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Care homes must be treated as neighbourhood health partners, panel hears


Care homes should be recognised as core delivery partners in the Government’s neighbourhood health agenda, with future developments designed around rehabilitation, prevention and community integration rather than traditional long- stay care models. That was the message from a Care Show


Birmingham panel discussion focusing on how care home design amid the roll-out of the policy aimed at shifting more care out of acute hospitals and into the community, with a priority focus on frailty and dementia, chaired by The Care Home Environment editor Mary- Louise Clews and featuring Care England social care adviser Richard Ayres, Graham Care managing director Will Graham and Carless and Adams associate director Melissa Magee. Mr Ayres told delegates that care providers


were seen as playing a critical role in preventing deterioration, managing long-term conditions and supporting rehabilitation. “The government framework identifies


care home residents as a priority within neighbourhood health,” he said. “It also identifies social care providers as


providers of neighbourhood health, which puts us directly in the path of these programmes.” He added that the policy should move care


homes beyond being viewed as “downstream capacity” and instead position them as active partners in prevention, commissioning and integrated care pathways.


Rehabilitation-focused design Graham Care’s model was highlighted as an example of how care home design could support neighbourhood health objectives. Mr Graham said the provider had


increasingly focused on short-term rehabilitation and hospital discharge services since the pandemic, with new developments incorporating facilities such as hydrotherapy pools, physiotherapy gyms and larger bedroom suites. “We’ve started doing a lot more short-term


care,” he said. “Care environments can be used very


effectively for step-down and rehabilitation care,” he added, pointing to the group’s forthcoming development in Kent, which will include hydrotherapy facilities, therapy spaces and a public-facing restaurant, while working closely with local NHS partners to support discharge pathways. Mr Graham said dedicated rehabilitation environments could help prevent delayed


Push on social care workforce plan after data shows growth has stalled


Calls for swift action on ministers’ promise to deliver a wider adult social care workforce plan have intensified after Skills for Care data showed workforce growth has stalled.


Social care minister Alison McGovern said the government would not wait for the Casey review report and would “get stuck in” as Skills for Care said attracting more domestic recruits and improving retention through better pay, training and career development will be essential to meeting rising demand.


Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in the summer that a wider workforce plan to address these issues would be developed alongside the ‘fair pay agreement’ process currently underway, as part of a broader plan towards the creation of a National Care Service.


The debate comes as The King’s Fund


warns of significant regional variations in access to social care support, arguing that reform must deliver more consistent national entitlements alongside a workforce capable of meeting future demand.


discharges becoming “a blockage further down the road” by focusing on helping people regain independence and return home.


Bringing care into communities Ms Magee said she had long argued that care developments should be located within town and community centres rather than on the outskirts. “People get old, but that doesn’t mean they


stop being interested in life,” she said. Integrating care homes into high streets


and mixed-use neighbourhoods could reduce loneliness, support wellbeing and create stronger links between residents and their communities, she added. Mr Ayres pointed to international examples


such as a dementia village model in the Netherlands, which combines high levels of care with everyday activities, shops, restaurants and outdoor space. “Those types of environments are exactly the


type of environments we should be aspiring to achieve over the next generation,” he said. Despite broad support for the direction


of travel, panellists identified funding as the biggest barrier to delivering neighbourhood health ambitions. Mr Ayres said providers were investing


heavily in facilities that generated savings elsewhere in the system, particularly for the NHS, but were not yet getting access to funds to support the shift.


November 2026 www.thecarehomeenvironment.com 9


Age Cymru


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