Leighton House is situated in spacious grounds with stunning views of the Waimata River and the two spectacularly-lit bridges which span it. Our beautiful gardens have sunny spots to sit and abundant bird life. Extensive decks give residents an opportunity to sit outside and enjoy Gisborne’s sunny weather. The atmosphere is gentle, peaceful and accepting.
We encourage family members to be actively involved in their loved one’s care, and to share their in-depth and intimate knowledge of them with us.
Our team cares for and connects with each person as we would a very best friend. This means that people feel loved and important.
One of the most important things we can do when we are caring for someone is to develop empathy, which is trying to understand what the other person is experiencing: learning to ‘walk in their shoes’. Throughout our lives we have experienced this with our best friends. We support each other, have fun together, offer care and compassion, forgive each others’ mistakes and want the best for each other.
We provide a training course for our staff called ‘The Best Friends Approach to Care’. This explores their experiences of having a best friend and how they can bring these familiar, positive and loving ways of engaging with another person into the workplace, treating each person they are caring for as if they were a best friend. It’s a simple yet effective technique. If we can treat everyone as if they are a best friend, then everyone will experience positive interactions, filled with love and compassion.
We:
- accept you as you are
- really listen to you
- love to hear you laugh
- forgive your mistakes
- have fun together.
