Elderly celebrate Christmas with wheelchair ice skating

A daring group of residents, staff and volunteers from Orders of St John Care Trust care homes wrapped up warm and tightened their laces for a festive winter morning of ice skating at Oxford Ice Rink.

Over 30 Oxfordshire care home residents had wanted to experience the thrill of ice-skating and staff found the perfect solution with ‘skate plates’ which were able to accommodate wheelchair users.

Among the care home residents showing off their skating skills was 79-year-old Janet Craske from Stirlings care home in Wantage, who used to be a speed skater when she was younger.

Commenting on the experience, she said: “I really enjoyed myself today and it brought back some wonderful memories of when I used to go skating years ago, so a big thank you to our carers for giving us all such a special outing.”

Residents who took part in the group ice-skating session, which was organised by The Meadows’ activities coordinator, live in care homes throughout Oxfordshire, including Longlands, The Meadows, Stirlings, Glebe House, Isis House, Madley Park House and Larkrise Care Centre.

Patsy Just, assistant operations director for Orders of St John Care Trust in Oxfordshire, said: “Our activities coordinators across the county work hard to provide residents with a diverse calendar of activities week in and week out. We strongly believe in giving people the opportunity to do different and exciting things.

“It’s all about what you can do, not what you can’t, so events like this one are particularly beneficial. They can also trigger reminiscence of the past, bringing back fond memories that we’ve found make people happier and more content.”

She added: “These sorts of trips out are also a great opportunity for employees, residents and volunteers from the homes to get together and make new friends – and in this case, get into the festive winter spirit.”

Having started in Lincolnshire, running 16 former local authority care homes, the Trust now operates 68 homes and 14 extra care housing schemes across Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

The Trust provides specialist nursing and dementia care, as well intermediate, respite and day care.

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