A resident at Craven Nursing Home has revisited a landmark deeply tied to his personal history, marking the latest milestone in an initiative to evolve the home’s established care model into a more ‘Person-Led’ approach.

One of the home’s residents was joined by his wife, Jennifer, for a nostalgic visit to the Cow and Calf Rocks in Ilkley. The location served as the couple’s primary ‘date spot’ in the years leading up to their marriage in 1965.

Despite typically preferring to opt out of standard group activities, the resident expressed a firm desire to return to the rocks to reminisce about the early days of their relationship. This visit demonstrated the power of tailored, individual engagement in supporting emotional wellbeing.

The outing was coordinated by Activity Coordinator Katie, who ensured the trip was accessible despite the resident’s limited mobility. Jennifer noted that the Cow and Calf remained their favourite location for quality time throughout their marriage, and the trip allowed the couple to reclaim a vital piece of their shared history.

This visit comes as Spellman Care builds upon its long-standing foundation of Person-Centred Care to embrace a ‘Person-Led’ philosophy. While the group has always put the resident at the heart of every decision, this new direction responds to national feedback by further empowering individuals to be the primary decision-makers in their own lives.

Rather than simply being the focus of a care plan, residents are now supported to actively lead the conversation regarding how they spend their time. This shift is about empowering individuals to make their own decisions and providing the professional support to see those wishes through.

Philippa Young, Group Operations Manager at Spellman Care, is leading this strategic move across the group. She explained: “While we have always been proud of our person-centred approach, we are now moving towards a truly person-led model. This initiative is about building on the feedback received from residents on a national level; it’s about not only putting residents at the centre of everything we do, but truly listening to how they want to spend their day and supporting them to achieve that.”

Mrs Young added: “It’s about empowering individuals to make their own decisions, ensuring they are active participants in their care rather than just the subject of it.”

The trip to Ilkley follows several other significant person-led journeys facilitated by the Craven Nursing Home team. Last year, staff members accompanied a resident and his family to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway to honour his late brother, a fellow cherished resident of the home. The steam train drivers placed the brother’s ashes in the train’s fire pit, fulfilling a shared lifelong passion for steam travel.

Furthermore, the home recently supported a resident with mobility challenges to travel to Pontefract for a long-overdue lunch with his housebound mother. This was their first meeting in several years, allowing them to reconnect over memories of his former career as an aspiring chef—a meeting that would have been impossible without dedicated, individualised support.

Reflecting on the success of these outings, Katie said: “It’s important to us here at Craven Nursing Home to facilitate trips for residents that not only get them out into the community, but are also deeply meaningful to them and support them in remembering years gone by.”

“We do one-to-one trips for the resident or even their relatives to bring a bit of normality from a time before they came into a nursing home,” Katie concluded. This commitment to Person-Led Care ensures that residents remain connected to the stories and places that define them, fostering a culture of independence and respect.