Integrated care


starting or leaving. We are aware that the as well as the rooms themselves the offer of the provision of such a space had a powerful positive impact. One comment we had was: “It’s not very


often people offer to do anything for us”. Such a remark was not uncommon and it really stuck with us because, as a team, we have such huge respect for our carers. We were struck by so many of our managers reporting feeling alone and “not heard” during the pandemic and so we also ran a ‘Caring Through Covid’ lived-experience project during which we interviewed managers about their experiences. We have created a short film using their responses and show it, for educational purposes, to a wide range of professionals including NHS, IPS and CQC staff, to raise awareness of the challenges faced and the emotions experienced. We are hoping, with permission, to publish a study of these interviews in order to educate a wider audience about the experience of caring through covid and to do our bit to help our managers’ voices be heard. We also reflected, as a team, on the critical role our care home managers fulfil. We recognised that their expertise far surpassed our knowledge of the sector and that they were also shouldering huge responsibilities and containing a huge amount, practically and emotionally, on a day-to-day basis. We were keen to find a way for them to be able to share their experiences in a safe and supportive space. As a result, a managers’ peer support


group was set up. It ran twice-weekly on Teams and would take a general theme which would be explored. Before the end of the session some form of related wellbeing tip or technique would be shared. While not the largest of groups, managers that attended did report finding this space useful and it also provided another opportunity for managers to request support for their homes, which in turn was a support for them as the CHWS was able to help support staff so that managers didn’t feel alone in this.


Resident support Loneliness is a key concern arising from the impact of the pandemic. Our care home liaison team nurses and other allied health professionals became increasingly aware during the pandemic of the impact the necessary visiting restrictions and requirements to isolate were having on residents. As a result, the CHWS began to talk requests for support for residents who may


February 2022 www.thecarehomeenvironment.com


in this home, which had experienced significant loss of life, we explored challenges and struggles which they had experienced across their life-time and also identified the strengths of character, people and values that had got them through these times.


Each element was represented


be experiencing low mood and/or anxiety. Interventions with residents have been many and varied. They have included facilitating Sky Sports being set up to enable some of our residents to watch sport and help alleviate some of the boredom caused by lockdown; reminiscence therapy; planning for and creating playlists for life to provide music for our residents; baking and icing Christmas cakes. Sometimes resident interventions


have been on a whole home basis. During Christmas 2020, aware that there was not the possibility of the usual celebrations that brighten our homes, we organised a virtual brass band concert to be streamed into our care homes enabling residents and staff to enjoy some familiar festivity. As with our care staff we are keenly


aware that our residents have great wisdom for us to learn from and that this wisdom is both needed and inspiring in the challenges posed by Covid. To try to capture this wisdom, we ran a Tree of Life project in one home that experienced significant loss of life early in the pandemic. This project was inspired by narrative


therapy in which we get the opportunity to tell our story as well as some blue/green psychology principles such as the healing properties of nature. With the residents


symbolically in a practical activity such as seed-planting or windmill making and ultimately we completed a Tree of Life mosaic, which is now displayed in the home alongside the Tree of Life book. While we were working with the residents on this project, carers were able to benefit from the stories and experiences told by the residents and this provided mutual benefit, as well as being a great privilege for us to be able to be a part of.


Whole home support The necessary restrictions including isolation periods changed the whole atmosphere of our homes. As a result, our projects focus on supporting our home communities to come together. Loss of life has been such a tragic and


painful experience in our care homes. The arrival of new residents brings new life but also new challenges as a fatigued workforce, who have experienced too much for too long in many cases, seek to build new relationships with new residents while grieving members of their home community who have been family to them. Recognising this, we have supported a home in a Rainbow project, in which we have worked with the carers to provide meaningful activities through which we can better get to know the residents and their stories, for example, through ‘Life Story Shooting Stars’. These stars seek to privilege the stories of the residents and bring hope for the future.


Finding hope in challenging times is not the responsibility of an individual or even a whole home, it is the work of entire communities. The ‘Hope Project’ began in January 2021. This project was not only an attempt not only to spread the feeling of hope throughout the community, but to reconnect sections of local areas and rebuild long-term relationships between care homes and schools. Sixteen primary schools were matched to the 16 care homes inside the Derwentside community of County Durham. Primary school pupils were asked to create ‘Hope Cards’ to be given to local care home staff and residents. These cards contained three


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