Glasgow City Health and Social Care partnership (HSCP) runs five residential care homes, providing 24-hour assistance to people who are no longer able to live independently at home. Our HSCP also runs day care services and care at home services. Our caring staff work hard to make sure residents and service users enjoy the festive season.

Robin Wallace, our HSCP’s Head of Older People, Residential and Day Care Service said: “Our impressive list of activities shows the positive team spirit and dedication of our staff. Their motivation and enthusiasm greatly enhanced residents and families’ experiences, with the festive season bringing joy and togetherness to both residents and their loved ones.”

Hawthorn House Care Home staff worked with residents and stakeholders and successfully raised funds for an interactive touch screen sensory table. This advanced device offers unique experiences tailored to the needs and interests of residents, ranging from cognitive stimulation and sensory therapy to social connection, enhancing the overall quality of care. This technology will help to improve communication with residents with dementia, enhance their emotional well-being, aid physical coordination and benefit residents with restricted mobility or sensory impairments

Victoria Gardens Care Home staff recently teamed up with local filmmaker Stephen Gilmour for a unique reminiscence project. Stephen, who has an extensive collection of slides showcasing people from different decades and places, created themed sessions focusing on topics like childhood and holidays. To adapt his project to suit older residents with various support needs, Stephen collaborated with our Activities Coordinator Niki and a group of enthusiastic residents. This project will now be shared with older people throughout our services.

A busy festive period at Riverside Care Home saw our residents given the VIP treatment and invited to the Riverbank School Pantomime, ‘Honky Tonky Donkey’. Everyone had a great time and shared laughs, jokes and festive cheer with the primary pupils at the local school.

Residents were also invited to Silverdale Nursery school for afternoon tea and carols around the Christmas tree. This was a wonderful day for all generations.

Staff were also overwhelmed with the support and kindness of families and the local community for donating gifts and treats for the annual Christmas raffle – raising a fantastic £1,064 for resident’s funds!

Thanks to Angela, our Activity Coordinator, Meadowburn Care Home was transformed into a winter wonderland in mid-December. Families and friends were invited to join in the festive fun, with mulled wine, mince pies and a Christmas arts and crafts workshop set up in our ‘bothy’. The event also raised an impressive £1,300 for residents’ funds.

Residents also enjoyed local school children singing carols and a pantomime and praised the Christmas and New Year’s dinners.

Muirhead Road Day Care Service hosted ‘Christmas Magic’, with local primary school children visiting to sing carols and spread Christmas cheer with our service users. Everyone dressed to impress with Santa and Elf hats and crazy Christmas jumpers. The service users were also delighted to be able to hand out gifts to the pupils.

Service users from Mallaig Road Day Care Service were invited to a Day of Culture at Govan High School where they spent time meeting students, staff and members of the wider community and learning about the diverse cultures who call Glasgow home.

During the week leading up to Christmas, dance students from Govan High School entertained service users with a dance display. They saw variations of movements from modern dance to hip hop, which brought much fun and laughter.

Our HSCP’s Day Care services worked closely with colleagues at Care at Home services to support service users, who were at risk of increased loneliness and isolation over the Christmas period. Working together, we were able to invite service users to join in with festive activities and enjoy lunch. Donnie McKinney, Senior Officer who led on the coordination of the initiative said: “Our services embraced this initiative and welcomed a number of people for companionship and a hot meal. The initiative was a great way to ensure that people felt welcomed during the holidays.”