A BARNSLEY care home is making waves by going the extra mile with its residents - with its most recent exploits being featured on prime-time television.
Shaftsbury House, on Mount Vernon Road, is set to be featured on BBC One’s The One Show for its work with charity Wet Wheels, which provides boating and fishing trips for people with disabilities.
The home, which provides care and accommodation for up to ten people, regularly organises trips with York-based Wet Wheels - which appeared on the show for its work on accessible fishing.
But manager Roger Stocks said the home - recently judged to be ‘outstanding’ in meeting the needs of residents and ‘good’ overall - doesn’t limit its activities to those on the water, encouraging staff and residents to engage in any interests they have.
“We are proud of what we’ve achieved but it doesn’t stop us moving forward,” said Roger.
“I have been working in care for 38 years and it’s the best team I’ve worked with.
“We put people before profit and there aren’t many jobs that make such an impact on people’s lives like that.
“If a member of staff has a hobby or talent they want to bring to work, that’s what we’re really into.
“We don’t make a fuss, we think this is how all residential care should be.
“People live here, it’s their home - they don’t live where we work, it’s the other way around.”
On the trip with Wet Wheels, several residents were given the opportunity to drive a small fishing boat and they also caught mackerel and codling.
“Everybody gets the chance to drive the boat,” said Roger.
“We don’t look at people’s disabilities, we look at their abilities and what they can get out of life.”
Roger stressed that such trips were not just for Shaftsbury House residents but any other disabled people receiving support in the borough.
Jayne Graham, senior support worker, said: “Every day is different, I’m proud to do this job.
“You’ve got to think one step in front and go, ‘would I like that? Would I want to be dressed like that?’
“The residents look upon us as family. Some don’t get a lot of visitors so they tend to turn to us.
“We let them know they’re cared about.”
Deputy manager Tara Wilkinson added: “It was an amazing day, the One Show crew were absolutely fantastic and helped us a lot.
“The residents came back and straight away wanted to go on the next trip.
“This is what disabled people should be doing, it shouldn’t be a hard job to care for them.”
