Springhill Care Home in Kilmarnock reopens during the first stage of £200,000 investment.

Silverline Care Group has marked the official reopening of its Springhill Care Home in Kilmarnock following an extensive refurbishment, with the help of East Ayrshire’s Provost, Councillor Jim Todd, who performed a ribbon-cutting ceremony this week.

The Provost was joined by Eileen Welch, Springhill’s Home Manager, and several of the home’s 60 residents who enjoyed the celebrations.

Springhill Care Home is a Georgian B listed building which was built as a family home (Springhill House) in 1830 by Archibald Finnie, one of the main employers in Kilmarnock during one of Ayrshire’s golden ages of commerce.

The reopening marks the first stage of a £200,000 investment in the building by new owners Silverline Care Group, who took over the management of the care home in July 2017. The refurbishment, which was carried out by contractors akp, included mechanical and electrical upgrades, structural repairs, re-roofing works, stone repairs and alterations, installation of beautiful new sash windows throughout and a full redecoration.

Councillor Jim Todd, Provost of East Ayrshire, said; “What a wonderful way to celebrate a person’s life by keeping that person active through constant care. Silverline Care have invested in a much-loved Springhill House to provide constructive lifestyle for all residents at the home and all of the staff provide a first-class care package.”

Tim Bolot, Silverline Care Group’s Chief Executive, said; “Silverline Care aims to become the leading care provider in each of the local communities we serve. So we are very proud to have been able to restore Springhill Care Home, a building which we know means a great deal to the people of Kilmarnock.

We had a wonderful afternoon to mark the official unveiling of the home and it was great to welcome the Provost and allow him to see the refurbishment works both internally and externally. I know the residents enjoyed meeting the Provost and it was a pleasure to show him around this stunning building.

This is just the first stage in our refurbishment journey at Springhill as we will be carrying out substantial work over the next two years as part of a £200,000 overall investment. We hope that the addition of the cook school, residents’ salon and beautiful gardens will not only enhance the enjoyments of our residents but also provide greater peace of mind for their relatives.”

Eileen Welch, Springhill’s Home Manager, said; “It’s a special time for everyone at Springhill Care Home and I would like to extend my thanks to all those who helped drive the improvements here and for the patience and participation from all residents and their relatives during the refurbishment.

My utmost appreciation must go to my staff for their tremendous determination, commitment and willingness to embrace change with the passion for continual improvement, I feel privileged to lead such a compassionate, motivated team and look forward to continuing the journey towards achieving excellence.”

Ian McEwan, akp Joint Managing Director said; “Working on a listed building, such as Springhill, always provides an extra element of project satisfaction and we have thoroughly enjoyed delivering this refurbishment. Being involved in giving a building a new lease of life is always rewarding, but there was an additional sense of satisfaction with this job as we became invested in the lives of the residents during the works, talking with them on a daily basis, so when handing over the extensive refurbishment of the building, we knew how much it would benefit those residents moving forward.”

Alongside the refurbishment, akp offered community benefits to the Springhill residents, such as an organised Therapets visit for them to enjoy the company of a dog for the morning, using recycled wood to build a planter in the residents garden, up-cycling construction waste to help furnish the new Cook School and Hair Salon and hosting a Q & A to allow the residents to talk to the akp site team.

The Springhill team is also celebrating the news that the Care Home has been upgraded to Grade 4 (Good) rating across all areas in a recent inspection by the Care Inspectorate. These areas incorporate Quality of Care, Quality of Staff, Environment and Management and Leadership.

https://www.akpscotland.com/project/springhill-care-home