In April this year, the Leah Manning Centre reopened its doors to welcome back those older residents who attend the centre for funded activities designed to meet their care needs.
While the centre was closed to the public, staff provided a vital outreach service, spending hours every day preparing and delivering care packages, as well as making daily welfare calls to offer the best possible support during the COVID lockdowns.
To welcome back those in receipt of care at the centre and to support the recent Mental Health Awareness week, staff treated them to a trip to Pets’ Corner and a garden centre, where they picked out plants and flowers to brighten up the outside of the centre. Art and craft activities, nature quizzes and ‘It’s Good to Talk’ sessions were organised too.
Staff and the service users are very happy to be back at the centre and look forward to taking part in more trips and activities.
Councillor Joel Charles, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Community Resilience, said:
“As we move cautiously towards the lifting of all lockdown restrictions, the Leah Manning Centre has a key role to play in helping to support the ongoing health and wellbeing needs of older people in our town. For most of the last 15 months, Leah Manning users have had to shield indoors to stay safe. The Government’s roadmap out of lockdown, regular testing and the successful vaccination programme have enabled centres like the Leah Manning to reopen safely so that residents can get out and start to get back to a more normal way of life. The return of service users’ independence after shielding through access to the Leah Manning Centre is making a huge difference.
“I also know that welcoming service users back to the centre is making a difference to the staff – the team has shown a great deal of resilience during a challenging period of time. I would like to thank the staff for their professionalism and commitment to keeping some of the most vulnerable people in our community safe. Throughout the time that the centre could not open, the staff continued to care for their service users in every way they could.
“The care services delivered at the Leah Manning Centre boost the support and opportunities available locally for people to remain active in later life.”
The Leah Manning Centre is managed by Harlow Council, working in partnership with Essex County Council Adult Social Care, which funds the specialist day care for Harlow residents with a higher level of need.
