Wellbeing in IRCs: An interview with ExtraCare’s Wellbeing Research and Innovation Lead

What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your role? 

Still getting to be involved in residents lives and making them better, both directly through hands on work and indirectly through projects we run in our wider teams.

What is one unique aspect of your role as Wellbeing, Research and Innovation Lead?

Variety! I get to work across four areas, mental and physical wellbeing, research, and volunteering.

How does the wellbeing team at ExtraCare help residents maintain their independence? 

The wellbeing service can open residents eyes to what ageing can look like, it’s not an inevitable decline, through initiatives like our resilience tool we can measure frailty in residents and help them set goals to improve their health and wellbeing – meaning they stay fitter and more independent for longer.

How does the wellbeing team at ExtraCare support residents’ mental and emotional wellbeing? 

We help people to feel less on their own with it, we have a very person-centred dementia model and we also apply this to mental health. Seeing the person first and condition second. In our service we have that bit more time to understand the resident and what their life is like which often leads to ways of alleviating distress.

In your opinion, how does living in a retirement village, like those at ExtraCare, help residents age gracefully and independently? 

Living in one of our communities can be life-changing and I’ve seen it so many times over the years. The person can be supported in a holistic way, something positive in the key areas of home, health and social life.

For more information on wellbeing visit ExtraCare’s Wellbeing Page