The members of the British Geriatrics Society (BGS) work with care homes as their primary place of employment or as geriatricians, nurses, etc. BGS has been prioritizing healthcare for older people living in care homes and they have campaigned for policymakers, trainers, providers and professionals to understand the complexity of healthcare delivery in domiciliary homes and meet the needs of older people.
When the pandemic hit, there was no guidance on how to manage the healthcare in care homes. The BGS stepped forward and issued publications to guide on how to care during COVID-19 in a care home environment.
Now that we have already learned to live in the era of post-pandemic, here are a few Nursing Sector reforms that can bring a change in your domiciliary care agency.
- Aid from BGS:
BGS has a multidisciplinary membership with doctors, nurses, and health professionals working across a range of communities across the UK. The members care for home care residents as home staff and as visiting clinicians to care homes. They advise on what good practice is essential to provide medical care in care homes.
- Individual-focused care for home care residents:
The section identifies how the provision of healthcare in care homes can be streamlined to ensure they provide the best care to residents and that a caregiver is an important person in the decision-making process. The focus is on providing individual care to residents while maintaining the sanctity of the agency. These patients have lived their life and are approaching the end of the horizon. With a person-centred management plan, caregivers can meet the goals with clear management objectives.
- Development of workforce at a skilled domiciliary home care:
In order to deliver individualized services to patients as mentioned earlier, it is important that the healthcare workforce have relevant skills and required training to provide efficient care. Amidst the higher demand for the workforce in this sector, their quality of care is also an important element. Here, progress has been made to retain experienced employees and adequately train the new staff, however, there’s a long way to go. Some core competencies need to be outlined that are required for providing care.
- Upping the style of care to hospital-style in care homes:
As we insist on ensuring patients receive the right care at the right time and the right place, minimizing the need for patients to visit the hospital frequently is an important factor. Unless it is in their best interest to visit the hospital, patients should be attended to by caregivers in the best professional manner so that they do not feel the need to receive hospital care. Holistic care is expected by residents to bridge the gap between the treatment provided in the hospitals and the care provided at the domiciliary centre. Here, care home software is the best solution to manage operational tasks such as scheduling and manual tasks such as managing patient documents and details. The automation helps to free up some time for caregivers so that they can invest the time in providing high standards of care to their patients. Some of the home care treatments provided to the patients can be:
- Intravenous fluids can be used to hydrate the residents.
- Oxygen therapy to treat respiratory infections.
- Remote monitoring to get medical advice in advance for residents, who are in severe health conditions or to initiate proactive treatment by care home staff.
- Data collection and sharing:
Collaboration between health and social care is important for data collection and the shareability of the data. Data received by home care agencies sometimes is insufficient to provide adequate care to the residents. Data collected by care home staff in their care plan software and data collected by health and social care providers should be frequently shared to reach informed decision-making for providing healthcare or implementing a healthcare policy.
- Welcoming digital technology:
COVID-19 outbreak has taught every industry to work remotely and seek the help of advanced digital technology to keep the world going. But how is it possible in the health care sector where patients are needed to be physically monitored? Well, digital technology has helped to improve the potential of care for care home residents and bridge the gap between health and social care. With the help of care home management software, many domiciliary care homes have improved the operations of their agency while enhancing the quality of care for residents. Many care homes are not yet digitally enabled, and it’s time for them to keep up the pace by embracing digital solutions for the benefit of their patients and staff.
Conclusion:
As more patients make care homes their home in their climax years, it will be essential for healthcare professionals to adapt and provide healthcare within care homes rather than requiring patients to visit hospitals frequently to avail healthcare. After the pandemic, innovations have emerged, and home care agencies must not miss these opportunities for implementing better care for patients and streamlining operations for staff. The BGS is a strong supporter of the provision of personalized health care for older people. These patients should have access to the same high standards of care as patients receive in a hospital.
Governments and healthcare systems across the country should implement these reforms for ensuring better care for older people living in care homes to support them to live longer. The domiciliary care home sector is diverse, and these reforms can elevate the level of care provided in care homes.
iStaffRota is an advocate for these reforms and wants to contribute to them with our best care management software for promoting a work-life balance in the workforce and ensuring high standards of care to the patients.