A LADY aged 97 who lives in sheltered housing says she's had a new lease of life thanks to a campaign to keep her active.

Margaret Hamill, who lives in Greenock's John Galt House, is benefitting from efforts by housing association River Clyde Homes and the Care Inspectorate to focus on physical activity among older people.

She says her regular keep fit classes have allowed her to rely less on medication and enjoy life to the full.

Sheltered housing manager Angela Montgomery says it is all part of a drive which has delivered top marks from the care watchdog for the social housing landlord.

Now they are seeing the results through the likes of retired postmistress Margaret.

Margaret said: "I used to just live in John Galt House, now I have a life.

"I love the classes and the social interaction.

"I am always on the move, bending my knees and moving my arms and it is great for me.

"I don't even need to take paracetamol either.

"I love it at John Galt House."

River Clyde Homes' manager Angela says she is passionate about helping older people like Margaret.

She said: "Margaret is a star. At 97 she is still fit and can stand for lengths of time.

"When she was telling me about the difference the classes make, it brought a tear to my eye.

"We try to do all we can for our residents, we want to do it for everyone.

"It is about giving a quality of life, preventing falls, stopping people having to go into hospital and reducing delayed discharge.

"I work closely with the health and social care partnership and we will get a call about people and we step in to find them a place at a our sheltered housing if we can."

River Clyde Homes' wardens deliver a programme of classes to keep residents physically active and tie in with the Care Inspectorate's Care about Physical Activity Improvement Programme.

As part of that partnership they have delivered the Moving More Often project, earning praise from the Care Inspectorate.

Edith Macintosh from the inspectorate, said: “We all know that keeping active is important for our health and wellbeing and enjoyment of life.

"It’s particularly important for older people to keep active and to move more each day.

“This is all about building the skills and confidence of social care staff so they can see opportunities for people they support to move more often and keep doing what they can.

"It will help people experiencing care and care staff to achieve that and realise people’s potential."