A day care centre providing support for the elderly has been saved from closing down by a Suffolk care company.
1 Oak Care have expanded their small Acton based centre to the larger premises of The Chilton Club in Sudbury, which announced its closure in August, to offer advice and care to the elderly population.
The company, founded by Angel Clark and her husband Terry Clark in 2017 to deliver bespoke high-quality home care, have decided to keep the name of the day centre as The Chilton Club, which will open its doors this month.
The aim of the day centre is to combat social isolation, now more important than ever due to the coronavirus crisis bringing isolation to all homes and the demise of Age UK Suffolk no longer providing valuable services.
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Managing director Mrs Clark, who is also chairwoman of the Sudbury and District Dementia Action Alliance, said: “This was something close to my heart personally as I know it was an integral part of Sudbury and I felt that we needed to keep this service in the area alive.
“The Chilton Club is a major part of Sudbury life for the older generation and those living with dementia. As soon as we heard the news, we knew we had to do something to save this local service.
“We have been working hard with the Age UK Suffolk liquidators and the landlord to ensure the smooth transition.
“The day centre will look much the same, with some additional areas to support families of those who are living with dementia, offering support, training and advice.”
Jilly Vince, who previously worked as the day centre manager for Age UK Suffolk for 16 years, has joined the 1 Oak team to lead The Chilton Club daycentre and said: “I am delighted that the service we provided the Sudbury community with for so many years has been re-energised by the highly respected 1 Oak Care Company.
“I am confident that despite the unprecedented circumstances we are living under we can now again safely support those who most need it.
“I am excited to be working with the dynamic Angel Clark and her experienced team and I look forward to providing a new and invigorated service as we move forward together in an enterprise we truly believe in and is much needed”.
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Mrs Clark said: “By keeping the name of the daycentre as ‘The Chilton Club’ we want to give a nod to the dedication and hard work that Jilly has put into building such a fantastic day centre.
“The daycentre has cared for many people since opening in 2004 and we want to help many more live a full and active life at The Chilton Club.
“We also wanted to showcase the local resources that Sudbury has – we plan to operate the Sudbury and District Dementia Action Alliance from the Chilton Club so that it becomes a centre for all those who live with dementia – whether they have a husband, wife or parent with dementia or if they have got dementia themselves.
“At present we are able to accept 12 people per day although this number will increase in time as COVID restrictions allow us to. Activities include bingo, reminiscence activities, chair yoga, sensory activities, arts and crafts, quiz games, board games, jigsaw puzzles, indoor olympics.
“We also have specialists visiting regularly including hairdressers, nail technicians, make up artists and chiropodists.”
For more information, call: 01787 326555 or email: jilly@1oakcare.com.
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