Survey highlights pressures facing care homes

The Queen’s Nursing Institute has published a major new report on the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the UK’s nursing and residential homes.

The survey was launched in the early weeks of the pandemic in response to grave concerns about the safety of the workforce and the gaps in provision that it was facing. It confirms that for the majority of respondents, the pandemic has been a very challenging experience, with the majority indicating that their work and well-being has been worse or much worse than at normal times.

Some of the major issues the care home workforce faced during March and April, and highlighted in the survey, include: having to accept patients from hospitals with unknown coronavirus status; being told about plans not to resuscitate residents without consulting families, residents or care home staff; lack of guidance on issues like personal protection; and issues of poor access to pay if they became ill.

A small minority were not provided with PPE and had to improvise, by obtaining it themselves or by making it. The need for appropriate PPE in care homes is of critical importance in staff and resident safety: 21 per cent of respondents said that their home accepted people discharged from hospital who had tested positive for coronavirus. Additionally, a substantial number found it difficult to access District Nursing and GP services, which are universal parts of the NHS.

Crystal Oldman, the QNI’s chief executive, said: “The care being delivered in a home can at times be as intensive as in a hospital – in particular for end of life care – and it is hugely skilled work. As the majority of respondents to this survey indicate, the people living in their care homes need a combination of support for complex physical and cognitive needs.

“Overall, as would be expected, the picture presented is of an extremely stressful and anxious period for professionals working to care for and protect their residents. The positives represent a silver lining to this cloud and there are numerous testaments to the skill, dedication, professionalism and teamwork that Care Home Nurses have displayed in 2020. In addition, this brief insight into the experiences of the nurses provides an opportunity to consider and plan for the support systems that may be needed in the anticipated second wave of Covid-19.

“More needs to be done to understand the effect of Covid-19 on the workforce and residents in care homes. Urgent attention must be paid to the sector if the workforce is to withstand the additional demands of the pandemic, particularly in planning, guidance and employment practices.”