Protecting holistic wellbeing - a guide for providers
07/05/2025
Helen Wildbore, Director of Care Rights UK, wrote this article for Care Talk magazine’s May issue.
Wellbeing is, of course, central to the care and support you provide every day to people living in care. But protecting people’s legal right to wellbeing in a climate where staff shortages are rife, and services are so stretched, can feel a challenge. Ensuring wellbeing is considered ‘in the round’ – physical, mental and emotional health – is crucial. Thirty years of supporting people needing care and their families has given the charity insights into how to protect holistic wellbeing and pitfalls to avoid. Here we share some thoughts and tips based on what we hear via our adviceline.
It starts with a plan
Wellbeing is so personal. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. Getting to know the person, their likes, preferences, needs and wishes, and embedding this into their care plan is crucial for ensuring all aspects of wellbeing – physical, mental and emotional – are covered. The different types of wellbeing hinge on one another – if one goes, the others are likely to follow.
So often our adviceline hears that key information has been left out of care plans, such as access to dentures, glasses or mobility aids. When these items are lost, broken or not kept clean and useable, this can have a massive impact on people’s wellbeing. For example, without working hearing aids, people can’t communicate with care staff/loved ones/other residents or engage in activities. They can quickly become isolated and withdrawn, affecting their mental wellbeing, and relationships can suffer affecting their emotional wellbeing, which in turn can lead to a deterioration in physical wellbeing. We have supported people who have been mistaken for not understanding rather than not hearing, and of having signs of dementia.
Everyday health
A consistent theme on our adviceline for over 30 years has been lack of access to healthcare for people living in care homes. Without contact with specialist health practitioners, everyday health can decline rapidly. This is especially the case for parts of the body that can be overlooked such as mouth, teeth, eyes, ears, feet etc. Without attention, health problems can impact on other aspects of physical health. For example, lack of oral health leading to deterioration and infections, in turn the pain/discomfort can cause weight loss due to problems with eating and to depression and other mental health issues. Care staff have a key role to play in spotting potential issues with health and supporting residents to access specialists.
Small things matter
Remember that protecting wellbeing is about supporting a person holistically to have a good quality of life, so don’t forget the seemingly small things: respecting preferences on food and drink, keeping safe personal belongings that are important or serve as memories of previous homes/relationships, or even ensuring a person wears their own clothes. These are all vital to respecting a person's identity, dignity and creating a sense of belonging in their new home.
Emotional wellbeing
Relationships are key to our emotional wellbeing. Understanding who is most important in a person’s life, and what kind of support they receive from the relationship, will help you to enhance wellbeing. For example, could you:
Welcome family and friends to take part in an ‘induction’ to the home
Include important relationships and caring roles by relatives/friends in care plans so that they are treated as partners in care
Find out who the person trusts as their eyes/ears/voice for support so you know who to consult on health and care decisions – we are calling for a new legal right to a Care Supporter to make this easier
Organise social events to welcome family and friends – they may have ideas about organising events for you
Run a residents and relatives group to encourage loved ones to get involved in the life of the home
Of course, protecting wellbeing is not just a ‘nice to do’, it is about respecting people’s dignity, autonomy and legal rights, and supporting people the way we would want to be supported. This is why your role as a care professional is so important – and far too undervalued!
For more information on wellbeing and other rights, see our Get Support pages.