I find it heartening to hear stories of how care home staff have offered to go the extra-mile to help people in some Care Homes stay connected to their families with the aid of technology. It will likely fast-track the use of technology in care homes going forwards. Hopefully it will open doors for many more professional contacts for virtual multi-disciplinary appointments where this is appropriate. it will certainly also serve enhanced communication education. The crisis will raise the public awareness of the importance of this sector, how it is equipped to do the job and stimulate a better understanding of roles and the function of different members of the team and how they need to have access to the wider system rather than be ‘hidden away’.
The importance of the activity and the role of care staff and activity co-ordinators, to prevent the negative health effects of ‘occupational deprivation’ to keep people functioning at their optimum is fundamental.
I am hearing stories of vulnerable isolated residents in senior living apartments who are languishing in boredom and its ill effects. The use of ZOOM sessions for those people can keep them connected and provide a sense of belonging and purpose, routine and other human contact, albeit virtual. They are simple to learn for some, although not all. Increasing numbers of older people are starting to do so in the lock-down to stay connected with family members.
The importance of preventing depression, persistent ruminating and anxiety precipitated by media news focusing too much on the negative, can have unhelpful emotional effects, not heled by the media ‘mood-hoovers’. This is particularly the case for those who do not have a sounding-board and are living on their own. Loneliness and isolation are also a precipitator of depression which is why helplines, befriending online and the potential to connect people to virtual activity is so important for those who can.
This crisis is an enabler of imaginative and disruptive thinking where we can look at new ways of doing things born out of necessity. It is a space where creativity and entrepreneurship can be at the cutting edge. The challenge is how we can allow heavily bureaucratic process driven systems to simplify and remove unnecessary clutter that prevent this. So often, this ‘clutter’ had become ‘custom and practice’ in many organisations, local authorities and councils. It is time for reviewing how we perceive risk adopting and enabling rather than disabling approach so communities can be released to feel able to help themselves with the support of local authorities as enablers to local bottom up ideas to help people. This should be part of enabling communities to continue to rise to the challenge of keeping people well in their own homes and how they can get involved in new ways, as a result of our current levels of good will and engagement, particularly at such a time as this.