Care Home Focus Group: What is it like to live and work in a care home during COVID-19?

Key issues

• It was difficult to access Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during March/April – costs went up and care homes were often promised PPE that wasn’t delivered. The situation is better now but care home managers still feel that access to PPE is an issue.
• Testing for COVID-19 has been really challenging. One care home had to repeat the testing for all staff and residents three times before they got results, as the majority of the results came back as void for their first two tests.
• Care homes have adapted new ways of engaging with residents and their families and friends by using Skype and Zoom, creating Facebook accounts, sending out weekly news by email, and holding ‘virtual’ concerts.
• The care home managers we spoke to felt that interaction with health professionals has improved; facetime with GPs works really well. However, it has been an ongoing battle to ensure that residents who went into hospital were tested for COVID-19 before they were discharged back to the home. Some experienced confrontational conversations with hospital discharge staff.
• Overwhelming support from the local community and their staff has really helped. Local businesses have supplied food and treats, schools have provided artwork and poetry, and care home staff have really pulled together to keep their residents safe.