SCOTTISH ballet is teaming up with the NHS and a care home group to improve the health of residents through films and audio.
The ballet organisation will be piloting the “SB Duet” scheme in care homes in the Inverclyde Health and Care Social Partnership, working in a partnership with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Clyde Care Home Collaborative (CHC).
SB Duet was developed to support the wellbeing of people with reduced mobility by offering a more accessible movement experience guided by film.
The scheme uses two 10-minute films and audio resources which feature a short excerpt of Scottish Ballet performance footage followed by five minutes of gentle guided movement. This can be done safely in bed or at the bedside, with a carer, family member or independently.
The CHC is a new service dedicated to supporting staff, residents and families to enhance the quality of care in homes.
It is based on the principles of bringing together all those involved in providing health and social care services to work towards a shared goal.
The work of the collaborative will be guided by feedback from care home residents, families, and staff.
Lisa Sinclair, senior dance health manager at Scottish Ballet, said: “Scottish Ballet is delighted to be working with the Care Home Collaborative to bring SB Duet to care homes across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
“Our priority is to ensure that the resources are accessible, empower as many people as possible to feel connected, creative and to take part in something that matters to them.”
Dance and movement have been shown to improve fitness, cognitive function and the quality of life in care home residents.
Scottish Ballet ran online neurological programmes during lockdown, with people joining from their beds all across Scotland.
SB Duet will be made available in a range of accessible formats including BSL, captioned, audio-description and can be translated into other languages.
The resource will be piloted in three care homes in Inverclyde and an external evaluation will be completed by researcher Emily Davis of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
