British Geriatrics Society Ambitions for change – Report on improving healthcare in care homes launched
ENRICHEnabling Research in Care Homes
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British Geriatrics Society Ambitions for change – Report on improving healthcare in care homes launched
The British Geriatrics Society published a new report aimed at improving the quality of healthcare for care home residents. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on older people, with 35.6% of the 130,000 deaths in the UK occurring in people living in care homes. Many others suffered from worsening physical, mental and emotional health as a result of lockdowns and visiting restrictions. This new report sets out how care home staff and visiting healthcare professionals can work together to ensure high-quality healthcare is delivered for the more than 400,000 older people who live in care homes.
The report, Ambitions for change: Improving healthcare in care homes, describes how healthcare is currently provided in these diverse settings, which range from small privately-owned care homes to large purpose-built homes run by care home chains. The COVID pandemic created extraordinary challenges for care homes, and this report argues that government, commissioners, care home providers and other stakeholders must now ensure that the structures, support and skills are consistently in place to ensure care home residents have access to the same standard of healthcare as other citizens.