Heather Holt, making the connections that matter

Submitted by MattAllen on Mon, 11/01/2021 - 12:26

It was around seven years ago that our Home Manager, Heather moved to the Cotswolds. After raising her four children and juggling work at the same time Heather felt she needed a real change. She became a carer and found that working with dementia sufferers gave her a great deal of satisfaction which spurred her on to complete her Return to Nursing course at Oxford Brookes University. All of which soon brought her to us. So why did she choose Newlands? 

“To be honest, there were so many reasons for coming here. Everything at Newlands just felt so right. It’s a small, highly individual community where you have to make decisions that reflect this and are relevant to this special environment. It’s a very different way of working which is a joy. I first came as a nurse then became Clinical Lead before Home Manager. With assistance and guidance from Lucy and Amar, I undertook management courses to gain the skills for managing teams in nursing, care and domiciliary to undertake this role. And I simply enjoy every aspect of it!" 

Attuned to everyone’s feelings 
“You become involved and make emotional connections with each resident. You have to be attuned to their feelings and those of their respective relatives and friends who become part of our community. 
You’re there to support everyone and at those crucial times bring them some peace. To give you an example, just before the pandemic we arranged the most beautiful service for renewal of wedding vows for two of our residents, one of whom was receiving end of life care. We actually receive a large number of GP referrals for palliative and end of life care because of our high standards of care which says a great deal." 

Long-term staff 
“It’s very noticeable that staff who start work here, stay here. Career development is well supported by the management and directors to encourage this and Gloucester University assist us with placements, training and reviews. There’s a genuine spirit of camaraderie which was illustrated just recently when one of our highly dependable carers didn’t arrive at the weekend. The quick-thinking team here contacted a laundry assistant who lived nearby and went round to check. The carer had collapsed with a brain haemorrhage, she speedily organised emergency services which no doubt contributed to the positive outcome." 

Longborough Opera 
“The Longborough Opera is a hidden gem of the Cotswolds that’s just two miles down the road from Newlands. It’s a small, innovative opera company that stages productions such as Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Mozart’s Cosi fan tutti and Monteverdi’s The Return of Ulysses with minimal budget but to great critical acclaim. The father of the Director, Lizzie Graham, was a resident here with us some years ago. I know Lizzie and went there recently with a view to gaining access to their next Festival for any of our ‘opera buff’ residents as life gets somewhat back to normal for us all!"