CHARITY
Care homes receive a bad press, not because of what they are or what they offer, but for the simple reason that in an ideal world you will never have to use one.
not graduate, she received her degree in Dublin, before embarking on a career that saw her open the Marylebone Cookhouse to provide for London’s poor. By the time she was 76, she had moved to Cheltenham and noticing a need to provide for an expanding elderly population after the Second World War, she famously declared “something must be done.” The charity was duly formed and in one way or another Lilian Faithfull has been caring for Gloucestershire’s elderly population since. Still a charity to this day, it takes pride in the founding principles of improving the lives of others through care and dedication. Each year, around 70 of their 250 residents, who could otherwise not afford care, are financially supported by the charity at a cost of £18,500 per resident or £1.3million in total. That support includes a ‘home for life’ pledge that ensures a resident will never be asked to leave a Lilian Faithfull home for financial reasons. And the commitment to providing care correspondent to the needs of each person, regardless of whether it’s the best for the bottom line doesn’t end there. Each person who encounters Lilian Faithfull receives the care they need delivered by an expert team of staff who have the best possible training and experience in the sector.
However, a Gloucestershire based charity wants to dispel the myth that care homes are dingy and miserable places and throw light on the fantastic work they do for their many residents. Lilian Faithfull Care operate five centres in the county caring for an ever-growing number of people and employing a rapidly-expanding workforce. They operate day centres that provide support and care for carers at home, right through to residential elderly care for those living with dementia. And according to chief executive Martin Hughes, they take pride in dispelling the misconceptions and myths that people have about the words: ‘care’ and ‘home.’ “Lilian Faithfull Care is here to support and enhance what is simply the next chapter in people’s lives,” he said. “We should never forget that our older generation formed and shaped our modern way of living. “It’s our duty to care for them because they have already given so much to society in their lives. “We are now one of the largest providers of social care in Gloucestershire and it’s our aim to continue to build on that, through offering an unparalleled level of care. “We welcome people to visit our day hubs and care homes, just so they can see with their own eyes what we do and dispel the myths that people may have about our care homes.” The charity was created in 1946 by the formidable Lilian Faithfull – Cheltenham’s first female magistrate and first woman to own and drive a car in the town. Oxford educated at a time when women could Martin Hughes
118 | September 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com
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