‘LETS MOTIVATE’ SCHEME TO BE RE LAUNCHED IN DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY CARE HOMES

Council led ‘Let’s Motivate’ improving Care Home residents’ health and wellbeing

Let’s Motivate will be re-launched in Dumfries and Galloway in early 2015 led by the Council’s Leisure and Sport Service in partnership with NHS Dumfries and Galloway Falls Prevention team and DG Health and Wellbeing and Paths for All. Let’s Motivate will provide access to free physical activity training available to all care home staff and community groups throughout the region. Levels of physical activity in care homes and in older adults are low. A report by the British Heart Foundation in 2012 found that 86% of women and 78% of men are classified as inactive in care homes.
Let’s Motivate aims to increase levels of physical activity in care homes through increasing the workforce capacity through training and resource provision. It was originally developed in 2010 by the Annandale and Eskdale Safe and Healthy Action Partnership(SHAP) to support demand from care homes interested in providing physical activity opportunities. Numerous courses have now been held in Annandale and Eskdale to help upskill care home staff and this good practise model is now being rolled out across the rest of the region.
Training is delivered by Leisure and Sport/Falls Prevention to Care Home staff members and community groups to deliver simple and safe activities that contribute to:
• Fall prevention/reduction in residents
• Enhanced mental and social wellbeing
• Improved mobility in residents
• Greater ability to carry out everyday activities of life
The project is primarily targeted towards increasing levels of physical activity within care home settings and community groups. Being more physically active in older adults brings multiple health benefits including falls reduction, improved mood, plus greater ability to carry out activities of daily living and improved mood/esteem (Start Active, Stay Active, 2011).
After the initial training the care homes and community groups can then hire the appropriate equipment for the sessions they are going to deliver, all for free. This equipment can be obtained throughout the region.
There are four key objectives to the Let’s Motivate programme:
1. Increase levels of physical activity by building staff capacity within key settings
2. Confident and competent staff promoting/delivering low level exercise/physical activity to residents
3. Reduce the number of falls in care home settings
4. To align this course with the National Occupational Standards in Promoting Physical Activity – Unit B18 promoting physical activity and its benefits to people who are not currently active.
Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Chair of Social Work Committee, Councillor Jim Dempster and Chair of Community and Customer Services Committee Tom McAughtrie joined care home staff from across the region and training officers at a training course in Dalawoodie HouseCare Home on Thursday 5 March. Local ward members of Mid and Upper Nithsdale were also present and the Councillors were impressed with what they saw.
Councillor Dempster commented;
“Protecting our vulnerable people is a key priority for Dumfries and Galloway Council and this scheme certainly works towards this priority. Maintaining the health and wellbeing of Care Home users by training those familiar to them in a simple yet effective measure. The activities are designed to be fun and encourage the care home users to interact with each other in a fun, safe environment, whilst keeping them fit and healthy”
Councillor McAughtrie said;
“Our Council is facing up to making huge savings in the upcoming years. Training partners in ways such as the Let’s Motivate scheme allows care homes to provide top class service to users in relation to health and wellbeing, and takes away the financial pressures from the Council to deliver such a service direct to the care home users. Our Council will be looking to progress further projects based on the success of Let’s Motivate. The staff involved with the delivery of the training deserve huge praise, as do the staff in the Care Homes who will be delivering the sessions to care home users.”