Nearly 80 care homes praised for cutting crisis admissions and deaths in hospital

Seventy-seven care homes across England have been honoured for the ‘Gold Standard’ level of care they give dying residents, including efforts to reduce hospital deaths.

Offering advance care planning, reducing the number of crisis admissions and deaths in hospital, meeting residents’ end-of life care preferences and a high level care in residents' final days, were some of the 20 standards the care homes had to meet before receiving a Gold Standards Framework (GSF) accreditation.

The newly accredited care homes include London and the South East's Abbey Ravenscroft Park Nursing Home and Brendoncare Stildon, the North West's Moor Park House and Astley Grange and Yorkshire's Heatherstones Nursing Home and Gibralter Road Nursing home.

Twenty six of the homes have already received the accreditation and the Quality Hallmark Award, because they have been achieving these standards for eight years.

Many have halved the number of their residents dying in hospital as well as halving crisis hospital admissions, in response to the wishes of residents, their loved ones and staff.

The rise in job satisfaction experienced by staff at GSF-accredited homes has also resulted in reduced staff turnover and better relationships between staff and residents.

Professor Keri Thomas, GSF clinical director, said: “Quality person-centred care should be at the very heart of what Gold Standard care looks like in any care home.

"These homes have demonstrated what can be achieved by embracing a simple framework and using it to excellent effect – developing a proactive approach, listening to residents’ wishes and then planning and delivering their care in line with those wishes.”

The National Gold Standards Framework Centre trains care workers to identify early whether a resident requires end of life care, assess and plan for it and clarify early their preferences. Homes must also submit a portfolio of evidence and undertake an independent visit from a trained assessor.

GSK accreditation is recognised by major care home associations, the Royal College of General Practitioners, National Skills Academy and the Care Quality Commission.

More than 3,000 homes across England and Wales have completed the GSF in Care homes training programme and almost a quarter of all care homes in England having undertaken the training.

Sharon Allen, chief executive of Skills for Care, said: “A skilled, confident and capable workforce is at the heart of high quality, person-centred care.

“We are delighted that GSF is one of a growing number of endorsed providers. By proving that they have embedded the skills learned in the GSF training, these homes have demonstrated that they are at the forefront of excellent end of life care.”

For the full list of the 77 newly accredited care homes visit www.goldstandardsframework.org.uk

144 CQC reports

Meanwhile, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has published reports on the quality of care at 144 adult social care services in central England in the past week and has rated 102 Good and one home care service Outstanding.

Thirty nine have been rated Requires Improvement and two have been rated Inadequate. The Rookery Care Home in Nottinghamshire run by Dual Care and The Royal Mencap Soceity Drummond Court in Suffolk received Inadequate ratings.

All of England’s adult social care services are rated according to whether they are safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

Reports on all 144 inspections are available at: www.cqc.org.uk.