Care Home's 'Quirky' Hen Project Wins Prestigious Building Better Healthcare Award
Orchard Care Homes has won Best Collaborative Arts Project (Performance), in the Patient Experience Class, in the highly coveted national Building Better Healthcare Awards. The company’s partnership with the HenPower project, set-up by creative ageing charity Equal Arts, began in 2015 and is now present in homes across the country. The award praised the projects that have a measurable positive impact on patient and staff experience within the healthcare environment. The judges at the national event highlighted, “This really does seem to be engaging residents and getting people outside. It is a great example of linking meaningful activity for care home residents to the creation of art.” HenPower has won £1m National Lottery funding, and uses hen-keeping as a tool to creatively tackle social isolation and to improve mental and physical wellbeing. The awards, attended by over 500 representatives from the NHS and healthcare industry, are in place to highlight and recognise innovation and improvement within the sector. Orchard Care Homes collected the award during an event at The Brewery in central London. Tracey Tomlinson, Director of Customer Experience, said “I have seen first-hand the positive impact that HenPower has had within our homes, not only on the residents, but family members and staff too. I am delighted that the project has been recognised for all the good it does and we hope to continue implementing HenPower in our homes in the future”. Douglas Hunter, Equal Arts co-director, said: "HenPower is an amazing project that can transform older people’s lives but it requires the care staff, managers and the care provider organisation to get behind any initiative to really maximise the benefits for residents. "Orchard Care have been outstanding at making this happen. This award is great recognition for the commitment everyone has shown. Life can still be full of surprises regardless of your age and creativity is great at surprising so many of us."
