It is key that you take the steps to regularly care for your mental wellbeing – there are things you can do each day that will support this.

• Meaningful activity

Engage in an activity that is meaningful to you. There are many things that this may mean to you, but see below for some examples to include in your day-to-day life:

1. Structured and spontaneous visits and activities with friends and family.
2. Taking part in something within your community- whether that’s in a church, community group, volunteer work.
3. Emotional and creative stimulation through activities and connections with others.
4. Engaging with media you enjoy – whether that’s music, television, books, newspapers, or other

• Get outdoors

Connecting with nature and enjoying the fresh air is an effective way to instantly boost mental wellbeing. Just sitting out on a bench and listening to the birds gets you out of the house is all you need, or a light walk if you can.

If you are retired, you should try to get outdoors every day for at least 10 minutes per day to care for your overall mood and wellbeing.

• Speak to a friend

Talking to a friend via text message, phone call, or arranging to meet for coffee is a great way to boost mental health. If you are retired, and especially if you live alone, you may feel lonelier than you used to. Maintaining friendships and wider connections is key to nurturing your social and emotional health.

• Challenge yourself – small step out of routine

Many of us can fall into the same day-to-day routines, especially in later life. Your mood can be instantly boosted by doing something as simple as making a different breakfast, taking a different route to the shop than usual, or listening to a different radio station. Incorporating new experiences, however small, into your day-to-day life can really help pick you up when you when you feel stuck in a slump.

• Ask for help and extra support

Finally, letting the people around you know if and what they can do to support your overall health and wellbeing is key to caring for your mental health as an older adult. This includes both physical and emotional support – whether you need more help with day-to-day tasks, someone to talk to when you’re down,

Here at Minster Home Care, we discuss your overall health needs and ensure you receive the care you need to support your overall health, happiness, and quality of life. We tailor our services to your needs to ensure your physical, mental, social, and emotional wellbeing are cared for – no one client has the same support package!

The post 5 Ways to Boost Mental Wellbeing for Older Adults appeared first on Minster Home Care.

Importantly, poor circulation isn’t a condition itself: it is caused by other health issues. Therefore, to treat the symptoms of poor circulation you need to treat the underlying condition leading to it.

Causes

There are several conditions that result in poor circulation. The most common include the following:

• Peripheral Artery Disease

Build up on the walls of blood vessels, causing them to narrow. This is common in people with type 2 diabetes.

• Blood Clots

A clump of blood that has changed from liquid to a gel-like state, reducing the ability of blood flow.

• Varicose Veins

Enlarged veins caused by valve failure, most commonly seen on the back of legs.

• Diabetes

Diabetes can cause blood flow problems as well as impacting your blood sugar levels, and many sufferers experience symptoms associated with this.

• Obesity

Being overweight puts you at increased risk of circulatory problems.

• Reynaud’s Disease

A condition causing a narrowing of the arteries in hands and feet, causing coldness, numbness and other symptoms.

• Smoking

The chemicals in cigarettes damage blood vessels and increase risk of atherosclerosis.

• High blood pressure

High blood pressure weakens blood vessel walls, making it harder for blood to move through them.

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of poor circulation include:

• tingling
• numbness
• Muscles that hurt or feel weak when you walk
• “Pins and needles” sensations
• Pale or blue skin colour
• Cold fingers or toes
• Chest pain
• Swelling
• Veins that bulge

Symptoms are mostly experienced in the hands, legs, feet, and toes. Stress and cold climates can increase the severity of symptoms you experience.

It is important to remember that symptoms vary between person to person and even flare up to flare up. If you are particularly or painfully affected by any of these symptoms, you should see your doctor.

Solutions

You can take some action yourself to reduce the side effects of circulatory problems. These include:

• Exercise
• Eat a healthy diet
• Quit smoking
• Lose weight
• Stress management

Medical solutions might include:

• compression socks to support swollen or painful legs
• Specific exercises designed to increase blood circulation
• Undergoing surgery for varicose veins
• Taking any necessary medications to treat your underlying condition

Depending on the severity of your symptoms, the painful side effects of circulatory problems can be managed and treated in many cases – don’t let this impact your life more than it needs to!

Here at Minster Home Care, we are passionate about supporting the overall health, happiness and wellbeing of our clients- whether that’s through offering practical advice on managing circulation problems or providing personal care, companionship, palliative care, and other bespoke care services.

The post Poor Circulation: Causes, Symptoms, Solutions appeared first on Minster Home Care.

Our tips are specifically useful to older adults, whose health is often impacted particularly negatively by the winter months. 

• Boost your diet

One of the most simple and effective ways to boost your health is through diet. Plus, making healthy food choices often feels easier as spring comes round – many of us naturally crave delicious fresh fruit and vegetables as the days brighten up!  Make the most of spring by eating delicious seasonal picks – strawberries, apples, bananas, and avocados are all in season, as well as kale, spinach, and mushrooms. Add a range of healthy fats and carbs as well, and you’ll be feeling great both inside and out.

• Enjoy nature

Whilst it’s true for people of all ages, older adults especially tend to spend a lot of time stuck indoors throughout the winter. After this, getting back outside can have a really positive impact on your mental wellbeing.  If you can, get out for a short walk, or simply enjoy a relaxing sit in your garden or at a local park. Take in the fresh spring air, listen to the birds, and look around at the flowers coming into bloom. Daffodils especially are all around at this time of year, and seeing all the bright lively colours can provide a great mood boost.

• Safely soak up the sunshine

Both your mental and physical health receive a boost when you take in the sun! Vitamin D deficiency is at its highest following winter, and can cause symptoms such as aching bones, brain fog, and low mood. As you get older, these symptoms can become more apparent. Take the time to soak up the rays and enjoy the overall boost to your health.

• Socialise

It becomes even more important to ensure social interaction is maintained when we get older to maintain a healthy mental state. The longer, brighter days of spring make socialising simpler to arrange- whether that’s a day trip out, having a friend or relative over for a chat, or going to the local shops. Give a loved one a call today and book something in!

This Spring, take these simple and enjoyable steps for that post-winter health boost! As an older adult, prioritising your health is more important than ever – luckily, the brighter days can make this simpler and easier than it has been.

The post Boosting your Health in Spring: Tips for Older Adults appeared first on Minster Home Care.

To get involved, we’ve drawn up a list of what we believe are the most rewarding things about working in care! There are many to choose from, but see below the things we love most about our work…

• Unmatched job satisfaction

To go to work and feel like you’re making a difference in somebody’s life is so rewarding. There is nothing better helping someone overcome an issue they’ve been struggling with, finding solutions to problems, and simply supporting someone in day-to-day tasks. Knowing that you’re helping someone to live the best and fullest life they can gives a sense of real job satisfaction that is hard to match.

• The people and relationships

As a care provider, you meet many amazing people all with stories to tell! You have countless interesting conversations, and the nature of the work means you are always interacting with a diverse range of people. There are also opportunities to form great relationships with those you care for on a very regular basis, with whom you build trusting long-term relationships in which you both feel valued.

• The things you learn

Working as a care giver, you develop a huge range of skills that apply to your work, personal life, and place in the community. For instance- emotional resilience, communication skills, flexibility, and compassion, as well practical support skills. Every day you face new situations and challenges from which you are constantly learning and growing.

• Give back to the community

Working in care is especially rewarding in that it allows you to give something back to the community. As a carer you’re helping those who need it most, and can see the impact this has on the person and their wider support network. The feeling of contributing positively to society through your work is rare to find in a day job!

• More than just a job

It’s true that this line of work is so much more than a job. Through providing necessary care, you support and improve someone’s physical and emotional wellbeing, which is truly rewarding and special. This, combined with the relationships you form with those you care for, means you get far more out of your work than you’ll find in other industries.

• Ever-changing

Everyone we work with has different emotional and practical needs. As a caregiver, the aim is always to provide outstanding person-centred care, which requires care plans bespoke to whatever these individual needs might be. This means our work is dynamic and ever-changing- no two people or two days are the same.

From the people themselves, to the job satisfaction, to the diversity of the role- there are so many wonderful things about working in the care sector. Here at Minster Home Care, we appreciate all our staff for their incredible work, and take great pride in being a part of the care sector.

To get involved in #YouCanCare week, you can share this blog with your friends and family and ask any caregivers you know why they love their job so much. If they’re anything like us, they’ll have lots of positive things to say about their work, and would love to share their thoughts.

Search the hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Linkedin, and see what others are doing to commemorate care givers this week!

The post The Most Rewarding Aspects of Care Sector Work appeared first on Minster Home Care.

Vascular dementia usually gets worse over time, but it is sometimes possible to slow down its development through lifestyle changes and certain medications. Such possibilities can be discussed with your healthcare provider.

What causes vascular dementia?

Vascular dementia is caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, which can happen because of:

• A narrowing and blockage of small blood vessels in the brain
• A stroke (where blood supply to one area of the brain is suddenly cut off)
• Lots of ‘mini strokes’ (also known as transient ischaemic attacks; TIAs), which cause minute but widespread brain damage

Reduced blood flow explained

The brain requires a constant flow of blood to function healthily and normally. Blood is carried to the brain via the vascular system- a network of vessels. If this system is restricted or damaged in any way, it will ultimately cause brain cells to die (because they are receiving no blood, the provider of nutrients and oxygen).

In many cases, reduced blood flow to the brain can be linked to underlying health conditions including diabetes and high blood pressure. It may also be linked with lifestyle factors- smoking and being overweight.

When this happens (irrespective of possible cause), an array of cognitive and emotional problems can arise. When these problems become notable enough to have an impact on a person’s daily life, the condition is recognised as vascular dementia.

Vascular dementia symptoms

Symptoms can begin suddenly or develop slowly over some time and vary between individuals. The main symptoms (NHS listed) include:

• Slowness of thought
• Difficulty with planning and understanding things
• Struggling to concentrate
• Changes in mood, personality, and behaviour
• Feeling disoriented and confused
• Difficulty with walking and keeping balanced on feet
• Problems with memory and language

Day-to-day life

Vascular dementia can affect how a person thinks and feels in their day-to-day life. Their personality and overall behaviour may differ to what it once was, and they may struggle with some of the listed physical symptoms.  Changes can be minor at first, but can deteriorate further and become increasingly difficult to manage over time.

This is when extra support with daily tasks, and developing coping strategies is often required. Vascular dementia can cover a variety of symptoms with hugely differing degrees of severity, so a tailored support package is required for every sufferer.

What can we do

Moving a loved one suffering with dementia to a residential care home can be upsetting and difficult for the person and their family. This is why at Minster Home Care we offer a dementia home care service. We provide the same quality of care as a residential home but deliver it in the home environment where sufferers feel their most safe and comfortable.

We encourage a relationship- focused approach that allows your loved one to really get to know and feel comfortable around their carer. We also ensure engagement continues in sufferers, actively encouraging and supporting social interaction and activity with family and friends.

Whether supporting the independence of those in our care by helping out with daily tasks such as preparing meals and running errands, providing family respite care or offering more extensive care – our dementia care services (covering all forms of dementia) are ever-evolving and tailored to the needs of each and every individual.

To find out more about how you can join the Minster Home Care family, or if you or your loved one would like to learn more about our services, call us on 01904 929 080 or visit our contact page.

The post Understanding Vascular Dementia appeared first on Minster Home Care.

However, if you’re not sure that you hold the right qualities and skills to become a carer, take a look at our advice and why joining Minster Home Care could be the best option for you.

Who Can Become a Carer?

Anyone who has a passion for making a difference to someone else’s life can become a carer. However, if you’re still not sure that it might be a good fit for you, here are some of the other skills you may need to have to establish a career in care:

Flexibility

A career as a carer can have many perks when it comes to flexibility, as you can often choose whether you would prefer part-time or full-time shifts and often schedule this around your family life or other commitments. However, sometimes your client may need your assistance with little or no notice and you may have to be prepared for this.

Good at Communicating and Listening

A vital aspect of home care is to ensure that the needs of the people you care for are consistently met. You’ll be visiting people from all walks of life and it is imperative that you are able to communicate effectively with them to ensure they are receiving the right care and are able to trust and rely on you.

Additionally, companionship is a key component of domiciliary care work. Often, the people you care for may see you as a friendly face and someone to chat to about their day, so being a good listener is key.

Why Choose Minster Home Care?

Minster Home Care is a family-run home care business based in York. We are passionate about delivering high quality care to the people who need it in the comfort of their own homes.

Our exceptional team are made up of reliable, trustworthy and hard-working carers who dedicate their careers to making a difference in the lives of the people they care for. If this sounds like you, here are some of the reasons why you should join the Minster Home Care family:

• Flexible Hours – The hours you work are flexible and can fit around your schedule, whether you have a busy family life or a second job, we will aim to fit your lifestyle around your work.
• Training – Full training and information on all of our policies and procedures will be provided to you as an employee of Minster Home Care.
• Pay and Expenses – As a valuable employee, you will be paid well in excess of the National Living Wage and business mileage expenses can also be claimed, tax-free.
• Technology – We use the latest care technology as standard, including the latest computer software so you can update your clients’ care plans, log your working hours and update your mileage expenses with little worry.
• Uniform – When you begin your journey with us, we will provide you with a brand-new bespoke uniform and relevant supplies to make your job as easy and as professional as we can.

To find out more about how you can join the Minster Home Care family, or if you or your loved one would like to learn more about our services, call us on 01904 929 080 or visit our contact page.

The post Who Can Become a Carer? appeared first on Minster Home Care.

At Minster Home Care, we are looking to recruit qualified, passionate and hardworking caregivers to join our team. We want to hire people who are able to build real long-lasting relationships with all our clients who have a genuine passion for care.

So, if you’re a carer looking for a new adventure, take a look below at why Minster Home Care might be the right place for you.

Our Hours Are Flexible Around You

Whether you need to take your children on the school run or you simply prefer working in the evenings, the hours you work as a caregiver are up to you.

Contact us today to see what part-time and full-time positions we have available.

We Use the Latest Technology

We prioritise our clients’ needs so their care runs as smoothly as possible. Our staff use the latest computer software to make sure that clients’ care plans can be updated as quick, easy and trouble-free as possible.

Staff can also use the software to log working hours and mileage expenses.

Full Training Is Provided

Every member of the Minster Home Care is a valued and trusted part of the family. That’s why we dedicate time and money to ensure that each staff member is fully trained and up-to-date with the latest requirements and regulations that are relevant to their jobs.

Excess of National Living Wage

All of our caregivers are paid well in excess of the National Living Wage – our way of saying thank you for doing a great job and looking after the people who need you the most.

Bespoke Uniform and Supplies

Each member of the Minster Home Care team is provided with our bespoke uniform and all the supplies that are needed to make the job easier. We see Minster Home Care as part of the local community and want the people we care for and their families to feel looked after and reassured whenever they see a member of our team.

New Carers

Even if you’re not a well-established carer and are merely looking for a change of career, consider becoming a caregiver for Minster Home Care. For the right candidates, we can offer training and guidance to ensure that you gain the relevant qualifications to become a carer and be able to deliver high-quality care to those who need it in the community.

We are always on the look out for hard-working people to join our ever-expanding team, whether you have the experience or not. Plus, if you choose to apply for a job with us, you’ll be part of a caring, friendly team that works closely with our clients to ensure they have the most comfortable experience possible.

To find out more about joining Minster Home Care or about the services we can provide for you or your loved one, contact the team today.

The post Why Join Minster Home Care? appeared first on Minster Home Care.

Personal Identity

One of the most important ways to promote positive wellbeing for older people is to ensure that they maintain their personal identity.

Here are some top tips on how to work alongside someone to keep their personal identity:

• Get to know them as individuals and what their interests are.
• Provide any support they may need to make choices and decisions.
• Let the person you are caring for choose their own meals and what they would like to do with their day.
• Help the person to sustain social relationships and make new ones.

Meaningful Activity

Meaningful activity can be extremely beneficial for older people. It will allow them to learn new skills, increase independence and gain motivation.

Minster Home Care carers are well-versed in ensuring that the people they care for engage in meaningful activity and supporting mental wellbeing. Our organisation instils the idea that supporting relationships and activities are important for quality of life and will avoid any unnecessary risk of mental decline or feelings of isolation.

Our carers support the people they care for by engaging in activities such as:

• Days out and trips individually or in groups and with family and friends.
• Social groups, including hobbies and interests in the local area.
• Daily tasks such as shopping or going to an appointment.
• Physical activities, such as going on a walk.

Minster Home Care

At Minster Home Care, our carers are fully trained to understand the people they care for and what they can do to improve their quality of life and overall wellbeing.

They are aware of any mental health problems, sensory impairments or physical problems that a person already has and can spot the any changes or symptoms in people to ensure they are getting the right care. Our carers make close observations of the people they regularly care for and know how and when to make a referral to the healthcare service if necessary.

Furthermore, our carers also make a concerted effort to maintain positive wellbeing with the people they care for in a number of ways. Depending on the individual and their needs, our carers may accompany people to certain events, activities or trips. This is in order for them to sustain their social relationships, carry on with any hobbies they may have or to simply get them up and out of the house. No matter what the situation or requirement, our carers are fully trained and dedicated to providing the best care they can by understanding their clients’ needs and putting them first.

To find out more about how Minster Home Care can help you or your loved one, contact us today.

The post Promoting Positive Mental Wellbeing for Older People appeared first on Minster Home Care.

However, immobility can be prevented by regular physical activity and exercise, even if it’s only light movements for short periods of time.

What Sort of Exercises Should I Be Doing?

The NHS recommends that over-65s should aim to be active every day, choosing activities that improve strength, balance and flexibility. This should be coupled with the aim of reducing time spent lying down or not moving.

However, it is important to note that everyone is different, and you should never partake in any exercises or activities that may cause you long-term harm or pain.

Light Activity

If you struggle with your mobility, then it is recommended that you should still try to partake in light activity, rather than sitting or lying down for long periods of time.

Light activity includes:

• Standing up
• Making the bed
• Making a cup of tea or something to eat
• Cleaning, dusting or vacuuming
• Walking around your home

Flexibility Exercises

Sometimes, turning your neck or getting out of a chair can feel like a struggle and this can get progressively worse as we get older. Maintaining your flexibility is key to overcoming this struggle and ensuring that you are not as limited by your muscle strength.

Stretching is an easy and effective way of maintaining flexibility and allowing for better posture. It also helps the movement in joints, releases muscle tension and can reduce the risk of injury.

If you want to become more flexible, there are some stretching exercises you can do to make sure you get your muscles moving and feel much better in your own skin.

Stretching your arms, neck, back, hips and legs will help you maintain your flexibility and keep you limber for longer.

Stretching tips:

• Never forget to warm up before stretching – you can simply walk on the spot.
• Take a deep breath and slowly exhale whilst you stretch your arms, legs or whichever part of the body you are working on.
• Stretching can be done whilst sitting down, just keep your legs and arms moving.
• Hold each stretch for 30 seconds to give yourself enough time to feel the benefits.

Why Change Your Exercises?

Changing up your exercises can prevent the overuse of specific muscles and give new ones the chance to be used. It also means that you’ll be far more interested in partaking in exercises as you can choose from a wide variety of routines.

How Can Minster Home Care Help You?

Minster Home Care, our experienced and compassionate carers fully encourage the people they care for to keep as physically fit and active as possible. Moving around the house and partaking in exercises as much as they can is hugely beneficial in the long run. We notice for many of the people we care for that regular exercise has boosted their mood, kept them sociable and allowed them to maintain their independence.

To find out more about how we can help you or your loved one and to find the right care package that suits you, contact us today.

The post Staying Active! Mobility Exercises for the Elderly appeared first on Minster Home Care.

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