Brookside celebrates ‘Outstanding’ Jubilee

BROOKSIDE Care Home in Melksham recently marked a double celebration. The care home has been awarded an “Outstanding” overall rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This year is also the Silver Jubilee of The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) which operates the home.

To mark the anniversary, two care homes in each of the four regions covered by the trust were selected to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’, the chosen tree being, appropriately, a silver birch. Brookside was one of those in Wiltshire selected, along with Ridgeway House in Royal Wootton Bassett.   

Mayor of Melksham cllr Adrienne  Westbrook, was assisted in the tree-planting by OSJCT operations director Kevin Hall, watched by residents, relatives, friends and employees, who then enjoyed a traditional tea party. “It’s very nice to support a local Melksham care home receiving the outstanding award from the CQC,” said cllr Westbrook.

Home manager Jamie Carter said, “This has been a wonderful day for all of us.  We have celebrated OSJCT’s Silver Jubilee and also, importantly, our CQC inspection result.

“Everyone at Brookside is very proud to belong to an organisation like OSJCT, whose ethos and values are so fundamental to the way we provide care.  This was one of the important factors in the achievement of our ‘Outstanding’ rating, which we are obviously delighted about.”

Kevin Hall added, “Even though a lot has changed in the last 25 years, our commitment to delivering the best possible care and support for our residents and their families has not, and we are extremely proud of the 4,500 people who work so hard to care for our residents.

“The Trust has grown significantly since 1992 and we have developed many new ways of providing care and support for residents, especially for those with dementia. I am sure the next quarter of a century will see us continue to develop and innovate and we will remain just as focused on caring for the older people in our communities as we were 25 years ago.”

The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) first started providing nursing and residential care in 1992, when it took over responsibility for 16 homes from Lincolnshire County Council.  Today, the Trust operates 70 care homes and 14 extra care housing schemes across Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.

Sponsored by the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Venerable Order of St John, OSJCT delivers high quality, person-centred care and works in partnership with local authorities and other stakeholders to ensure that residents and employees live and work in a modern environment and benefit from the latest care aids, equipment and technology.

Above: Kevin Hall helps the mayor, cllr Adrienne Westbrook plant the tree, watched by Jamie Carter, resident Chris Hellings, and area operations manager Kay Rudge.