My Health, My Care, My Home - healthcare framework for adults living in care homes: annual progress report September 2023

Annex C – The value of meaningful activities and connections

Regional Manager at Sanctuary

“Our staff are Support Workers with a focus on activities rather than ‘activity co-ordinators’.”

When speaking to the Regional Manager, he told us that this name change has helped to change mentality and staff recognise the impact they have on everyone’s care. The manager described how by taking this approach, not only are there better outcomes for individuals and staff, but it also contributed hugely to the required Health and Social Care Standards for Scotland.

There is a focus on getting residents out into the community where possible, instead of bringing the community into the care homes. An example of this is with hairdressers: in two care homes they have removed in-house hairdressers and take residents to the local barbers/ hairdressers instead.

They have activities that take place in the care homes but try to have the majority away from the care home. Staff are encouraged to take residents out for the day and go to performances and events that are on in the community which relate to individual hobbies and interests. They are keen to move away from chair exercises and keep residents active through other activities. Group activities and one-to-one activities have equal importance and staff constantly review the activities planner and check in with residents. They are keen to only have activities where they can evidence the impact it has had on residents and that there has been a meaningful outcome.

Activities team at Kincarrathie House, Perth

“It would be easy to make every day the same, but it would be detrimental to the wellbeing of our residents.”

By varying the activities available to residents, staff at Kincarrathie House hope to reach out to more of their residents and meet their needs.

On arriving at Kincarrathie, a resident is met by an activity member to discuss what may be important and meaningful to them and what their interests may be.

The activities team continually endeavour to create good working relationships with residents' families so that they can get to know residents and tailor activities to meet personal needs and interests. This person-centred approach maximises the benefit to the resident, reassures their family, and motivates staff.

Once a year, they undertake a formal review of activities, involving all residents, and the results inform forward planning. There is a quarterly meeting with residents to review their preferences and lots of informal discussions where relatives are also invited to express their views.

Some activities are very popular with a larger number of residents (e.g. musical events, visiting the gardens, evening tea-time social events), but they also have special interest small groups which are very successful (knitting, French lessons, creative writing, drawing and painting, classical music). One-to-one activities are also arranged when possible. At the end of the session, teas, coffees, biscuits and fruit are served to residents, and staff generally chat to them as they socialise.

Activity co-ordinator at Parklands Care Home, Buckie

“When a resident moves into their care home, the only thing that should change is their address.”

The activity co-ordinator works closely with residents, staff and families to make sure that each resident has a goal for the year, and they work together to help them achieve it. They also take this person-centred approach when creating their weekly activity planner, which takes into account the likes and dislikes of each resident. There is an effort made to not only have activities take place in the home, but also in the local community. Residents are encouraged to engage in activities, such as clubs, that they attended before moving into the care home.

They told us about a lady who had baked a cake for her son’s birthday every year and how this should not change now that she is in a care home. With the help of care home staff, she was able to continue this tradition and bake a cake for her son’s 60^th birthday.

The activity co-ordinator also has a close relationship with staff in the same role in other care homes and they use this network to engage with each other and share their experiences.