Our first 50 days: building care, community and connections

It is hard to believe that Radfield Home Care Caterham, Oxted & Edenbridge has now been up and running for more than 50 days.

Since launching this summer, a huge amount has happened. Alongside building our home care service and beginning to grow our team, we have been busy getting out into the community, supporting local organisations and putting the finishing touches to an exciting new Adult Day Centre in Woldingham.

As we head into autumn it feels like a good moment to look back at what we have been doing so far and what is coming next.

Preparing to open our new Adult Day Centre in Woldingham

One of our biggest projects over the summer has been establishing a new weekly Adult Day Centre at Woldingham Village Hall.

The centre has been created to provide older people with a welcoming and sociable place to spend time, enjoy activities, meet others and access a growing range of services and support.

There has been a lot going on behind the scenes to get everything ready, from developing the programme of activities to building relationships with local organisations and planning the launch.

We will officially open the centre on Wednesday 23 September, with our first regular day taking place the following week on Wednesday 30 September!

The response so far has been enormously encouraging, and our Director Sam Barton will also be appearing on BBC Radio Surrey next week to talk about the new centre, why we have created it and the role we hope it will play in the local community.

Raising more than £1,200 for local causes

The Day Centre launch has also given us the opportunity to support two local charities through our Experience East Surrey fundraising raffle.

Thanks to the generosity of local businesses and everyone who has bought tickets so far, we have already raised more than £1,200, with proceeds supporting Friends of Caterham Dene Hospital and the Rotary Club of Oxted & Limpsfield.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported the fundraising, donated prizes or helped us spread the word.

There is still time for one final push before the raffle closes, and we will be promoting it again at our first local event this weekend.

Growing our care team

At the same time we have been focused on the most important part of any home care service: finding the right people.

We are currently onboarding our first two Care Professionals, and we are continuing to recruit people who share our belief that good care is about far more than completing tasks.

We want to build a team that takes the time to get to know the people we support, understands what matters to them and helps them continue living the life they want in their own home.

As our service grows, we will continue recruiting locally and investing in training, support and development for our team.

Getting involved in the community

From day one we wanted Radfield to be an active part of the communities we serve rather than simply a care provider working within them.

Our team has already run two games afternoons at a local retirement village, bringing residents together for a relaxed and sociable afternoon.

We are also now funding a monthly chair yoga session at St Paul’s Church in Woldingham, helping to make gentle exercise and social contact more accessible locally.

There is plenty more planned. We are currently working on the idea of a monthly Carers’ Coffee Morning at one of the area’s leading retirement communities, creating an informal space where unpaid carers can meet others, have a break and find out about local support.

These are the kinds of small, practical initiatives we hope to do much more of over the coming months.

Come and meet us at Hurst Green Village Fair

This weekend will also see our first community event as we exhibit at the Hurst Green Village Fair on Saturday 19 September.

We are looking forward to meeting local residents, talking about our home care service and Day Centre, and making one final push for our fundraising raffle.

All we need now is some dry weather.

Our first 50 days have been busy, but they have also reinforced why we wanted to launch Radfield here in the first place. There is an incredibly strong network of local organisations, businesses, charities and community groups already doing excellent work, and we are delighted to be starting to play our part.

And this is only the beginning.

Looking for local home care or day centre details?

Whether you would like to reserve a place at our Woldingham Day Centre, explore visiting care options for a loved one, or learn more about joining our growing team, we would love to hear from you.

• Call our local team: Speak with our Caterham, Oxted & Edenbridge office today on 01883 708166
• Email us: [email protected]