Care trends
know their residents’ interests, address agitation, and improve communication. When the scheme was initially tested amongst a small group of care homes, researchers found there were both benefits for carers and residents, and staff felt that both their working lives and the culture of the care home had improved.
3. Resourcing and staff recognition One of the most significant challenges impacting quality of life within the care home is staff shortages, with 87 per cent of care home providers reporting issues with recruitment. Retaining staff is also proving problematic and this is having serious repercussions for residents, as many are finding that their basic needs are not being met as there are not enough staff to care for them. While the NIHR report found that quality of life is better in fully staffed care homes where carers have better pay and training, this is not always possible. In cases where hiring carers is not an option, efforts can be focused on retaining staff by offering recognition for the work they do and implementing reward packages. Additionally, care home managers should support staff by assisting those who are less confident, ensuring time is protected to help residents, and providing training opportunities. The awareness and implementation of person-centred tools and techniques that will aid carers can also make a significant difference and help to build a culture where staff feel valued, and that supports quality of life.
4. Safe environment
Safety is as important to quality of life as resident participation in activities. It is also a fundamental standard from the CQC. According to the CQC, a good care home will not only protect residents from being abused or harmed but will also ensure any equipment is well maintained and the home is clean and hygienic to prevent any risk of infection. Our survey found that 88 per cent of care home managers agree the pandemic had a positive impact on hygiene measures, with nearly half claiming it had helped with infection outbreaks. To ensure staff are on board and understand infection prevention, some care homes are taking proactive steps. For example, the role of Infection Control Champion has been created in some care homes to help handle ‘walk arounds’, whereas others are using social media channels such as TikTok to encourage staff to watch ‘how to’ videos on topics such as
February 2024
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com
correct hand washing procedures. This is complementary to the essentials such as regular e-learning and training.
5. Investing in the right equipment Having the right type of equipment in place to support activities carried out by staff and residents alike can promote a better quality of living. Take the laundry as an example. In some scenarios, residents who are able to launder their own clothes can feel more independent and integrate this activity into their daily routine. Before the pandemic, we conducted a survey at the Care Show and found that laundry and quality of life were closely linked. Over three quarters of care home professionals believed that enabling residents to do their own laundry leads to a happier life, though many homes were not yet equipped to make this possible with their current laundry management. To make this a reality, care homes should consider investing in commercial machines that have simple controls, easy to use programmes, and are compliant with infection control standards, before putting a process in place to protect staff and residents from contamination due to infectious linen. For staff, laundry solutions that improve laundry management can help free up more time to spend with residents, for example by using laundry technology where data is stored automatically so information does not need to be documented by hand.
Other factors to help support a strong culture to impact residents’ quality of life can range from setting norms and expectations for staff to follow, such as how they should behave in the workplace through to measuring if workforce interventions are making a difference to residents, staff, and the organisation.
Future of quality of life The population of older people is growing. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), by 2041, one in four UK citizens will be over the age of 65, and the number of people aged 85 or older will have doubled to 3.2 million. This raises concerns surrounding the number of places available in care homes for the residents of the future. Our customer segment manager for care, Ralph Skornia, recently highlighted that paying attention to the care systems in other counties can teach us lessons to help alleviate some of these worries: “Norway, for example, consistently takes the top spot for its long-term care system as well
as its treatment of elderly citizens with the common consensus that it is the best place to ‘grow old’. Its initiatives include raising expectations for how much patients can do with their own health through ‘re- ablement’, this includes rehab and more support in the home.” Helping people stay independent for longer can be supported by the use of technology such as smart devices, health monitoring, and robots. Some countries are already experimenting the use of ‘care robots’ to assist with mobility, feed residents, detect falls, and provide companionship and therapy. Additionally, new generations of elderly citizens will also have different requirements to what we see today; they will need internet access and have higher expectations for personalisation – just think about all the dietary requirements that need to be catered for, and could you ever imagine being apart from items such as your phone, tablet, or laptop?
Quality of life will continue to be a
complex topic as new generations of elderly people enter the care system. While funding and recruitment are key issues that need to be addressed to make more carers available to look after residents, it is clear that a more positive, people-first approach needs to be taken to make life more meaningful. As we look to the future, this can be supported through giving staff the tools and resources they need to create a working environment that complements a better quality of life, making investments in technology that can support day-to-day activity, and delivering a more personalised experience to cater for an individual’s requirements.
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Nicky Whittaker
Nicky Whittaker has over 15 years’ experience in the commercial laundry sector and specialises in the care & social housing sector.
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