A warm welcome to our home
Located on the outskirts of the Historic town of Thornbury, Grace Care Centre was opened in 2018 offering compassionate and personalised 24-hour specialist dementia and residential care in a warm, comfortable, safe modern environment. This specialist environment has been designed to enhance the quality of life of people living with dementia.
- Dementia Care
- Residential Care
- Respite Care
- Vaccinated against COVID-19
This purpose-built home offers four households that all boast en-suite rooms finished to a high standard. Every household has its own comfortable beautifully furnished lounge and kitchen dining area, with easy access to assisted bathrooms and cosy bright sitting rooms.
The home has a warm, comfortable environment with carefully chosen artwork, soft furnishings and themed households that have been selected to be of an era likely to be familiar to our residents or are of meaningful subjects such as music, nature, movies or crafts.
Grace Care Centre also benefits from a secure garden space that has been designed with our residents in mind. We pride ourselves on maintaining this garden space to a consistently high standard.
Our key actions against Coronavirus
- Testing for employees and residents means that asymptomatic cases are picked up early.
- Plentiful supplies of PPE.
- Vibrant, fun and socially distanced social bubble activities for all residents.
- Indoor safe visitor spaces installed across the Trust.
- Rigorous cleaning including the use of the latest high-tech electrostatic devices.
- OSJCT is proactive in participating in the latest in research such as ‘instant’ Lateral Flow Tests and the Vivaldi2 antibody study.
We understand there may be a lot of questions and concerns at this time and to provide guidance to those looking to move into a care home view our admissions page.
Services & Facilities
The team
Food
Activities
Events
Pricing and Key Facts
About the team
Our friendly, professionally trained team are on hand around the clock to support our residents, ensuring they spend their day how they wish and enabling them to enjoy a fulfilling and independent lifestyle.
The attentive care team focus on the individual needs of the residents, with a tailored care plan for each person. Their aim is to improve the quality of life for our residents by creating lovely, comfortable, homely surroundings and by providing care, activities and other services designed around each resident’s needs and wishes.
Meet the team
Food
The talented chef and kitchen team prepare tasty, home-cooked meals on site daily from our own kitchens. We source quality produce for our excellent breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. All-day dining is available for lighter meals and snacks and all dishes are carefully balanced to get the best nutritional value and cater for individual dietary requirements and preferences.
Seasonal produce is chosen whenever possible and of course, relatives and friends are always welcome to join us. The menus change daily and the kettle is always on. Our chef bakes every day so there is always a fresh cake for residents, friends and family to enjoy.
Each of the households has their own small kitchen dining room where residents can take their meals if they wish. Residents are also encouraged to help prepare their own food and to make snacks whenever they choose.
Activities
Whether it’s wet or dry outside, we at OSJCT feel that activities are essential in providing the best caring environment to live in.
Hobbies don’t simply stop when living with us at Grace Care Centre. We have a dedicated team of three Activities Co-ordinators who work closely with our residents to create a programme of fulfilling activities and events, tailored around each resident’s requests, hobbies and interests. The programme of events and activities provide a source of fun and laughter, to help each resident live their life to the full and make new friendships.
We are also fortunate to have the support of many volunteers of all ages from the local community, strengthening our links to this thriving market town. Here is a sample of activities on offer:
- Trips to garden centres, cafés, pubs, sporting events, National Trust parks, wildlife parks, aquariums and museums.
- Visit from Pets as Therapy Dogs
- Exercise and wellness activities, for example Seated Yoga, Zumba
- Fun activities with ‘Messy Miniatures’, the local toddler group
- Board game competitions and quizzes
- Music therapy sessions
- Gardening
- Arts and crafts
- Communal Church services
Download sample activities schedule
With so many well-being activities for body and mind on offer, we also recognise that everyone needs some personal space for relaxation and mindfulness for personal reflection. The cosy lounges offer an opportunity for some quiet time or to host family and friends.
And that’s not all:
We’ve had silent discos, hoe downs, Chinese banquets, Oscar parties and so much more.
Many of the activities feature Reminiscence Therapy to aid those living with Dementia to remember events, people and places using sight, touch, taste, smell and sound.
Events
As we are on the outskirts of a market town - within a vibrant community, there's never a dull moment. We run regular activities for all to join in:
- Coffee mornings
- Fish & Chip Club
- Blue Light Breakfasts – for members of our emergency and healthcare services.
- Care Home Open Day
- Summer and Autumn fetes
- Christmas parties
View our full events calendar below to see more upcoming events taking place at Grace Care Centre. Simply click on the days with a dot to find out more.
Pricing
Care fees vary depending on the level of care required and this will be confirmed upon completion of a care assessment prior to moving into the home.
Below is indicative pricing for self-funded residents per week.
| Care Type | Fees From | Fees To |
|---|---|---|
| Dementia Long Term | £1390 | £1390 |
| Dementia Respite | £1600 | £1600 |
| Residential Long Term | £1290 | £1340 |
| Residential Respite | £1485 | £1540 |
Our home charges self-funder rates for the services we provide. We accept third party top ups for individuals funded by the Local Authority up to the self-funder rate.
We understand that paying for long-term care can often be a complex subject, and with several options available to you it can be confusing. You will find helpful guidance on our Paying for Care page.
Key Facts
The Key Facts document contains information regarding this care home which can be used in comparison with other care homes or can be printed for reference and brought with you when you visit the home.
Meet the team
Our homes' professional services are provided by the Management team, Carers, Nurses and Dementia support teams (where required), Admiral Nurses, Support Workers, Activities Co-ordinators, Housekeeping, Handy Person, Administrators and the home's Chef and Catering team. We also have health professional support from Doctors, Nurses and personal services who will regularly come into the home.
Mel Isherwood
Jamie Jones
Annamarie Cox
Darren Hunt
Home Manager
Mel brings over 30 years of Health and Social Care experience into her role of Home Manager at Grace Care Centre. This includes running a variety of care services and charities, private organisations, and local authorities.
"From the very first moment I walked into Grace Care Centre, I was blown away by the welcoming community spirit and homely atmosphere running throughout the home."
Mel is known as a supportive and empathetic person who has a passion for high standards of care.
"I am passionate to work with our fantastic team to continue to deliver the highest possible levels of person-centred care for all at Grace Care Centre."
Outside of her role, Mel enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Her hobbies include crafting and cooking. She is also undertaking a master's degree in Autism, as support for family members who are autistic. Mel also sits as a trustee for Ocean City Powerchair Football Club, set up to enable powerchair sporting opportunities in Plymouth.
Deputy Manager
Jamie Jones has worked in care for the last 13 years. Jamie entered the care industry initially as a volunteer while studying at University, her love for working closely with the residents and building meaningful relationships meant that Jamie couldn’t imagine working in any other sector and went into care full time starting as a Carer, progressing to Senior Carer, Unit Leader and Deputy Manager.
“I love being in a role where you can truly help to navigate the service and support the team to deliver the highest quality of care.”
Jamie Brings with her a BSc Psychology, Level 5 Health and Social Care, Level 3 Safe Handling of Medicines. She is a strong believer in the Trusts values and supports the team to make sure they are embedded in all that they do, enabling the team to improve the lives of people living within the Trust.
Jamie finds every day is different. The home is full of life and characters with different stories to tell. She love’s hearing about their lives and using that knowledge to be able to help people continue to live with a sense of purpose and community spirit.
“It’s exciting to be part of a team that are so diverse and ready to learn. The future of Grace is going to be a joy to be part of.”
Head of Dementia Care
Annamarie brings over 22 years of experience to the role of Head of Dementia Care, here at Grace Care Centre. Throughout her career, she has built up high levels of NVQ qualifications. These include: Health and Social Care, Mentoring, Cleaning and Support Services, End of Life Care and Understanding Dementia.
During her time at Grace Care Centre, Annamarie has progressed from a Care Leader, to Senior Care Leader, to Head of Dementia Care. Annamarie is extremely popular amongst the staff team and residents.
Annamarie is passionate about everyone having the right to lead a full and independent life within the community, whilst maintaining their health and wellbeing. She enjoys working with the team to ensure they achieve outstanding person-centred care.
When asked what her the best part of Grace Care Centre was, it was an easy answer for Annamarie. “The home has a fantastic atmosphere. There is great comradery between the team and residents which truly makes Grace Care Centre feel like home.”
Handyperson
Darren is one half of our dynamic duo of handypersons at Grace Care Centre. He joined the team in 2018 and has worked in the care industry for 20 years.
“My wife was a nurse at a local hospital and my first role in the sector was in the same hospital. I have since built up some experience and was really pleased to join the team here a couple of years ago.”
In his role at Grace Care Centre, Darren has a range of responsibilities and tasks to ensure the purpose-built home maintains high standards throughout.
“My main role is to keep the building safe and secure. We look for potential hazards before they arise and make sure they are dealt with before they develop.”
Outside of work Darren has a range of hobbies, including video editing, metal detecting and playing the harmonica.
“I enjoy learning new skills. There are never enough hours in the day to learn all that I want to learn.”
Latest News
Aug 2021
The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) specialists in dementia care held a virtual event to provide carers with support and advice on the less common types of Dementia.