Tag: Mansfield Care

If you go down to Belleville today, you’re sure of a big surprise

Residents at an Edinburgh care home enjoyed a teddy bear takeover as they reminisced about childhood memories over a picnic.

Mansfield Care’s Belleville Lodge invited its residents to bring along their own teddy bears and soft toys for an afternoon of fun.

Along with the teddy takeover was an array of homemade cakes and tea as the residents discussed their favourite toys they, and their children, used to play with when they were younger.

While teddies were the most popular guests at the picnic, a toy dog and a knitted black cat called ‘Snuffles’ were also in attendance.

Belleville Lodge Matron, Margaret Russell, said: “There were lots of smiles and everyone enjoyed holding and touching the soft toys and passing them around for a cuddle.

“One of the highlights of the day that made everyone happy was to see all the teddies and soft toys lined up together for a portrait photo.

“We all joined in to sing along to “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” and everyone, both staff and residents, agreed that we’d had a lovely afternoon.”

Operating 11 care homes across Edinburgh, the Borders and west of Scotland, Mansfield Care is designed to provide bespoke care to an exceptional standard with state-of-the-art facilities.

Specialising in small, friendly residential care homes, staff work under an ethos that is inspired by the kind of care we would wish for ourselves in later life – supportive, friendly, bright, positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.

The highly trained staff ensure a commitment and continuity of care to each resident with a dedicated home manager and wellbeing coordinator to plan activities according to resident’s wishes.

To find out more about Mansfield Care visit, https://www.mansfieldcare.co.uk/

Edinburgh piper treats care home residents to favourite Scottish airs

A LOCAL Edinburgh bagpiper has been moving care home residents to tears with nostalgic melodies.

The musical visit from piper, Matt McKelvie, was organised by dedicated care home staff at Mansfield Care’s Pine Villa in Loanhead after putting up a notice on social media.

Playing traditional Scottish melodies such as ‘Scotland the Brave’ and ‘Highland Cathedral’, the young Edinburgh piper is now returning for his second gig.

Matt McKelvie said: “I saw that Pine Villa was looking for a musician on social media and thought playing the bagpipes for care home residents sounded great.

“As things are getting back to normal and people start to socialise more, I think events like these are so important, as they brighten up residents’ days and they get to enjoy something a bit different from their usual routine.

“It was a lovely event, everyone really enjoyed themselves! Residents were dancing away and laughing, it was great.  

“One of the residents used to be a minister for the Church of Scotland, so he asked me to play ‘Amazing Grace’ for him. It was truly heart-warming seeing his face light up when he heard the song.”

At 8 years old, Matt started private lessons at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming at Redford Barracks.

His early passion for music was ignited by his grandfather who used to be a drum major for ‘The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders’ and has been a leading role model and inspiration.

The young bagpiper added: “The best part for me was the way I made the residents feel, seeing them enjoy my playing truly makes me happy.

“I mainly have been playing at weddings and funerals, but after visiting Pine Villa, I am hoping that will change soon and I can play at a broader variety of events and celebrations.

Originally a hobby Matt is seeking to play full-time after he completes his higher education at Glasgow National Piping Centre.

Denise Williams, manager at Pine Villa, said: “Our residents had an amazing time listening to Matt and it was a delight to see them enjoying themselves and are looking forward to having him play again.”

Operating 11 care homes across Edinburgh Borders and west of Scotland, Mansfield care is designed to provide bespoke care to an exceptional standard with state-of-the-art facilities.  

Specialising in unique small, friendly residential / nursing care homes, staff work under an ethos that is inspired by the kind of care we would wish for ourselves in later life – supportive, friendly, bright, positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.  

The highly trained staff ensure a commitment and continuity of care to each resident with a dedicated home manager and wellbeing coordinator to plan activities according to resident’s wishes.  

To find out more about Mansfield Care visit, https://www.mansfieldcare.co.uk/ 

City care residents get a taste of the outdoors with first post-lockdown outings

RESIDENTS at Edinburgh Care Homes have had the chance to experience their first organised outdoors activity after a year of lockdown, with a visit to Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic and Saughton Gardens.

Apart from the short trips to the end of the garden and stints in the home’s purpose-built outdoor seating area, residents at Mansfield Care’s Eildon House and Belleville Lodge have not been on a day out in more than a year.

Pre-lockdown, trips out were a regular staple for residents, with visits to the Royal Yacht Britannia, the National Museum and the Zoo.

Now with all residents and staff fully vaccinated and restrictions easing, carers at the homes organised garden outings as a special treat for the residents.

Staff from each care home planned and assisted the residents to travel to and from the Botanic and Saughton Gardens, which is only a short walk away.

Fiona Shale, Activities coordinator at Eildon House said: “While some of our residents do still feel more comfortable remaining indoors for the time being, the vast majority have been very excited to get out and about again.

“The Botanic Gardens were very accommodating with our visit and it all went off without a hitch, although we made sure the residents were well wrapped up for the unpredictable weather.

“We spent the majority of the time in the Garden of Tranquillity which is a new area of the Botanic Gardens that has been created specifically for people with dementia. As the name suggests, it’s a lot quieter than some of the other areas, with beautiful landscaping and water features giving visitors a peaceful and safe space to enjoy.”

Residents from Belleville Lodge took a trip to Saughton Gardens enjoying the rose and herb garden in the sun.

Margaret Russell, Manager at Belleville Lodge said: “The residents really enjoyed looking at all the flowers. The herb garden was a resident favourite and we even tasted some of the different herbs.

“One of our residents, Heather Salzen (above), is a Botanist so she really enjoyed her day out and was telling us all about the plants.

“It was a great day out. We ended our tour of the garden with a cup of tea and refreshments in the garden café and sat outdoors as the weather was lovely.”

With activities requested, led and coordinated around the interests of the residents, Mansfield Care staff are dedicated to creating a homely, supportive and exciting environment, putting the needs of its residents at the forefront of everything they do


Fiona added: “Our priority is keeping the lives of our residents as enriched as possible. It’s been a very tough year not being able to do the range of activities we normally would, but we’ve been keeping residents entertained through the likes of craft activities such as painting, physical seated exercise and also reminiscence story telling.

“Following on from our Botanic Gardens trip, we’ve got some excellent stuff in the pipeline for later this year and look forward to resuming our regular frequency of outings.”



Mansfield Care operates 11 small, friendly and residential care homes in Edinburgh, the Borders and the west of Scotland.

Inspired by a golden rule ethos of providing the care we would wish for ourselves in later life, Mansfield Care offers bespoke care that support residents’ health and wellbeing.

For more information on Mansfield Care, visit: https://www.mansfieldcare.co.uk/

Edinburgh care provider logs on to virtual viewing trend

TWO Edinburgh care homes have invested in new technology to offer potential residents and their families virtual viewings from the comfort of their own homes.

Mansfield Care has produced virtual tour videos for seven of its 11 care homes across Scotland, including Belleville Lodge and Craighall House in the capital, showcasing both the interior and exterior of each to give an accurate representation of the building.

The care provider hopes the videos will allow potential residents or family members looking on their behalf to get a feel for the services without leaving their home, whilst reducing the number of people entering the premise.

Mansfield Care’s founder, Andrew Hume, said: “It is important for us to continue to adapt and innovate our processes and services as the care industry becomes more digital.

“On top of this, virtual viewings are a way to keep our current staff and residents safe, whilst making the process easier for those looking to make the move to one of our homes.

“Virtual viewings will allow potential residents to see the apartment almost in person from the comfort of their own home for convenience, safety and to enable people who cannot travel easily to conduct a viewing.”

Personalised virtual viewings can be arranged for those interested in moving into a care home with one of Mansfield Care’s staff on hand to answer questions, and provide more information about the home and its care services. 

Mansfield Care specialise in small, friendly residential care homes in Edinburgh, Borders and west of Scotland; each designed to an exceptional standard with state-of-the-art facilities.

The Mansfield Care ethos is inspired by the kind of care we would wish for ourselves in later life – supportive, friendly, bright, positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.

Music students perform exclusive gig for care home residents

ASPIRING musicians from Edinburgh College blew care home residents away during a private garden concert.

The three performers, Nualla Macgregor, Seonaid Wilson and Chloe Mak, visited Mansfield Care’s Pine Villa to deliver an outdoor musical extravaganza consisting of singing, piano, clarinet and clarsach – a Celtic harp.

Inspired by a class project, the group, NCS Collective, chose to play for the Midlothian-based care home after it was recommended to them by a teacher.

Band member, Seonaid said: “After hearing about the concerts our teacher had performed at Pine Villa, and how much the residents loved it, we all decided to perform there ourselves.

 “It was our first concert out of lockdown and first concert at a care home so we were especially keen to organise a socially distanced performance to bring some in-house entertainment while venues are still closed.

“It was amazing to finally be able to make music again and perform for other people. It was really gratifying.”

After hosting a successful concert in April, the group were eager to schedule a summer performance in the sunshine.

The band perform a variety of songs from Disney anthems to The Beatles and are all selected by the residents themselves.

Clarsach player, Nualla, added: “It’s important to us that we perform songs the residents want to listen to, so we prepare a questionnaire with lots of different choices for residents to fill out.

“From there, we compile a set list and rehearse together ahead of the concert. Some top picks included Abba, Disney, The Beatles and pop songs – which were all so fun to perform and very different from our usual classical music set list.”

“We’re hoping to keep this going on a regular basis and arrange for concerts every couple of months if we have the time and if the residents want us back.”

Denise Williams, Pine Villa Care Home Manager in Loanhead, said: “It was amazing. We had residents tapping their feet and singing along, they really enjoyed it.

Margaret Morton, resident at Pine Villa said: “It was lovely sitting in the sunshine listening to the music.

Rena Flavell, resident at Pine Villa added: “The harp music was very special, it was all really lovely.”

20 year old Chloe said: “It was a great time! I think both the staff and residents really enjoyed it. The residents loved seeing all of our individual instruments and talents, so we prepared more solos as well as ensemble pieces.

“As classical performers, this isn’t something we usually get to do, so seeing how much everyone at Pine Villa enjoyed our performance was really inspiring and has definitely encouraged us to go back.”

Mansfield Care specialise in small, friendly residential care homes in Edinburgh, Borders and west of Scotland; each designed to an exceptional standard with state-of-the-art facilities.

The Mansfield Care ethos is inspired by the kind of care we would wish for ourselves in later life – supportive, friendly, bright, positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.

Local care home hosts Spring Olympics!

Mansfield Care, Pine Villa, Loanhead residents participating in their activities afternoon including using the new sports table. Pictured Sandra Wood, Rena Flavell and Charles Davis-Cole

A CARE home has hosted a ‘Spring Olympics’ event for its residents to fulfil their cravings for competition and activity.

Organised by the care staff, the week-long series of competitions at Mansfield Care’s Pine Villa featured rounds of pool, Jenga, and basketball, with a Sports Quiz to close the tournament.

It comes after the residents enjoyed a programme of competitions throughout the winter months which inspired the care staff to curate the Spring Olympics, creating opportunities for healthy competition and action.

Denise Williams, Pine Villa Care Home Manager in Loanhead, said: “The residents are all very competitive so we thought this would be a fun way to stay active and play some fun games.

“Seeing as the winter games week was such a success, we wanted to make this even better. We spent a few weeks organising and planning the activities that were requested by the residents, rearranging a few tournaments due to weather but still managing to fit in games everyone enjoyed.

“It was great fun. We tried to make it a little more competitive this time round by splitting residents into teams.

“We hosted three separate games so that after each event we scored up the points and announced the winner at our closing ceremony where our residents enjoyed a spot of afternoon tea.”

As part of an ethos to provide the care we wish to receive in later life, Pine Villa, one of 11 care homes run by Mansfield Care, specialises in bespoke services to support its resident’s wellbeing.

Denise added: “We want residents to live in a stimulating environment and have activities and plans to look forward to. It’s been really challenging over lockdown with visitor restrictions, but the team has been extraordinary and really stepped up, coordinating more activities to meet our resident’s needs.

“These types of activities really help support our residents’ mental and physical health, so we feel it’s important to get creative and organise active games and events. Everyone enjoys them and looks forward to them, staff and residents alike.”

The resident-led activities are organised by the wellness coordinator to ensure resident interests and hobbies are catered to, creating a fun and fulfilling environment.

Mansfield Care specialise in small, friendly residential care homes in Edinburgh, Borders and west of Scotland; each designed to an exceptional standard with state-of-the-art facilities.

The Mansfield Care ethos is inspired by the kind of care we would wish for ourselves in later life – supportive, friendly, bright, positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.

Mansfield Care, Pine Villa, Loanhead residents participating in their activities afternoon including using the new sports table. Pictured Sandra Wood and Charles Davis-Cole with Manager Denise Williams and activities co-ordinater Stephen Robinson

Easter at Belleville Lodge: Bonnets, Bunnies and Buns!

RESIDENTS at an Edinburgh care home are welcoming the Easter holidays with a splash of creativity with personalised Easter bonnets ahead of an eventful weekend. 

Featuring an Easter Egg Hunt, Easter Service and a visit from the Easter Bunny, the staff at Mansfield Care’s Belleville Lodge has gone above and beyond to give residents an exciting Easter.

Leading up to the festivities, residents have spent the last week decorating bonnets by making paper flowers and bunnies to decorate their hats.

Following the arts and crafts, residents will be able to attend an Easter service along with festive hymns, followed by fresh hot cross buns in the lounge.

On Sunday, if weather permits, the residents will hopefully be able to take part in an Easter egg hunt, organized by the staff in the Belleville Lodge garden with a visit from the Easter Bunny.

Margaret Russell, Manager at Belleville Lodge said: “With the current restrictions we are unable to have a church service so we thought we would have one ourselves on Good Friday, and have a few Easter hymns.

“The residents love afternoon tea; so we’ve also planned one after the Easter service with Hot cross buns.

“Easter is a really special time of year for some of our residents and so we always make an effort to do something special. The residents love decorating Easter bonnets, it’s a very relaxing and creative activity for them.”

Mardie Esterkin, 87, a resident at Belleville Lodge said: “It’s a nice ceremony and celebration to have.

“The place is decorated with bunnies and a Happy Easter sign hanging above the window. It’s just nice to celebrate this happy occasion. Easter is a lovely time of year.”

Bet Gordon, another resident at Belleville Lodge who took part in the decorating said: “It is a special time of the year as spring is coming. The home is decorated with lots of daffodils which is lovely.

“I love the afternoon teas with Matron, she always makes them so special.

“I am looking forward to the Easter Egg hunt in the garden and the visit from the Easter Bunny.”

Belleville lodge is one of 11 care homes operated by Mansfield Care who specialise in running small and friendly residential care homes across Edinburgh, the Borders and the west of Scotland.

The dedicated staff at Mansfield Care put the needs of its residents at the forefront of everything they do, keeping an active social planner around the interests and requests of the residents.

Led by an ethos of providing the care we would wish for ourselves in later life, Mansfield Care offers bespoke care that supports resident’s health and wellbeing.

For more information on Mansfield Care, visit: https://www.mansfieldcare.co.uk/

Care Home give residents a makeover with staff salon

A MIDLOTHIAN care home created its very own staff salon to cater for its residents’ needs throughout lockdown.

The dedicated carers at Mansfield Care’s Pine Villa in Loanhead, adapted to the needs of its residents who were concerned they weren’t looking or feeling their best.

With hairdressers closed, the care team improvised with the equipment they had; organising a weekly salon day for those residents who needed a touch up.

Carers assist residents to the lounge to give whoever asks for a fresh cut. The women often get their hair styled with rollers, curling tongs or hair dryers, with around five residents making it a regular weekly ‘visit’.

The male residents get their hair and facial hair shaved or trimmed using a home cutting kit which comes with different sizes of blades to fit everyone’s preferred length and style.

Resident Rena Flavel, 88, is particularly grateful for the staff’s intuition, and uses the makeshift salon three times a week.

Rena said: “The staff do a great job. I get my nails done once a week on a Thursday and get my hair done every Wednesday and Saturday. I am absolutely thrilled with what the staff have managed to do during lockdown.”

The care home manager, Denise Williams, believes the salon is providing an important service for the residents.

Denise said: “They love it. Usually we have hairdressers come in or residents go out and get their nails done at a salon, but because of lockdown restrictions it had to be put on hold.

“Some of the ladies were feeling a little concerned about how they were looking and the staff decided to do it themselves.”

“It’s really great. There are a few carers with experience cutting and styling hair so they got all the right hair tools and got it all set up.

“We also have a carer who has experience in doing nails so we have a little bit of everything which is very exciting.”

“We felt this was an important addition to the care services we provide. When you look nice you feel nice and that’s what we’re here to do, support our residents’ health and wellbeing.”

Pine Villa is one of 11 care homes run by Mansfield Care which operates small, friendly and residential care homes in Edinburgh, the Borders and the west of Scotland.

With activities requested, led and coordinated around the interests of the residents, Mansfield Care staff are dedicated to creating a homely, supportive and exciting environment, putting the needs of its residents at the forefront of everything they do.

Inspired by a golden rule ethos of providing the care we would wish for ourselves in later life, Mansfield Care offers bespoke care that support residents’ health and wellbeing.

For more information on Mansfield Care, visit: https://www.mansfieldcare.co.uk/

Care home residents join mass singalong to commemorate fallen heroes

Residents at two Edinburgh care homes joined hundreds of people across the UK in a virtual singalong to celebrate the life of the late Dame Vera Lynn.

Men and women from Mansfield Care’s Haugh House and Craighall House care homes sang the iconic ‘We’ll Meet Again’, with over 900 care home residents taking part throughout the country.

The event took place on Remembrance Sunday while also marking the release of the singer’s farewell album ‘Keep Smiling Through’ in partnership with Decca records.

The singalong was organised by Shapeshifter Productions which collaborates with care homes around the UK through their participatory singing project, The Smiling Sessions.

The charity provides weekly singing sessions for residents in care homes, which can be accessed through a newly developed website and app due to the pandemic. Songs can be streamed or downloaded.

Artistic Director of Shapeshifter Productions, Alison Jones, (above) said: “The Smiling Sessions was a project conceived over 10 years ago which enables residents at care homes throughout the country to sing with one another through weekly sessions.

“Unfortunately, with the pandemic we were forced to hold our weekly singing sessions virtually, but with this change we came up with new ideas such as a virtual jukebox – allowing residents to pick the songs they want to sing together remotely.

“It became a huge hit with homes all over the country, and so we decided we wanted to have a mass singalong to commemorate those on Remembrance Sunday. It took a lot of effort to set up, but we were overwhelmed by the popularity of the singalong with over 10,000 residents all coming together to sing.

“Dame Vera Lynn is so iconic, and is a symbol of resilience and strength for so many during an unprecedented time, and you can see how much the song meant to all the residents, it provided a real sense of occasion for them.”

Haugh House and Craighall House were approached by Shapeshifter Productions over the phone after learning the mother of Pete Baikie, co-founder of The Smiling Sessions, was staying at Haugh House.

Care Home Manager, Jo Dickman, said: “One of residents, Rae Baikie (above), has a son who is involved in musical therapy for care homes down in England, and so he regularly comes up to do singing sessions with our residents.

“Through him we found out about the big singalong and we had many of our residents eager to join. They absolutely loved it, and you could see just how much it meant to those who took part in it.

“It made the residents feel very reminiscent of their childhoods, and we even have two residents who served in the forces so it was particularly poignant for them.

“Singing plays a huge role in the care of our residents, and seeing each of them after the performance, and when we showed them the video back, it obvious to see how much of an impact singing can have on their well-being.

“We are always trying to find new and unique ways to provide activities for our residents in a time were visits and sessions can be difficult. We will definitely be collaborating with the Smiling Sessions project in the future.”

Mansfield Care specialise in small, friendly residential care homes in Edinburgh, Borders and west of Scotland; each designed to an exceptional standard with state-of-the-art facilities.

The Mansfield Care ethos is inspired by the kind of care we would wish for ourselves in later life – supportive, friendly, bright, positive, empathetic, respectful and homely.