At Simblija, we treat you and your loved ones like we would our own families. That’s why we promise the highest standard of care, a beautiful and safe home-like environment, and a fulfilling lifestyle for each resident who forms part of our community. Trust is the foundation of everything we do. Our care team takes the time to get to know our residents personally and provide personalised journeys so that they live with dignity and respect, which is why residents have the bond that they do with our care team. By delivering our services in a reliable and dependable way, we hope to provide peace of mind and reassurance that your loved one is being taken care of in a community that truly cares. Exclusively private care homes, such as Simblja Care Home, provide a holistic solution for when an elderly person requires personalised care that goes beyond what is typically available through a hospital or public health system. By employing a highly specialised team of healthcare professionals, we offer individualised care plans that focus on both physical and non-physical needs of your loved ones, taking into consideration everything from dietary requirements, medication plans, as well as the levels of hands-on help required for everyday activities, such as housekeeping and bathroom assistance. Our caregivers are on hand around the clock, whether it’s for regular medical checks or in case of an emergency, while a team of dedicated security guards provides the highest levels of safety 24/7. Over and above providing physical care, private care homes are also better equipped to see to the residents’ physical and psychosocial needs. With a variety of room types available, there are more options for residents to maintain their space and privacy, which consequently helps them settle into the residence and feel more at home. This is what sets us apart from other care homes; apart from attributing value to providing the best physical and emotional care, we also give our residents a holistic experience unlike any other. Whether it’s a friendly hello, taking the time to get to know our residents on a personal level, or listening to their concerns and worries, we’ve made it our mission to make life at Simblija a welcoming experience, every step of the way. Nothing fills us with a greater sense of joy than seeing our residents steadily making the Simblija community their own.

Everyone deserves some well-earned rest around Christmas. Whilst caring for an elderly family member is an incredibly rewarding experience, it’s also a demanding responsibility to carry on your shoulders, day in, day out. Working as a caregiver for too long without a break can lead to burnout, putting you at risk for physical and mental health issues. That’s why, every now and then, it’s essential to take some time for yourself to look after your own wellbeing and recharge. And with Christmas just around the corner, there’s no better time to set aside a few days to do just this. Naturally, before you can even begin to make any plans, you’ll want to know that your loved one will be well taken care of while you’re away. And that’s where we come in. Our respite care service at Simblija Care Home is there to cover you in this time of need. We offer total peace of mind so that you’re free to enjoy the holidays just as you wish, knowing your loved one is in an excellent pair of hands. Our short-term respite care packages offer plenty of flexibility and are designed to welcome elderly guests into our community, providing them with a comfortable environment that e­­nables them to stick to their usual care routine. Our team is composed of highly qualified care professionals who are experienced in dealing with a vast range of care needs, including chronic illnesses and dementia. We’ll see that all your loved one’s medication and treatment needs are a top priority throughout their stay with us. Over and above the quality care on offer, we provide a truly welcoming community atmosphere at Simblija, one that enables new guests among us to feel immediately at home. What’s more, during the holiday season we are also organising our Christmas Extravaganza in the Village. All our residents can look forward to a fun-filled events programme jam-packed with entertainment and activities that will light up the entire home. It’s set to be a magical experience, with something for everyone, that will delight all our residents throughout the holidays. We also recognise that the spiritual element plays an especially important role around Christmas for many of our residents and guests. That’s why our Chaplain Fr Julian Cassar will be celebrating a series of special animated masses over the holidays, including a Christmas Day mass, at our Water Chapel. It’s a truly beautiful setting for members of our community to gather to celebrate the holiness of the festive season. All in all, your loved ones can look forward to an unforgettable stay at Simblija Care Home filled with friendship, warmth, quality care, great food, and good cheer. We are here to put your mind at ease so that you too can get some well-earned rest. To enquire about Simblija Care Home’s respite packages for this Christmas season kindly contact us at 2235 1000 or via email at [email protected]

When you trust your loved one to a care home, you deserve to have total peace of mind that staff are providing competent care that always ensures your family member’s safety and happiness. At Simblija Care Home, our health and safety protocols go far beyond simply complying with standard regulations. We implement detailed, holistic, and ongoing processes that see our various teams of staff work collaboratively to safeguard residents against all manner of risk and harm throughout the entire home. Under the guidance of the General Manager, our health and safety measures are under constant review to make sure they’re in line with the latest best-practice guidelines, providing each member of staff with official procedures to handle all manner of scenarios efficiently and effectively. Broadly speaking, these measures cover cleanliness and hygiene, security of residents and premises, as well as food safety. Since the outbreak of COVID, hygiene has been at the forefront of everyone’s minds, more so than ever before. At Simblija, we have always taken cleanliness and hygiene extremely seriously as we believe this is key to providing our residents with truly safe and fresh-feeling surroundings that encourage residents to relax and feel at ease. Not only are rooms and public areas around the home cleaned on a daily basis but we also have strict infection control policies and procedures in place to maintain a clean and hygienic environment at all times. While COVID measures have eased, we continue to remain vigilant in order to mitigate any risk of contagion. For this reason, visitors to the home are still requested to provide vaccination certificates upon entry and we continue to monitor temperatures. In all that we do, we strive to take a preventative approach rather than firefighting issues when they arise. Our security protocols are also extensive. Each room is conveniently fitted with emergency call bells so that residents can easily contact a qualified nurse or member of staff at any time day or night. Moreover, our highly trained security team monitors the entire premises 24/7 on foot and via security cameras, ensuring residents are observed without ever feeling as if their privacy is being intruded upon. All members of staff are trained in various security measures, including first aid and fire protection. When things appear out of place or an emergency arises, they are equipped with the resources and protocols they need to assist residents quickly and efficiently. We also recognise the need to implement additional security measures to safeguard those who are most vulnerable in our care. As such, all doors within our dementia ward are card controlled to ensure residents can’t wander off. Window handles have also been removed so that they can only be opened by staff when requested. We also take great care to create public areas that feel warm and inviting. After all, we want our residents to relax and enjoy fulfilling lives with us. We encourage group activities and communal dinners to give residents a feeling of safety and community, empowering them to fully engage with life at Simblija. To prevent the spreading of any kind of virus, we have also installed a specialised air purifier machine within communal areas. When it comes to food, our kitchen team understands the seriousness of hazards that may arise from food handling and preparation. That’s why we require each member of the kitchen team to be trained in food safety laws and to comply with hygiene practices established in HACCP guidelines and supported by Standard Operating Procedures established by the food service industry. Our Head Chef continues to monitor and refine procedures, ensuring each member of the kitchen team is adequately briefed on correct sealing, labelling, and storing methods to completely avoid risk of contamination or poisoning. This means residents can look forward to delicious and healthy meals that are always fresh and nutritious. With these wide-ranging health and safety measures in place, we’re confident in our ability to safeguard our residents and provide them with a happy home that improves their quality of life. For more information on Simblija Care Home, get in touch by contacting us here.

At AX Care, we love to give back to the community in any way we can. As well as offering compassionate and quality care to all our residents and patients at Simblija Care Home, we seek to extend a helping hand to persons in need wherever possible. That’s why when Mr Kenneth Delia, CEO of Hospice Malta, reached out to us for potential collaboration in aid of hospice patients, we were only too happy to offer our support. Through this initiative, which was launched in May 2022, we’re proud to welcome hospice patients to our Revive Physiotherapy & Aquatic Centre on a complimentary basis every week. Assisted by qualified nurses and physiotherapists, hospice patients can avail themselves of our one-of-a-kind hydrotherapy pool, which was purposefully designed to offer accessibility to anyone suffering from impaired mobility and chronic pain. The pool’s warm water makes it ideal for palliative care as it’s known to soothe the body, relax often tense muscles, and alleviate pain. “The entire team at AX Care greatly admires all the crucial work that Hospice Malta does. As our two organisations share common values of providing compassionate care and dignity to vulnerable people, we strongly believe this collaboration is a natural extension of our core mission and we’re proud to be doing something tangible to help. It continues to be a huge privilege to welcome hospice patients to our state-of-the-art hydrotherapy centre where they can benefit from holistic services that have a direct impact on their quality of life,” says Charmaine Montesin, General Manager at AX Care. Launched in 1989, Hospice Malta is a registered NGO that provides and promotes palliative care for persons suffering from end-of-life cancer and motor neuron disease across Malta and Gozo. Should you wish to support Hospice Malta or learn more about its vital services, please visit https://hospicemalta.org/about/ For more information on the publicly available services and facilities at Revive Physiotherapy & Aquatic Centre located at Hilltop Gardens in Naxxar, click here.

Christmas Extravaganza at AX Care Are you ready for the Christmas season? We definitely are! In Malta, we love our Christmas season and soon you’ll be able to see houses with colourful, festive lights popping up all over the country, much earlier than tradition expects! The Hilltop Gardens Christmas Market The festive season’s preparations are in full swing at Hilltop Gardens. Our team is preparing a luxe Christmas Extravaganza in the Village. On Sunday 4th December, we shall be opening our doors to the public to come and experience our annual Christmas Market, taking place within The Crescent Lobby, Triq L-Inkwina, Naxxar. The area shall be brimming with local artisans selling all types of products that make for perfect gifts for others, or simply to spoil yourself this Christmas season! Among the stalls you’ll find rich spices, ceramics, cakes and sweet treats, handmade items, decorative objects, exotic-smelling candles, and so much more! The smell of cinnamon-loaded mulled wine wafting through the stalls will tempt you and your loved ones to stop for a glass. Our Christmas market shall be open from 10am till 5pm with parking available on a first come first serve basis which will make your visit that much more pleasurable. The Food that Brings Us Together Christmas is not Christmas if it doesn’t involve the food that brings generations together at one table. Our expert kitchen team at The Orchard have prepared glorious festive menus crafted with passion and including the freshest of seasonal local produce and the best meat cuts from across the miles, simply for the pure enjoyment of patrons. Give our team a call on 2235 1045 to book your table ahead of time! Festive Family Events at Simblija Our community at Simblija will be well and truly cared for over the Christmas season with a program of events jam-packed with entertainment and activities that bring residents and their families together. Santa Claus is expected to visit and do room rounds to meet our residents. Santa’s big red bag is always a cherished gift that puts wide smiles on all our residents’ faces. Christmas Day mass at The Chapel will be celebrated by Chaplain Fr Julian Cassar at 10.30 am and animated by Ylenia Vella, followed by Christmas Lunch at noon. A number of masses will be said at The Chapel over New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day with one at 5 pm and another at 7 pm on the eve, and on New Year’s Day at 10.30 am and 11.30 am in English, both animated by Ylenia Vella. At Simblija, the Christmas season is not just about entertainment but also about active ageing and about residents living a fulfilled life surrounded by family and friends, even at this festive time. Our dedicated events that they look forward to so much and that go a long way in lifting their spirits, however, are the cherry on the proverbial cake.

Caring for an elderly parent or relative can be stressful and emotionally distressing for anyone, especially when that loved one begins to show signs of dementia. Anthony Brincat, Head of Care at Simblija discusses common dementia symptoms and how holistic, person-centred care can improve the quality of life for those suffering from dementia. Unless you’re a qualified professional, it is often difficult to determine between general signs of old age and actual dementia. First of all, it’s important to understand that dementia is not simply a natural process of ageing, nor does it necessarily run in the family. While dementia is not considered to be a disease in and of itself, it forms part of a collection of symptoms, which include Alzheimer’s, that result from damage to the brain. The symptoms will vary depending on which part of the brain has been damaged but will usually manifest in memory loss, personality changes, and sudden mood swings. Other common signs of dementia include difficulty in concentrating and following conversations, difficulty in remembering certain words, difficulty in carrying out familiar daily tasks, and confusion in time and place. Typically, these symptoms start out relatively mild but will tend to become more severe over time. Because dementia can have a drastic effect on the quality of life of the elderly, it’s crucial to reach out to a GP or medical professional as soon as you notice any legitimate signs that dementia is setting in. They will be able to determine whether someone can continue to live safely in their home as well as guide you on the best steps forward to ensure your loved one receives the right treatment and care for their needs. At Simblija, we recognise that caring for a person with dementia requires a specialist understanding and approach. That’s why we have taken great consideration to introduce a range of measures and procedures within our home to safeguard all dementia patients entrusted in our care. Prior to entering Simblija, all residents undergo a thorough evaluation by our medical team. This helps us to better understand their full symptoms to determine what level of care is required. At Simblija, we offer tailored and holistic care plans that are designed around our residents’ individual needs. As part of our multidisciplinary approach, we carry out regular checks on all residents throughout their stay with us. This enables us to adjust care plans according to immediate needs and recent health developments. Our Butterfly Memory Support Unit has been specially designed with dementia care in mind. The ward provides a safe and welcoming environment for residents with brightly lit spaces and sensory interiors that stimulate memory and encourage independence. The ward’s one-floor layout is easy to navigate and provides residents with a safe space to gain confidence in their day-to-day routines. We ensure that wayfinding is made simple and intuitive throughout the ward thanks to special signage, pictures, and labels that clearly point residents to where they want to go. While rooms feature easily identifiable pictures and contrasting colours, which are designed to guide residents to whatever they may need, be it clothing, crockery, or food. Each resident is encouraged to place personal memorabilia and precious keepsakes in a special box outside their room. This ensures they can create positive bonds and emotional touchpoints that inspire a stronger sense of self every day. Our structured environment empowers all our memory-impaired residents to thrive, feel safe, and maintain a fulfilling and dignified lifestyle. We welcome anyone considering professional dementia care for their loved one to reach out to us. Our highly qualified team can provide guidance, support, and assistance to ease you through this delicate transition while keeping your loved one’s best interests at the forefront of all decisions. For more information on specialist dementia care at Simblija, kindly contact us.