Most people would accept that we should help care home residents to live as independently and actively as possible, for as long as they can. If we also accept that there will be a greater proportion of older people with more complex needs in the care system, we need to ask whether our current understanding of what a care home looks like is the right one for the future.
Should we even be talking about care homes as we currently picture them? For many, the term carries with it the image of institutional dependency, rather than a setting designed to promote an active, engaged and fulfilling later life.
The first thing we could do is engage more residents and their families in designing the vision for what residential care should be. Normally it’s the home owner and their architect who decide what’s best for residents. The traditional concept of a building full of bedrooms with large communal spaces may not be that appealing.
Maintained Independence
Turning off ‘normal’ life like a light switch when you go into care isn’t what most people want or need. Carrying on with activities such as shopping, cooking, looking after their accommodation, doing their laundry, all constitute a continuation of independence and normal living. Care communities have been developed that support residents to do all of these things, and more, in a secure and safe environment.
Could providing community facilities on the care home site help residents feel more connected to the rest of society? What flexible spaces might we need so we can offer more physical, educational or cultural activities? How can we incorporate more sensory and reminiscence experiences into homes? And how can we ensure that what we build today can be adapted to suit changing needs and new models of good care practice?
Finding Answers
There are many questions to answer and many more still to even ask. We cannot allow the vision to be constrained by what we’ve always done and what we’ve always built.
Meeting the challenge demands a different approach to design and construction, which is where modern methods such as SIPs will come into their own.
Panelised offsite construction is design-led and highly flexible. Combining engineering, manufacturing and installation expertise into a single team (as we do at Innovaré) ensures that, however bold the design, it can be built as envisaged – efficiently and cost-effectively. SIP-built buildings are energy efficient and easier to expand and adapt as needs change.
Our business is all about innovation and bringing fresh thinking to challenges, old and new. We are looking forward to engaging with forward thinking care providers who want to help shape a better future for residential care.
