A BUM bag brigade is marching around a Northumberland care home helping residents with dementia feel calmer and more sociable.
Staff at The Oaks Care Home, in Blyth, have taken to wearing the 90s fashion accessory filled with items to help the residents reminisce.
Each bag has a set of vintage playing cards with different pictures, including animals, flowers and Christmas icons. They also carry two small pots of fragranced oils, such as coconut, chocolate, candy floss and toasted marshmallows.
As care staff conduct their daily duties, they can stop and show residents a card or offer a fragrance, which has been particularly beneficial for those living with dementia.
The images and smells evoke memories which helps to reduce anxiety and improve sociability and mood.
Ann Mielnik, home manager at The Oaks Care Home, on Durban Street, came up with the idea and nicknamed the staff the “Butterfly Bum Bag Brigade”. 
She said: “Butterflies are colourful, can flit around a room or be still, can change the moment and can brighten a second in someone’s life.
“That’s the idea behind the bum bags – to provide a spontaneous opportunity to improve a resident’s day with a simple gesture. All of us can change someone’s day through small things.
“All of us will have had moments in life when we felt bored, lethargic, aimless and lacking in energy and these very simple bags help to change this.
“As well as the Bum Bag Brigade during the day, we’re looking at night shift staff carrying lavender sprays to promote a restful sleep or possibly packs of biscuits for a midnight snack.”
The Oaks Care Home is part of the Hill Care Group. For further information visit www.hillcare.net.
