TAKING CARE

Matt Elliott first became aware of the lack of hair services in care homes when his Grandad was diagnosed with dementia in 2018 and placed into a care home. “When I visited my Grandad, I noticed that it wasn’t just his hair that looked untidy and unkept but most of the residents were in the same position. I asked what the protocol was on haircuts and that’s when I found out that it was left to the staff when they had the time,” he explains. He immediately decided to offer his services for free, “The care home allowed me to cut my Grandad’s hair but couldn’t give permission for the rest of the residents without going through the appropriate channels, so I left feeling happy that I had been able to restore my Grandad to his old self as he was always a well-kept, proud man but I felt awful because he was one resident out of forty.” Matt set about finding out exactly what he needed in order to go back and provide the same service for all the residents, and after many emails, phone calls and a DBS check he started cutting the residents’ hair on a monthly basis.

“To the best of my knowledge privately funded care homes have an inhouse barber, hairdresser or a salon on site, but on the flip side of this, the NHS or any government care home is so underfunded that they have care workers with absolutely no qualifications carrying out a service that requires a certain level of training. It’s not their fault because care workers are faced with the choice of leaving residents with unkept hair or to cut it themselves,” says Matt .“For me, a haircut is a large part of a person’s well-being, it’s not only essential for your appearance but also your mental health in terms of the social interaction to the feeling you get when you have your hair cut.” He explains that every barber knows how a haircut, or a fresh trim can make their clients feel. “Imagine not getting that feeling again or imagine if it was your family or friend in that situation,” he says. “There is no greater feeling than seeing the smile on a resident’s face when you show them the mirror. It gives them a mental boost and for a second they forget about whatever health problems they may be facing.”

Balancing his time to be able to deliver this vital service is an ongoing struggle for Matt, who is already a busy barber. “I give up three days a month to cut hair, free of charge, in two Bristol care homes and I am currently in talks about returning to cutting hair for the homeless in the city,” he says. “I want to start an organisation dedicated to supporting care homes across Bristol providing professional, consistent haircuts to residents, but I feel like the red tape around safeguarding makes it impossible at times.”

For Matt it is important to create more awareness around the lack of provisions in care homes. “Having someone from the outside come in and treat the residents like a human and not a patient, making them forget where they are would do wonders for the well-being of the patients. It would also take the strain away from staff who are already under a lot of pressure.”