Minister of State for Housing and Local Government Grant Shapps got a taste of life in a care home for the elderly when he joined residents of Hatfield Care Home for a Big Lunch-style garden party.
The Minister, who is also MP for Welwyn and Hatfield, had a tour of the home run by Sanctuary Care and chatted to residents, staff and senior managers from Sanctuary Group, before helping launch a £60,000 minibus appeal.
Mr Shapps was able to experience firsthand the home’s strong community spirit, with family members travelling from as far-afield as York to attend the garden party.
The event included live entertainment and the Minister arrived to see residents in full swing on the dance floor.
Praising the home, which caters for 118 people, Mr Shapps said: "I am really impressed by Hatfield Care Home. It is the best care home I have seen in a long while and I was particularly struck by the sense of community I experienced.
“It is also impressive to see such a level of positive action from staff and residents in raising funds for their minibus which will give greater freedom to go on daytrips.
“I saw a lot of smiling faces during my visit to Hatfield Care Home and am happy to offer my support in the future with all their efforts.”
Mr Shapps was shown round the home by Steve Wood, Group Director for Care and Support, Director of Care, Len Merton and Hatfield Care Home manager Sally Kalaiarasu.
After lunch, he unveiled a totalizer indicating progress made towards the £60,000 target for the minibus, together with Hatfield Care Home resident and World War Two veteran Harry Dye, aged 91.
Sally said: “We are so pleased that Grant Shapps was able to take time to join us for our garden party and help launch our minibus appeal.
“We are extremely proud of our home and it was great to give him a taste of what a special place this is.
“Mr Shapps has got our minibus appeal off to a great start and we are looking forward to reaching our target so we can take our residents on daytrips whenever we want without having to go through the process of hiring special transport. It will give us much more freedom and will be lovely for the residents.”
Opened in 2008, Hatfield is one of Sanctuary Care’s five centres of excellence. Built to guidelines by the University of Sterling, a leading authority in designing environments for people with dementia, it features a hairdressing salon, activities room, quiet room, therapy centre and themed gardens.