A COUNTY Durham elderly care home has introduced the popular Nintendo Wii games console to help its residents keep fit.
The best-selling family game console is proving a big hit with people living in the Langley House care home, in Sunderland Road, Horden, which is owned and managed by Durham Aged Mineworkers’ Homes Association.
The most popular games include Wii Sports, particularly the tennis and bowling, and Just Dance, which involves using the Wii remote to dance to various songs.
Joy Atkinson, Head of Home at Langley House, said: “We put the games on the big screen in our residents’ lounge and there is never any shortage of people wanting to have a go.
“The good thing about it is you can play whilst sitting down or standing up and still get exercise as it can work all parts of the body.
“We have found it is particularly useful for people who have a had a stroke as it improve hand to eye coordination, as well as stimulating the nerve endings damaged by the stroke.
“It also demonstrates that just because you are older, there is no reason why you can’t also enjoy playing video games. Our residents are certainly demonstrating that age is no barrier to having fun.”
The Nintendo Wii console has successfully appealed to a much wider market than traditional games consoles, mostly because of its easy and interactive playability that allows users to play games through motion sensors built into its hand-held remote devices, instead of the classic but often complicated joy-pads found on other consoles.
Langley House is 26-bedroom care home that provides high quality person-centred care, including day care, respite care and personal care, for people who are experiencing various difficulties, such as physical or emotional problems. It is rated as ‘Good’ by the adult care regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC).