HC-One Wales’s Abermill Care Home, in Abertridwr, Caerphilly, have participated in a person-centred project with Dr B Creative and Age Cymru.
Dr B Creative are committed to helping the community and workplace to be a better place through the power of creative practices to provoke change, enhance social connections and enhance wellbeing, led by Dr B Creative’s Founder, Dr Bethan Ryland.
Abermill and Dr B Creative have worked closely together in recent years, and Dr Bethan Ryland approached Abermill with the opportunity to participate in a project run by Age Cymru, the national charity for older people living in Wales.
The project, which is funded by the Welsh Government, aims to promote person-centred activities and identify good examples of person-centred activities taking place. Person-centred activities help enhance wellbeing, encourage community cohesion, and increase participation in the arts.
The project engages with residents through a range of person-centred activities and gathers feedback to create resources. Activities at Abermill Care Home were filmed and residents were interviewed as part of the project, which will become part of a pack of online resources through the Age Cymru website for carers and professionals.
Residents at Abermill Care Home enjoyed taking part in a range of person-centred activities including arts and crafts, and a movement to music exercise class. There were also poetry sessions, a silent disco, and an orchestra attended by Nant Y Parc Primary School which residents helped conduct.
Christine Tipper, Home Manager at Abermill Care Home, said:
“It’s been a pleasure to support Age Cymru and Dr B Creatives project. Person centred activities are important to promote and carry out, as they are activities that put our residents first.
“At Abermill Care Home, we listen carefully to our residents and learn who they are and what they enjoy. We then work with our residents to set goals, creating personalised plans and put them into practice which enhances our resident’s wellbeing and quality of life.”
Age Cymru’s Arts and Creative Programme Manager, Kelly Barr says:
“We’re delighted to work with the Abermill Care Home as part of a project funded by Welsh Government, capturing their inspiring idea to hold a silent disco for their residents on film. Silent disco headphones can allow care homes to place individual residents at the centre of the activities by enabling them to choose between different playlists.
“The filming of the silent disco will form part of a collection of inspiring ideas that we’re bringing together from care homes across Wales to form part of our Resident Well Being Toolkit, which is being launched in January 2025. We hope the toolkit will enhance the experiences of care home life for residents, their families, and care home staff.”
Dr Bethan Ryland, Founder at Dr B Creative, stated:
“Abermill Care Home took part in our project ‘The Not Just Bingo Project’ funded by the Regional Integration Fund where the residents and staff took part in many creative activities including art, poetry, live music and movement. The project aimed to reach every resident in the home and engage everyone in meaningful, person-centred creative activities.
“Abermill have also taken part in a silent disco delivered by Dr B Creative which was a joyous afternoon of dancing, singing, connection and fun and this was documented by a filmmaker from Age Cymru as an example of a care home demonstrating best practice in activity provision for care home residents.”