Become a Hero like Stacey and organise a very special dinner date

Radfield Home Care Wakefield and Dewsbury have been caring for a very special client Colleen since September 2019. Colleen has always been a very cheerful lady, with lots of friends and family around her visiting regularly. Since the COVID-19 pandemic the visits from family and friends have ceased as Colleen’s support network were keen to follow social distancing guidelines to ensure Colleen was kept safe and well.

Gemma Bristow, registered care manager for Radfield explained,

“Our care professionals soon noticed and fed back that our client was not her usual cheerful self. She was understandably feeling lonely and isolated, they also noted that she was not eating as well as she usually did. So, I gave her a call to explain that her regular carers were a little worried about her.”

“Colleen explained that she was feeling a little down and a bit lonely and her appetite was not what it used to be. She also explained that she was missing having a friend or family member to sit down to eat a nice meal with explained that Stacey, a regular carer had made something last week which she really enjoyed, a pasta dish of some sort.”

Gemma contacted Stacey to ask if she could remember what it was she had prepared for her client that day and Stacey explained that it was a lasagne and Colleen had really enjoyed it. Gemma asked if Stacey would be willing to help us do something really nice for her client, due to her feeling down and lonely, suggesting for Stacey to visit and have a nice meal with her one evening, hopefully cheering her up. Stacey offered to prepare a home made lasagne, garlic bread and salad to take to Colleen to enjoy with her and offered to do this in her own time. 

Gemma explained,

“I rang the client back to suggest this and she was delighted with Stacey’s kind gesture and said she would really enjoy it, thanking us for the offer and commenting, “It will give me something to look forward to.” Stacey and Colleen had a lovely meal together.”

Stacey added,

“Seeing a client upset or feeling down is concerning. The lockdown is having a huge impact on people’s mental state, not having visits from family or friends. To be able to do a little extra for a client is the best feeling. Seeing Coleen laughing, smiling and engaging in a conversation is absolutely priceless. I do this job to make a difference to people’s lives and I will always go the extra mile to achieve that.”