The residents of an Auchinleck care home have been kept engaged and active thanks to staff and virtual contact.

The team at Glennie House, William McComb Court, have been working hard to use technology so that those they look after can still see their family and enjoy some of their usual entertainment.

Ann Marie Weir, activities coordinator, said: “They are probably in the safest environment in here and they still have the company of each other.

“But they’re unable to have visits from their family since the lockdown.

“But we’ve been using Facetime, Skype, Zoom and all the different technology so they are still keeping in contact with the families.”

Some of the home’s regular entertainers have been offering their services free-of-charge too.

Lawrence Lindsay, who offers reminiscence sessions all over Ayrshire, organised a special visual based programme to be enjoyed by residents using Zoom.

Lawrence said: “I used to visit them on a monthly basis but since the lockdown my work is finished.

“I’ve had to adapt, so I’ve upped my skills.”

Lawrence created an image-based show with photos of famous statues and people accompanied with music.

For one resident’s 80th birthday, he incorporated memories about people born in the same year and included quirky trivia to keep it humourous.

He said he prefers to have close interaction, being able to hold hands, and this is better for the resident, but was surprised to see the impact the virtual session had.

He said: “I saw some of the clips, the one when the resident received the cake, he was so animated.

“It was a really nice moment. It was quite emotional.”

Lawrence said what is particularly nice about the sessions is the ability for relatives to join the event to enjoy it with them.

A lot of care homes are making use of laptops and iPads to let families see each other whilst following the lockdown rules

Lawrence said: “Dementia is a very personal illness. So a few of them didn’t get it was their husband on the screen, but it works with some people.

“And the music is great for people with dementia. After a few songs they open up and chat to you.”

The residents of Glennie House also had songs from singer Tommy Whitelaw and wrote Easter cards to send to their families.

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