Operations
Mental health problems post- lockdown and in the future As is expected in many areas of society, the pandemic will have had a significant impact on mental health for those in care and their support workers. Whether this is the effects of isolation, the mental toll of losing residents and staff or how residents will cope with local lockdown measures, care homes will be uniquely affected thanks to their vulnerability. In addition to maintaining protections
from the physical impacts of the virus, service providers will need to keep a stronger focus on the mental impacts of the pandemic even as the UK continues its recovery. The effects of isolation on the elderly
have long been a concern in the UK as loneliness becomes more commonplace. Though care home residents live together in communities, being completely removed from the outside world may have detrimental effects on their happiness. As families have been prevented from
visiting while the pandemic was brought under control, the immediate loss of regular contact may have compounded mental issues that residents were dealing with beforehand. While video call technology has become much more common to combat this problem, care homes should continue to closely monitor the wellbeing of residents to help overcome this challenge while visits remain restricted. Additionally, as ‘R’ infection rates rise
and fall, nationally and locally, the threat to care homes will fluctuate accordingly. As some care homes are only opening for visitors after 28 days since the last presentation of symptoms, future outbreaks may shut residents off from
With wearable tech already able to measure heart rate, blood pressure and location, there is more scope for contactless caring
and depression, and may want to consider how they can expand their support for staff suffering from ill mental health. Mental Health at Work has established the Our Frontline helpline for care workers, which allows staff to call or text for advice and support with their mental health. The charity Mind also offers free
resources for those in the health and social care sectors to deal with mental health challenges as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
their loved ones again in the future. With higher levels of uncertainty
around outside contact, this may cause even more distress and anxiety among care home residents. Now that the first national lockdown has given care home operators a better insight into how to maintain outside contact and resident wellbeing, expanding technology should be a priority for care home staff in supporting their residents in the future. On top of all these added stresses,
there persists the considerable loss of life across UK care homes. There is no doubt that this will affect the mental health of staff as well as many residents, and with every lost life will continue to be a problem. Care home leaders need to be vigilant to the signs of increased anxiety, stress
Technological advances to support health & safety As the pandemic has progressed, new technologies have had the opportunity to prove their worth for service users and providers. There are a range of benefits to the expanded adoption of technology in a care home setting. For example, online communication
technology like video calls have been used to allow residents to stay in touch with their families. While techno-literacy is generally poor among care home residents, staff have been able to facilitate these online conversations which will protect the mental health of residents and their loved ones should future lockdowns be necessary. For service providers, real-time
communication with other trusts or other members of the trust through cloud technology helps improve efficiency, as well as knowledge sharing and collaboration. With interconnectivity between providers, staff are able to learn from each other how best to serve their residents, improving their quality of care and quality of life. Digitised registration and visitor
monitoring will also be effective as the threat of coronavirus persists. The safety of service users will be paramount as we navigate the future of care home access and digital records will not only improve efficiency but they will also enable consistent contact tracing. As we have seen already, the virus can
be indiscriminate of age so ensuring each care home has detailed, manageable records of all visitors will be essential to protecting the community as well as residents. Wearable tech may still seem like
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www.thecarehomeenvironment.com• December 2020
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