What to expect

Fiona Lunnon knew exactly what to expect when she started work as a Nurse at Foxhunters because 12 months previously her dad had been a resident here.

As a regular visitor, she saw first-hand the quality of care provided at Foxhunters.

“I liked the staff and how attentive they were,” Fiona says.

“Dad had such a great experience here and felt cared for and looked after.”

Fiona got into nursing later in life, although care is in her blood having previously worked as a Nursery Nurse.

She graduated as a Mental Health Nurse in 2018 but after a distressing experience which knocked her confidence, she chose to start nursing at Foxhunters, inspired by her own personal experience of the home and says she “loves it”.

“I left it a year before coming to Foxhunters because I felt I needed to leave a gap between my dad passing away and starting work here,” she explains.

A regular day in Fiona’s nursing life at Foxhunters starts with a handover from the night shift in the morning, followed by a medication round, wound care, liaising with GPs, speaking to families, further medication rounds and at the end of the day she writes up her notes ready for the handover back to the night shift.

She adds: “I find my training as a Mental Health Nurse still comes in useful as our ladies and gentlemen don’t just come into Foxhunters with physical needs, often many have mental needs too.

“It’s a big adjustment leaving your own home to come to a nursing home, and even accepting you are getting older when you have been very independent all your life can impact your mental health.

“The nursing, care and management team are very supportive of each other and that only benefits the residents, so it’s a great place to work.

“People really care here; that’s important.”

Mum-of-four Fiona enjoys spending time in her garden when she is not at work, tending to her flowers, vegetable patch and the newts and frogs in her pond.

“It’s my happy place where I am quite happy watching the word go by,” she says.