Residents at Royal Star & Garter in Surbiton have written and recorded a poem to thank staff for the outstanding care they deliver.

They penned How Many Miles with the help of Activities Coordinator Dawn Cherrill, before reading it out to grateful staff at the Upper Brighton Road Home.

The poem was written for #GladtoCare Awareness Week, which runs from 5-9 July.

Royal Star & Garter provides loving compassionate care to veterans and their partners living with disability or dementia.

#GladtoCare Awareness Week is a celebration of care workers, and aims to show appreciation for the extraordinary contributions they make to the lives of the people they care for.

Dawn said: “I asked 18 residents for a word or a sentence about how they felt about the carers. I wrote it down and put it into a poem. This is their poem, these are their words, and they’re reading it out. I wanted them to have their say and the chance to say thank you.”

Resident Phyllis, said: “We know how hard they work for us and we’re grateful we were able to thank them with this poem.”

Home Manager Helena Maher said: “We were really touched that the residents did this for us. We were quite emotional when they read out the poem, we weren’t expecting it. It’s a beautiful gesture and it means the world to our staff.”

The Surbiton Home is welcoming new residents. For more information on this, or working at the Home, go to www.starandgarter.org/our-homes-and-care/surbiton/