Making Christmas Memorable for Veterans at Solihull Care Home

Nurse Linda Bateson expressed that it is “quite a privilege” to be present with the residents and to ensure “it a really special day for them.” Personnel at Solihull’s Royal Star & Garter, a facility offering nursing and dementia care, consider it a “real privilege” to create a special Christmas experience for those residing there. Ms. Bateson, who possesses three decades of experience in the care sector, elaborated, “There is usually lots of entertainment, and giving them the best possible care, but making sure they feel loved I suppose, and making the day really special for them.” She and her colleagues are responsible for 60 residents, all of whom are either veterans or their spouses. However, with family members visiting on Christmas Day, the number of individuals gathering for Christmas dinner will exceed 90. Margaret Wates, a Birmingham native, and her spouse both completed national service. Mrs. Wates stated, “On Christmas day my daughter from Stourbridge will come.” She added, “Many thanks to the staff, they make no trouble about working over Christmas.” Concurrently, another resident, 97-year-old Bill Wheeler, expressed a preference for spending Christmas at home. He remarked, “But times have changed and I’ve got to make the best here, but it seems as though they are going to look after us extremely well.” Approximately 95 individuals are anticipated to be present at the facility throughout the day, participating in entertainment, which will feature a visit from Santa. Lorraine Bishton, the wellbeing coordinator for the home, commented: “Christmas day is a very busy day we have lots of visitors, and a lot of people who are on their own. “The biggest part for me is playing Santa, each individual resident gets a present and has their photograph taken.” Readers can follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram. This content is Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external sites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.