Meaningful Activities in Our Care Homes

What makes life in a care home enjoyable is usually the ordinary things. Carrying on with your favourite pastimes. Staying in charge of your own day. Having people around you. And every so often, doing something you have never done before.

Activities are not an add-on to care. They are a large part of what makes a day worth getting up for, and the difference they make turns up in more places than you might expect.

At Tanglewood care homes, meaningful activities begin with what our residents want to do rather than with a set activities plan. Our lifestyles co-ordination team listen to what our residents tell them and then set about making it happen. The best care home activities and days out start with someone’s interests, their memories, their own choices, or something they have always wanted to do and never got round to.

Much of the benefit starts with how someone feels. A day with something in it tends to be a happier one, and a calmer one. There is real satisfaction in finishing something, or in finding you can still do something you thought you had left behind, and that kind of achievement builds confidence. Having something to look forward to does as much good as the activity itself.

Movement comes into it too. The right activity keeps strength, balance and flexibility going without ever feeling like exercise. Familiar routines work in a quieter way, giving the week a shape that helps someone feel settled and involved.

Then there is the part that is hardest to measure. Having a reason to feel useful. Deciding for yourself how you spend your time and being asked what you would like to do. Keeping hold of the hobbies, the memories and the work you once did, because those things are still who you are. Conversation and company to keep memory, concentration and communication skills fresh. Friendships built out of shared experiences which keep loneliness at a distance. And a link to the world outside, the local places and the businesses and the outings that were part of life before.

All of it rests on listening. One of our residents might want to go back to a place they loved, or do their own shopping, or put in a day’s work again.

What meaningful activities give our residents?

Personal choice and independence

Judith is 86 and spent years working in retail. When she shared in a video what she would like to do the most, her wish travelled a lot further than expected. White Rose Shopping Centre got in touch and gave her £500 to spend. After a day of shopping, she left with a handbag, shoes, perfume and a dress she chose. The trip was part of the care home’s wish list initiative, which is built around what residents themselves want to do.

Identity and lifelong interests

The most meaningful care home activities can be about getting back to something somebody has loved for years. Heather, a resident at Beeston Rise care home, followed ice hockey all her life and asked to see another match. So the care team arranged a trip to Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena to watch the Nottingham Panthers. She had been to that arena herself when she was younger, and the evening brought back lots of fond memories. She came home with keepsakes and plenty to talk about.

Purpose and self-esteem

Independence in person-centred care means recognising that people still have things they want to do. Jenny is 76, lives with dementia at Oadby Manor, and said she would like to work again. The team arranged it with Holbrook News, the local newsagent, where she served customers, stocked shelves and got talking to people. It gave her some independence and something she did herself, with support where she wanted it. Listening to what somebody asks for is often how they hold on to who they are.

Enjoyment and emotional wellbeing

Not every wish is a big one.

Sylvia at Gateford Lodge told our team she would love a proper salon visit and a trip into Worksop. They arranged a day out with Michael, another resident, with coffee and a chat before her hair appointment.

Person-centred care values show up in decisions like that one. A resident mentions what they would enjoy, and the care team makes it happen.

Friendship and social connection

A sociable home is more than a calendar on the wall.

Residents from Richard House went to Skegness for a day at the seaside, with the beach, refreshments and plenty of company. For one of our residents it meant a good deal more, because they had gone to Skegness as a child and had said they wanted to go back.

Discover life at Tanglewood Care Homes

Choosing a care home is about more than the level of support on offer. Families want to know their relative will be listened to. These five stories are are a glimpse of person-centred care as it actually happens across our homes.