An award-winning Gwynedd care company is making a £120,000 investment to upgrade its facilities and services.
Cariad Care Homes, which employs 115 mostly local staff at its two nursing homes in Porthmadog and Criccieth, is continuing a programme of improvements which has seen it invest £700,000 at the homes over the past six years.
The family-run business is spending £80,000 on installing new automatic electrical ceiling hoists in all the bedrooms at Plasgwyn, Criccieth, and at its second site at Bodawen, in Porthmadog.
They have also put in emergency generators at both homes at a cost of £40,000 while they have also set up a new training room at Plasgwyn with a new training programme to be rolled out.
Ceri Roberts, Managing Director of Cariad Care Homes, said:
“We took the decision to install ceiling hoists in bedrooms of the two nursing homes for the benefit of the residents and the care team.
“They are for people who unable to bear their own weight and for whom we would have to use a manual hoist to transfer out of bed.
“The electrical ceiling hoists are much more comfortable for the resident and much less stressful and it means staff have more time to devote to giving positive attention to our residents.”
Monica Stevenson, a carer who has been with Cariad Care Homes for 12 years, said: “The new ceiling hoists are fantastic for the residents and the staff because it makes the whole operation of getting someone up run much more smoothly.
“It means we are not jerking or pulling residents about as with a mobile hoist so it’s a much more comfortable transfer from bed to chair or vice versa and it’s much more dignified.
“Our job is easier with them. We have to think about the residents all the time – they could be your mum or dad and if you ask them they say it’s wonderful too.”
Cariad have backed that up by installing modern generators in both nursing homes to ensure that electrical supplies are maintained to both homes at all times – a vital facility in an area subject to harsh winter weather which can threaten power supplies.
It is part of a major programme of investment in the homes which can cater for 78 residents in individual rooms and which also includes expenditure on a new programme of staff training and development.
This includes the provision of a new training room and the appointment of former Plasgwyn Manager Susan Fryatt, an experienced and highly qualified senior nurse, as Head of Training.
Ceri Roberts added:
“The fact that people are living longer places increasing pressure on the care sector and it is one which we have to be ready to meet.
“That means making sure that we have the best possible facilities and services to help the people in our care and those who care for them so that they can all lead as full and rewarding lives as possible.
“We are committed to delivering top quality nursing care for the elderly, ensuring our residents’ dignity and wellbeing is always at the heart of what we do and our homes have been developed to be comfortable, secure and happy places to live and work.”
Cariad Care Homes was founded in 1999 at Plasgwyn where Ceri’s parents had run a successful hotel for many years and the business then expanded to take in Bodawen, near Porthmadog, in 2004.
The two homes provide en-suite rooms as well as lounges, dining rooms and extensive grounds and in addition to nursing and care staff have a dedicated activities team.
Cariad Care Homes have won a number of Care Forum Wales awards in recent years and have also taken part in Age Concern’s Speak Up project.
