Eachtep Blackburn care home residents Joyce, Flo, Agnes, Joan and Margaret taking part in the craft session
Published Tuesday 23 February 2021 at 14:07
Residents with dementia at one Blackburn care home have taken part in their first virtual class, by getting crafty with Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Adult Learning team.
The team partnered with Eachstep Blackburn Care Home to deliver their first virtual creative craft activity session designed to support dementia residents’ wellbeing in lockdown.
Residents at Eachstep care home welcomed Lynette Banister, a health and wellbeing tutor and a specialist in Dementia, and her colleagues Naomi Wood and Christina Pearson with open arms as they led the virtual session.
After 10 months of not being able to see their families and carers struggling to find new ideas to keep residents engaged, having the opportunity for residents to see new and friendly faces was welcomed, even if it was virtually.
The aim of the craft activities was not only to provide some fun and entertainment to residents but to also help their long term memory gain through reminiscing, and practical activities to support their motor skills. Enjoying a singalong together helped to enhance the senses in the brain that remain with dementia sufferers the longest following a diagnosis of dementia.
Joanie-Lee Gleeson, Activities Co-ordinator for Eachstep Blackburn Care Home, said:
It’s been amazing for the people we support to be a part of this first activity session. We are truly grateful for this opportunity. We can’t wait to do more over the following weeks.
The five ladies who took part in the session – all in their nineties – started with a little warm up to get everyone’s fingers and toes moving and then enjoyed reminiscing about going to the sweet shop when they were little and what they used to buy – their eyes lit up as they remembered their local toffee shop and penny sweets. They were involved in activities like making mice out of fondant, using currants to create the eyes and a nose and liquorice wheels for tails.
The session ended on a high note, with the ladies singing along to the classic tune of A Mouse In Old Amsterdam, – they were all smiles and having the best time as they left the session with their mice in one hand and a nice cup of tea in the other.
Lynette is passionate about her work and is currently studying with the University of Nottingham around the foundations of dementia. She has delivered numerous activities in various care and residential homes both to residents and to staff. She is also a qualified Dementia Champion with the Alzheimer’s Society and delivers Dementia Friends awareness sessions too.
Lynette Banister, Tutor for Adults, Communities and Prevention, said:
For me, it was that sensation of warmth that was coming out of the group, it was almost as if someone had switched a light-bulb on for everybody and when you think some of these people are 90+ with diagnoses of dementia, to see how they were all so engrossed in learning again – it was amazing.
Through a partnership between the Primary Care and Volunteer sector, the Council were able to secure funding for a project designed to utilise technology including Virtual Reality to increase physical activity and well-being of local, vulnerable residents living in care homes.
The virtual craft sessions is just one of the ways the project aims to provide new, dementia friendly learning activities for residents to access and participate.
The Adult Learning team are hoping with the success of future sessions, they can increase the numbers in an effort to engage with every single one of the residents, giving them some light throughout the long days of lockdown and provide respite for carers that have worked so hard over the past 12 months.
Councillor Mustafa Desai, the Executive Member for Adult Services, said:
Staff in care homes have been working extra hard to keep residents’ spirits up while they aren’t able to see their families. I’m proud that our Adult Learning team recognised how they could support both residents and staff by running creative craft sessions to give residents something different to look forward to and to feel connected to the outside world. Well done to Lynette and Naomi and Christina who delivered the session!
To find out more about the range of courses BwD Adult Learning are continuing to deliver during lockdown, go to www.bwdlearning.org.
Care homes in Blackburn with Darwen who would like to arrange visual craft sessions for their residents can contact Naomi Wood on 01254 304584 or naomi.wood@blackburn.gov.uk