Nadia’s* story: “They made everything so easy”

Nadia’s mother, who turns 90 in October, lives with Nadia and her husband near Howick. While her mum can usually look after herself during the day, she had recently had a hip replacement and required more care. Nadia wanted to attend her daughter’s upcoming wedding overseas, so she was looking for respite care during this time.

“While I was familiar with many of the local retirement villages and care homes through my work, the Community Nurses Respite Care Helpline suggested that HBH Gulf Views might be able to assist,” she explains. “I reached out and spoke with both Marc (the manager) and Anne, who were both so kind and helpful and very accommodating in meeting my needs.”

Nadia says the Gulf Views team understood how important it was for her peace of mind to have her mother’s care arranged well beforehand. “HBH is one of the few or only providers I know who offer advanced bookings. I had contacted some other aged care providers, but none of them were able to confirm the dates, which wasn’t going to work for me!”

It also helped that HBH Gulf Views was very handy to Nadia’s work, which meant she could pop over and view the facilities. “Because of Mum’s recent hip replacement, it was important that everything was on the same level, including her room and the dining room. Again, Anne and Marc were very understanding about my requests and prompt in getting back to me. They made everything so easy – it couldn’t have gone better.”

Nadia says that the best part of the whole process was that her mother’s stay was “wonderful” and she was very happy there.

She is planning another trip to visit her daughter next year and intends to book respite care at Gulf Views again. “Now that I know mum is so well cared for at Gulf Views, I can plan other trips and keep visiting my daughter regularly,” she says.

“The advanced booking is invaluable as I can co-ordinate my visits with my daughter and Gulf Views. It has provided me with peace of mind – especially knowing that my mother loves it there.”