Communicating with care home residents during the Covid-19 pandemic

Healthwatch Nottingham & Nottinghamshire became aware that some friends and relatives of care home residents were having increasing problems communicating with the residents they usually visit, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when visits were either stopped or became very limited in scope. They interviewed 21 friends and relatives of care home residents

It appears that there is no standard communication procedure in place across all care homes and it is left to the discretion of the care home manager or owning company as to how this is carried out. This results in unwelcome variance in how well or poorly care homes communicate with relatives and friends.

Some care homes have been proactive in contacting relatives/friends of loved ones and ensuring that this communication has been personalised. Others have not and in some cases, there has been no contact at all.

People were unhappy with the use of generic newsletters by the companies that owned the care homes, rather than communications which were specific to the home. These newsletters appeared to contain government rules and regulations that were being followed, rather than updates from the actual care home that their relatives/friends were resident at. I

n some cases there has been a lack of response to queries, which has been compounded by difficulties in speaking to staff that can help the friend or relative. This has led to frustration and distress for family members who are trying to obtain answers about the care of a loved one.

There appears to have been a reluctance by some homes to embrace new means of communications and facilitate the use of these.

Not all types of communications work well. For example, some residents cannot cope with the technology used to make online calls (equipment, software etc.) In some cases, where visits have been allowed, communication via a window has proved to be distressing.

 In addition, there needs to be an awareness that relatives/friends may have needs themselves that require accommodation, in order for them to participate in effective communication. For example, they may be deaf or have a visual impairment.

Facilitated visits, whilst welcomed, had the potential to cause more distress to both visitors and patients. In some cases, these visits were completely unsuitable for the resident.

The report concludes with five recommendations about making communications between residents and loved ones better.