Station House celebrates National Falls Week

Home news

Jun 24, 2011

Staff, residents and their relatives at Care UK’s Station House, Crewe, have been celebrating National Falls Week with an array of fun activities including ‘parachuting’ and dancing.

The week was created to educate older people and their families about the dangers of falls and how to avoid them. The home’s manager Carole Wardle said: “Falls can be devastating, not only physically but emotionally too as they sap a person’s confidence, which in turn makes them prone to more falls.

“At Station House we have regular exercise classes, indoors and out, to keep residents limber, mentally and physically. We also encourage them to stay as independent as possible so that they have the muscle tone and confidence to get about safely.”

One of the residents’ favourite activities is the parachute.  Staff, residents and relatives sit in the garden in a circle and waft the brightly coloured silk canvas in the air, taking turns to duck in and out.

Carole said: “Keeping all the senses stimulated is an important part of minimising the risk of falls and the parachute does all that. We also have regular dance sessions, where residents join in with musical instruments, and armchair exercises for those who cannot get out and about, and during the week, music and dance group Music for Health will be dropping in to get residents moving.”

Throughout the week members of staff manned an exhibition, packed with advice and photographs on activity-based care and how to avoid falls.

Carole said: “The exhibition is open to all our visitors and we hope it will provide lots of useful information for healthcare professional and relatives as well as staff and residents.”