"Wonderful care at BlueCross Broughtonlea"

To staff and management at Broughtonlea,

I would like to express my thanks to the staff and management of Broughtonlea for the care and environment they are providing for my mother.

She has been a resident there for 9 months, after deciding that she did not want to care for herself any longer in her own home. This was after about 3 periods of respite at Broughtonlea which allowed her to assess the suitability of your accommodation. That was a good process of introduction and decision making for her. (I recall on her first visit she did not think she would want to stay there permanently).

It is clear to me that she is happy there. I think this is a major achievement by Broughtonlea staff and management because although she can care for herself in most ways on a daily basis she has considerable and particular needs for daily living. It also reflects Mum's own resilience and commitment once she had decided this was the best way for her to live.

In particular, the care and quality of services shown to her medically, when she has cuts or trips over or becomes unwell, is very welcome and allows her family to feel much more relaxed, knowing that expert care is available on site or where appropriate can be brought in for her.

She enjoys the daily walks, sitting in the outside courtyard (with the fountain), the weekly movies, and other activities.

She is happy with the quality of the food and the quality and cleanliness of her room and room services and with the arrangements for the seating at meal time.

Both she and I find the staff and management to be very friendly and helpful.

I am sure there is a lot of background and "hidden work" and planning that goes into making Broughtonlea what it is, and it is a credit to your organisation that you have the scope to do this.

My only suggestion is to provide a walking circuit within the grounds. I know this is very difficult because of the building arrangements and the slope of the property. Currently Mum can walk partly outside and then back through the building to create a walking circuit.

Again, I am most grateful to you for the standard of care and accommodation you provide her. It has certainly reduced the stress and anxiety in my own life, when I was "on-call" to deal with the various problems that arose when she was living by herself in