Back in September, our care home Middlefields House in Chippenham was featured on Radio 4’s Sunday Worship programme. “Family members” (as we call those who choose to live with us) gathered for a time of collective worship, listening to a short talk and sharing Bible passages, hymns and reflections on God’s faithfulness over the years. It was a warm and uplifting time, and a lovely glimpse of why it is so precious to worship the Lord in community with others.

Gaie Marshall is Pastoral Lead at the home and her role involves working with local churches to ensure those living at Middlefields House receive ample opportunity for spiritual encouragement. “Going to church, praying and sharing fellowship are seen as vital for the Christian life,” she says. “Nowhere in the Bible does it suggest we put a brake on it just because people are older.”

For those living in care homes getting out to church may no longer be an option for any number of reasons including ill health, lack of mobility or difficulties with transport. What churches can bring to a care home can therefore be a spiritual lifeline.

As well as provision by staff, at Middlefields House there are regular Sunday Services, a monthly Monday Communion Service, events such as ‘Songs of Praise’ and ‘Sing and Share’, and times of open worship, all supported by local churches and volunteers.

“It makes such a difference. I can think of one lady who was anxious before a recent singing time. Afterwards, she was buoyed up and talking about her joy in the Lord,” says Gaie. “The Word of the Lord is so powerful. I remember another gentleman, confused one morning but as the conversation turned to Scripture he brought out gems that were stored in his heart. That same gentleman also shared very appropriately a quote from a Christian song in a time of worship and praise.”

Whether you’re building on an existing partnership with your local care home or starting something from scratch, the below can be useful pointers:

1) Make a connection. This could be to the manager of the home, or it may be that your best contact is the activities coordinator – these are often the people responsible for organising the activities each week and overseeing volunteers.

2) Appeal to an ethos of ‘person-centred’ care. Best practice in social care means putting the individual and their needs and preferences first. The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the regulator for health and social in England, says providers should care for a person’s ‘religious and spiritual needs’. By visiting a care home, your church is helping to uphold the duty they have to any Christian residents, or any who are interested in the Christian faith.

3) Be sensitive to red tape. Care homes have a duty to safeguard those who are in their care. Be prepared to go through the process of having a DBS check/ joining their official volunteer programme to make things as easy for the home as possible.

4) Start small. At first, you might go in and simply chat, pray and read the Bible with individuals. From there, you may find the interest of other residents is piqued and they want to join in too and things will grow.

5) Keep it simple. If you are holding a service, a short talk of 10 to 15 minutes is probably enough. Visual aids can help people to engage, especially if they are living with a condition affecting cognition like dementia. Interactive elements, such as a quiz or props to handle, can also help people engage.

6) Make it musical. Music and song can reach deep into the soul and many older people in care homes today may remember old hymns from childhood. If you have someone who can provide instrumental accompaniment, then great. If not, a smart phone with a speaker is a good option, or simply sing unaccompanied. Try familiar choruses with repetition like ‘Wide, Wide As The Ocean’ or ‘Jesus Loves Me This I Know’.

7) Consider coming on a Sunday… but don’t be deterred if you can’t. For many older Christians, church on a Sunday feels right, giving them a boost and perspective to start the week. If you are a minister or pastor looking to lead a service, this may mean fitting the visit around other Sunday commitments and a monthly service might be the realistic option. Or it may be that a Sunday service just doesn’t work at all and a midweek service is better.

8) Celebrate communion. Jesus commands believers to receive communion. Some older people living care homes may only be able to live out this aspect of their faith if someone brings communion to them. Find out what your church denomination believes around the giving of the Lord’s Supper and consider whether this is something that could be made possible.

9) Don’t be put off if another church is already involved. Having people from different church backgrounds visit/ lead services at a home can help support Christians from different backgrounds who are used to different approaches and styles of worship.

10) Pray. Last but by no means least! God can open doors anywhere, so commit your plans to the Lord and see what happens. Ask if prayer for local care homes could be added to your church’s prayer rota, or if you could have a slot at an upcoming prayer meeting to tell others about any plans and pray over them as a church.

If you have other Top Tips to share with us out of your own experience with care home ministry, we’d love to hear from you! Email us at [email protected]

Moving is a big change at any stage in life. When you are older, frailer and possibly not very well, the thought of leaving the security of your own home and moving into a care home to live alongside others can feel enormous and, let’s face it, downright scary.

In my time at Pilgrims’ Friend Society, I’ve also spoken to lots of relatives, often key decision-makers, about the worries they’ve had. These have included: will my relative be well looked after/ make friends/ be able to keep up with old friends/ see family/ be bored/ feel deserted/ miss their old home and church/ lose their independence entirely/ go downhill healthwise?

Feelings of guilt are common and negative attitudes to care homes in the media and society at large certainly don’t help. The line ‘please don’t put me in a home’ feels like every scriptwriter’s go-to. Such attitudes are internalised and echoed. I can only imagine how painful it must be to hear these words from an older relative as you weigh up what to do for the best.

Sadly, there are some poor providers out there. But by and large the care sector is populated by wonderful people who see caring as a vocation. Care homes aren’t the terrible places some would have us believe. Moving to a care home will be a big change, yes, but there are plenty of things you can do to help ally fears.

Going for a visit where you can talk to staff and see the environment for yourself is important. A respite stay can also be extremely helpful, as this will allow your relative to experience first-hand what it’s like to actually live there. For a Christian, being in an environment where they can live out their faith and find fellowship with others can make an enormous difference.

Recently, I spoke to Jane about her experience of finding a care home for her mother Joan. For the family, a respite stay played a big part in their eventual decision for Joan to move to Emmaus House in Harrogate which, like all our care homes, is underpinned by the Christian faith.

Joan had been living with Jane and her husband at their home in Wakefield, having moved in during the pandemic. Joan suffers from macular degeneration and could no longer live safely independently. Jane and her husband were doing their best to care for Joan while juggling grandparent responsibilities but were starting to feel the strain, especially as Jane’s husband also suffers from a health condition.

In need of a break herself, Jane began searching for options for respite care for Joan and that’s when she came across Emmaus House. “The staff were so kind and welcoming it just felt right,” says Jane. “When Mum came back a week later she literally had a spring in her step. There were so many little things that made a difference. Staff took the time to read the Bible to her as she can no longer see to read it for herself. They also understood that she is mentally very sharp. For example, the manager found out that Mum knows a lot about puffins and suggested she give a talk for the other residents.”

One fear that Joan had about being in a care home was not being able to recognise people. Because Emmaus House is a small 22-bed care home, she was quickly able to get to know different the team by their voices which made her feel safe and secure. The respite stay was such a success that Joan said she would be happy to live there one day.

When the time came for a permanent move, the process was not entirely straightforward. The family were reliant on Joan’s care home place being funded in part by the local authority and as they lived in Wakefield the council had to be satisfied that nothing would meet Joan’s needs locally.

“Mum did have a wobble at this point. When she found out the care home she went to might not be Emmaus, she said she’d rather not go to a care home at all,” says Jane. However, having seen how Joan had thrived while there on respite, the family could confidently make their case to the local council who visited the home and, seeing its spiritual focus, could only agree it was the best place for her to be.

For Jane, the feelings of guilt she experienced after the move did not abate straightaway.
“I was plagued by this idea that people only end up in care homes because their children can’t be bothered to look after them. I spent about a week crying,” she says.

However, now Jane is certain it was the right choice. “Mum is well looked after and there are people around all day to talk to and even pray with if she wants. She is an extrovert and loves it. I can see that Emmaus House can provide for her in lots of way that I can’t. But it’s not a choice, either family or the care home. Actually, she can have both.”

Far from being boring, a care home can be a place to experience new things. Jane describes how the daily activities at Emmaus House are helping Joan to find a new lease of life. “The home has a weekly carpet bowls tournament and the other day the manager sent me a photo of Mum holding up the winner’s trophy. I couldn’t it believe but apparently Mum’s learnt to listen to the trajectory of where the bowls are going and works it out from that. It’s incredible!”

As the experience of Joan and Jane demonstrates, doing some research can go a long way to easing the process. And for a believer especially, knowing you are going to be in an environment that is truly Christian and person-centred can help to allay any fears and help you to see a care home move as something to be looked forward to rather than something to be feared.

To find out more about the Christian care homes provided by Pilgrims’ Friend Society, please visit: www.pilgrimsfriend.org.uk/care-homes

25/07/24

1 Ethos
The ethos of a home will influence its approach to care. For example, Pilgrims’ Friend Society homes are founded on the belief that older people are precious in God’s sight and should have opportunities to flourish in later life. The Way We Care is our bespoke Christian approach to care which you can read about here. For any home, look for care that is person-centred where individual preferences can be accommodated.

2 The person’s needs
A care needs assessment from a local authority can help identify the level of need and guide the person towards a home where this will be met. To find out how to apply for this assessment, visit www.gov.uk/apply-needs-assessment-social-services.

3 Funding
Depending on financial circumstances, a person may be eligible for funding from their local authority. Where relevant, this level of funding will be determined following the care needs assessment. You should check if the care home you are considering is accepting residents with local authority funding.

4 Location
The person may want to stay in their local area, close to family, friends and their existing church. Or they may want to move to a new area to be nearer loved ones. We find that for some people it is so important to move to a Christian home they are willing to relocate from a different area of the country. In England, a person has the right to move to a care home in any area as long as it can meet their needs and is affordable to them.

5 Size
Research suggests that smaller household settings are best placed to provide personalised care and support. An example of this is Middlefields House in Chippenham where residents live in households of 12 people. In larger care homes, a household atmosphere can be made possible through the organisation of staff teams/physical space.

6 Facilities
As well as finding out what the bedrooms are like, you’ll want to know about the communal spaces. What are the lounges/ dining areas like? Is there a garden or patio area? In the case of an older home, how well has it been adapted to meet modern standards?

7 Care plans
Ask how the home how they create care plans for residents. An individual care plan should be drawn up in collaboration with the person to ensure their needs and wishes are met. This can cover everything from personal care to social interests, personal relationships, hobbies and emotional, spiritual and cultural needs.

8 Staffing
A care home has a duty to provide 24-hour care. The home’s team of carers will be overseen by a Registered Care Manager – you may want to find out the ratio of carers to residents. Other staff roles found at a typical care home include: Business Manager, Activities Co-ordinator, Catering Manager/ Catering Assistant, Maintenance Officer and Housekeepers.

9 Activities
Many homes provide a rota of activities, for example, crafts, cooking, gardening, armchair exercises. This will often be led by an Activities Co-ordinator. Activities may also be led/supported by volunteers. A home may be able to provide you with a sample activities rota. We employ Activities and Community Engagement (ACE) Facilitators. These staff members are all Christians who are dedicated to enriching every aspect of our residents’ lives, including spiritually. To this end, they work closely with volunteers from local churches. Find out more about our Activities and Community Engagement (ACE) Programme here.

10 Spiritual well-being
For older Christians, living in community with others who share that faith can be enormously encouraging. In Pilgrims’ Friend Society homes, all our senior managers and are Christian. The life of the home includes devotional times and opportunities for prayer, which is especially helpful to people who can no longer get to church regularly. If a Christian home is not option, look for a home that will welcome in clergy and volunteers from local churches.

11 Food
To cater for different tastes, many homes offer more than one choice at mealtimes. You may be able to ask for a sample menu. Special dietary requirements should be provided for, but it’s worth knowing what this might look like in practice. You can also check the Food Standards Agency’s rating for the home – five is the highest rating.

12 Dementia care/ other specialised care
If the person is living with dementia, it is essential to find a home where staff are specially trained in dementia care. Similarly, if you need to know how other specialist needs (mobility, sight issues learning disabilities) will be supported.

To find out more about the Christian care homes provided by Pilgrims’ Friend Society, please visit: www.pilgrimsfriend.org.uk/care-homes

(April 2024)