More care homes urged to open onsite pubs after they were found to boost morale in lockdown

More care homes are being urged to open onsite pubs after staff revealed they boosted residents’ morale during lockdowns.

Care homes have been particularly hit by the pandemic, forcing them to close their doors to visitors for large periods of time. This has led them to look internally for entertainment, with one in four staff saying their care home had created or enhanced their pub during lockdown.

The research carried out by the UK’s leading care home reviews site, carehome.co.uk, found 53 per cent of care home staff who have pubs in their care homes say the wellbeing of residents was boosted when they socialised in the home’s pub or drinking facility.

One fifth of care workers said residents used the pub on a daily basis.

Mental health was a big issue for residents during the pandemic as they became isolated from the outside world. Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of staff say the care home had to help residents with their mental health. So social hubs such as care home pubs were a welcome distraction.

With care homes closed to visitors, just over three-quarters of staff found their bonds with residents grew stronger during the pandemic.

In the wake of the poll which surveyed over 4,000 care home staff, carehome.co.uk has urged care homes that do not currently have a pub to consider creating one.

Survey shows care home pubs are 'a great mood enhancer'

A spokesperson said: “It is encouraging that a growing number of care homes created or improved their pubs so residents despite being cut off from the rest of the world were able to socialise and enjoy life.

“With pubs a staple of British culture, our survey reveals that these social hubs are a great mood enhancer and we would like to see more care homes creating a pub for their residents. They are particularly key for residents living with reduced mobility who may be unable to visit pubs outside the care home.”

A care home in Dorset created its own pub called ‘The Lockdown Arms’ to get residents socialising and enjoying themselves during lockdown.

It hosts regular ‘pub nights’, which sees team members turn into bartenders and play music to recreate the real atmosphere of a pub, complete with events such as karaoke nights, themed music evenings and quizzes. Other features of the Lockdown Arms include a pool table, dartboard, vintage radio and disco lights. The home’s team also hosts fortnightly pub quizzes, complete with traditional pub grub including chicken or scampi with chips served in a basket.

Zita Turner, manager at Care UK’s The Potteries, said: ‘’During lockdown we came up with the idea of our own pub naming it ‘The Lockdown Arms’. As we couldn’t take everyone to the pub so we thought we’d bring a pub to them. Residents love it and we make plenty of use of it by having themed events, quiz nights and afternoon visits.

“It was a real team spirit in organising and decorating and my team really enjoyed the opening of the pub. Seeing the reactions of the residents made it all worthwhile. We had amazing support from a local brewery and an independent pub to make ours as authentic as possible.’’

Jim Wakefield, aged 88, a resident at The Potteries, said: “What a wonderful idea and thing to do for us. We residents do love our outings to the pub, it’s like the good old days.’’

Eleanor Lyons, manager of Anchor’s Linwood care home in Surrey, revealed: “Having our own in-house pub during the pandemic has been brilliant for our residents. While pubs were closed throughout the country ours remained open and residents were still able to enjoy their favourite things about the pub whether that be having a pint, dancing or enjoying their favourite pub food.

“It’s always been a great place for residents to gather for activities such as pub quizzes, darts or club meetings and throughout the pandemic it was utilised even more for socialising and enjoying holidays and other celebrations.”

Nearly half said their care home had a pub or drinking facility

A previous survey carried out by carehome.co.uk in 2020 found nearly half of care home staff said their care home had its own private pub or drinking facility.

Nearly a quarter said their elderly care home residents drank once a week, with 21 per cent of care staff saying there is no alcohol permitted in the care home. The study found that while around one in five care workers say that alcohol is banned for residents, around one in six said there is no limit to how much a resident can drink.