Care Home Open Day 2015 - The Arts are for everyone

The 2015 Care Home Open Day is going to be themed around the arts and valuing staff.

Artistic appreciation and creativity, in its many and varied forms, are so important to all our lives and this recognition of the arts as an essential part of maintaining our well-being, should naturally be at the centre of all care services.

Sadly, many people do not understand the importance arts and culture play in our lives and often this is a neglected area in care services, but the benefits are plain to see, for people who use services, the staff and the general community. It is important that we all acknowledge that artistic expression has to be at the core of a good quality service and we must all think creatively about how we make this an essential part of any service.

Last year we saw many care providers really embracing the philosophy of an artistic approach to well-being and we had some excellent examples of care services who embraced dance, music, painting, and various forms of creativity, in their activities on Care Home Open Day. It was due to this success that we decided to build on the whole idea and make it our theme for this year.

Care services are based in their local communities and, in the majority of cases, if you scan what is around you, you will find that there are many opportunities to engage the arts. Most areas have local museums, libraries, theatres, or amateur dramatic, dance or study groups. All these are very good places to start when you are thinking about developing a programme of work that you can incorporate into your care service.

One of the most important things when you are looking to provide a personalised care service, is to try and understand what things enrich the lives of residents. Reminiscence work with older people can also have a very artistic leaning and can connect with the way in which people have enjoyed the arts and bring back memories and associations that give people a feeling of well-being. Likewise, people with learning disabilities are often fantastically talented at some of the arts-based activities and this is a real opportunity for them to develop skills and rejoice in their achievements.

There are countless examples of how people with dementia have gained significantly from a connection with artistic activity. A good example was a lady with serious dementia who had not communicated for many years and when her therapist started to sing hymns that she had known in her childhood the lady connected, and started to hum the tune.

There is no age limit to enjoyment and no disability that should be the barrier to engaging with the arts and its many forms.

Research by The Arts Council showed that people aged between 50 and 70 are far more likely to attend arts events than the general population. Given this statistic, we should certainly ensure that just because people move into a care setting, does not mean that their access to the arts is now denied them.

There are also some significant benefits for people living with dementia who often connect with memories through the arts and music and this can be an important element of maintaining their sense of self and is often very helpful when reducing their feelings of isolation and anxiety.

One of the many good things that have come out of the Care Home Open Day is the way in which it gives an opportunity for care services to showcase their work. This increases public understanding of what care homes do and reduces negativity and stigma. One of the main challenges for care providers is to get local communities to come into their care services and understand exactly what they do. Having events that are focused on culture and the arts can be a really good way of bridging the gap between the community and the care service.

The previous two Care Home Open Days have been very successful, and we look forward to 2015 as the year of creativity and arts for all.

Professor Martin Green OBE

Chief Executive, Care England

Co-Chair, Care Home Open Day Steering Group