BISCUITS and cake were the order of the day as care staff in Weymouth and Dorchester helped launch a new care campaign.

Care South runs several residential care homes in the area including Maiden Castle House near Dorchester and Buxton House in Weymouth and has just launched a new set of values.

The HEART values – Honesty, Excellence, Approach, Respect and Teamwork – came from staff, who participated in workshops across the area to identify the values which the company promotes in its delivery of care.

HEART is designed to inspire all the company’s staff to go the extra mile in providing the best possible care to residents, service users and to colleagues. To mark the launch of HEART, care staff threw coffee mornings for residents and their families to find out more about the campaign. In Maiden Castle House they celebrated with coffee and cake, and, following the launch, some of the residents’ relatives have formed a Meet and Greet group, which will aim to support the home manager in helping new residents to settle in and to assist the relatives of new residents. Meanwhile at Buxton House in Weymouth, residents helped the home’s chefs to bake heart-shaped biscuits for a celebratory coffee morning.

Staff welcomed relatives into the home, which was decorated especially for the launch, and wore red to mark the day.

Residents and their relatives discussed with staff what they felt each of the HEART values meant and recorded their thoughts on red paper hearts. Michael Peden, director of HR and training at Care South, said: “We’re very excited to be launching our HEART values across our residential homes and home care, and very proud that these have come from the staff themselves.

“This shows that these values aren’t new to us – they are what our staff have always stood for.

“Formalising these values is a clear message to everyone of our commitment to providing the highest standard of care for our residents and service users.”