Getting outdoors: the key to boosting residents’ wellbeing

Whether you are gardening or walking, it is well known that being outside can greatly reduce stress and blood pressure. At Orchard Care Homes, we are proud of our community gardens and outdoor spaces. Recently, we have invested a lot of time and energy into getting our gardens 'In Bloom' for a group-wide competition among our 23 care homes in the North of England and Midlands. We feel it is important that our gardens are accessible areas for all, well-utilised, and adapted for year-round use.

Orchard Care Homes launched its Dementia Promise to its residents and their families in early 2023 and is striving to offer the very best in dementia care, training, and expertise. We go beyond the day-to-day routines and offer specialised care that is specifically adapted to each person's needs. One aspect of dementia care support that we consider to be vitally important is offering an opportunity for people to be meaningfully occupied. This means providing a focused, person-led approach to our care and supporting everyone with their chosen activities or hobbies. Our colleagues are on hand to supervise activities that can be done either independently, or with support from our carers.

We have found that gardening offers a great deal of reward, engagement, and sensory stimulation, and is often a go-to activity for many of the people in our homes. For this reason, each of our homes has a community garden, adapted to the needs of the people living there.