IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON CARE HOME PATHWAYS, OUTCOMES AND SAFETY OF CARE

The COVID-19 pandemic seriously affected care home residents leading to a doubling in the number of deaths with the North East being particularly badly affected. This research will seek to understand how residents who fell ill (with COVID-19 or non-COVID-19 conditions) during the pandemic were managed and whether this was different from 'normal' circumstances. Were more residents cared for within homes and not taken to Emergency Departments? Were residents transferred back from hospital with COVID-19 symptoms? Did COVID-19 change how decisions were made by care home staff? First we will gather data for individuals in the North East which includes data collected while in care homes, Emergency Department visits and other hospital admission data. This unique dataset will allow us to examine changes and outcomes of care for residents from before, during and after the easing of lockdown. Subsequently we will interview care home staff and community clinical staff to understand how their decision making changed during the pandemic and how this affected care home residents. We will collate the findings to develop recommendations for future guidance and policy on how care homes react in pandemic outbreaks and on broader strategies for health provision for the care home population.