Aberford Hall Care Home

It rapidly became apparent that the home's managers allowed and facilitated any requests we had and several examples of the unit's ethos I would like to summarise:

We came and went on a daily basis and there was at no time any feelings of awkwardness or perception experienced by us that we were getting in the way of the running of the home. We were encouraged to go about preparing for the end of our Mother's life in our own personal way.

The staff were well organised but also responded instantly and graciously to any care needs my mother had. They would always stop what they were doing and meet any needs we had immediately. On many occasions, unbeknown to the nurses and support carers, we witnessed kindness and inadvertently overheard conversations that were happening close to where we were. On every occasion, staff were calm, dignified and compassionate. There was a mixture of ages in the team with very little staff turnover. Youthful energy and hope was augmentated by wisdom and experience. Many of the professionals had been at Aberford Hall for a long time and clearly loved their jobs.

On the night before my Mother died, I and my sister asked if we could stay over. The staff on duty kindly made an adjacent room available and helped us make up a bed. We were able to take it in turns to be with our mother, hold her hand and stroke her hair through the long hours of that last night. Staff regularly brought us meals, snacks and cups of tea. We felt very welcomed and supported.

The senior members of the team at Aberford Hall explained everything in a way that helped us understand processes which we had not experienced before. They also always made plain their thinking in terms of the type and amount of medication they were giving, for example. Communication at all times was good. The team was both efficient and very humane.

Perhaps the most important moment for us came when one member of staff helped me with a dilemma. Should we allowed my seven-year-old granddaughter (mum's great granddaughter) to visit with her mum? The choice became obvious following that conversation and the young child throught hard about whether she would like to see my mother one last time. She did decide to visit less than thirty-eight hours before the death. For those moments during the visit, my mother suddenly became astonishingly animated, uttering words which comforted us and spend time stroking her great grandaughter's hair. This opportunity provided my father and all the others present a beautiful moment which we will cherish forever.

We cannot fault in any way a single aspect of the set up at Aberford Hall as a reflection of the highly compassionate approach of the team have decided to recognise this materially. My father will invite those attending my Mother's funeral to make donations to Aberford Hall which we will pass on with our own, for the benefit of those dedicated staff who provided impeccable care and to make a small contribution to the fabric of the premises. Without a thought, we would all recommend that others requiring similar care for their loved ones place their trust in the professionals working at Aberford Hall.