Have you met Alison?
Our Brownscombe Residences are set within our residential care services in Haslemere. This week, we’re delighted to be speaking with our new service manager to find out all about her journey into care and her most memorable experiences in care so far...
Tell us about yourself… What is your name and role at CHD Living?
My name is Alison Packham, and I have the pleasure of being a service manager at Brownscombe Residences in Haslemere.
How long have you been working at CHD Living?
I joined the CHD family in September 2020 at Surrey Heights before moving over to Brownscombe Residences in February this year.
Can you share a little bit about your journey so far in the care industry?
I started my care journey back in 2000 at the age of 16; conveniently for me, I knew about a care home that was located at the end of my road, and I started working there as a breakfast girl!
Over the years, I have worked in a variety of care settings including residential, home care, and nursing homes, and have enjoyed the different experiences each of these roles has had to offer.
In 2016, I found myself on the other side of the care sector when my dad was diagnosed with dementia. I was no longer caring in a professional capacity, but instead as a relative seeing it from a different perspective.
His journey had its highs and lows until his passing but, from my experience, I have gained great empathy for some of the challenges our service users and families may face.
This made me want to provide the best standard of person-centred care I could for all our recipients, as well as their families.
Our service users are only with us for a very small portion of their life, but their stay with us should still be a memorable one - for all the right reasons.
Tell us more about your day-to-day role.
I only started my post at Brownscombe Residences in February, so I’m still finding my feet. I’m currently building my dedicated staff team and getting to know our service users and their families.
The variety that each day brings is without a doubt one of the best things about the job.
There really are no two days that are the same, and I absolutely love that!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of working in a care environment?
It has to be, without a doubt, the smiles!
To see people happy every day really makes you see that, regardless of what may be going on in the world, you have made a difference to someone’s life. This could be as small as offering a cup of tea, or something much bigger, such as helping a service user to do something they never thought would be possible.
To see happiness and fulfillment in others really makes my day!
Can you share any memorable experiences that you’ve had with a resident?
I was very lucky to have the chance to look after a lady who was a chauffeur for Charles de Gaulle; she had fairly advanced dementia, but the BBC was very keen to interview her and hear her tales of her time within Free France.
We prepared her for the interview - and at the grand age of 101, we were unsure as to whether she'd actually be able to recount her history. Her hearing was declining, but she had a very keen eye, so we downloaded an app where she could read the questions for the interview. We also provided her with pictures of key places from her younger years - and as if by magic, the interview just flowed!
She was thrilled to speak of her past and to have made it to national news… she even started to recall her fluent French vocabulary that she had been taught at a very young age!
This lady will always be an integral part of my care journey; her story helped me understand how providing accessible standards is so vitally important in meeting individuals’ needs, in a person-centred way.
What makes CHD Living unique?
Unity! Everyone is part of the CHD family. The family ethos of the organisation isn’t lost at any level.
Everyone, regardless of their place within CHD, is made to feel appreciated and listened to: staff, residents, relatives, and friends alike - we are all in this together.
What makes CHD Living a great place to work?
CHD is a fantastic place to work! Everyone’s voice is heard and the support shown on all levels is second to none.
What do you particularly enjoy about your role? Do you have any interesting experiences to share?
I enjoy being able to make a difference!
I once looked after a lovely gentleman who took a very severe and sudden decline in his health overnight; he had only lost his wife a week previously.
We called the paramedics, who attended along with his daughter. In the early hours, it was decided that instead of admitting him to the hospital, we would transfer him immediately from our residential unit to the nursing unit. However, the room he was moving to wasn’t fit for purpose, so we had to work together to get everything ready as quickly as possible.
It was a real group effort; I transferred his medications, his daughter collected his belongings, a paramedic and senior carer carried the gentleman in his bed (and the only accessible way was across the courtyard!), whilst the other paramedic hoovered the new room.
All of this was done in an hour - only for the gentleman to decide the next day that he wanted to move to a different room! We had to do it all again, and he found the whole thing very funny.
He sadly passed away very shortly after, but to know he and his family were happy for that time made it all worthwhile.
What do you like to do in your free time? What are your hobbies outside of work?
Outside of work, I am a busy mum to four lovely children and wife to a very supportive husband.
I enjoy spending time with my family and looking after our pets including our Macaw, Goldendoodle, and naughty German Shepherd puppy who is 16 weeks old and still hasn’t mastered the art of lie-ins!
Describe CHD Living in 3 words.
Happiness is homemade.
Alison is a wonderful asset to the CHD Living team, and we are grateful for the time she has taken to tell us about her career within our residential care services in Haslemere.
Take a look at our previous blog to find out more about professional senior care. Alternatively, if you’d like to find out more about our care services, don’t hesitate to contact a member of our team.