Operations
The future of health & safety in care homes
Danny Marinou, managing director of safety management advisory service SMAS Worksafe, looks at the longer term impact of Covid on health and safety issues in care homes
The introduction of the coronavirus pandemic rocked the social care sector, tragically impacting both residents and staff. With some believing the industry was left to fend for itself in the face of insufficient guidance from the government, the ability of those who work in care homes to manage the spread of coronavirus has been a difficult and admirable task. The pandemic has made clear that
care homes are uniquely vulnerable sites that deserve the care and attention afforded to other community settings in times of crisis, in the interests of the staff as much as the residents. In the face of such a significant public
health challenge the importance of sound health and safety practices has never been more pronounced. As the industry strikes the sometimes difficult balance between preservation of life and quality of life, keeping in mind the lessons of the previous wave will help to protect residents and staff from the ongoing underlying threat of Covid-19. Remembering and coping with the
initial death toll and what effects this will have on mental and physical health in care homes, why the gaps in government policy are dangerous for care workers, health and safety adaptation required to
maintain hygiene and how technology could help tackle problems in the future will all be essential steps for care homes to take.
Death toll of residents and workers During the first two months of lockdown in the UK, as many as 15,000 care home residents were lost to coronavirus, as well as more than 500 health and social workers. Such a profound loss raises concerns for how and why the virus was able to spread so rapidly through social care settings and highlights how it does not exclusively affect the elderly or infirm. A recent episode of BBC’s Panorama
showed 39 hospital trusts around the country were discharging patients into care homes without first testing them for
As the pandemic has progressed, new technologies have had the opportunity to prove their worth for service users and providers
December 2020 •
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
the disease and 71 out of 124 care providers felt pressured into accepting residents without a test. Additionally, there were many
concerns at the start of the outbreak around a lack of PPE, with a Channel 4 investigation finding thousands of pieces of PPE in the government’s pandemic stockpile that were out of date. Inaction and mismanagement on behalf of decision makers in government is likely to have exacerbated the problems in care homes that resulted in such a dramatic death toll. While there is much hope about the
effectiveness of vaccines, Covid-19 has not been suppressed and the virus is set to be a persistent threat that care homes will have to deal with. Vigilance with health and safety measures, as well as a unified approach between hospitals and care homes will be needed to avoid further contamination and outbreaks. Ensuring adequate PPE is continually
available and that all visitors comply with face mask requirements will be essential to operating care homes in a way that protects residents and staff, while also allowing care homes to continue being a part of their local community.
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