A day in the life of an Activities Coordinator at Exemplar Health Care: meet Danni

Danni is the Activities Coordinator at our Blackmoor care home in Birmingham. In this 'A day in the life' blog, she tells us more about the role and what her favourite part of it is. 

I’m Danni and I work as an Activities Coordinator at Blackmoor care home in Birmingham. I started working at the home in 2021 when it first opened.

Previously, I worked as an Activities Coordinator in an elderly care setting but I was keen to do something different.

When I saw Blackmoor care home was opening in my home town, what stood out to me the most was the culture that Exemplar Health Care offers - that’s why I applied for the role.

My favourite part of the job is working directly with our service users and supporting them to live as fulfilled lives as possible.

About Blackmoor care home 

Blackmoor is a specialist nursing home which supports adults living with complex mental health needs and neurological conditions such as Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease.

The home has three small units and I work across all three of them. This means that I work with different people each day, which adds variety to the role.

My responsibilities as an Activities Coordinator

Every day, I work directly with our service users to ensure their needs are met.

I work closely with them to get to know their likes and hobbies, and organise one-to-one and group activities based on their interests.

We promote choice and independence in activities. I try my best to plan, where possible, but nine times out of ten people don’t want to do ‘planned’ activities, so you have to be flexible and adaptable.

I also do regular audits to ensure that the activities we do meet people’s needs. I collect evidence of what we’ve been doing and why it’s relevant to that person and their goals.

A typical day shift as an Activities Coordinator

Every day is different as an Activities Coordinator, which is what I love the most.

Generally, I’ll come into the home and head straight up to each unit to see how our service users are and ask what they’d like to do that day.

Then, I would meet with the Head of Care, Nurses and Heads of Departments to let them know what’s happening.

For example, if we have a resident moving into the home, I make sure that someone’s around to welcome them into the home, and plan activities they’ll enjoy.  

At Blackmoor, we support people who have complex mental health needs. We encourage people to interact and engage with each other, and do activities together where they have similar interests.  

My favourite thing about my role

My biggest pleasure is getting to know the service users.

It's important to know the things that people enjoy and what motivates them, so that activities can be person-centered.

I love doing activities because I’m constantly on the move.

We’ve also got an amazing team at Blackmoor and everyone is very welcoming. I’ve made some really good friends in the time that I’ve been here already.

Training at Exemplar Health Care

The training at Exemplar Heath Care is very thorough and you’re never left in a situation where you’re on your own - there’s always someone in the team to offer support or advice.

I was impressed with how the training was led by colleagues who knew about the day-to-day workings of a unit and could share their experiences, which made it much easier starting a new role.

Working at Blackmoor

It’s lovely to work in a brand new home. The care home itself is beautiful and the way the home is set out for activities is amazing!

The number of staff on duty at any one time is also fantastic. The home often has up to six colleagues working on one unit.

You’ve always got someone to help out if you need anything and there’s so many resources available that really benefit what I want to achieve in my role.

Careers at Blackmoor care home in Birmingham

We’re looking to grow our team at Blackmoor with caring and compassionate people.

We’re currently recruiting for Registered Nurses, Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists at Blackmoor. 

To apply for a job in Birmingham, visit our online job search.

Make a referral for a complex care placement  

If you’d like to find out more about Blackmoor care home or make a referral for a complex care placement, please contact our Referrals Team on 01709 565 777 or email referrals@exemplarhc.com.