There is nothing new about trying to keep older people active, especially in care homes.
Music, "chairobics", quizzes and singalongs are all staples, but one of the most regular complaints from residents and relatives of those in residential care for the elderly is about days spent without stimulation.
So a new business offering a package of regularly group-based exercises, claiming evidence they can improve fitness, mental health, socialisation and even cut the risk of falls, has obvious attractions.
Oomph!, a London-based not-for-profit firm, has developed such a package and it is now being rolled out in every home run by the Church of Scotland's social care charity Crossreach.
"It's a social enterprise, not for profit, so very aligned with us and where we are at," explains Alan Logan, Crossreach director of services for older people.
"What tends to happen is people will put music on in the background and there might be some gentle exercise. It probably has no real impact at all. It may even be counterproductive."
According to the firm behind Oomph!, the games and activities involved in the system literally give older adults more oomph and according to their slogan "put the social back into social care". It says: "They leave more alert, more agile, more confident and more engaged."
Mr Logan is convinced, and since the summer every Crossreach activities worker has been trained in the approach. He has been impressed by the company's evidence, but adds: "You can go on evidence, or you can go on smiles. The response from people has been, very, very positive."
Can it really reduce the number of falls? Mr Logan is waiting to see. Crossreach continues to implement falls-prevention guidance from NHS Education for Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. But he says games that involve passing objects, strengthening grip, attention and coordination could well help.
Meanwhile, changes in mood and self-confidence make a big difference to people's health. He adds: "People in care homes may be living in a group situation yet still feel isolated and alone."
The change has involved a significant investment and with the high level of staff turnover in the care sector that might put some providers of care off. Logan disagrees: "We don't worry about it at all. If you care about quality you invest in staff."
Any staff member might move on, he says. But by just this kind of investment in them, Crossreach hopes to make them more likely to stay.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article