Sensory care in care homes – understanding the why

Resources from a June 2023 roundtable organised by the ALLIANCE Scottish Sensory Hub that explored the issue of sensory care in care homes.

Sensory care can be defined as any type of care related to the senses which is necessary for a person’s communication, access to information and mobility. These are the three key themes of the ALLIANCE Scottish Sensory Hub. These themes are human rights as well as being critical enablers for accessing other rights.

In June 2023, the ALLIANCE Scottish Sensory Hub organised a roundtable to explore the ‘why’ of sensory care in care homes – why does this type of care matter in care homes for older people? Understanding the why helps us better navigate the ‘how’. and provides the motivation for us to act. The why is embedded in a human rights-based approach for everyone involved – the right to information, the right to communication, the right to language.

Resources from the session include a Flash Report, a Presentation with notes delivered by Amy White, the ALLIANCE’s Sensory Sensory Hub Officer, and a video of her presentation.

After Amy’s presentation, the session was joined by a panel comprised of George MacMillian (Care Inspectorate), Denise Rennex (NHS Audiology), Laura Carse (Perth and Kinross Council), and Avril Hepner (British Deaf Association (BDA)). Each panellist was invited to share their reflections.

A collective take-home message from the event is that one size does not fit all as sensory care in care homes is variable. It highlighted the ‘why’,. supported by the evidence-base and data. This presents the opportunity for collaborative exploration of improvements for sensory care in care homes that could include:

• Strategic roundtable with key partners to explore current evidence, identify current good practice and gaps and agree a collaborative approach to improving sensory care in care homes.

• Develop and implementing a framework for sensory assessments as a means to inform appropriate selection of cognitive assessments could improve validity as well as detect sensory-related modifiable risk factors of cognitive decline.

• Explore the development of an agreed sensory care in care homes national dataset, analysis and presentation to support ongoing improvements. Informed by current data modelling adjusted for the application of evidence.

• Potential to revisit sensory champion training, which is adaptable to context and builds on the Dementia Champion framework.

• Progress wider conversations and agreement about consistent sensory impairment language.

• Explore further the environmental barriers that can be removed.

• Identify the gaps in evidence and ways to enhance the evidence and research

You can access all the event resources at the links below. The video of Amy White’s presentation is available to watch on the ALLIANCE’s YouTube channel.

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