We were awarded a Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute fellowship to co-produce a vision for high-quality primary care for people who live in care homes and how it might be achieved within current structures and resources. This fellowship worked in collaboration with the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the complex relationship between care homes and primary care and inequalities in service access and quality of care. Studies and national guidance have identified new ways of working to enable GPs and others to work well with care homes. Care home staff and residents’ priorities, however, are not the basis for these recommendations. COVID-19 demonstrated the essential work of care homes but the minimal opportunities to influence and access support. There was a need to co-produce ways of working with GP-led services that ensure people working and living in care homes are equal and valued partners.
Project aims
This project aimed to develop a vision for primary care which enables consistent access to healthcare that reflects care home residents’ needs and priorities and how that can be achieved within current structures and resources.
Project activity
This fellowship used a co-design approach (Appreciative Inquiry) worked with care home staff, residents and their families, GPs, and community specialists to develop and improve services provided to care homes. Drawing on recent experiences from the pandemic it involved group discussions and interviews to take learning from what works well to identify key principles of working together and what needs to be in place to achieve and sustain change to improve care home residents and staff access to healthcare.
Impact
- Theory of change illustrating primary care-care home relationships that enables access to healthcare to meet residents’ needs and priorities and builds and tests evidence of what works at the system level of care.
- Website providing transparency and allowing communication with interested parties.
- Project report and publications targeting researchers, healthcare providers, and stakeholders.
- Presentations will be given about findings at professional conferences.
Recent activity
Krystal Warmoth recently presented findings at THIS Space 2022. Click here to watch the talk.
Our most recent paper can be read here
Disclaimer
This project is supported by the Health Foundation’s grant to the University of Cambridge for The Healthcare Improvement Studies Institute.
Related Projects
Care homes and primary care: co-producing a sustainable relationship
Researchers and Institutions
Centre for Research in Public Health and Community Care (CRIPACC)
University of Hertfordshire
