Husband's pyjamas put on care home woman's pillow to mimic good night cuddle

An elderly woman’s sleepless nights may be over thanks to a care home in Reading which decided to put her husband’s pyjamas over a pillow for her to cuddle in his absence.

Shinfield View care home in Reading has just been awarded the highest rating of ‘Outstanding’ by Care Quality Commission inspectors.

It has been praised for its creative thinking that has seen it reduce falls among its residents and recreate the feel and smell of a woman’s husband to help her sleep without him.

Shinfield View care home’s general manager Amanda Tanner explained how an 84-year-old woman had been having trouble sleeping at the care home but easily slept through the night when she spent Christmas with her husband at his house.

Care workers decided pills to help the woman sleep was not in her best interests. Instead they bought a large V-shaped cushion and used her husband’s pyjamas as a pillow case.

“We thought we would give her something to cuddle that smells and feels like her husband”, said Amanda Tanner.

Part of Berkley Care Group, Shinfield View is a care home without nursing providing personal care to 64 people aged 65+.

It now has an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’, having achieved ‘Outstanding’ rating in all five areas which are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

CQC inspectors said: ‘People were treated with exceptional care and kindness. They and their relatives thought very highly of the staff and praised their caring, thoughtfulness and willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty for them.’

Resident ‘not sure if Shinfield View is on planet Earth’

On carehome.co.uk, a review about the care home posted by a resident goes so far as to say: “I am still not sure if Shinfield View is on planet Earth” explaining “because everyone is so kind, caring and helpful. Nothing is too much trouble.”

One woman with dementia who kept losing her balance and falling over because she constantly walked around the care home, began sitting down more and falling less after care workers gave her a doll to care for.

Shinfield View’s weekly ‘Tiny Feet’ sessions involve local residents bringing their babies and toddlers into the care home. The woman's daughter explained: "Because Mum loved the Tiny Feet group so much it was decided to introduce 'doll therapy' and get Mum to sit down and cuddle [the doll]. This seemed to work, and Mum was immediately taken with the doll, proudly showing the 'baby' off to other residents."

Inspectors stated: ‘Staff reported to us, "a group of other ladies came over…and started having a chat with her about baby Chloe, it was lovely to see them all having a group conversation with smiles all round".'

The report noted that when staff checked their watches, the woman had been sitting down for almost an hour.

Motion sensors underneath another resident's chair cushion, his mattress, as well as an infra-red beam (PIR sensor) running parallel to his bed (from head to foot) alerted staff when he fell out of bed.

A local woman decided to move into the care home after discovering wheelchair ice skating was a regular activity enjoyed by residents in their 80s and 90s. Shinfield View first opened in 2016.

Amanda Tanner added: “I am so unbelievably proud of everyone in the team. Thank you to all our staff, residents and relatives for the exceptional feedback we received. We’ll continue with our hard work and aim to provide the very highest standard of care at all times.”

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