Vote for your Care Home Idol!

carehome.co.uk is calling on people to vote for their Care Home Idol.

The talent held by carehome.co.uk, leading guide to care homes, aims to challenge ageist stereotypes and show that many people in care homes live happy and fulfilling lives.

Entries for the online competition include a group of care home residents doing the infamous Harlem Shake plus the Oldest Choir in the World.

The video Harlem Shake www.carehome.co.uk/idol/idol.cfm/id/44 begins with the residents sitting sedately in their chairs having a cup of tea. Next minute they are all waving their arms in the air and dancing wildly around the lounge.

The Oldest Choir in the World which was officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records earlier this year can be seen here www.carehome.co.uk/idol/idol.cfm/id/46

The choir practices regularly and Lou Squires, managing director of St John’s House care home, claims it has had “such a positive impact on the lives of our residents. I’m sure that it has contributed to our reduced number of falls and people’s appetites and general health have improved.”

carehome.co.uk hopes Care Home Idol will get more care homes to encourage their residents to sing and perform as music can have a huge impact on people’s wellbeing.

Studies have also shown music can dramatically affect people with dementia, with the power to unlock long-forgotten memories, reaching parts of the brain that other forms of communication are unable to. “We tend to remain contactable as musical beings on some level right up to the very end of life,” said Professor Paul Robertson, a concert violinist and academic who has made a study of music in dementia care.

“We know that the auditory system of the brain is the first to fully function at 16 weeks, which means that you are musically receptive long before anything else. So it’s a case of first in, last out when it comes to a dementia-type breakdown of memory.”

The contest has received the support of MPs such as Penny Mordaunt MP, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ageing and Older People. She is calling for people to get behind the initiative and vote for their favourite care home resident. She said: “This initiative is great fun and a good excuse for a knees-up in homes around the country.

“There is rightly much focus on the care system when things go wrong, but we should remember that there are also some wonderful homes out there where residents are supported to pursue their hobbies and talents, while being engaged and entertained.

“Good luck to all contenders! My current favourite is Waterfield House doing the Harlem Shake!”

MP Tracey Crouch, vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia, has also lent her support to Care Home Idol. She said: “I hope this initiative highlights some of the many examples of good practice across the care home sector and that others follow their lead.”

“Music can be very beneficial to the wellbeing of older people particularly those with dementia. Active engagement and enjoyment is key to helping older people stay happy and healthy.”

The competition is open to people who live, work and perform in Britain’s 20,000 care homes, and the winners will be announced in April 2014. There are two categories – residents and entertainers and anyone can vote.

Davina Ludlow, director of carehome.co.uk, said: “Care Home Idol is an annual competition that will open a window on the active and talented communities that thrive inside care homes.

“When you look at the performances that have already been uploaded to carehome.co.uk, you see people sharing songs, jokes and memories. You see smiles, you see people having fun. It is also another way residents and their families can stay in touch.

“Care Home Idol aims to help break down the barriers that can exist between a care home and the wider communities they serve. It also shows the warm relationships that can exist between the staff and the residents.”

Karen Allen, manager of Waterfield House care home, which has entered the Harlem Shake video, was keen to enter the competition as she said the “negativity of care homes really gets us down when there is no good publicity to show there are some really caring and loving places out there”.

“The Harlem Shake idea was put forward by the grandson of Betty Howell (the lady in the wheelchair in the video) who wanted to show that care homes are fun places to be, especially Runwood Homes where most of our homes have a full time dedicated activates co-ordinator to keep our residents fully entertained at all times.

“The residents absolutely loved it and still talk about it now – the video brings a smile to all who watch it.”

Des Kelly, executive director of the National Care Forum, is championing the initiative. He said: “I think Care Home Idol is a great idea. I welcome this initiative as a means of challenging the negative perceptions that seem to dominate the care home sector unfairly. The videos are excellent and are the ways in which we need to be getting across the idea to the public that care homes are not always how they are perceived in the national media.”

Sylvie Silver, director of the National Association for the Providers of Activities for Older People (NAPA), is also fully of praise for the Care Home Idol initiative. She said: “Care homes are full of talented older people who don’t get many opportunities to show off their skills so a competition like Care home Idol will give them a chance to shine. Activities that have meaning and purpose - and a chance to win something - will always motivate residents far more than doing something just for the sake of it.”

The Anchor Community Band is also competing for the title of Care Home Idol and has uploaded a video of its charity single ‘See Yourself’ which reached number 17 in the Official Indie Charts. More than 350 older people from Anchor care homes across the country were involved in writing and recording it, the oldest band member being 96 years old. The song shows older people are “more than what you see”.

Anchor Community Band manager Carl Martin said: “It’s a really powerful song because the words are telling younger people that the older generation are exactly the same as them, with just a bit more life experience.

“Many people formed real friendships as a result of the band and it’s resulted in lots of activities and groups springing up in care homes around the country.

“The song is special because the lyrics were informed by the experiences and wisdom of older people themselves and Care Home Idol is a brilliant way of showing just how much fun can be had in homes which focus on people as individuals.”

World War II veteran Derek D’Hooghe, 89, plays drums on the single. Derek, who played to Allied troops in Burma during the Second World War after signing up in 1942 aged 18, said: “I love playing the drums and time doesn’t make a difference – I can still play at the age of 89.”

Ms Ludlow of carehome.co.uk is calling for even more care home residents and entertainers to enter Care Home Idol “so we can show people the huge talent that exists within care homes in Britain”. For more information on how to enter go to www.carehome.co.uk/idol/