Occupancy rates
points of reference is the regulator website, such as the CQC in England. The inspection rating can significantly influence a family’s decision to place a loved one in a particular care home. This is the first of our Cs. When my
team and I work with care homes to improve their commercials, one of the areas we always focus on is their compliance. Without good systems, governance and auditing, your care home will struggle to keep up with CQC inspections, good practice and, ultimately, this will harm your commercials as it will undermine that all- important confidence. Ensuring good governance in your care
home is never going to happen overnight. It needs robust systems, procedures and policies that will have to be rolled out carefully throughout all levels of your care home to ensure that all staff are equally enthusiastic about new policies, ensuring they become part of the culture of your care home. In light of the coronavirus-induced
low confidence levels in care homes, it is especially important to focus on compliance with IPC measures to mitigate the risks that Covid-19 poses to potentially vulnerable residents. Unfortunately, despite the success of the vaccine rollout, it seems likely that coronavirus is going to continue to affect us for quite some time to come, making it especially important that you have the necessary procedures in place to prevent the spread of it in your home. Yet robust IPC is more than a
compliance tick-box exercise. Effective procedures will help ensure that visitors
Images of elderly residents waving at grandchildren through glass and body bags have left many people still feeling that care homes are too dangerous and isolated to look after their loved ones
can continue to be welcomed to your home – and the pandemic showed how important this is for wellbeing, and confidence. As we enter the colder months and outside visits become impossible, it is important to turn your attention to making a welcoming, friendly, and Covid-secure environment for residents to meet with their families. A higher inspection rating from the
regulator will give the care home manager and staff team the confidence that they are keeping their residents, safe, happy and are enjoying their stay at the care home.
2. Confidence If you are struggling to fill beds in your home, it is worth examining whether you have a confidence issue, meaning that you will need to focus on this ‘C’ as well as the two others to improve trust in you as a care home provider, which will ultimately lead to more residents in your home. The decision to enter, or to put a
loved one into long-term residential care is never going to be an easy one; it is generally a very emotional and difficult decision for the elderly person and their family, meaning they will need a lot of confidence in you as a provider to entrust you with what is likely to be the
final years of their life. When looking to improve confidence
in your care home, it is important to recognise there are a lot of decision makers whose trust you will need to gain for them to choose your home. The potential resident is often going to be an important voice when deciding whether to move into your home. Key among their concerns will be the overall environment, their potential room, how the staff interact with them and the available facilities. While these are also likely to be
important factors for their relatives, it is important to note that they are likely to be concerned with other more measurable variables and evidence that demonstrate your care home’s trustworthiness. This might involve CQC reports, testimonials from other residents’ families and other tangible data that show that your care home is a good place for their loved one to live.
How to improve confidence in your care home Re-establishing confidence in your care home – against the prevailing view of the sector – means you are going to need to take steps to rebuild it with potential residents and their families. Marketing is key here, with public relations potentially a central strategy within this. That could include positive stories
in the local press showcasing your residents’ quality of life, your range of activities and the steps you have taken to manage any future rises in infection rates can play an important role in re- establishing confidence that care homes are a positive alternative to domiciliary care and other solutions – and that your care home should be top of their list. Once potential residents and their
families decide to visit, confidence can be reinforced by simple investments, such as how welcoming both the environment and staff are. If a potential resident visits and no one is there to greet them, the exterior looks tired and the
December 2021 •
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com 19
©Runwood care
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