East Antrim nursing home holds 30th anniversary celebration

Opened in 1990 by Lynda and Tom McCourt, the family-run home provides an integrated service to people with a learning disability in the heart of the Co Antrim town with easy access to local resources.

Sadly, Tom died two years ago, and his wife, Lynda has retired, but their daughters Jacqui McCourt and Lynne Chambers continue with the legacy of providing a homely environment for residents, who range in age from 23 to 86 years.

Jacqui said: “The vision was to offer opportunities for a full community living experience and to enrich the lives of our residents. We feel we have been successful in ensuring the living environment is both creative and dynamic for our residents and we continue to provide a high quality and person-centred approach to people with a learning disability who reside at Castleview.

“Our residents enjoy varied activities each day, including daily lunch outings, trips to the cinema, 10-pin bowling, in-house activities such as art and crafts, bingo, movie nights, themed discos - the list goes on.

“Lockdown has had such an impact on our residents. Before the pandemic they would have had very active social lives out in Carrick all the time for lunch and coffee, and the lockdown: no more outings, no going home, no visits from families. Our residents have coped so well.

“The staff have been amazing, introducing varied activities every day and evening. We started a tuck shop which residents visit a few times a week, a mobile bar a few times a week. We invested in a big screen and projector and have movie days/nights at least once a week. We also have a karaoke machine, and disco balls that come out for our weekly discos.

“Our residents FaceTime their families when possible. Staff also produce a regular newsletter that goes out to families to keep them updated, and of course families stay in touch thorough our Facebook page. Overall, staff and residents have coped so amazingly well during these unprecedented times.”

Over three decades, Castleview has grown from being a 12-bedded unit to now accommodating 36 people - some of whom moved to the home in 1990.

“We are also very proud to have some staff who are still working with us after 30 years.”

Castleview was due to have a big party in the Loughshore Hotel, Carrickfergus, but due to Covid this had to be cancelled. An alternative celebration, partially sponsored by Mid and East Antrim Age Well Partnership, was held with awards for residents and prizes for staff to thank them for all their hard work.

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