will be limited, we ask that you phone at least 24 hours prior to your visit to book a slot to give everyone the opportunity to visit.
To make sure that everyone is given the opportunity to have visitors, the home may reduce the number of visits per day and/or the length of the visits. This will allow the home to follow any additional cleaning and disinfection routines that may be required.
In an effort to protect the residents and yourself, you may be asked to wear an apron, face mask, and/or gloves during your visit.
Please understand that Corner Lodge does not make the decision to close the home to visitors nor do we determine the length of time the home will be closed. Those decisions are made by The U.K. Health Security Agency and/or Public Health England. To ensure the health and wellbeing of our residents and visitors, we are required to follow their instructions.
