The impacts of COVID-19 on people who live in care homes have raised many questions about existing models of care homes, ranging from the size of care homes, to the suitability of physical characteristics such as layout as shared bathrooms and bedrooms, and to how homes are run, for example in relation to the involvement of residents in decisions such as visiting policies.

This webinar, on the 22nd February 2021, will bring together international speakers who have looked at care home models from a variety of perspectives, before and during COVID-19, with the aim of reflecting on what has been learnt from the pandemic and from previous thinking about the role of communal living in the continuum of care.

Programme:

• Brief introduction looking at evidence on the relationship between care home design and COVID-19 outcomes (Adelina Comas-Herrera)

• Stefanie Ettelt (Care Policy and Evaluation Centre London School of Economics) will discuss her work on a typology of personalized care in care homes, summarized in her recent post: “ What kind of home is a care home and what do we want it to be in future: https://ltccovid.org/2020/12/28/what-kind-of-home-is-a-care-home-and-what-do-we-want-it-to-be-in-future/
• Thomas Grey (Trinity College, Dublin) will discuss the urgent need to examine the architectural design models of nursing homes to address both long-standing concerns about the adequacy of these facilities to support quality of life, and the inadequacies highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, building on this article: https://ltccovid.org/2020/11/01/article-summary-nursing-home-design-and-covid-19-balancing-infection-control-quality-of-life-and-resilience-jamda/
• Des O’Neill will bring the perspective of a number of research projects on design for dementia-friendly environments with architecture and health policy researchers. His particular interest is on the convergence between architectural design and health https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)33009-5/fulltext
• Vic Rayner (National Care Forum), will discuss Nordic Care Hotel models and other innovative approaches to care.
• Jimena Pascual Fernández, Director General of Planning at the Department of Social Rights and Welfare at the Government of Asturias (Spain). She will discuss the plans of the Asturias government to modernize the care home sector in Asturias, as outlined here: https://ltccovid.org/2020/10/25/re-thinking-long-term-care-after-the-covid-19-pandemic-asturias-spain/
• Chris Lynch (Deputy CEO and Director of Policy & Communications at Alzheimer’s Disease International) commissioned the 2020 World Alzheimer Report, “Dignity, Design & Dementia; dementia related design and the built environment”, with direct reference to how residential care design can both exacerbate or mitigate against, challenges like the coronavirus pandemic.
• Martin Knapp (Care Policy and Evaluation Centre and School for Social Care Research, London School of Economics) Martin Knapp will reflect on points made during the webinar and in the wider debate about the role of care homes in the care continuum, and among other things, will draw on current work on how COVID-19 has crystallised some of the arguments around deinstitutionalisation.
• Chair: Adelina Comas-Herrera (Care Policy and Evaluation Centre London School of Economics)

This webinar will start at 2pm UK time and will last for 90 minutes (60 minutes of presentations and 30 for discussion). The webinar will be recorded and the video will be shared on this website.

Free registration:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/covid-19-and-the-care-homes-of-the-future-tickets-140420797385