Keith Robertson ( Resident) Oak Farm Clinic

Hello, my name is Keith Robertson and I first came across Oak Farm in the summer of 2006. First as a respite client and then liking very much what I saw, I approached my Social Worker about the possibility of becoming a permanent resident, due to the fact that my wife was finding it increasingly difficult to cope with my care needs.

During my 50-odd years on this planet, I have had vast experience of the care system of this country; starting with ten years at a ‘special’ boarding school, when I was 6-16, which I absolutely loathes and detested! I have lost count of how many residential care homes I have stayed in since leaving school; either as a respite client or as a permanent resident, including spells in a Shaftsbury Society run home in Bognor Regis and a Leonard Cheshire establishment near Spalding, both in the 1970’s.

Upon realising that after 14 years of marriage it would be best for both our sakes if I returned to a residential care setting, to my horror I discovered that virtually the entire residential sector had been buried under a mountain of ‘Health and Safety’ regulations and ‘political correctness.’ Everywhere that I approached or tried wanted to wrap me in cotton wool and stifle any spark of individuality for fear that I might either damage myself or somebody else! Some managers were very reluctant to let me go out and about under my own steam ‘just in case something happened.’ Because I am a Spastic (or Cerebral Palsy sufferer, as I believe the current ‘political correct’ term is!) I enjoy wallowing in a piping hot bath in order to relax my otherwise permanently tense muscles. The vast majority of care homes these days have their water temperature governed down to a luke-warm 40 degrees, which almost immediately sent me into a shivering spasm, feeling like an ice-bath to me! No matter how many times I pointed out that this infringed on ‘my health’ and my ‘well being’, I was continually fobbed off with – ‘well, that is how it is, you wither like it or lump it!’ I could go on giving example of restrictive practices and petty rule making. I also have to admit that some homes were better than others and stricter in some areas and more accommodating in others, but the common thread running throughout, was to try and confine and restrict the residents as much as possible, and to mould the resident ‘to fit the system’, rather than to be adaptable and flexible enough to respond and cater to each individual resident’s needs and aspirations.

Then one day, when I was thrashing around, desperately looking for somewhere else to live, my Social Worker managed to wangle me a ‘respite placement’ at Oak Farm. (I still don’t know to this day whether this was by design, or just a happy coincidence). Oak Farm was like an island of common-sense-care, in a sea of ‘rules or regulations’ apparently specifically designed to prevent residents having any ‘quality of life.’

I find Oak Farm a ‘very inclusive’ environment to live in. At Oak Farm, while still managing to abide by all their statutory duties on the ‘Health and Safety’ front, and still offering and providing ‘A Place of Safety’ for all residents etc, etc., the overall unit manager Mrs Meryl Rushmere, and care manager Miss Emma Howard, have between them, somehow managed to generate an ethos about the place which unashamedly treats every single resident as an individual, and then works with that person and those close to them, towards expanding their horizons and giving them the best life available.

Oak Farm, is very good at assessing and respecting each individual residents strengths and weaknesses (rather than just seeing us as people who need to be ‘cared for’), and we are all encouraged, where possible, to take an active part in the running of OUR home. Here are just a few examples; one individual writes a monthly newsletter for Oak Farm on his computer, while another resident is then given the responsibility of distributing copies around the building, and to our sister semi-independence unit, on the same site. One of our more gregarious residents has found himself a little niche, working with our activities co-ordinator in helping to run various games such as hangman and bingo. Another resident busies himself in animal husbandry, keeping and looking after the Oak Farm rabbit and chickens (which also provide the Kitchen with some eggs). I myself, well do you remember I told you about the home that was petrified to let me out the front door unescorted? – Well, I am now actively encouraged to go anywhere I ant to go! I do a great deal of shopping daily, for fellow residents, for staff, and even for management on occasions, both at local shops and in Norwich itself, which I travel to on the local bus service. I also enjoy nights out at the theatre.

I have already mentioned the various word games and bingo etc, which our residents are encouraged to take part in daily, but we also have visiting professionals, who come in and take Music Appreciation and Art Groups and so on. We have the Red Cross come in once a week and massage our arms and shoulders and we have weekly Wheelchair Aerobics sessions. Several of our residents take part in various classes, both locally and at City College and Wensum Lodge. Oak Farm also has very strong ties with the brain injury charity, Headway, which runs a day centre in the north of the city and a fair number of our residents attend Headway’s day centre on different days during the week. During this summer Oak Farm has the use of a swimming pool with a hoist, out at Wells, one afternoon per week. Also, during the summer, we have organised trips out, to places like; Yarmouth, The Sea Life Centre, at Hunstanton and boat trips on The Broads. So you see there is always something going on at Oak Farm!

Reading this article back, it would be easy to believe that living at Oak Farm is Utopia itself. Obviously this isn’t true! I mean, the mere fact that someone is applying for a place at Oak Farm in the first place must mean that some earth shattering tragedy has befallen their lives. The fit and normal life that they were living only yesterday (and probably taking for granted), has suddenly and cruelly been ripped out from under them, often through no fault of their own. Oh so often, there is no way back from these catastrophes, and that person has to live with the consequences of that momentary misfortune, whatever that might have been, for the rest of their lives. Coming to terms with such life transforming events is never easy, physically, emotionally or psychologically and quite understandably there are some people who never come to terms with what has happened to them or their disability. However, at Oak Farm we have a thoroughly dedicated and professional management, nursing and care team and a list of therapists as long as your arm, all of whom, whose only aim in life is to do their utmost to assist and advise our residents and those relatives/friends close to them to move on from their particular calamity and to help all of these people to get back to getting as much from life as they possibly can.

If a client of yours, someone you love, or even you yourself find them in need of residential care then I genuinely cannot recommend a better and more caring residential care home than Oak Farm.

Thank you very much for taking the trouble to read this right to the end.

Yours sincerely,

 Mr Keith Robertson