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The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on care homes

On 13th July 2021, the Office of National Statistics reported the week ending March 20th 2020 and week ending 2nd April 2021, Covid-19 was responsible for 42,341 death of UK care home residents.

In addition to the higher mortality rate within care homes, many residents have experienced significant physical and mental health decline.

This has been as a result of various factors including dealing with the grief of colleagues and close friends that have died. fear and confusion about their own wellbeing. an increased sense of loneliness and abandonment at not being able to have their family or loved ones visit them. confusion as they struggle to hear and fully recognise the faces of familiar carers through masks. struggling to comprehend the new safety measures and constantly changing rules and regulation that have been put in place, and as a result becoming unfamiliar with the changing surroundings within their home. confusion with changes to their routines, changes within the level of care received and the constant changes in the staff caring for them
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic started, care homes have long suffered with poor financial stability. A 2018 report by the National Audit Office called the adult social care sector in England an undervalued "Cinderella service". Covid-19 has ruthlessly highlighted the fissures in our social care system and has had a significantly negative effect on an already demoralised workforce.

Care homes need to find a way to overcome the struggle to recruit and retain staff. Delivering high-quality, personalised care requires a committed, engaged and well-trained workforce.

Inspiring confidence in care homes, in their residents and their employees has never been so vital.  Accreditation programmes can help homes to achieve this confidence and to create a positive workplace experience with consistent standards of care provision.

CHKS accreditation supports the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Framework, whether for an independent residential home or a group. It delivers a needs-led, person-centred culture, with strong leadership that allows employees to develop their skills and become more engaged with their work. 

Furthermore, it helps to promote the relationship building with partner organisations that is seen as a key part of the Framework, through sustainable service transformation. This in turn enables care home residents to receive effective and safe personalised care through a joined-up working approach across the healthcare sector.

Accreditation offers care homes a tried-and-tested solution that works with them to review their current processes, identify where improvements are required, and helps them to make those necessary improvements. By applying evidenced-based, internationally recognised standards, we can work with you to ensure that your organisation, leadership team and employees are empowered to support needs-led care. The accreditation process can also help you to put governance structures in place to manage risk effectively, including controlling and preventing infection and keeping patients safe.

This quality accreditation process is necessary now more than ever, as it can help you to continue to consistently deliver care during any future Covid-19 outbreaks.

By improving quality through an assurance framework, you can feel confident in how you deliver your services across your organisation, how you manage your workforce, and the effectiveness of your improvement planning and development. It can make you more prepared to confront the issues that the pandemic has raised, such as policies on visiting, PPE, isolation of suspected or confirmed infected residents, testing, the rise in associated staff absence and the use of agency staff.

Accreditation provides many benefits beyond supporting the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Framework. It relieves burden on managers, drives staff engagement and helps to encourage a culture of innovation, boosts partnership working. It brings a culture of pride in the quality of service, provides a greater sense of ownership, and improves care home resident experience and satisfaction.

However, and perhaps most importantly in this current climate, accreditation demonstrates to regulators, commissioners and the public that you’re committed to and focused on providing a high-quality service that prioritises your residents’ and your care staff’s safety.

Accreditation should be an integral aspect of every care home’s operations.

Find out more about how accreditation services can support your organisation.On 13th July 2021, the Office of National Statistics reported the week ending March 20th 2020 and week ending 2nd April 2021, Covid-19 was responsible for 42,341 death of UK care home residents.