Fairlawn celebrates long-serving housekeeper

A housekeeper at a Ferndown care home was the guest of honour at a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party to celebrate her 25 years of service.

Debbie Barnes, who works at Fairlawn care home, was treated to a surprise party by her colleagues and the residents at the home on St Mary’s Road, to celebrate her 25 years at the not-for-profit charity Care South. The special celebration featured a three-tier cake themed around Alice in Wonderland, alongside teapots filled with cheese straws, fine bone china tea pots and cups, and cake stands filled with sandwiches and cakes, all freshly prepared by the home’s chefs.

She said: “It doesn’t feel like 25 years. I love our residents and staff. You go into a resident’s room and they just light up when they see me, which is a nice feeling. It has always been like a second home to me. My daughters, Karren, Donna and Vicky, have all worked at Fairlawn as well, which they have all enjoyed, as it’s such a great place to work.”

Debbie says that she plans to retire this year, to enjoy a well-deserved rest and to spend more time with her three daughters and nine grandchildren.

Tina Vincent, Home Manager at Fairlawn, said: “We are so lucky to have Debbie in our team here at Fairlawn. In all that time with us, she has never taken a day off sick. She is an absolutely integral part of the team and she knows all of our residents and staff so well. She has also been part of the team that has won the Pride in Your Service award twice, at our annual Care South Stars Awards ceremony, which speaks for itself about the high standards that our team delivers. She also joins in with activities run by our in-house activities team and is a pleasure to work with.”

Fairlawn, which is part of the Care South family of care homes, provides residential, respite, and dementia care. It features a dedicated activities team, which organises a daily programme of events to bring residents together to socialise and build friendships.

Care South is a leading provider of high quality residential and home care services across the south of England. The not-for-profit organisation, which is a registered charity, has care homes in Dorset, north Devon and Somerset, and care at home offices covering Dorset and Somerset.

For more information about the care services available, go to care-south.co.uk or call Care South on 01202 712410.

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