Care provider launches GetGardening campaign
AN AWARD-WINNING care provider is this month (June, 2019) launching a campaign to get Welsh folk into the garden in a bid to improve social interaction and get people to spend quality time together.
Abacare says that gardening is hugely beneficial, especially for the elderly or people with dementia, and it can help the mind and body.
Denise Hopkins, Regional Manager at Abacare, which has offices in Rhondda Cynon Taf, said: “This year we want to see more people getting out into their gardens and making good use of them, so we’re launching the #GetGardening campaign. Those who believe gardening is only for the young and more mobile among us, couldn’t be more wrong, as it’s just as much for the elderly too.
“We regularly encourage our older service users to get into the garden if they can. It’s a brilliant way for them to get some fresh air and connect with the natural world. It’s also a great way for them to get some exercise.
“You can burn up to 250 k/cal for every 30 minutes of digging you do, 195 k/cal mowing the lawn and 105 k/cal weeding and 100 k/cal raking. Beds, equipment and tools can all be modified for anyone who finds it difficult to get around too, so there really is no excuse.
“Throughout the summer we’ll be posting regular gardening tips and advice on our blog at https://www.abacare.org.uk/
“Gardening is a great activity for people to do together, improving social interaction and spending quality time together in the great outdoors. It is the perfect time of year to be outside and we’d encourage the people of Wales to get gardening!”
Abacare operates a professional Care Management Team that is committed to providing high quality care to individuals in their own homes.
The large team of trained, specialist, care workers provide positive based outcomes and person-centred care to people throughout the UK.
Denise added: “We also have service users with dementia and helping them to maintain their physical activity, cognitive function and social interaction is extremely important to enable them to lead as normal a life as possible. Gardening is a great activity they can do.
“Planting, pruning, digging, sweeping and weeding can improve dexterity skills. With a carer or family member, a person with dementia can benefit cognitively from gardening too through the planning stages, deciding what seeds to sow, what vegetables to grow or how they want the overall garden to look if you’re giving it a complete makeover.
“Maintaining a garden gives a person with dementia a task to focus on every day/week as ongoing jobs such as watering and pruning need doing.
“Gardening is also fantastic for stimulation of the senses, there are lots of wonderful smells emitting from flowers, herbs, grass and even soil and the colours and light can really spark the imagination. There’s also the sensation of touch, of soil or plants in your hands as you plant them, and fantastic sounds too such as birdsong, rustling of leaves in the wind and the odd sounds of wildlife.
“It’s the perfect place to sit and relax, for an elderly person or a person with dementia to reflect and just feel a sense of calm wash over them.”
Abacare’s core values, instilled into every staff member, include ‘make us proud’, ‘focus on our service users’ wellbeing’, ‘communicate, listen well and speak with respect’, ‘be passionate, honest, caring and considerate’, ‘recruit and develop the very best’ and ‘lead by example’.
It believes it offers inspiring work for inspirational people.
Abacare is looking for kind, honest, caring and reliable individuals who wish to have a stable and long-term career in care, and who would like to forge rewarding relationships with the service users they care for.
Denise continued: “Being a carer is a highly skilled, professional vocational occupation that is essential to the fabric of our society and the beauty of a job for life means people can start at the very bottom and work their way up with training and qualifications.
“In today’s changing world of employment, we pride ourselves on being able to offer long-term job security and career prospects.
“No experience is necessary to become a carer as free, full training is offered, which includes a company induction, first aid, information on dementia, health and safety, food safety, infection control, handling medication and moving and handling service users, with the opportunity to achieve Qualification and Credit Framework (QCF) after the initial six months probationary period.
“New recruits are given free uniforms, access to national staff discount scheme for all major brands as well as 28 days paid holiday, paid travel between calls and paid mileage.”
Abacare also offers FaceTime or Skype interviews to candidates in order to meet the demands of the modern jobseeker. Its view is that busy people wanting a career change can ‘meet’ the team via FaceTime or similar applications and find out about the roles it has to offer, as well as meet a couple of team members and, if they are about, also say ‘hello’ to a carer too.
It is a member of the United Kingdom Homecare Association, Ceretas (formerly British Association of Domiciliary Care), The National Homecare Council and The Information Commissioners Office (Data Protection). It is also registered with the Care Inspectorate Wales.
For more information about Abacare, please call 01443 742645 or visit www.abacare.org.uk. Alternatively, please follow the company on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/Yn4zmS or on Twitter by visitingwww.twitter.com/visitabacare.
