Health care is a very dynamic field where continuous up-gradation is a must. There must therefore be a process of continuous development in care homes and all those associated with them must strive for excellence. Even after one’s care home is rated excellent, one should still strive to strengthen and transform the dimensions in whatever way possible. If your target is to build an exceptional care home, you should always be doing things above the least legal criteria. But the best part of this is that it’s never too late to start upgrading and transforming your care home into a state-of-the-art institution of excellence.
To strengthen and transform the dimensions of care homes, these are some of the steps that you can follow:-
- In the opinion of Prabhdyal Singh Sodhi, identifying the areas to strengthen is the first step in your transformation journey. It is sometimes recommendable to take the help of a third person preferably an expert to analyze the place and provide suggestions accordingly. You can collect the monthly data to understand the trends and patterns from your manager and work accordingly.
- Prabhdyal Singh Sodhi stated that the best way to achieve your target can be to systemize the process of strengthening to transform the dimensions of your care home. You should insert in the minds of your staff that continuous improvement is the only mantra to achieve your target; this will help to move forward as a team and to face less resistance.
- A study on social care shows findings from within care homes. The evidence suggests that care can be developed by powerful leadership, a determination to continuously improve the quality, and an environment that provides workers time to hear the residents and respond accordingly to those requirements with compassion. It also shows the vital role played by the care home manager in developing a culture that promotes change.
- Apart from culture and leadership, there are shreds of proof about what is applicable in care homes, especially to dementia patients. The MARQUE scheme and WHELD programme (Well-being and Health for People Living with Dementia)both provide a roadmap for high-quality care, particularly for people who are suffering because of dementia.
- Support is important from the wider healthcare system to the care homes. According to Prabhdyal Singh Sodhi, systematic input and strong relationships, such as training for care home staff can make a fundamental difference. They reduce crisis admissions to hospitals and improve the experience of both staff and residents. One should aim to develop collaborative working between social care services, care homes, and wider health.
- A recent observation shows how simply low-cost audio-visual technology allows residents in varying care homes to take part in virtual quizzes. Residents felt increasingly interconnected with one another, and with residents of other care homes. This helps them find purpose and a sense of self and felt less isolated.
The pandemic threw a very tough challenge towards the care home management. Staff have to fight outbreaks of COVID-19 in care homes, isolate residents who got infected, to control transmission. This was especially tough with residents who had cognitive impairment. This was even more difficult in the earlier stages of a pandemic when guidelines were regularly issued by Governments. Care home managers had to balance these new challenges the way they had done never before. They were also having a shortage of staff due to the staff getting infected.
However, as there are many aspects of healthcare during the pandemic, there had been several innovative approaches to healthcare to support care home residents which also represent a significant development on what was in place before the pandemic. These include:
Ø Close attachment of General Practitioners with care homes.
Ø Advancement in IT integration.
Ø A solid digital action plan.
Ø remote monitoring application.
Ø Routine data collection and analysis in care homes.
Ø Increasing the expenditure on care home research.
Ø Increasing the number of Point-of-care testing.
Care homes are responsible for a group of vulnerable people with complex social care and health needs. This presents a significant amount of caregiving and leadership challenges. Prabhdyal Singh Sodhi former director of Abbey Healthcare is a firm believer in the fact that a care home requires commitment and a proactive approach from the entire health and care system. And in every home, a stable and well-trained workforce is essential to make improvements. Care homes should invest in their staff and managers to deliver person-centric care to each individual. Some reports also show us that this approach can develop a living and working experience for residents and staff. Especially, it can be cheaper to deliver rather than the hospitals.
There will always remain a need to develop the care given to many residents. A piece of good advice now exists on approaches that can be made to help care homes manage effectively and provide top class care to their residents
