North East care home trials new system to prevent sickness over winter
Eothen care homes is apart of a revolutionary trail that’s happening across the UK.
Eothen Care Homes - who have a centre in Whitley Bay - are part of a trial using new methods of air filtration to try and prevent potentially deadly winter illnesses like flu and Covid-19.
The University of Bristol is running a study across the UK to see if Air Filtration prevents winter, coughs, colds, flu and COVID-19 in care homes (AFRI-c).
Louise Jones is the lead National Institute for Health and Care Research nurse for the North East and Cumbria: “this research project is running over three years, and they are aiming to find out wether air filter units actually help to reduce the number of respiratory infections for residents in care homes.”
The Eothen care home in Whitley Bay is taking part in the trial and has filtration units installed in all the communal rooms as well as 12 of the resident’s rooms.
The study is in its final year of research before we find out if it’s effective of preventing illness.
Lisa Wilson is the Whitley Bay care home manager and believes that if the results are positive the filtration is important to have in care homes: “if they are shown to make a difference to the reduction of viruses then you know they’re greatly important because I think it would be something that we could potentially continue to use once the study is complete if we feel it makes a difference.”
The units work by filtering and cleaning the air which the study suggests will make it safer and removing illnesses.
Lisa Wilson says she thinks that the AFRI-c system will give families with a relative in care more piece of mind that they are safe: “if they do make a difference, I think that is a lot of reassurance to families that that risk to their relative of getting ill is reduced in the winter which is quite common.”
Some of the residents in Whitley Bay have said that they feel like the air is cleaner since the installation of the units.