Worksop care home celebrates opening of new pub to bring residents and families together

Greenacres Grange, on Wingfield Avenue, has celebrated its grand opening of The Green Oak pub after transforming a cafe area into a thriving bar for residents and visitors.

A number of fundraising activities were held last year for the residents and staff to donate money to charity and raise funds for their own Christmas activities.

Unfortunately the care home, which has recently been taken over by Portland Care, experienced a bout of Covid-19 which cancelled their festive plans and saw the home placed into a lockdown for the residents’ safety.

However, fundraising coordinator Tracey Pressley came up with the idea to use the surplus money to create The Green Oak, which was helped along by a generous donation from the family of a late resident Eunice Jones, who passed away at age 96 in December.

Eunice, who was commonly referred to as ‘Miss Jones’, was cared for at the home for over five years, and was described as a “loud and proud character” with a love for Elvis Presley.

As a fitting tribute to the rock and roll-fan, the care team booked an Elvis tribute act to visit the home to mark the bar’s official opening.

Deputy manager Fay Pool said: “When a resident passes away and their family leaves a donation we like to spend that money on something that the resident would have enjoyed, which is why we’ve had Elvis come in.”

The pub has already proved popular with its current 34 residents, with resident Barbara calling it “magical”. It serves a range of beers and spirits, plus alcohol-free options, and a range of bar snacks all free of charge for residents and visitors.

It will also be home to a fortnightly quiz and top of the range entertainment.

Fay said the opening of the bar has been an “emotional” journey as the care home takes a step towards normality after the pandemic. Since early January, the care home has been able to have open visits, as residents previously had to have visitors in their bedrooms due to mask restrictions.

Fay said: “It now means that families can sit with residents wherever the resident is. Previously if we were holding an activity and a family member came to visit it would take their relative away from that activity, which obviously stopped a lot of visits because they wanted their relative to enjoy the activities that Tracey put on.”

Tracey said: “It feels like home again now, it hasn’t felt like a home through covid at all. I started before covid, so I've seen how a care home should be. You didn’t feel like you were doing enough for the residents even though we were doing everything we could.

“I feel really proud now to be giving them the lives that they should be having in a care home. As far as residents are concerned, the ones that are coming down the stairs, they think have actually gone to the pub.”