The guide for older people and their families focuses on managing the stress that can be caused, practical advice from people who have gone through closure and ways to focus on things within their control.
For staff, the guide focuses on the stress that staff can experience when they find out the care home is closing, how care workers can make a difference to residents during the closure, the importance of making time to spend with residents, identifying people who made need extra support, and advice from staff who have come out the other side of closures.
The training video is for anyone involved in closures – but will be particularly helpful for care staff who may not always have access to time or resources for training and development.
Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, chaired the study’s Advisory Board: “It's been great to be involved with this project because sadly, care homes do sometimes have to close. When this happens, it is tremendously important that older people forced to move elsewhere, and their families, have the information and tools available to help them make a successful transition.
“Local authorities, care providers and their staff also need to understand what they can do to make the process as painless as possible. The project's outputs provide all of these things, drawing on thorough research. I hope these materials will be widely used as they have the potential to make difficult situations less distressing for care home residents and staff, and commissioners alike."
Professor Glasby concluded: “When people move into a care home, they assume it’s a home for life. But sadly, a number of care homes close each year, and Councils have not previously had detailed, research-based guidance to support them in undertaking such difficult and important work. We hope these resources help to improve support, make care home closures more manageable and protect people from the worst of what is often a scary and confusing situation.”
