Inside Bucks' care homes: New report on life during coronavirus
Healthwatch Bucks have been talking to residents, relatives & staff.
Just under 80 per-cent of care home residents in Buckinghamshire say they've felt well-informed during the pandemic - but only 40 per-cent of relatives felt the same.
Healthwatch Bucks have been looking at life in our care homes this year.
They found a lot of worry about the impact of people being isolated in their rooms and a lack of visits.
But staff have also been praised for their hard work across the past few months.
'Some people did not talk to loved ones for months.'
Project manager for Health Watch Bucks, Alison, says these reports help care homes and society learn:
"The aim is to improve things, even if it's only by a tiny little bit.
"The more you shine a light on social care, hopefully the more people will realise its value.
"One of the problems with social care is that no-one wants to think about it and they don't until they are forced to think about it."
What did the report find?
Communication was one of the biggest areas looked at, as visits were of course limited.
Healthwatch Bucks found:
- 79% of residents said they felt well informed or very well informed
- Only 40% of relatives felt the same way
- Some relatives felt the care home was not proactive enough in keeping them informed
- 30% said residents struggled to communicate with staff wearing PPE
Relatives of those in homes with dementia struggled the most to find out what was going on with their loved one, especially when it came to their physical health.
Alison added:
"Those relatives whose loved ones may no longer be able to communicate felt very uninformed.
"So when we asked them questions about 'where could your relative move in the home? What were they getting up to?' most would say they didn't know."
As homes tried to control infection and keep Covid-19 out, activities were severely limited.
Some relatives Healthwatch Bucks spoke to were worried about the lack of activities during this time.
But around a quarter of respondents said new activities were introduced to keep residents active and social in some way.
Frustration at lack of visits
With that infection control in place, visits were extremely limited.
Video calls for most replaced face to face visits.
However, 46% of respondents found the changes frustrating and 37% said they were upsetting.
This method of communication did not suit all residents and the report says: 'some people did not talk to loved ones for months'.
Difficulties over staffing
With staff sometimes having to self-isolate, some residents weren't necessarily cared for by familiar faces.
The report says 66% of those who answered said staff were patient and had time to listen.
However, only 55% of relatives said their loved one was treated as an equal or asked their opinion.
Of those who answered the question, 87% of residents told Healthwatch they felt safe and protected, although only 53% relatives were of the same view.
Recommendations made
As with any Healthwatch Bucks report, recommendations have been made to care homes and Bucks Council.
Alison said:
"Because we have to learn from the experiences we have had and try to not do things in the same way.
"There is always going to be a better way of doing things.
"Some things people will have got right, some people will have found new ways of doing things."