How Moorhaven went above and beyond for my mum
Elaine Sutcliffe reached out to us express her gratitude for the exceptional care her mother Margaret received at Moorhaven, for the final three years of her life. Her mum sadly passed away in November of this year, and Elaine felt compelled to tell us what a wonderful life her mum lead, which many of us aspire to. In the image we have Margaret holding her youngest member of the family, her great granddaughter, taken before the pandemic hit.
While Elaine is understandably sad to have lost her beloved mother, she takes comfort in the fact that she had a long fulfilling life. Her primary reason for getting in touch was to pay homage to the ‘kind souls’ of Moorhaven, past and present, who always went ‘above and beyond’ for her mum.
When the first lockdown came into effect in March, care homes were not allowed to welcome anyone to visit the residents, unless under exceptional circumstances, such as end of life. By the summer some restrictions were lifted which enabled care home residents to welcome visitors in the garden, but in a socially-distanced way, with PPE required to protect. This was Elaine’s experience:
“2020 has brought lots of sorrow and sadness but on mum’s death certificate it said ‘daughter present’. With everything that’s happened this year I didn’t expect that to happen, but I’m so privileged I got to be there. Mum was looked after and cared for to the best ability, especially when you factor in the worries the care staff likely had for their own families during the pandemic. Sleep tight.”
Elaine continued to share her experience of Moorhaven over the last three years; her mum was initially brought in for respite care after she broke her pelvis. Elaine quickly discovered how well her mum was being looked after, and, perhaps most importantly, how happy she was there. It was then her mum’s decision to stay within the home as a permanent resident, and Elaine was told to treat Moorhaven like it was her own home. She expressed how she had a good gut feeling about the place, which proved to be true.
When it came to Margaret’s passing during lockdown, the staff at Moorhaven carefully assessed Margaret’s situation and, having conducted a thorough risk assessment, found a way to safely have Elaine by her mother’s side. While each case is different, it’s important to highlight that we understand how critical it is for residents and families to be as connected as possible, especially when they can’t be physically together. We’re doing everything in our power to ensure safe visitations.
Moorhaven itself has a brand new, purpose-built visitor suite, which safely allows residents and their loved ones to see each other in a safe, warm environment, particularly as we enter the colder seasons. For more information on how to visit loved ones in our homes, please see our latest update here.
We thank Elaine for taking the time to reach out and share her experience and wish her well at this time.
For more information on Moorhaven, please call 01823 331524 or click here for more information. Equally, if you want to explore any of our other care homes, please click here.