Falls prevention classes go from strength to strength at care home thanks to collaboration with Cardiff and Vale UHB

Residents of a Cardiff care home say their strength, coordination and overall wellbeing have greatly improved thanks to new exercise classes inspired by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

Shortly after Care UK’s Llys Herbert care home in Lisvane opened its doors in September 2023, falls prevention experts at the Health Board were invited to visit to offer education, training and support to colleagues, new residents and the wider community.

As well as outlining the main causes of falls and how to reduce the risk, one of the suggestions was for the home to establish regular group exercise classes to allow residents to maintain their strength, balance and coordination.

And 12 months on from the initial visit, two lifestyle coordinators at Llys Herbert continue to offer the classes three times a week, using exercises created by the Health Board’s physiotherapy individualised strength and balance programme (ISBP).

“I really feel the exercises help with my muscles,” explained 96-year old Margaret, who has lived at Llys Herbert for eight months. “It’s very important to keep mobile as, alas, I see many people around me who are not mobile and I’m very grateful that I still am. I intend to stay active for as long as I possibly can.

“You tell yourself that you can do these exercises in your own time, but of course you don’t. You need that bit of encouragement and motivation [from the classes] to do it.

“I’ve found that doing the simple exercises with your hands have allowed me to get better purchase on things like coat buttons and nail clippers. It’s a small thing but very important to me as it keeps me as independent as possible.”

Leah Lee, a lifestyle coordinator at Llys Herbert, injects an element of fun and enthusiasm into the falls prevention exercise classes.

“It doesn’t matter if some people are less physically able than others because I adapt the classes to suit all abilities,” she said. “We have plenty of fun and it’s really enjoyable for all of us.

“I’ve been really surprised at the difference it’s made. It hasn’t happened overnight, but because we’ve been doing classes three times a week you can see improvements, particularly when it comes to holding a position - such as leg raises - for longer periods of time.”

The classes, which take place in the home’s lounge and last around 30 minutes, start with a gentle warm-up, followed by slightly more strenuous exercises such as heel-toe and knee raises. Where possible, some are encouraged to use their arms to push themselves into a standing position.

“We sometimes play nice motivating music, especially at the end of the session to end on a high,” Leah added. “I’m just delighted they get so much out of it.”

Kathryn Crawford, falls lead for Cardiff and Vale UHB, said the opening of Llys Herbert, provided the “perfect opportunity” to work collaboratively with a care home and offer its colleagues support.

“This acted as a pilot to see how we can work with our nursing and care homes to help prevent and reduce the risk of falls and stop older adults from ending up at the front door of the emergency unit,” she said.

Kathryn added that falls prevention entails “so many factors”, including assessing a person’s environment, medication management, foot care, hydration and postural hypertension (a drop in blood pressure while standing). Part of their first visit to the home involved making the care team aware of all of these factors and how effective interventions could be put in place.

Their second visit, during the home’s open day, allowed a Health Board physiotherapist to promote the importance of strength and balance exercises which were carried forward by the lifestyle coordinators with great effect.

“The stronger and fitter the residents are, the less likely they are to decondition and need to access our services. It’s all really positive and will hopefully act as a springboard for us to do more in our communities across Cardiff and Vale,” Kathryn concluded.

Llys Herbert is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care. Designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the home has its very own cinema, café and hair salon, and there is plenty of space – both indoors and out – for relaxation and recreation.