Member Article

Hica puts some Oomph! into residential care

An ambitious exercise and activity programme being trialled in care homes across Hull and the East Riding has proven to improve the well-being of residents.

The trial across 19 homes operated by The Hica Group has resulted in improvements in physical, mental and emotional well-being for older people and those with learning difficulties.

The impact of this activity and exercise has been positively mentioned in CQC assessment reports of six Hica care homes.

Such has been the success that Hica Group is re-commissioning Oomph! to help deliver a similar programme at its homes during 2016.

Penni Brown, chief executive of Hull-based Hica Group, said: “We are delighted by the results of the activity programme our staff, in partnership with Oomph! have rolled out across our homes. Activities have been embraced by residents who have enjoyed noticeable improvements in their quality of life.

“Our care home staff have gone over and above, implementing activities and exercises with real enthusiasm. Their approach, with the coaching from Oomph! has made a real difference to people’s lives. This is a real example of the Shine philosophy that runs through everything we do at Hica.

“We’ve always undertaken activities at our homes but this structured approach, involving greater levels of staff training and greater, regular involvement by residents has made a real difference across all our homes. Families have commented on the positive change in many of their loved ones.”

Oomph! is the UK’s largest provider of activities and exercise training to the care sector. Hica Group is the only care provider in the Hull and East Riding area investing in such innovative services.

Almost 30 care home staff were involved in exercise and activity leadership training by coaches at Oomph! There is an ongoing support role which involves the delivery of personalised and highly impactful exercise classes and help with designing personalised activity plans for individual residents.

Jenny Belcher, activity coordinator at Raleigh Court care home, Hull, said: “The residents have really loved the new activities and exercises since they were introduced. They genuinely have a laugh and really enjoy it. It’s raised everyone’s enthusiasm and involvement in activities.”

Ben Allen, chief executive and founder of Oomph! said: “The Hica Group has been a model partner to Oomph! by working closely with us to deliver activities and exercise which encourage physical mobility, mental stimulation and social interaction for older people and those with learning difficulties.

“We look forward to continuing the partnership, seeing more fantastic results and improvements in residents, and supporting a fulfilling working environment for the staff who are training with us and delivering sessions.”

The HICA Group has recorded significant improvements by documenting observations made by instructors. Where 1 is no impact on residents and 10 is significant impact on residents, staff noted a 7.1/10 rating in improvement in physical mobility, an 8.1/10 improvement on social interaction and a 8.2/10 rating in the improvement of mental stimulation.

As well as creating an impact on residents, staff also reported an 85% positive impact on their own job satisfaction after delivering the sessions and noticing results. 100% of Hica employees who trained with Oomph! now deliver weekly sessions to both older residents and residents with learning difficulties.

The Hica Group is a not for profit organisation, which operates a portfolio of 20 residential care homes, five of which are for people with a learning disability, along with two retirement villages. The company also runs a home care service providing approximately 11,500 hours of support and care from four regional offices in the North of England.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Hica Group .