A Quest for Quality in Care Homes

An inquiry into the quality of healthcare support for older people in care homes: a call for leadership, partnership and improvement.

This 2011 BGS report marked the start of a process of partnership to develop impetus, resources and clinical guidance that will support the NHS to play part in improving the experience and the quality of life of residents in care homes. Its recommendations were developed collaboratively with stakeholders drawn from care homes, social care, NHS (including primary care) and academia.

The report describes current NHS support for care homes. It tells a story of unmet need, unacceptable variation and often poor quality of care provided by the NHS to the estimated 400,000 older people resident in UK care homes. It describes what should and could be done and calls for national action by government and local action by NHS commissioners, planners and clinical services to improve the quality of NHS support to care homes. It highlights the need to build joint professional leadership from the health, social, and care home sectors, statutory regulators and patient advocacy groups to find the solutions that none of these can achieve alone.