Dear Hilldales Residential Care Home,
My family and I are extremally grateful to you all for looking after my brother, A who has sadly passed recently.
A always spoke highly of the care home and all of the staff over the twenty years he was with you, he would often tell me how much he thought of all the staff and how much he valued there friendship.
A would often tell me how the chef would often look after in the morning with his breakfast and how much Hilldales felt like a true home to him.
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you all at Hilldales for the twenty years of care you provided for A and for giving him a true home.
With Love,
A's Sister and family
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To Leigh & Hilldales,
Just want to thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for all the love and care you gave and had for my brother J.
Thank you so much.
J's Sister M xxxxxx
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I have been Social Worker to Mr S since 2021. I met him when he was living in a room in a multi-occupancy house in the High St of a town in North Devon.
He had been living on his own. At the time I met him he was alcohol dependent, his mental health was poor - he was malnourished and he was being victimised by other tenants in the building. He found it hard to trust anybody, and would not engage with support services offered to him. The building was in a poor state of disrepair and there was evidence of self neglect
The situation became a crisis when S’s mental health deteriorated and there were concerns he could harm himself. Hilldales offered him a place within 24 hours of me gaining financial approval. Staff were prepared to work with S to offer him stability, a safe place, a warm room, and access to regular meals and medication. Aside from meeting the basics staff engaged with S to talk to him about the importance of attending health appointments and working to reduce his alcohol dependency.
Whilst at Hilldales he was assisted to attend a hospital appointment which resulted in him being sent as an emergency to RD&E where he was admitted into Intensive Care with multiple organ failure, and he nearly died. He remained in hospital for approx. 4 weeks. S later told me he thought if he had not been at Hilldales, he would not have attended the hospital appointment and could have died in his room
He was discharged back to Hilldales where he remained for a further 6 months to recover. During this time, he had stopped drinking and was talking positively about living independently and doing some form of work.
Since then I have continued to work with him. He had a period back in his tenancy but relapsed and was readmitted to Hilldale, Staff supported him (under supervision of GP) to undertake a community detox. He managed this and we continue to work with him so that he can live more independently and look more positively to a happier future
Throughout this period (approx.12 months) I have found staff at Hilldales to be flexible and supportive, kind and welcoming. They have demonstrated a range of skiils in relation to S and are able to support individuals whose lives have become chaotic and who need stability and calm. They are particularly helpful at working with people who have a combination of problems including addiction, poor mental health, potential homelessness and minor criminality
Greg Hardstaff – Experienced Social Worker 01/06/2023