What does the care home provide for activity?

[mybabyweightiseightyearsold]

I'm a physio, going back to work after a breeding marathon. Oddly enough, the NHS seems reluctant to give me a term time, school hours contract - bit of a shock, frankly!

My speciality is community work - so, mostly elderly people who are housebound for one reason or another.

I've been looking into research on active aging - and there's some really interesting new stuff looking at the benefits of proper exercise. Not just a wee stroll to the dayroom, but an actual workout that raises the heart rate. Obviously, the exercises are modified - no thong leotards were harmed in the making of the research.

Anyhoo - I've been thinking about setting up a private visiting service to nursing homes as being self employed might fit in with school runs.

I was wondering what you lot thought about the provision of physical activity in the residential settings you have experience of:

Is there any?

What is it? (wii, dancing, chairobics, olympic events)

How often is it? Is that frequent enough?

Is it available for all residents, or are confused/disabled residents unable to participate?

Are there other activities - reminiscence, games, crafts, music, etc.

Is there anything that you like to see provided that currently is not?

I'll be grateful for any insight, I've got a half baked notion of developing an exercise group for people in residential settings. So, one for bedbound people, one for chairbound, one for hemiplegic, one for fallers, one for frail but fit, one for confused, etc - do you think it'd be a helpful thing for your loved ones, or am I barkign up the wrong tree?
thanks

Think it's a brilliant idea. Keeping people mobile, better muscle tone , less falls, less agitated, more animated etc etc.
Am certain there will be more private physios out there doing this work, have you thought about the forums on the profesional website for some networking ?
On the down side, many homes employ activity coordinators at approx £8 an hour and may not be able to see the difference between what you can offer and what they can offer as care is so money led.

I think it's a brilliant idea. Only had one grandparent in a home but he used the gym daily - particularly static bike as he'd cycled all his life. It kept him fit and full of enthusiasm. Unfortunately this was overseas so I don't know much about his day-to-day life except there was a big focus on life not changing with the move into care (ie keeping up with the exercise).
Sorry this isn't v constructive, but I do think it's a fantastic idea - good luck with it.

I think this is a great idea. My grandad is 94 and recently gone into a very expensive nursing home. Within the first three weeks he fell and broke his leg, he was in hospital for two weeks and doing a little walking before he left the hospital however since he got back to the home he has not walked and subsequently become very frail. I do think if there was someone who could go in regularly and help with various exercises specific for mobile, less mobile and bed bound elderly people that would be good. Also some one to go and do specific work with the residents similar to my grandad who were mobile but need a little extra attention in order to maintain mobility. I think it is very easy for the elderly to move in to a home and become immobile very quickly due to the routines and staff have lots of people to help get up and do not have the time to think about maintaining mobility. Sometimes it is quicker and easier to move a person from one place to another in a wheelchair, rather than take the time to help them walk.

Wow, that's way more encouraging than anticipated!

You are right, Mrs CF - sadly, it's what is quickest and easiest transfers that gets done most often. That's not to criticise the staff, I worked as a carer for years and there is Never Enough Time. But, without regular "use it" elderly people "lose it" so quickly that it's shocking.

There are other physios doing private domi work - but not many. I live in a big city, and there are four, all part time. Out of the city there is no one.

My own Grandmother is now 90, and after a two week hospital admission for pneumonia she was totally deconditioned, and, institutionalised. She had completely lost her independant spirit, would have happily let someone else do everything for her - which is a transformation of her nature. She's in sheltered housing, and back managing on her own with a daily carer - but, if she didn't have a nagging loving family going in and pushing her...well, she'd have had to have moved house.

My plan is to be completely mobile, I've put together a "gym in a bag" - so I can run circuit classes as well as individual stuff, and a "clinic in a bag" for doing actual treatments.

I've got a man-who-can doing me a website, and I'm booked onto the active aging conference in August...which sounds like a child-free jolly to me!

THanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it. Do feel free to PM me for advice or info - if you want to source equipment (like these wee pedals for use in sitting, or shoulder pulleys, or resistance bands) I can point you to the suppliers.

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