The Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) Older People’s Forum has released new clinical guidance to support care home staff in delivering meaningful activities for their residents.
Meaningful activity includes physical, social and leisure activities tailored to the interests, needs and abilities of each resident, and is described by the RCN as “fundamental to the delivery of high quality, safe and effective care for residents living in care homes.”
Benefits include giving people a sense of personal identity and purpose, giving structure to the day, enabling the individual to feel useful, creating social networks and combating loneliness.
The guidance covers the definition of meaningful activity, why it is a fundamental aspect of care, risk assessments, ideas and more.
It also includes resources such as links to virtual tours at places such as zoos, museums and galleries, along with webcams, videos and podcasts, to enable care home residents to see more of the world and enjoy cultural activities from their own environment.
“Meaningful activity should be a routine aspect of care and support,” commented Sarah Winfield-Davies, a member of RCN Older People’s Forum and one of the leader writers.
“Although the guidance was created with care homes in mind, meaningful activity should be considered in any care or support setting.”
The guidance can be found here.
