FITNESS & EXERCISE Keep on Moving
Alice Mitroi, Registered Manager of Belvedere House, the nursing care home of maritime charity The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, discusses the importance of fitness and exercise in supporting the emotional and physical welfare of elderly residents.
Looking aſter our mental and physical wellbeing has never been more important, and it’s a topic that has been high on the
news agenda during the pandemic, as the nation is urged to stay fit and healthy. We all know that exercise can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, some cancers, osteoarthritis, and dementia, but it also releases serotonin, endorphins, and other chemicals into our brains that help to liſt our mood and is even prescribed to help treat mild cases of depression and improve mental health.
Exercise is proven to help keep us all active, fit and healthy, whilst also alleviating pressure on the health service for drug alternatives and reducing time spent at the doctors for minor ailments. Research has shown that physical inactivity is now a close contender with smoking as one of the UK’s biggest health problems. Last summer, the government announced a £4million pilot scheme trialling “green prescriptions” to encourage people to take up outdoor physical activity to improve their overall health and help ease pressure on the NHS.
With this in mind, care providers must ensure they integrate fitness and exercise in their resident person-centred care plans to support wellbeing. Here at Belvedere House, the nursing care home of maritime charity The Royal Alfred Seafarers’ Society, we know the importance of incorporating physical activity to support our residents’ overall health and help them to socialise and to live as independently as possible. We have provided nursing care to support elderly, sick or disabled seafarers, their widows and dependants since 1865 – including those living with dementia – and we have always taken a holistic approach to caring for residents with a range of unique needs.
The NHS advises that adults aged 65 and over should aim to be active every day, even if it's just light activity, and do activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility at least twice a week. Here at the Society’s nursing care home, Belvedere House, we are lucky to be situated within 14 acres of our own beautiful Surrey greenbelt countryside, so our residents are able to get outdoors for exercise and fresh air daily, dependent on the weather.
Given the age of many of our residents, time outdoors is oſten in the form of an accompanied walk up to our North Field pond site where residents love to visit with family or care staff to bird watch or simply enjoy the beautiful flowers and surroundings. However, last year one of our 91-year-old tenants challenged himself to walk laps of our grounds for 30 days to raise funds for key workers. Inspired by Sir Captain Tom Moore, John walked 365 metres each day during his sponsored walk of 13,950km, raising more than £5,000 in donations which he put towards giſts for the home’s key
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worker staff. Not only did this have a positive effect on morale at the home, but it also boosted John’s health and wellbeing and demonstrated the importance of keeping fit and spending time outdoors.
Care homes should take full advantage of the outdoor space around them that enables residents to stay fit and get plenty of fresh air. Our care home residents enjoy activities such as gardening, which can be a great form of exercise for those unable to participate in overly strenuous outdoor activity. Equally, there are plenty of seated exercises that can be carried out at home, in a garden, or in a care home setting, which can help people with reduced mobility gain strength and improve posture – particularly when paired with light hand weights and resistance bands.
At Belvedere House, our activities coordinators ensure that there are effective and varied forms of exercise scheduled for our residents every week, whether it’s outdoor activities like gardening or walking, group exercise classes or – firm favourites at our home –seated yoga and swing and sway exercises.
Improving balance is one of the key reasons that exercise should be part of elderly residents’ care plans because having good balance reduces the chances of falls and helps older people be as independent as possible. Walking is one way of maintaining balance, along with dedicated exercises, but it is important for individuals to go at their own pace and exercise in a way that works for them. The NHS has some useful guidance including its Exercises for Older People handbook but there are plenty of resources online – from national health bodies and charities like Age UK – and many care homes like ours have experts that can identify the best forms of exercise to suit individuals’ needs.
The right care plan can have a transformative effect on residents’ wellbeing, if tailored to their individual needs, which is why we work closely with our residents and their families to identify the best ways to support their health and improve their strength and mobility. We had a resident who was wheelchair-bound when he first arrived with us and was struggling with a number of health issues. Within the caring environment of the modern facilities at Belvedere House and in our specialist dementia care unit, residents and staff supported him in regaining his mobility and independence.
All in all, our role as caregivers is to help residents lead happy and healthy lives and remain as active and as independent as possible. It’s our duty to encourage and support residents in improving their fitness and participating in activities that will not only be enjoyable but be beneficial to their overall health and wellbeing.
https://royalalfredseafarers.co.uk www.tomorrowscare.co.uk
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