Developing an evidence base - Royal Hospital Chelsea's model of care
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Care of the ageing veteran population: Developing an evidence base for the Royal Hospital Chelsea model of care
IRAS ID
288952
Contact name
Gemma Wilson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Northumbria at Newcastle
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
119967, Internal Funding Reference
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 2 months, 18 days
Research summary
Established in 1692, Royal Hospital Chelsea (RHC), London, is a sheltered housing environment for approximately 300 In-Pensioners who are all British Army Veterans and able to live independently. The on-site Margaret Thatcher Infirmary (MTI) is Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered, provides nursing care for up to 68 people and contains an NHS GP Medical Centre.
There is a paucity of evidence to support the impact of care delivery and the Chelsea Pensioner experience, with the only evidence being RHC Annual and Care Quality Commission reports which focus on strategic and operational matters rather than the impact of the wider social care or environment. This lack of evidence presents a unique opportunity to evidence RHC’s current service provision, inform future direction and address the hiatus in evidence-based research to quantify the impact of its model of care.The research will seek to address two main aims: (1) To gain an understanding of the current RHC model of care by: (a) Evidencing the influence the model of care has on In-Pensioner health outcomes; (b) Understanding the influence the model of care has on wider social care provision; (c) Reflecting on the contribution the environment has on the In-Pensioner experience, their health outcomes, and quality of life, and (2) To inform future RHC care provision by: (a) Mapping current services, future need and sustainability of the model; (b) Projecting findings to inform the growth of existing services for future generations of ageing veterans.
The findings will inform RHC strategic direction as it continues to deliver care provision to current and future generations of veteran, identify the value of RHC interventions, and explore any development of service provision in the form of potential outreach care.
The research focuses on a specific cohort of the ageing population, namely military veterans, residing in one care-home. There are currently n=24 similar veteran care-homes in England and Scotland, registered with the CQC (England) and the Care Inspectorate (Scotland) and subject to regulations relating to care delivery. Military veterans are part of a unique employment group however, ultimately, they are also members of the general ageing population with the same care needs.
Therefore, the findings will be transferrable to wider care-homes as they will seek to present service delivery findings from both a staff (care provider) and resident (care recipient) perspective and evidence best practice, whilst informing the development of social care provision with potential contribution to social care policy.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/LO/0058
Date of REC Opinion
18 Feb 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion