Day-in, day-out, responsibility for the health, and well-being of many of the most vulnerable elderly members of UK society is entrusted to 5,500 different provider-organisations across the UK’s £16bn care-homes sector, operating 11,000-plus care homes, with more than 400,000 residents.
Historically, residential care settings have always presented significant challenges to those in charge of establishing and implementing appropriate protocols and good-practice in on-site risk-management, safety culture, cleanliness, hygiene-management and infection prevention-and-control.
Then along came SARS COV2 resulting in the rapid development of the pandemic, the contracting of Covid-19.
By autumn 2020, Public Health England (now the UK Health Security Agency) reported that more than 43,000 plus care home residents had tested positive for Coronavirus. Throughout 2021 and moving into 2022, care homes continued to face an unprecedented set of logistical, legal, and ‘human factors’ workforce-skills operational challenges to the safe and successful management of their businesses.
Only now, as we move into the so-called ‘Post Pandemic’ age, is the care homes sector able to restart, rebuild and refocus.
BUT WHAT IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN!!
‘Beyond Covid’: what exactly is the future strategy and skills pathway for Infection Prevention and Control, Risk Management and Safety Culture Excellence – for care home operators, directors, leaders, teams and professionals?
Since 2016, Knowlex has helped address the need for ongoing improvement, innovation, education and compliance in Hospital Infection Prevention and Control, by bringing together, in person, more than 3,000 NHS IPC Directors, leaders, and professionals as delegates at seven ‘editions’ of the purpose-built NHS Infection Prevention and Control Conference – which is now, in 2022, the biggest event, of its kind, in Europe.
Modelled on this activity, knowledge and experience, Knowlex – in consultation with key professional-stakeholder organisations and individuals – has purpose–designed THE CARE HOMES 22: BEYOND COVID national conference (and associated exhibition); enabling the UK care homes sector to come together, from across the country; learn the lessons of recent experiences; and better understand how they can ‘future-proof’ their ongoing infection prevention-and-control, risk-management and safety culture responsibilities.