Thornton care home owner urges everyone to 'stay positive' during crisis

Suzanne Clague, owner of 15-bed care home The Conifers on Victoria Road East, Thornton, wants to spread positivity throughout the home to ensure residents feel safe, and her staff are upbeat during their shifts.

Suzanne, a former intensive treatment unit nurse with 33 years of experience, and her team make videos on the social media platform TikTok to keep spirits high, and add an element of fun after long shifts for the hard working staff wearing full PPE.

Now she wants to encourage the public to join in with her joyful attitude, to get through the current pandemic with a smile together.

She said: "It's so important to spread positivity, especially for elderly people, and being a carer is the best job in the world. The average age of our residents is 92.

"I send daily positive messages and quotes to all my staff, we've made videos, set up activities for the residents and had photo shoots to keep everyone in a positive frame of mind.

"I call it 'it's a lockout' and it's really just some to bring some much needed happiness to our staff and residents. The elderly need us all, and we need to stay positive for them."

Suzanne has created a board of motivational quotes and happy photos in the home, along with daily activities and challenges for both carers and residents.

"We make sure everyone can speak to their loved ones by setting up Whatsapp groups for relatives, we update them daily and let their families know how they are," she continued.

"I couldn't be prouder, I have such a consistent team and I can sleep at night knowing we've had absolutely no cases of the virus, not so much as a sniffle. Their safety and happiness is the priority and all we can do is keep going and get through it together."