‘Fantastic’ care home in Johnstone reflects on 20 years of service

Ranfurly Care Home marked the special occasion on Saturday with a country, western fancy dress-themed party and barbecue. 

The event put on by staff, treated residents and their families to a day of fun with races, prizes, live music and a “big barbecue”.  

(Image: Supplied)

Speaking before the event Jackie Russell, head cook, said: “We’ll have the whole home out the back. We’re having hot dogs, burgers corn on the cob, chilli beans, potato salad, salad, ice creams you name it.”

The fun-filled day was also a significant milestone for some of the senior staff who have worked in the home for many years. 

Senior carer Karen Masson has worked in Ranfurly for 19 years. Reflecting on her time, she said: “We’re like a wee soap opera, a wee EastEnders.

“It can be a bit frustrating when things don’t go your way, but you all just muck in, and you get there. Everybody has a moan and a groan, it’s long days, we’re here twelve hours.”

However, Karen’s favourite part of the job is the “good banter” she gets with residents and colleagues.

“It’s a good laugh, it’s a nice feeling when you can walk out the door and all you’ve done is laugh all day,” she said. 

This was echoed by head cook Jackie who has worked in the home for 20 years.

"We have laughs, we have tears, but we work as a team,” she said.  

“Some of the banter that comes out the residents' mouths just make it worthwhile, the best part is seeing them smile.” 

Jackie Russell (left) and Karen Masson (right) (Image: Newsquest)

The importance of the work done by staff in the home was made clear by Jackie Armor, whose 93-year-old father is a resident in the home.

She said: “As a family member, I can’t say enough. I can come in here and I can sit and have a blether and it’s given me my dad back because I get the fun bits again. They give families far more than they realise.

“The residents get to live their lives, they get to do what they want because if they were at home they wouldn’t be able to do that. It’s not like you come in and it’s institutionalised, it’s very informal.”

“My dad is always saying he gets really well looked after and he does. He's really content and he feels safe. I leave here feeling secure in the knowledge that he is getting well looked after,” she added.

(Image: Supplied)

The busy home currently cares for 61 people and has around 30 staff working per day. 

Karen admits that there “has been good times and bad times” noting that working during the pandemic “wasn’t very nice, there was a lot of pressure and demands, and the residents didn’t have any visitors, so we were sort of their family".

However, one of her highlights was getting snowed in, with staff having to stay over due to the weather. 

She said: “We had to all work between caring, kitchen and everything. It was the Saturday into the Sunday.

“I was supposed to be off, but I came in from Glasgow, I left at eight in the morning and got here at 11.30am to help out.”

Karen also outlined why the care home is such a vital service for so many.

She said: “Some people’s family members aren’t in a position where they can look after someone 24 hours and let’s face it, it’s not an easy job. 

“There’s a lot of pressure on families just to live their life plus they’re trying to look after their mother or their father, they feel a lot of guilt which is a shame for them."

Jackie, whose father has been in the care home for just over a year is an example of how thankful families are for the care their relatives receive.

“I can’t stress enough the staff make the place, Karen deserves a knighthood, it’s a fantastic place," she said.