As a learning disabilities care home that provides care jobs in Uckfield, East Sussex, we pride ourselves on having a strong set of core values here at Halland House. The well-being and happiness of our residents and staff are at the forefront of this, but it’s a lot more than just that.
A brief history of Halland House
Halland House was set up in 1972 and a number of our original residents are still living here. Providing a life-long home for people with learning disabilities is a big part of what we’re all about, ensuring the continuity of care that they need. We’ve updated and extended the house over the years to keep up with a changing world, bringing in modernisations as needed while still keeping its homely feel.
The house is located in a rural setting, which is peaceful and means we have the advantage of a big garden for residents to enjoy when the weather is nice. We have our own minibus, meaning we can take residents on regular outings. With three wings and 29 rooms, we’re not a big establishment. Each wing is set up for residents with different levels of needs, from the ground floor where highly-dependent residents have an area that is specially designed to meet their needs, to the first floor where our residents with moderate care needs live and socialise, to The Lodge, where people learning independent living skills stay.
Life for our residents
Another of our values here at Halland House is that we try to help our residents to be as independent as possible. It’s all a part of making life fulfilling and enriching for the people living here. We get to see what a difference it makes helping them to achieve their goals themselves rather than having someone do everything for them. The bedrooms are a part of this independence as each room is personalised to the resident’s taste, including the colours on the walls, furnishings and pictures of family and friends.
Despite encouraging independence, we make sure to meet all of our residents’ needs, from personal care to maintaining relationships outside of the home. We work hard to arrange a busy schedule of activities and outings to keep life interesting. So, if someone needs some new clothes, for example, we can take them out to buy them. Or if someone is feeling down, we’ll do some art therapy or another activity to help them feel better. It’s the personal care side of things that we know our residents really enjoy, getting to spend one-to-one time with the carer and feel appreciated and understood.
What it’s like to work at Halland House
Our staff are just as much a part of the family here as our residents. In fact, some of our team say they see coming to Halland House not as coming to work, but as a second home. Watching the residents flourish and enjoy life is one of the most fulfilling things we can do. We listen to them when they talk about what they want to do and achieve, and then we do everything we can to make those things happen for them.
We don’t want to rose-tint the reality of working in a learning disabilities care home as it’s not always easy. It can be hard work and there is challenging behaviour to deal with, but seeing the smiles on our residents’ faces and knowing we’ve achieved that, means everything. Find out more about life as a carer at Halland House.