Category Archives: Blog

You’re Only As Old As You Feel It’s a sad fact of life that elderly people are often stereotyped as being unattractive, boring, lonely and ‘past it’. But that negative and misguided perception was challenged recently when an 85-year old pensioner, living in a care home in Surrey, was ‘spotted’ by a top fashion photographer – andContinue reading “You’re Only As Old As You Feel”

What Is A Care Plan? Once you’ve chosen a care home (hopefully Birchwood House!) for your loved one (or yourself), the next step is to create a personalised care plan. But what is it – and why is it needed? A care plan is essentially a written statement of the individual’s needs, preferences and wishes, wrapped upContinue reading “What Is A Care Plan”

Art & Craft At Birchwood House, we love to encourage our residents to participate in a variety of art and craft sessions – especially at this time of year and there are so many reasons why creative activities can have a positive effect on the mind, soul – and even the body! Many elderly peopleContinue reading “Art & Craft”

Birchwood House Recognised As An Investor In People! Birchwood House, a residential care home based in Speldhurst on the outskirts of Tunbridge Wells has been awarded an accreditation against the Investors in People Standard, demonstrating their commitment to realising the potential of their people and being officially recognised as an investor in people. Investors inContinue reading “Birchwood House Recognised As An Investor In People”

Singing From The Heart Music has such an emotional pull, doesn’t it? It can make us laugh, cry, reflect – and it can soothe, stimulate and bring to mind long-forgotten memories. It’s especially important for older people – including those with dementia or Alzheimer’s as it can also trigger long-forgotten memories. Whether it’s stage musicals,Continue reading “Singing From The Heart”

Do I need a care home or live-in care? Birchwood House is a residential care home based in Tunbridge Wells. This means our residents come and live in our home and we look after them, enabling them to enjoy as fulfilling lives as possible. This is very different to 24 hour live-in care which isContinue reading “Do I need a care home or live-in care?”

Purpose-Built Vs. Home From Home One of the big questions people need to consider when looking for a care home for their loved one or themselves is do they want to go to a purpose-built care home or one (like our care home here at Birchwood House) that isn’t purpose-built? Much of it comes downContinue reading “Purpose-Built Vs. Home From Home”

Elderly book lovers live longer Yes, it’s true! A study by Yale University has revealed that “book readers experienced a 20 percent reduction in risk of mortality over the 12 years of follow-up compared to non-book readers.” August 9th marks National Book Lovers Day – a special day for bibliophiles to celebrate their love of literatureContinue reading “Elderly book lovers live longer”

Summer arrives at Birchwood House Summer is well and truly upon us and we’ve had a fabulous time thinking of some fun activities for our residents. We understand the importance of staying active in later years – and that includes being socially active. While exercise is important for a high quality of life, the connectionsContinue reading “Summer arrives at Birchwood House!”

Self care and wellbeing at Birchwood House ‘Self care’ is a buzzword that is frequently used today, especially amongst many millennials. But what does it mean, how does it apply to elderly people – and how do we approach it here at Birchwood House? According to World Health Organisation (WHO), self care is “what people do forContinue reading “Self care and wellbeing at Birchwood House”