New Blog Post: Progress Timelines in Care Homes

New blog post by George Coxon – DCKM Chair, Care Home Owner – Independent H&SC Advisor
“Headline after headline portray care homes struggling, at risk of closing, providing poor care, failing to meet standards and this leads to so much stigma and negativity it feels never more important than now to offer some reassuring words about care home life.
A few examples of things to ‘right the balance’ are as follows:
• The report just produced by the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Centre in Cardiff on the state of palliative care in care homes in England http://endoflifecareambitions.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Care-Homes-Survey-Report-August-2017.pdf offers much in the way of positive views on partnership with specialist end of life care providers like the Devon based Hospiscare – the work we have done with them won first prize at last Novembers ‘Sharing Best Practice’ event in Exeter – we aim to take a care home poster on our work with the NHS England and Health Education England Trainee Nursing Associate pilot programme to this year’s event
• We have just been acknowledged as key contributors to the publication of work carried out by Dr Ross Watkins, during his PhD studies on mealtimes in care homes – the publication of his ‘On Eating Well – A guide for mealtime staff in care homes’ is an excellent piece of work and one our care homes will be trialling and sharing more fully at various local and national events
• Several upcoming so called ‘exposure events’ in North Devon, and London will also be sharing the work of the Devon Care Kite Mark – blogged about for the PSO during last year following my attendance at the IHI patient safety training programme – the events will address many of the themes we are headlining this year – what it means to be a family friendly care home, what meaningful activities for those living in care homes means and how we can promote the view that sharing to learn is a fundamental principle to continuing quality improvement.
The Kings Fund just produced a powerful position statement on the priorities for health and social care https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/what-are-priorities-health-and-social-care?utm_content=buffer8d929&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer it rightly illustrates the reality that an increasing number of care providers are leaving the market and also sets out many of the challenges affecting us – the future must be a combination of greater understanding of the vital place good residential care must have in all of our future care needs and better addressing the vital need to integration and respectful joint working between hospitals – like the work we are embarked upon with the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trustand with Hospiscare. We must get beyond frustration and doom and gloom and ensure that care providers are Resilient, Robust, Reflective, Receptive, Resourceful, Resourced, Responsive, and Rewarded -the 8Rs the DCKM regards as central to its durable progress and success to date.”