The Royal Star & Garter Home in High Wycombe has welcomed its first resident. David French was greeted by Home Manager Chelle Daly as he entered the £25 million care home on Tuesday 16 April. The state-of-the-art building has 74 bedrooms, and also features a café-bar area, activities room, in-house physiotherapy room, library, gardens and hair salon.
It will care for ex-Servicemen and women and their partners living with disability or dementia. Mr French, 85, is an RAF veteran who served from 1951 to 1953. He was welcomed with a hug and a kiss on the cheek by Home Manager Chelle Daly on his arrival. After being shown to the room and around parts of the Home, Mr French said: “It’s very impressive, I’m happy to be here.”
His daughter, Sue Couldery, said:
“It’s a huge relief that Dad is here, it’s been very hard for the past few months. It means he’s going to be safe and occupied. We all feel very welcomed here.”
Chelle said:
“I’m so happy we’re open and it’s our privilege to welcome David to the new Home. I’m looking forward to him becoming part of The Royal Star & Garter Homes’ family.”
The Home will welcome residents in small numbers so that it can adapt the care provided to each individual’s needs. It expects to reach full capacity in Spring 2020. The Charity also has Homes in Solihull and Surbiton.
For further information please contact:
Goolistan Cooper, Communications Officer, goolistan.cooper@starandgarter.org / 0208 481 7669 / 07391 868796
Cally Madden, Marketing & Communications Manager, cally.madden@starandgarter.org, 020 8481 7692 / 07881 017299
About The Royal Star & Garter Homes:
The Charity provides award-winning care for military veterans and their partners who live with disability or dementia.
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a charity founded in 1916 to care for the severely injured men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War.
Today our friendly, state-of-the-art Homes offer a pioneering approach to nursing, dementia and therapeutic care. We have award-winning Homes in Solihull, West Midlands and Surbiton, Surrey. Our third Home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, opened in April 2019.
We continue to expand our services to reach even more veterans. In 2018, we were able to support 186 residents in our Homes and 36 guests at our Day Care service. We also offer interim care for young disabled Service personnel. We provided 11,700 individual sessions of physiotherapy and speech & language therapy last year to support our residents’ health, and over 5,600 places to residents for activities, outings and events, to promote well-being.
We are proud to have enjoyed Royal patronage since our foundation, including that of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II from 1953 to the present day.
Twitter: @starandgarter
Facebook: facebook.com/starandgarter
Website: www.starandgarter.org
The Royal Star & Garter Homes is a member of the National Care Forum – the leading voice for not-for-profit care providers. A national perspective may be available from info@nationalcareforum.org.uk or by contacting 02476243619. More details on NCF available at www.nationalcareforum.org.uk.
