A recent blog written by Dr Jennie Burton, Professor Claire Goodman and Dr Terry Quinn published on the LTC responses to COVID-19 website discusses the difficulties faced in developing a coordinated response to Covid-19 for UK care homes.

An editorial featured in Age and Ageing explains how delirium is a missing piece in the COVID-19 pandemic puzzle. “The current assessment for COVID-19 does not routinely include delirium or mental status changes in older adults”. See the link for the full editorial.

The University of Oxford are running a UK Government funded study to find treatments for COVID-19. They are currently looking to engage with the care home sector to share information and support residents to take part in the study.

Adelina Comas-Herrera and Jose-Luis Fernandez, Care Policy and Evaluation Centre, Department of Health Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science have produced a report with estimates of mortality of care home residents linked to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, 12th May.

The NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement (DSE) award is open now for applications.

The DSE is a post-doctoral level award aimed at supporting NIHR Academy Members to gain specific skills and experience to underpin the next phase of their research career. Applicants must demonstrate what new skills and experience they hope to gain through the award, and how it will benefit their future career in research.

Closes in July

Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) have been working closely with their members and adapting their work to support millions of people affected by dementia globally. Resulting from previous success in member webinars, ADI are showcasing some inspiring work being done by their member associations and other organisations, all supporting people living with dementia, their families and carers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recently published paper in Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice, presents findings from a study that evaluated the effectiveness of group reminiscence arts sessions for people living with dementia in care homes.

Dr Joanne Marshall, Dr Ian James and colleagues at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust have created a video discussing the creative ways care homes are providing care for people with a dementia through COVID-19.

Care home staff play a crucial role in the response to COVID-19. Adam Gordon, Professor of Older People, University of Nottingham and Claire Goodman, Professor of Health Care Research, University of Hertfordshire, identify 5 key areas essential in assisting care homes to support resident’s well-being now and post the coronavirus pandemic

Funding is available for a PhD studentship focusing on continence care in care homes