Procedures
How care homes are delivering better care in challenging times
The pandemic put care home procedures under the microscope. Here, Mike Hobby, healthcare transformation partner at Checkit, looks at how care homes have coped, and how procedures can be improved in the future
At the height of the COVID outbreak, care homes had to rapidly adopt new safety measures. The consequences of even a small failure became potentially catastrophic. At the same time, the effects of the pandemic - including severe staffing shortages and visiting restrictions - made it even more difficult for care home managers to meet both new and existing protocols. And the storm is far from over. Care home staffing challenges that existed long before the pandemic have become more pressing than ever, with 74 per cent of providers reporting an increase in staff exits since April 2021 according to a survey by the National Care Forum.
Supporting staff on care home procedures The pandemic has also widened the gap between leaders and frontline teams, with many managers forced to work from home. Care home procedures are more important than ever – not only to provide staff with clear guidance and protect residents but to generate vital reassurance to important stakeholders including families and regulators.
Care homes employ a wide range of
specialist staff – from carers and nurses to cooks, facilities teams, cleaners, and more. Some are permanent and some are temporary staff. Each of these plays a part in ensuring residents’ care and quality of life. But there are inherent difficulties in delivering person-centered care to so many residents with individual needs, often within tight budgets, spanning teams and
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disciplines across multiple locations. According to Julie Rayner, governance & compliance director at Hallmark Care Homes: “The biggest challenge we have faced is infection prevention and control. We’ve had 21 months of working through the pandemic, trying to unpick the guidance, understanding the differences between Wales and England, as well as different local authorities. It has been a huge challenge trying to provide our teams with the right guidance and support to ensure we remain compliant and are meeting the needs of residents and their families. It’s not only about protecting the physical health of our residents but also their emotional and psychological health.”
Care home managers have had to pivot and adapt rapidly to changing requirements
The problem with paperwork Relying on manual and paper-based processes makes it difficult to coordinate this diverse and widespread workforce. Paperwork is vulnerable to loss, damage, and information gaps. Forms are usually presented as checklists which encourage a backward-looking culture of ‘has this been done / not done?’ rather than providing proactive guidance. It is also harder to adapt paper-based processes to new requirements and changing circumstances. Instead, managers should find ways to guide and support staff with clear instructions and information relevant to the task in front of them. Growing numbers of care homes are adopting digital assistants, delivered via a mobile device, which prompt, guide, and log activity. Newer technology incorporates QR code scanning to ensure workers receive guidance that is relevant to their specific location. Room checks, for example, become
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com June 2022
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