UVAC
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding Variation in Admissions from Care Homes
IRAS ID
353114
Contact name
Carl Marincowtiz
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Sheffield
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 29 days
Research summary
Older care home residents are at risk of multiple harms when in hospital, including reduced mobility, infection and confusion. Current pressures on emergency services and increased waits in A&E cause delays in treatment and increase the risk of these harms. There is evidence that up to 40% of admissions to hospital from care homes may have been avoided if residents received better healthcare where they live. Care home residents are also admitted to hospital up to 6-times more frequently in some parts of England compared to others.
NHS England introduced the updated Enhanced Health in Care Homes (EHCH) framework in 2023. The framework includes recommendations for increased specialist care for older care home residents aimed at reducing hospital admissions. This can include residents being seen more often their GP or specialist teams, or having their medications checked more often. We don’t know how the framework recommendations have been introduced in different parts of England and whether this leads to differences in how often residents need to be treated in hospital. Our research aims to understand what NHS enhanced care services are available and how they work in different parts of England. We will identify enhanced services that work well and may reduce the need for residents to go to hospital in parts of England with lower rates of hospitalisations.
To meet our aims, we will conduct semi-structured interviews with a variety of health and social care professionals responsible for commissioning and delivering enhanced care in cares homes, care home professionals, older care home residents and their family and friends in six different areas of England. This will allow us to understand what enhanced services are available in different parts of England and what the people who deliver and use the services think works well about them.
REC name
Social Care REC
REC reference
25/IEC08/0014
Date of REC Opinion
20 May 2025
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion