Service user stories
Read how our care has made a difference to the lives of adults living with complex needs.
Liam's story
In 2019, Liam was in a catastrophic road traffic accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He started his rehabilitation in the complex rehabilitation unit at The Walton Centre in Liverpool, before moving into our Ribble View care home in Preston for a longer term placement in April 2020. Thanks to our high staffing levels and in-house Therapy Team, Liam continued his rehabilitation journey and made great progress, and has now moved to a specialist rehabilitation centre closer to his family.
Liam came to Ribble View with significant support needs, including using a PEG for feeding, limited communication and a large amount of equipment to support with his movement. Thanks to the in-house Therapy Team and high staffing levels at Ribble View, Liam’s abilities improved over time. Through an intensive therapy programme, including the use of virtual reality, the team worked with Liam to encourage independence of movement, improve joint range of motion, develop memory and processing skills and maintain attention within a task.
Physiotherapist at Ribble View
Hear Annie's story
Annie's story
Annie moved into our Copperfields care home in Leeds following a failed placement at another care provider. She now gets the care she needs, from the trained team at Copperfields, which has supported her to become more independent. She lives a fulfilling life at Copperfields and enjoys taking part in a range of activities, including being the Service User Ambassador at the home.
The things I like about Copperfields are the carers - well my friends - and the residents. I have never been in such a supportive place in all my life. The staff support me with my independence. I have learned to trust people and it's special because I am treated with respect.
Annie - Resident at Copperfields
Craig's story
Craig lives at our Copperfields care home in Leeds. Following an infection in his spine over a year ago, the specialist Care Team at the home has supported Craig on his rehabilitation journey, and he now feels ready to move into supported living.
“I’ve loved living at Copperfields – the staff and Manager are great. They listen to me and what I want to achieve, and the home has an ethos of progressing, learning and moving forward – which is what I want to do in my life.”
Craig - Resident at Copperfields
Hear Anthony's story
Anthony's story
When Anthony moved into Lakeview care home in Leigh, he had been disabled for around three years, with several conditions that affect his neurological signalling between his brain and other parts of his body. He needs specialist nursing care as he's unable to self medicate due to his asthma, and can't be left alone without emergency interventions. Since moving to Lakeview, he has become the home's Service User Ambassador and enjoys taking part in a range of projects including updating the WiFi across Exemplar Health Care's homes and developing a service user app.
The care teams help with my independence simply by letting me lead. Originally, it was them trying to push me to be more independent, to do things. Now they let me lead, if I want to do something, they will help me do it. They join in my activities rather than asking me to join in theirs, and they will sit with me and they'll talk about it. Or they will support me in my work as an ambassador for the home.
Anthony - resident at Lakeview
Linda's story
Linda moved into our Tyne Grange care home in Newcastle upon Tyne in December 2020 after she was admitted to hospital, and later a rehabilitation centre, with autoimmune encephalitis and chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis, resulting in significant communication and memory problems and behaviours of concern.
With 1:1 support from the Care Team, and input from the Therapy Team, Linda now enjoys a good quality life and the number of instances of behaviours of concern has decreased by over 95%.
It’s been great to see Linda’s quality of life improve since she moved into Tyne Grange. Our team worked with her to gradually transition into the home, using video conferencing at times due to national restrictions, and have continued working at her pace, which has produced some really positive outcomes.
Sam Cottom - Home Manager
Hear Sarah's story
Sarah's story
Sarah lives in our Ribble View care home in Preston. She moved into Ribble View following a stay at a rehabilitation centre in Southport. She loves the friendly team who work at the home - she says: "They make you feel as though they are your friends and they’re not there to look after you."
Sarah is the Service User Ambassador at Ribble View and loves coming up with new ideas to make the home even better. She loves that this role gives her a sense of purpose and says that it makes her feel more accepting of her disabilities.
I’d say come here. It’s the best place I’ve been. And I felt settled more a less straight away. It’s comfortable. It feels like 'your' home not 'a' home.
Sarah - resident at Ribble View