Our ethos of personalised and loving care

Posted on 24 February 2023 by Nicky Macfarlane

When the family of one our ladies living in Huntington House, came to take her out for lunch last week, she wasn’t ready, and her family weren’t in the least bit surprised or upset.

That’s because she is a fan of having a boiled egg for her breakfast, and, having carefully taken the top off her egg, it wasn’t quite cooked to her liking, so she had requested another one which was a little runnier. We obliged with pleasure, so she could savour the breakfast she wanted before getting up and dressed.

This story is just one example of how residents enjoy our personalised, loving, caring approach. Our ethos is that every one of our residents has a meaningful day, choosing what they do and when they do it based on how they feel. From the moment they wake up, our residents’ emotional health, care, dignity and desires are always at least as important as their physical needs. This is the gold standard of personalised care we work to 24/7/365.

Family care in a home from home

Huntington House is family owned and run, and residents are treated like family. Residents and our team are free to be themselves in the warm, welcoming, homely and friendly environment we’ve created over the years – a quintessentially English country house suffused with love.

At Huntington House, we always go above and beyond to meet residents’ needs, and they get the nurturing support needed to be independent and live a full life. Residents can do all the things they enjoyed before moving in – walking, painting, singing, talking, debating, creating and more – and can participate in all the activities and socialising they want and need, with the reassurance of round-the-clock care.

Walk into the house, and you’ll see residents’ art on the walls and their interests and desires reflected in what’s happening at each given moment. Bedrooms are comfortable and welcoming but are just one of the areas where residents can spend time and enjoy themselves.

Residents and their families are encouraged to explore our 30 acres of beautiful grounds, help with our garden or wander through the woods to see the sheep, chickens and horses who share our space. This is very popular with our younger visitors!

Less mobile residents are accompanied by a team member whenever they want to go outside, whether for a gentle walk or a chance to sit and get some fresh air.

All you need is love

Unusually for our industry, our staff are positively encouraged to connect with residents, love them and care for them as if they were family.

We have higher than average staffing ratios to facilitate the levels of care we provide. That’s why, much like visiting a family home, when you explore the house and grounds, you’ll hear impromptu debates and conversations, see residents going on outings, laughing and chatting as they do crafts and hobbies or suggesting to the care team how seasonal decorations should be arranged. A contented hubbub fills the air, and that’s all down to our excellent team.

Our Home Makers and Carers are handpicked for their ability to effortlessly initiate stimulating activities and conversations. Every day, they take the time to create memorable moments for residents based on each person’s personality and needs.

Recently, a quiz question led to a conversation between a carer and a lady living in Huntington House, where they discussed the resident’s female partner and looked at photos together, with her beaming as she recalled a long-ago day out and had the time to reflect on her memories and talk about her love.

What shall we do today?

At Huntington House, no two people are the same, and no two days are the same. That’s why we say no to rotas, schedules and timetables and why informality, flexibility and spontaneity are so important to us all.

Visit or live with us, and you’ll never hear someone say, “I’m off to do 32”. You or your loved one will remain a person, not a number, a human being deserving of dignity and respect who is positively encouraged to continue living a full and enjoyable life with our loving support.

“The home has been exemplary in its care for my father. On his recent death, the staff members seemed just as upset as I was! The management is caring and hands-on; its supervision instils a caring attitude, which is so much the ethos of Huntington House from every member of staff. We have seen the kindness and willingness to do anything they can. I would not hesitate to recommend Huntington House.” – Janet S

At the Huntington & Langham Estate, we provide luxury care across our two specialist care homes. Family-owned and run, we offer dignified, compassionate and personalised care to our residents, giving them the nurturing support they need to continue living full, independent and meaningful lives.

We are Butterfly and Dragonfly accredited and both homes have a Care Quality commission Good rating.

To arrange a visit to the Estate and tour our homes and grounds, please call 01428 604 600 or complete this form.

Love is in the care

Posted on 16 February 2023 by Nicky Macfarlane

The origins of Valentine’s Day

As with many traditions, there are several theories about the origin of Valentine’s Day. One version claims that Saint Valentine restored the sight of his jailer’s blind daughter and gave her a letter signed ‘Your Valentine’.

Care with hope and love

The team at the Huntington & Langham Estate may not be able to restore people’s eyesight, but they regularly give similar gifts of independence, hope and love to people who need support in various aspects of their lives.

Giving people the freedom of feeling independent is a key part of the Butterfly approach to caring for people living with dementia in Langham Court where care works both ways. Care is not something that should be done to people, but rather an act of kindness that gives everyone a sense of purpose.

Crafting cards and arranging flowers to give as gifts is more than just a fun activity for Valentine’s Day, but an act of kindness that enables people living at Langham Court to care for others even when they need care themselves.

How we beat the winter blues with crafts and baking

Posted on 18 January 2023 by Nicky Macfarlane

With the Christmas decorations taken down and Christmas cake all but crumbs in the tin, what better way to beat the winter blues than some craft making and baking.

Christopher had a great morning decorating some freshly made buns, whilst Graham and Sue wrapped up for a lovely walk around the estate in the warm winter sun.

Our colouful winter window display had the perfect backdrop of a snowy lawn outside of Huntington House, for residents using the lounge to enjoy a chat whilst continuing with their hobbies. Michael particularly enjoyed some colouring.

For more ideas to help relieve the winter blues take a look at our Art therapy activities ideas

A Musical Christmas

Posted on 23 December 2022 by Nicky Macfarlane

We have had a wonderful build up to the festive season with our resident musicians coming into Huntington House to entertain all our residents.

Tracey gave a great rendition of Rudolph the red nose reindeer which can been seen via this link – Christmas Music At Huntington House

Whilst Kevin took to the Piano in the restaurant and surrounded by all the wonderful decorations played Have a Merry Little Christmas, also available to watch here – Christmas Music At Huntington House2

Yuri our tenor completed the afternoon with festive carols, delighting the residents.

Remembrance Sunday

Posted on 13 November 2022 by Nicky Macfarlane

Lest we forget

At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month – we remembered them.

In preparation for remembrance Maggie created a beautiful poppy field on the lawn in front of Huntington House, with more poppies added each day in the run up to Sundays service.

The residents decorated the window in the main lounge looking out onto the grounds with their stunning autumnal colours. The staff created some beautiful knitted poppies from the red Huntington House wool, which were on display at reception to welcome visitors, with new smart plaques on the front door too.

Walk like an Egyptian!

Posted on 14 October 2022 by Nicky Macfarlane

A big thank you to Haslemere Educational Museum for visiting us again at Huntington House. This time we had a fascinating session all about mummies and Egyptian artefacts.

It’s always a wonderful day when we have a visit from the museum as the residents have so much to talk about afterwards, especially reminiscing about travelling to Egypt and discovering the Pyramids and wonderful history in person.

Reminiscing with Haslemere Museum

Posted on 7 October 2022 by Nicky Macfarlane

The residents had a wonderful morning learning and reminiscing about old household items brought along by Haslemere Museum.

Founded in 1888 by Sir Jonathan Hutchinson, the aim of the museum was to encourage learning through the handling of objects. To this day that ethos remains and we are fortunate to have the team bring along artefacts for the residents to explore on a regular basis.

These reminiscence sessions are always thoroughly enjoyed by the residents of both Langham Court and Huntington House, sharing their knowledge and memories of the items being passed around.

Advice for planning the move into a care home

Posted on 30 September 2022 by Nicky Macfarlane

When the decision has been made to make the move into a care home, there are a number of things to think about whilst planning the actual move. Forward planning will help to ease what can be a challenging time for all involved, just as any house move can be.

Overcoming any personal concerns before the move

For the person moving home it can be a big change, so it is important for family supporting the move to be supportive and considerate of their feelings, as the thought of the move is bound to be daunting. Whilst there will be lots to think about and organise, our advice is to remember to take time out to listen to any concerns in order to be able to find answers and offer reassurance.

We find those who visit us here at The Huntington and Langham Estate a number of times before the big day, become more familiar with their new home and by meeting the team and residents, they start to build new friendships quickly. If time and budget permits, it is also worth considering a short respite stay, in preparation for a full time move.

Arranging the best day to move into a residential home

For many families of a relative planning to move into a care home, due to work and family commitments the weekend is generally the best time, however not all residential care homes will take admissions over the weekend. We are more than happy to welcome you all any day of the week.

“I love to be able to welcome our new residents and their families over a weekend, as we understand the pressures of juggling work and family commitments during the week and want to make the move a stress free for everyone” Sarah Chapman, Director

We suggest agreeing the schedule with the wider family, as far in advance as possible so that the day itself runs smoothly. When you arrive its easy to just stay in the new room, but at Huntington House and Langham Court we encourage families to take time to go with their loved one to meet other residents and staff members, or to spend time in the shared areas together.

Our team will be on hand to welcome you all and we are conscious how upsetting the big goodbye on the first day can be, so are happy if the family slip away whilst our homemakers involve our new resident in doing something, so there isn’t the big break.

Visitors are welcome at anytime and we can arrange to prepare lunch for guest in one of our private rooms.

Packing for a move into a care home

As with any move it is good to plan ahead what to bring along to your new home.

There may be some items you want to replace or treasured possession not to be forgotten. If you are packing for someone else, it can be easy to forget or not know their favourite items of clothing for example so again, it’s good to open up the conversation well in advance, to give time to decide what is or isn’t coming.

As space may be a little more limited, it’s good to check this when you visit the home and plan how the items of furniture coming along will fit in the available space.

A few tips we share with families are:

As with the H&L Estate there are generally phone points in all bedrooms and private phonelines can be connected via BT, who will allocate a personal number to the room and bill in the same way as in a private home.
Electronic devices – any devices being taken with you into a new home will need to be in working order and in some cases checked by an expert (PAT tested) to make sure they are not a fire risk. So if there is a favourite radio or alarm clock which you plan to bring it is worth checking this in advance so not to be without it.
Internet – WIFI is available in each room and the team are on hand to help set up personal computers or tablets.
Pets – At the Estate we are happy to discuss loyal pets also joining our extended family, and will just have a few questions to check before giving the green light.
Clothing – It is a good idea to label clothes, as this will help them to not get muddled up in the laundry.

Top tip for making a care home feel like home

At H&L we actively encourage our residents to place items around the home, not just in their private rooms, as you will see if you visit us we have an eclectic array of artwork and photography around the walls all from our residents.

We have a great guide to help families think about how to decorate their loved one’s space as the things we have around our home generally have a memory or significance attached to them.

All of our rooms will be freshly decorated for your arrival and you’ll have a choice of colour, with new residents welcome to bring their own bedding to make their private room more familiar.

We also encourage you to bring your own furniture and will make our best efforts to make the room available before move day to bring in any pieces of furniture into the home.

Let our family look after your family

We work hard to make The Huntington and Langham Estate a home away from home and empower each person to continue living how they wish to. We don’t talk about activities and interests, we talk about life and living and have received some wonderful feedback from both our residents and their families which you can see here

We would love to invite you to visit our beautiful estate.

Please contact us via the web form or give us a call on 01428 604600 – one of our friendly team members will be happy to help you.

Royal Reminiscence

Posted on 23 September 2022 by Nicky Macfarlane

Whilst there was a somewhat sombre atmosphere around The Huntington & Langham Estate since hearing the news of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, the residents have been joining together in periods of reminiscence with wistful storytelling. The joy of hearing stories that might otherwise have been lost in the sands of time, has however lifted the mood.

Parties on the high seas

A resident of Huntington House shared memories of attending parties on the Royal Yacht as a child, invited alongside her father who served as an engineer on the vessel.

Hide and Seek with a future Queen

A resident of Langham Court remembers her mother telling the story of helping to hide a young Elizabeth during a game of hide and seek while working in member of the Royal Family’s household.

Writing history

Upon hearing these unique perspectives from Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, the residents of The Huntington & Langham Estate were provided with pages from the book of condolences from Guildford Cathedral, where these stories have now been recorded and immortalised.

Hidden treasure

Over the next few weeks we will also be collecting current coins, stamps and other memorabilia, which will be buried in a time capsule in the grounds of the estate. Alongside planting a Royal Gala apple tree, which will bear fruit around the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death every year.

Are you planning ahead for Residential Care this winter?

Posted on 26 August 2022 by Nicky Macfarlane

With the rising cost of living and fuel prices set to reach over £4,200 a year, It is not surprising that families are worrying about how older relatives and friends are going to cope during the winter months, in particularly those who need to keep the heating on longer during the day to stay warm.

With the demand for Residential Care on the rise, here at the Huntington and Langham Estate, we are seeing a trend of more enquiries for last minute emergency admissions into our homes.

We will always do our utmost to accommodate all requests as quick as possible, but there may not be a room available straight away and others on the waitlist, along with the need to complete the required steps and paperwork to meet the required regulations.

If you think that there is potential a family member could benefit from additional support over the winter months, require respite care or is considering making the move into Residential Care, our advice is to start planning now.

How to choose the right type of care.

At The Huntington and Langham Estate, we adopt a holistic approach in both our homes and prioritise giving every member of our team and our residents a meaningful day every single day. For a selection of our recent resident activities take a look at our latest news

As there are a number of alternative styles of Residential Care, to consider we have covered the options available in our guide to How do you choose the right type of care home?

Is your loved one living with dementia?

As an award winning specialist butterfly home for dementia care, we provide family orientated dementia care and are here to help when the time comes that the progression of their symptoms means it is no longer safe for them to continue living at home.

Our butterfly approach to dementia care is proven to make a huge difference to the quality of life of a person living with dementia and in our article on the website share 5 benefits of seeking professional dementia care.

For anyone considering a move into a specialist home for dementia care, we offer advice on How to choose the right dementia care home for your loved.

What you can expect when contacting the team at Huntington & Langham about Residential Care

Whether contacting us here at the Huntington and Langham Estate by email or a phone call, our priority from that first conversation is to learn more about your circumstances, personal situation and needs.

It may feel that we are asking lots of questions, quite early on, but as we know everyone’s situation is unique, the information you share means we can discuss with you the support we can offer.

The benefits of coming to visit the Estate and take a tour of our homes.

Whenever feasibly possible for your family, we will recommend that you come and visit us at the Estate, to get a true sense of our home and approach to care. We can take you on a tour of the facilities, look at our available rooms and potentially meet some of our residents.

This is also a great opportunity for us to answer any questions you have, to help you make an informed decision about which home is best for your circumstance, provide reassurance about living in our home and talk about menu choices, activities and funding your stay.

If you are keen to take the next steps to becoming a resident, we can detail what will happen should you want to move in and explain about the pre-admission assessment.

What is a pre-admission assessment?

One of the requirements of the Care Quality Commission is that for all new residents we complete an assessment with one of our trained staff.

This is nothing to worry about, we just want to make sure we can provide the best level of care for your situation, by asking a number of questions which help us to understand the personal needs of anyone who wants to move into one of our homes.

There are no right or wrong answers, it is simply how we collect the information we need to create a personalised care plan and make sure we are able to provide any specific support or care each person requires. As well as health information we cover topics such as dietary requirements, hobbies,

We can complete the form face to face, on a virtual call or over the phone, however it works best for you and your family.

Is Residential Care right for you?

Making the final decision to move into a care home for the first time is always a difficult one with many emotions for all involved and deciding if residential care is right for you and your family can take time to consider.

If you are unsure about the benefits of a move into a residential home, in our article 5 ways residential assisted living can improve quality of life we share the feedback from our residents and their families who have taken the step to join us on the Estate.

We would love to invite you to visit our beautiful estate. Please contact us via the web form or give us a call on 01428 604600 – one of our friendly team members will be happy to help you.