Finding Home and Community at Great Alne Park Retirement Village

Meet Pat (88), who has called Great Alne Park home for two years. As her husband Arnold’s (89) health has changed, Pat cares for him alongside the wonderful team from Alcester Home Care Agency. Living here gives Pat the support she needs, not just for Arnold, but for her own well-being too, while maintaining their independence. And for their family, there’s comfort in knowing they’re in the right place.

We’ve been together since we were 14 and 15 years-old and we’ve been married 66 years. We came here two years ago, and it’s been the best two years that I could have had under the circumstances.

You ask what does a village do? How does it help? Well, I think probably one of the most important things is I feel secure. I feel safe. I don’t have to worry about vandals. I don’t have to worry about people knocking on the door that are uninvited. And, that to me has given me a lot of peace of mind.

Arnold’s health has deteriorated significantly, and at times I found myself floundering with what to do and how to cope. But we’ve been able to take advantage of all the facilities that are offered on-site, and we do things together. We do exercise and go to meetings together. We have lunches together with other people, which is absolutely vital to mix with people, which is what I’ve missed, so we’re made up by being part of this village.

There’s a lot of things going on at Great Alne Park and you can take your pick. I found that the friendship groups and the meals we have together great. Christmas was significant in that we were able to enjoy a lot of entertainment and come together with other people in the village. We love to go to the singing group and also take part in the worship group meetings. It’s filled a lot of the gaps that were in our life before we moved here.

We came a long way. We initially came from Bristol, where we had lived all our lives. It was difficult leaving our friends behind, but we’ve made some wonderful friends here. We’re surrounded by people that love, care and encourage us. As far as health is concerned, we found that the caring people in the village have been wonderful. I’ve had to have carers in, which has helped me significantly with looking after Arnold and making sure that he’s properly looked after, which has given me great peace of mind.