Is the public getting the full picture when it comes to COVID-19 & Care Homes?

For the most part the answer is no, they aren’t!

In preparation for our second Care Webinar this Wednesday, I wanted to look at the subject of COVID-19 in Care Homes and how a skewed public view is potentially leading to a fall in occupancy.

There have been outbreaks and deaths in Care Homes, there is no shying away from that fact. It would be fair to say that some Care Homes weren’t as prepared as they could have been, particularly early in the pandemic. It would also be fair to say, the world, wasn’t prepared for this. Care Homes, house some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and so, people have and will get ill during an outbreak on this scale.

The problem is that if I leave the story at that, then for anyone reading this, all they will take away is that there have been outbreaks & deaths in Care Homes, and this is exactly what some stories in the media are guilty of, leaving it as half a story.

The flip side of it is that Care providers are adapting and changing what they do to make homes as safe as possible for their residents. From the Governments own figures, 60% of Care Homes in the UK, haven’t experienced a COVID-19 outbreak through the entire pandemic. The South West has fared the best with around 30% of Care Homes reporting a COVID-19 outbreak over the past few months.

Tom Lyons, MD, Black Swan Care Group

I think occupancy has been affected in pockets rather than across the board. Certain areas appear to have been affected less. What is clear though is that private enquiries dropped off a cliff during the height of the pandemic and lockdown. We are certainly seeing green shoots but articles suggesting that care homes are like ‘prisons’ are ill informed and unhelpful. There needs to be a greater emphasis on the positive work being done in care homes despite the difficulties being experienced.

Care homes are safe with an extremely high emphasis on infection prevention. We have had to adapt and change processes and procedures which has been challenging but have learnt significant lessons throughout the pandemic. We have put a huge emphasis on communication throughout lockdown with managers phoning all relatives at least weekly. Technology has been adopted to ensure that familiar face has not been missed.

We recruited a marketing manager at the start of the year, and this has proved invaluable. They have created Facebook groups for families, doing regular newsletters for families and helping communicate our changing policies.

Malcolm Hague – Operations Director- Oakland Care

 Enquiries were very low in May/June but have now picked up to about 50% of what we would normally expect in July/August. I feel it’s all about positive promotion locally, on social media and in the press. Sadly, there has been very little of this and it’s all been negative stories.

We are relying heavily and investing in Marketing & community relations. 360-degree virtual tours have been made for all of our homes so families can see inside as they cannot currently visit to look at the facilities. Presence online is vital to ensure that prospective families can get as much information as they can to help their decision making.

Care providers, yet again, will need to manage public perception and those businesses that are investing in Marketing and Community Management staff & projects will go a long way in helping to enlighten the public and push the sector forward through this crisis.