Wirral Life July 2019 | Page 32

W L WIRRAL CARE HOME GET ARTY FOR NATIONAL CARE HOME OPEN DAY A Wirral care home opened its doors to showcase the creative skills of its residents to friends, family and the local community for National Care Home Open Day last month. The Hazelwell, a residential, nursing, palliative and respite care home in Heswall, joined thousands of other care homes around the UK taking part in Care Home Open Day with a theme this year of celebrating the role of ‘Arts in Care’. The idea behind Care Home Open Day is to encourage local people to visit care homes in the community and work together to build long lasting relationships. The Hazelwell invited the community to join their residents for a cup of tea and slice of cake and share the fun and enjoyment of the day’s activities. To showcase how The Hazelwell use art for relaxation, enjoyment and therapy, staff at the care home held art classes for residents and visitors were able to view an exhibition of the residents’ artwork. 32 wirrallife.com The Hazelwell’s care home manager Sue Ball said: “We are always looking at new ways of building relationships with the local community and Care Home Open Day is a fantastic way of bringing generations together. “Here at The Hazelwell we use art therapy every week as part of our varied activities programme. The Open day was an opportunity to show visitors exactly what happens in our art classes. “We find creative activities are great for relaxation and stress relief, as well as self-expression. Our classes are also good social occasions as everyone can chat while they work and share in what they have created. It was a lovely friendly afternoon of fun.” For more information about The Hazelwell contact Sue on 0151 342 9654, email info@ thehazelwell.com or visit www.thehazelwell. com