scholarly journals Emotional Robotics in the Care of Older People: A Comparison of Research Findings of PARO- and PLEO-Interventions in Care Homes from Australia, Germany and the UK

2016 ◽  
pp. 205-224 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Uk

Care homes for older people

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Dening ◽  
Alisoun Milne
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Residential Care ◽  
Physical Disability ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Standards Of Care ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Behavioural Disturbance ◽  
The Uk

Although only 5% of the total over 65 population in developed countries lives in a care home, the lifetime risk of needing residential care is considerable. In the UK, 418 000 older people occupy nearly 12 000 care homes; the sector has a total value of around £14 billion. Care home residents tend to be very old, most are women, and most have complex co-morbid needs. Most people enter a care home because they can no longer live independently due to ill health, notably dementia. Dementia affects over two thirds of all residents; physical disability and functional impairment are also common. Behavioural disturbance is common as is depression. There are concerns about excessive reliance on medication, and more emphasis recently has been placed on improving standards of care. Evidence suggests that training and good leadership is effective. With the ageing population, the provision and the funding of care home places will come under increasing pressure. The solutions to this are yet to be determined.

Shining a light on care homes during the COVID 19 pandemic in the UK 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 217-228
Author(s):  
Annie Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Older People ◽  
Age Discrimination ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Rights Act ◽  
Human Rights Act 1998 ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between age discrimination and the injustices that have taken place in our care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic in this country. It seeks to show how destructive age discrimination is to those who live in our care homes and attempts to shake up our attitudes to older people, as the pandemic continues. It is hoped that shifts in attitude would lead to a societal revolution in care and support for older people as the pandemic shows us how the current system is breaking down. Design/methodology/approach This is a personal insight into the plight of the care home sector during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. The writer has worked in the field of social care and older people’s services for many years and felt compelled to share her learning and observations. This led to venturing more deeply into understanding why those who live, work and visit care homes have been so neglected and “cast into the shadows” in the face of such desperate danger. Whilst tracking the media narrative during the first wave, she attempts to apply her knowledge, in particular gained from working for Help the Aged (now Age UK) as a policy manager for Quality Care, but also draws on experiences as a social worker, commissioner and care provider from the 1980’s to the present. By “shining a light” on care homes, revealing that the darker practices that have taken place contravene the Human Rights Act 1998, it is hoped that the recognition of age discrimination will happen at every level and become better known in its application. The paper observes how deeply rooted it is in us all. Findings Having highlighted some shocking examples of bad practice from the authorities relating to care homes, the article concludes that Government policy on care homes from March to July 2020 was discriminatory and questions how far lessons have been learned. The legislation is in place in the form of the Human Rights Act 1998 to protect older people in care homes but is not being widely implemented at regional policy level. Government rhetoric remains far from reality Instead of redressing the gap and admitting mistakes, there is evidence at a high level of continued denial and the projection of blame on to the care homes themselves. Originality/value The author’s professional background includes meeting the founder of the Gray Panthers, Maggie Kuhn, in the United States in the 1988. This was a defining moment that gave her an original insight into age discrimination and influenced her entire career. It eventually led to her working in national policy for one of the most influential charities for older people at the turn of the millennium, Help the Aged. Here, she co-founded the My Home Life Programme (promoting quality of life in care homes). The paper offers a unique insight into why it is so challenging to achieve quality of life for older people needing care and should be of interest to policymakers, clinical commissioning groups, local authorities, older people’s care providers and carer and user organisations.

Preventing falls and falls-injuries in hospitals and long-term care facilities

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Falls Prevention ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Long Term Conditions ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Developed Nations

Falls are predominantly a problem of older people. In the UK, people over 65 currently account for around 60% of admissions and 70% of bed days in hospitals. There are approximately half a million older people in long-term care settings – many with frailty and multiple long-term conditions. The proportion of the population over 65 years is predicted to rise 25% by 2025, and that over 80 by 50%, with a similar increase in those with dependence for two or more activities of daily living. Despite policies to drive care to the community, it is likely that the proportion of older people in hospitals and care homes will therefore increase. Accidental falls are the commonest reported patient/resident safety incidents. Similar demographic trends can be seen in all developed nations, so that the growing problem of fall prevention in institutions is a global challenge. There has been far more focus in falls-prevention research on older people in ‘community’ settings, but falls are a pressing issue for hospitals and care homes, and a threat to the safety of patients and residents, even if a relatively small percentage of the population is in those settings at any one time.

scholarly journals “Everyone needs to understand each other’s systems”: Stakeholder views on the acceptability and viability of a Pharmacist Independent Prescriber role in care homes for older people in the UK

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1479-1487
Author(s):  
Kathleen Lane ◽  
Christine Bond ◽  
David Wright ◽  
David P. Alldred ◽  
James Desborough ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Stakeholder Views ◽  
The Uk

scholarly journals Defenders against Threats or Enablers of Opportunities: The Screening Role Played by Gatekeepers in Researching Older People in Care Homes

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Scourfield
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Access To Care ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Critical Account ◽  
The Uk

This paper emerges from a case study of the system of statutory reviews in older people’s care homes in the UK. Informed by a review of selected literature on gaining access, this paper provides a critical account of the process of negotiating access with gatekeepers (chiefly, care home managers). The negotiations were time-consuming and largely fruitless in terms of actually gaining access to care home residents. Nevertheless, much was learned about the field, in particular, about the attitudes of those with responsibility for caring for older care home residents. The residents in care homes became “hard to reach” research subjects not necessarily because of any cognitive or communicative impairments on their part, but by the defensive attitudes adopted by gatekeepers. It concludes by suggesting that, in this case, the ambiguous shades of meaning conveyed by the concept of “screener” make it a more appropriate term to describe the role than that of “gatekeeper”.

The need for effective assessment and management of pain among older people in care homes

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
David T Cowan ◽  
Julia D Roberts ◽  
Joanne M Fitzpatrick ◽  
Alison E While
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Functional Independence ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The Uk

The increasing number of older people requiring interventions for improved health and social care has been identified as a crucial challenge for the twenty-first century. The reported high prevalence of pain in older people in long-term care facilities has been described as a public health issue not only in the USA but also globally. Rather than merely extending life, the reduction of morbidity, ways of coping with disability, preventing incapacity, extending the quality of life and enhancing the functional independence of older people are identified as important components of service provision. In Britain, the number of people aged over 65 years has doubled in the last 70 years and the number of people over 90 years is expected to double in the next 25 years, which will increase the need for health care in the future. Estimates for the UK indicate that approximately 445 800 older people are currently resident in care homes. The UK government has recently pledged to provide high-quality care and treatment for this population, to treat older people with respect and dignity and to allocate fair resources for conditions that affect them, while simultaneously easing the financial burden of long-term care.

scholarly journals THE EFFECTS OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT DESIGN ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR WELLBEING IN CARE HOMES

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley J McIntyre ◽  
Ian Ruaraidh Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Older People ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Spatial Diversity ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Environment Design ◽  
Social Connectivity ◽  
Future Improvement ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

The built environment influences the wellbeing of older people in care homes. In order to design for enablement, physical activity, and social connectivity there are lessons to be learnt from current care home buildings. Uncovering this design information is key for the future improvement of environments for older people. To the field of architecture, this paper presents an analysis of ethnographic observations (utilising an adapted form of the AEIOU heuristic) from five urban care homes in the UK. Findings provide insight into the qualities of the built environment that have impact on the activity and potential wellbeing of older residents. Five significant qualities of the built environment are identified:  Spatial Legibility, Spatial Interconnectedness, Spatial Traversability, Spatial Diversity, and Spatial Aesthetics.

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