Staff and residents at a care home in Offerton showed remarkable spirit on New Year's day as they dealt with problems caused by flooding.

Residents at Bruce Lodge - run by borough care - woke up on New Year's Day to no electricity, gas and water.

However, staff quickly banded together to ensure all residents continued to receive excellent levels of care.

Early in the morning, while residents were waking up, staff were already putting contingency plans in place. This included gaining help and support from nearby Borough Care homes; Bamford Close, Reinbek, Shepley House, Wellcroft and Cawood House, who all sent additional staff and resources to support the team at Bruce Lodge. 

The loss of power created a number of serious challenges for the home, but staff rallied round and worked together with the residents' wellbeing remaining the priority.

With no idea of when they would have electricity, gas and water again, staff ensured residents were kept warm, and spirits were kept high, with reserves of hot water being brought in for the all important cups of tea!

Bruce Lodge staff were in contact with teams at Electricity North West, who, whilst working to resolve the outage, were also communicating that they were having to wait for floodwater to recede before they could access mains.

Residents of Bruce Lodge enjoying New Year's celebrations, once electricity was restored (Image - Borough Care)

Later in the afternoon, with still no access to the main source, Electricity North West provided a generator for Bruce Lodge, allowing staff to get the home up and running again and for our residents to celebrate the rest of New Year's Day in their familiar surroundings.

This incident, whilst not how Bruce Lodge had expected to start 2025, showcased the dedication and teamwork of our staff at Borough Care and highlighted the strength of our community in a crisis.

Dr Mark Ward, CEO wished to thank those who supported on the day: "We're incredibly grateful, and so impressed, by the work of the team at Bruce Lodge, brilliantly supported by wonderful colleagues from across our Stockport homes and our Ops. team too!

"The amount of work delivered; the risks managed; and the regular updates as conditions changed throughout the day were an outstanding example of how we can manage a crisis through amazing teamwork. Thank you so much and congratulations to the whole brilliant Borough care team."

"Dawn Berry, Director of Operations, works closely with the teams and added; "I was so proud of how our teams from across our Stockport homes came together to support Bruce Lodge on New Year's Day.

"Whether it was to send additional team members, make hot drinks, or supply additional warm blankets, the whole of Borough Care really showed amazing compassion. What could have been a very difficult day will be remembered for its camaraderie, team work, fun and laughter, with people coming together to keep the residents safe, happy and warm."

Borough Care would like to thank all staff who assisted on the day.

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