Fernbank Archives - South Coast Nursing Homes

Fernbank Residential Home Celebrates Continued “Good” CQC Rating

Mathew Dyke — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:12:59 +0000

South Coast Nursing Homes is delighted to announce that Fernbank Residential Care Home has once again been rated “Good” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following a comprehensive assessment in late March and early April 2026.

The inspection, which focused on ensuring our high standards of care remain consistent, highlighted the dedication of our team and the vibrant, supportive atmosphere that our residents call home.

“Throughout our visit we observed care that was respectful, caring, and supportive.”

CQC, April 2026

A culture of safety and compassion

The CQC report praised our robust approach to safety and person-centred care. Inspectors noted that our staff are not only well-trained in safeguarding and medicine management but are also deeply committed to the dignity of every individual.

Key highlights from the report include:

Fernbank is led by a committed registered manager who is well supported by the provider’s management team. They have created a culture of openness; residents, their relatives, and staff are frequently given opportunities to share ideas.
Residents are supported to maintain their autonomy, whether through self-administering medicines or enjoying the freedom to visit places of their choice.
Dining experiences were highly rated; residents provided consistently positive feedback regarding the choice and quality of the food.
The report highlighted recent refurbishments, with one relative describing the dining room as “lovely” and the premises as “well-maintained” and “nifty.”

Living life to the full

Our activity programme remains a cornerstone of life at Fernbank. The CQC observed residents enjoying a variety of sessions, including carpet boules, live music entertainment, and Scrabble.

One resident shared their experience with inspectors, saying:

“Staff are very friendly. There is a very nice atmosphere. They arrive at work with a smile. The morale is good. Really polite and really friendly.”

South Coast Nursing Homes offer nine homes and 411 beds across East Sussex and West Sussex. Each of our homes is fully registered and inspected by the CQC and offers the highest standards of resident care and comfort. This latest success at Fernbank is a reflection of the high standards maintained across our entire group.

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Shine Night Walk for Cancer Research UK – Update

Cleo Beasley — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 09:38:01 +0000

Team from homes across the South Coast Nursing Homes group complete walking Half Marathon in aid of Cancer Research UK

Our intrepid team made up of eight colleagues from four of our homes; Fernbank, Pentlands, Rookwood and White Lodge successfully completed the 13 mile Shine Night Walk course, in aid of Cancer Research UK.

On Saturday 20th September the team travelled to London, not only to face a grueling walk but also the difficulties of train strikes but still went out and completed the challenge in style. Not only did they smash the distance at a canter they also raised a massive £2200 for a fantastic cause for their grit and determination whilst putting in the hard yards.

In fact, although it was originally meant to be a 13 mile walk through the streets of London at night, the train strikes and then difficulty getting out of Battersea Park meant they eventually racked up 23 miles! The walk started at 21:20 and they finished at 02:30 on Sunday morning. Some of the team didn’t get back home until 06:30. I’m sure you’ll agree that they have achieved something very special and their efforts have raised valuable funds. We only hope they got to put their feet up when they did eventually make it back.

Over a century of life-changing research

Cancer Research UK was formed more than 20 years ago, in 2002. However, their history goes back much further, to 1902, with the founding of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. Thanks to supporters like those who sponsored our SCNH team, their pioneering work into how to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer has benefitted millions of lives over the past 120 years.

The team are very proud to have raised so much for the cause and Emma Goldsmith, one of our Regional Operation Managers, said the team are already looking for volunteers to join them in 2026. See you at the start line!

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SCNH Team to walk Shine Night Half Marathon

Cleo Beasley — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 12:12:25 +0000

Teams at South Coast Nursing Homes have come together to walk Half Marathon in aid of Cancer Research UK

Staff from Fernbank, Pentlands, Rookwood and White Lodge alongside their Regional Operations Manager and Executive Housekeeper are embarking on their first night-time half marathon

All the team members have been juggling work and training as they prepare to take part in this epic challenge for a very worthy cause!

On Saturday 20^th September the team will travel up to London to complete in the Shine Night Walk.

The Shine Night Walk aims to raise money for Cancer Research UK. The team are busy training to walk the 13.1 miles across our Capital City over the summer.

The idea came about when thinking of ways to create some inter-home fun and to support a cause that had touched them all both personally and professionally.

If you are able to give anything at all for this important cause and support them, they’d be very grateful.

You can find the links to the team donation pages below or alternatively scan the QR code to take you there.

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/team/emmas-teamscnh/join

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/team/fernbank-team

The teams challenge will begin and end at Battersea Park taking in Westminster and Waterloo en route. As the name suggests the walk takes place at night and the team will light up West London’s streets and support life-saving research. The half marathon route will see the team walking for between 5 and 7 hours, so it’s a massive challenge.

Please join us in wishing Donna, Chloe, Elaine, Julie, Debbie, Zoe, Emma P, Emma G and Marie the best of luck for the walk and in raising money for the important research that it will help to fund.

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Christmas 2025 at Berkeley Lodge, Fernbank and Pentlands

Alex Scott — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 14:23:22 +0000

Christmas is a special time in all of our homes and 3 shining examples of that this year are Berkeley Lodge, Fernbank and Pentlands.

Berkeley Lodge

The festive spirit was clear for all to see at Berkely Lodge, our specialist Dementia Nursing Home in Worthing.

The team celebrated the season with a Christmas jumper day and made sure there was a bumper crop of Christmas related activities to keep our wonderful residents entertained.

A wonderful grotto was created in one of the lounges just in time for Father Christmas to pay a visit with a special gift for everyone.

The Christmas Party was also a huge success with live music once again provided by our resident Berkeley Band. The music didn’t end there as Abby Fell came in to sing Christmas carols.

As ever, our amazing catering team, did a magnificent job with a festive buffet.

Fernbank

Staff at our residential care home in Worthing, Fernbank were not to be outdone in the Christmas sartorial stakes as they too took part in their own Christmas jumper day. A more festive collection of pullovers you will not find I’m sure you’ll agree.

Residents also got take in a Christmas Pantomime, an annual event they all look forward to. This year it was Robin Hood and the reviews were glowing…Oh yes they were!

Pentlands

The team at our other Nursing Home in Worthing, Pentlands also pulled out all the stops for Christmas this year.

A brilliant Christmas fair kicked things off and the residents were kept busy making mince pies. The brilliant children from St John’s preschool visited the home for some carol singing. Some residents also took a trip to a local garden centre, which has become an annual tradition.

The very talented families of our residents also came in and provided entertainment in the shape of carol singing, Christmas songs and even some saxophone and flute playing.

The Carousel Theatre Company also visited to perform a pantomime based on Red Riding Hood.

It certainly was a busy time with some wonderful memories made.

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Oh I do like to be beside the Seaside

Cleo Beasley — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 14:37:21 +0000

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside – A trip to the pier and Olympic fever

It’s been a busy time over at our residential home in Worthing, Fernbank. The activities team there are keeping our residents on their toes with a trip to Worthing Pier. After a jaunt along the promenade, residents could cool off with an ice cream. The weather was perfect for an afternoon by the sea and everyone had a fantastic day.

There was also a healthy competition recently, as the team from Fernbank were hosted by residents and staff from White Lodge in Littlehampton for a mini Olympics. It all took place with a healthy sporting respect, the main goal was to bring friends from our other homes together and enjoy some exercise. Well done to everyone who took part and special congratulations to Fernbank who were reported to have one the gold by 100th of a second!

Animal magic and a sing along

Over at our residential home in East Sussex, Blatchington Manor, they’ve also been keeping busy. A visit from singer Kate Quick, had everyone who attended joining in.

Her performance was simply wonderful, and she showed genuine care for our residents. Kate had everyone singing and dancing, and even shared a touching duet with one of our residents, Hazel. It was an emotional moment for everyone present.

We eagerly look forward to her return.

And the magic was also brought to the lounge but this time of the animal variety.

The residents were thrilled by a visit from Pet Pals, who brought along two adorable 4-month-old pigs and some charming guinea pigs. Everyone enjoyed some lovely, calming moments with the animals. There were only a few squeals of excitement. We did remind the residents that they wouldn’t be able to keep the pets permanently.

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Fun and Games…and Good Causes at our Residential Homes

Cleo Beasley — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:00:14 +0000

Residential Home Activities – Rookwood and Fernbank

It’s been a busy time in all of our homes but particular mention must go to two of our homes; Rookwood Residential Care Home in Burgess Hill and Fernbank Residential Home in Worthing

Rookwood Residential Care Home, Burgess Hill

Charity

For the Red Nose Day appeal this year staff and residents at our residential home in Burgess Hill, Rookwood, pulled out all the stops. On the day they all wore red in exchange for a donation but most impressive of all was that our lovely residents raised money by doing laps of the garden ovwer two weeks. In all they did 100 laps which is a fantastic achievement – talk about getting your steps in! Not only was it a great way to for our residents to stay active – it was also a great way to raise money – £95 in total to go to a great cause.

The fundraising didn’t stop there, as staff and residents collected food for the Burgess Hill Pantry a local community group run by volunteers who do amazing work supporting families in Mid Sussex.

A massive well done and thank you to the residents and staff at Rookwood – great work!

Fernbank Residential Care Home

Residential Home Activities continued at Fernbank Residential Home in Worthing.

Quizzical

It was a case of teamwork makes the dream work for staff and residents at two of our homes recently. Residents from two of our homes, Fernbank Residential Home and The Poets Nursing Home in Worthing, came together for a battle of the minds in a quiz. Staff were tight lipped as to who came out on top only saying that “the teams were evenly matched”. Whatever the result, everyone had a great time and it’s always good to exercise the brain as well as the body. Well done all.

Ten Pin Bowling

Not content with a workout for the brain some of our residents got the ball rolling with a trip to the bowling alley in Worthing recently. You could here a pin drop as everyone took the game very seriously and all were in the frame to win right to the end. As you can see from the photos everyone had a ball and it’s just one example of the many activities and events which are organised by our brilliant activities’ teams in all our homes here at South Coast Nursing Homes.

Special shout out to the catering team at Fernbank too who rewarded all this hard work with some delicious home-made cheese scones. Delicious!

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Fernbank – Poppy patio opening

Cleo Beasley — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 06:57:28 +0000

Fernbank Residential Care Home – Poppy Patio Opening

Fernbank Residential Care home in Gratwicke Road, in the heart of Worthing, continues to nurture a special sense of community and care for its residents. Fernbank recently unveiled a delightful addition to its facilities – the “Poppy” Patio. This charming outdoor space should quickly become a source of joy and rejuvenation for both residents and staff, offering a serene oasis for relaxation and connection.

The idea for the “Poppy” Patio began as a simple vision to transform a previously underutilised area into a vibrant outdoor haven for the residents. Comfortable seating arrangements are thoughtfully arranged, providing the perfect spots for residents to relax and converse with fellow residents and visitors.

One of the most pleasing aspects of the “Poppy” Patio is the connection it fosters with nature. It’s a place where residents can bask in the warmth of the sun, listen to the soothing sounds of birds, and enjoy the fragrance of the flowers. This immersion in nature has proven to have numerous therapeutic benefits, including reduced stress and improved overall well-being.

Residents at Fernbank Residential Care Home can take up gardening, nurturing the potted plants that are dotted around the patio. This hands-on involvement with nature will not only brighten the patio but also allow residents to feel a sense of accomplishment and connection to the space.

We hope the “Poppy” Patio will quickly become a hub for social interaction at Fernbank. Residents can gather here to chat, enjoy tea, and share stories.

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