Tag: Mathieson House Care Home

Care home residents become silver surfers 

Residents at an Edinburgh care home are developing their digital dexterity thanks to the generous donation of 15 new Amazon Fire 7 tablets from a national construction firm.

Design & Build Contractor, McAleer & Rushe gifted the devices to residents at Mathieson House Care Home on Ferry Road, which is owned and operated by Renaissance Care.

The home sits close to Leith, where McAleer & Rushe will be based on a major long-term project delivering much needed new homes at the Dockside. The firm has also pledged to build tall planters and a seating area in the care home’s manicured garden, allowing residents to enjoy the warm summer days in comfortable surroundings.

Elizabeth Griffiths, aged 91, resident at Mathieson House said: “This was a lovely gift for everyone to receive.

“Tablet meant something very different when I was younger, so these types of things are all a bit new to us at the home, but the staff have been great at showing us how they work.”

Mathieson House is part of Renaissance Care group which currently owns and operates 16 homes across Scotland, including Letham Park, which sits on the same site in Ferry Road.

Across the group there is a strong focus on enhancing the physical and mental wellbeing of residents. Each home has a dedicated activities team, which delivers a variety of events that bring fun, laughter and wellbeing benefits to residents.

This includes the group’s digital exercise programme, danceSing, which encourages residents to take part in fun physical exercises suited to their capabilities.

Sandra Duggan, McAleer & Rushe Project Manager based on the Dockside project added: “We began construction on the Dockside project at Ocean Drive not long ago in March and as we advance works on site, it is equally important for us to reach out into the community to establish relationships which can provide a lasting impact.

“I’m excited to get to know the team at Mathieson House who take great care to provide a nurturing and comfortable home to their residents and look forward to returning to help elevate their garden space.

“We hope the donation of these tablets will help the residents embrace technology to stay connected with their loved ones and provide access to the digital world at their fingertips.”

Mathieson House Care Home is a warm and welcoming, purpose-built care home situated in the Trinity area of Edinburgh. The care home has 20 rooms and offers supported living to residents within a stylish boutique hotel style environment.

For further information visit: https://www.renaissance-care.co.uk/mathieson-house-care-home  

Adventure, fun and lots of cake is key to a long and happy life, says 102-year-old Christine

Christine Miller is celebrating her 102nd birthday in style this week at Mathieson House Care Home in Edinburgh.  

All the stops have been pulled out to ensure Christine and all her friends in the home can enjoy her special day, including balloons, music, singing and, at Christine’s request, lots of cake!  

A special guest is also on the invite list, as Christine’s only son Robin flies in from America to mark the special occasion with her. 

Christine celebrated her Centurian birthday in 2020, receiving a treasured letter from the late Queen Elizabeth to mark the occasion. 

When asked about what receiving her letter meant to her, Christine said: “It was a great honour to receive a letter from our late, great Queen. She worked tirelessly to serve our country over her rein and was someone I admired greatly. I treasure my letter from her dearly.  

“I know there are others out there keenly awaiting their letters from our new King. For me it was very exciting to receive the letter, especially as COVID restrictions had put a rain check on my party plans. ” 

Christine, originally from Windygates and Methil, Fyfe, was born on the 12th of October 1920. Her 102 years have been packed with adventure, moving to Malaysia in 1956 and living within the Sarawak for the next sixteen years 

One of Christine’s great loves in her life has been travel, extensively exploring America and Asia in her youth. 

When asked the secret to a long and happy life, Christine responded: “Travel the world with people you love and see as much as you can – while you can. I have had many adventures across Malaysia and the USA in my time.

“Experiencing new cultures keeps you young at heart. I have made so many happy memories to look back on now. 

“Thank you to all the staff at Renaissance Care for ensuring that I can spend this day having fun with my loved ones. It has been a birthday party to be remember!” 

Edinburgh goes for gold: our Olympic athletes with years of experience!

Seated volleyball, 400m wheelchair and walking challenge, and pitch n putt: Capital’s very own version of the Olympics

With just 20 days until Tokyo 2020 finally gets underway, elderly care home residents across Scotland have launched their own Olympics with a special Tokyo-inspired opening ceremony event, following on from weeks of training.

The Renaissance Care Olympics will see 15 care homes across the country compete across five sports which have been designed to suit the abilities of the care home athletes to encourage physical and mental wellness.

Edinburgh-based Letham Park Care Home and Mathieson House Care Home kicked off their opening ceremonies within the individual homes.

The residents, dressed in their own team shirts, were given a taste of Tokyo with Japanese taster plates, chop stick trials, music and discussions on the Japanese culture. Mathieson House also recreated the famous Olympic flame, using colourful tissue paper and streamers.

The athletes have been in training over the month of June, getting ready to compete in each of the sports throughout July before a closing ceremony to celebrate their achievements at the end of the month.

For the gold medal, the residents will be competing to see who can walk or wheelchair the most 400m stints throughout July, how many hits of a balloon they can get to keep it off the ground for seated volleyball, and how many punches they can land on the boxing pads.

They will also compete in Pitch n Putt, with nine holes set up around the homes, and a one off shot putt event where the resident who can throw the bean bag furthest will take the medal.

Ann Marie Byrne, Activity Co-ordinator at Renaissance Care’s Mathieson House Care Home, said: “Encouraging physical activity for our residents is extremely important and we really wanted to create something fun that would get everyone involved.

“The residents across each of the homes have been enjoying the training and we have already seen a great lift in spirits as they get in touch with their competitive side.

“During lockdown, we have been as creative as possible to come up with new ideas to ensure that the residents always have new experiences and the Olympics felt like the perfect way to bring everyone together.

“The relatives have been routing for their loved ones and we have been sharing their progress along the way, so it has been a lovely way to keep everyone connected.”