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CARE HOME


ENVIRONMENT www.thecarehomeenvironment.com Editor


Mary-Louise Clews marylouiseclews@stepcomms.com


Business Manager Mike Gammon mikegammon@stepcomms.com


Journal Administration Katy Cockle


katycockle@stepcomms.com Design


Steven Dillon


Publisher Geoff King


geoffking@stepcomms.com


Publishing Director Trevor Moon


trevormoon@stepcomms.com


THE CARE HOME ENVIRONMENT is published monthly by Step Communications Ltd, Step House, North Farm Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3DR, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1892 779999


Opening up can be hard


Mary-Louise Clews, Editor marylouiseclews@stepcomms.com


Care home providers got a bit more of a look at the government’s plans for their role within its neighbourhood health and care reforms, with the recent release of an overarching delivery framework (news pg 12). The plans talked about a shift from care


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homes being seen as isolated facilities to integrated community assets that are used much more for short term respite purposes rather than permanent residency, as part of plans to ‘reduce avoidable care home admissions’. This shift dovetails with separate


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messaging from the Department this week over visiting restrictions at care homes. Ministers said they are exploring whether to bring forward legislation to make visiting a statutory right after its review of existing regulations found some providers – including hospitals and hospices – are restricting family and friends visits into homes and resident trips out. The message is clear: policy makers want


to see an end to a culture that views care homes’ role as a final destination for many older people. An end to the home as a place where our older relatives are too often locked away to deteriorate on their way towards the end of their lives. The vision of care homes for older people


as open and engaged parts of the community is one that is shared by many in the sector


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of course. After spending just one day among provider leaders at the Care England conference, and less than a month in post, I’ve already heard many stories of lively and positive interactions between care home staff and residents and their communities, where the care environment is part of the vibrant fabric of local life. As I get under way as editor, I plan to


bring more of these stories into the print and digital pages of The Care Home Environment. I want to know how care home design and management can be configured to ensure both tangible and unseen institutional barriers to community inclusion and engagement are reduced or removed altogether, and – crucially - the impact this has on resident wellbeing and health outcomes. For some with a more closed, traditional


culture this shift will be more difficult. Opening up can be hard to do. But, as we live longer and there are more older than younger people in our communities it is in all our interests to support this shift from isolation to engagement, with more care providers offering a positive, visible impact in our local areas. I’m looking forward to reading and


sharing more inspirational stories of care homes as community assets over the coming months. Please do reach out if you resonate with this and you have a tale to share. I look forward to hearing from you.


THE


Viacheslav Yakobchuk - stock.adobe.com


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