Our Stories

Highland Senior Citizens’ Network (HSCN)

Southside Nursing Home is a member of the HSCN and in 2015, a video was created in conjunction with Eden Court Theatre starring one of our residents! The video was based on a poem entitled ‘Crabbit Old Woman’/’Look Closer’/‘What Do You See?’ by Phyllis McCormack. The poem is written in the voice of an old woman in a nursing home who is reflecting upon her life:

Praise where praise is due …  (extract from blog 15/02/13)

“My mother in law moved into a care home last year.  This was a huge transition for us.  Fast forward to today and I would like to share something with you.

“Her care home is just around the corner from our home. It’s a big old house with not too many residents and an abundance of staff. I visit regularly and when I arrive the entrance I sign my name in the book. On the table there is always a big vase of flowers and as I open the door someone always shouts ‘Hello!’

“The food is wonderful, my mother in law often comments it’s like living in a five star hotel and Southside is warm and cosy. There are lots of things going on and when I visit she tells me about her day. The thing is she HAS things to tell me! She may have been baking or crafting, or enjoyed an afternoon of music and singing. Musicians and theatre groups visit regularly and they have a hairdresser on hand so the ladies can have their curls tended to.

“All of these things are wonderful and necessary.

“Life at Southside provides residents with just that – a life. We often imagine care homes to be places where people sit around in chairs all day, retiring to bed early because it’s easier for the staff. Not at Southside.’”

Award Winning Care

Scottish Care Home Awards 2013

In 2013, we focussed on and made some tremendous improvements to our falls prevention strategy in the home and our efforts were rewarded at the Scottish National Care Home Awards. We won the Training and Staff Development Award, presented to the care home who has demonstrated commitment and achievement in promoting, delivering and sustaining training and continuous professional development. The award was a huge boost to our self-confidence and demonstrated that big changes could be made through simple, cost-effective solutions and committed team effort.

Eight of us attended the prestigious Scottish National Care Home awards ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow on the evening of Friday 15 November, hosted by TV presenter Michelle McManus.

Scottish Dementia Awards 2013

We developed a unique partnership with the Scottish Ambulance Academy at Glasgow Caledonian University by piloting ambulance students to work with our residents and staff to promote a wider understanding of the scope and nature of dementia. Because it is the only practice placement of its kind in the UK, and there has been significant interest from other areas in Scotland, and the English Ambulance Service, to extend the pilot. Through this partnership, we were selected as finalists from over 100 entries for the ‘Best Educational Initiative’ in the Scotland’s Dementia Awards 2013. The award is a testimony to the hard work and effort our staff put in each day to improve care for our residents and the wider community.

A Day in the Life of …
An Ambulance Paramedic Student reflecting on his placement at Southside:

“As a new recruit to the Scottish Ambulance Service, it was hugely beneficial to get an insight into the problems encountered everyday by both the residents and the staff.

“On the thankfully rare occasions that the Ambulance Service are required at residential care homes, we normally have a very limited time in which to communicate with residents. I was deeply impressed by the staffs personal insights into each resident, insights which can help us establish communication and trust in that vital first few minutes.

“Carrying out duties with the carers also gave me an opportunity to see specialist equipment in use as well as discussing issues regarding the needs of the residents. I hope the lessons I learned that day will benefit me in future visits to residential homes.”

– Karl Normington, Student, Scottish Ambulance Service