IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON CARE HOME PATHWAYS, OUTCOMES AND SAFETY OF CARE

COVID-19疫情严重影响护理院居民，导致死亡人数增加一倍，其中东北部受到的影响尤为严重。这项研究将试图了解在疫情期间生病的居民（患有COVID-19或非COVID-19疾病）是如何管理的，以及这是否与“正常”情况不同。是否有更多的居民在家中得到照顾，而不是被送往急诊室？有COVID-19症状的居民是否从医院转回？COVID-19是否改变了养老院员工的决策方式？首先，我们将收集东北部个人的数据，其中包括在护理院收集的数据，急诊室访问和其他入院数据。这个独特的数据集将使我们能够检查在放松封锁之前，期间和之后居民护理的变化和结果。随后，我们将采访护理院工作人员和社区临床工作人员，以了解他们的决策在大流行期间如何改变，以及这如何影响护理院居民。我们将整理研究结果，为未来的指导和政策制定建议，指导养老院如何应对大流行疫情，以及为养老院人口提供健康服务的更广泛战略。

The COVID-19 pandemic seriously affected care home residents leading to a doubling in the number of deaths with the North East being particularly badly affected. This research will seek to understand how residents who fell ill (with COVID-19 or non-COVID-19 conditions) during the pandemic were managed and whether this was different from 'normal' circumstances. Were more residents cared for within homes and not taken to Emergency Departments? Were residents transferred back from hospital with COVID-19 symptoms? Did COVID-19 change how decisions were made by care home staff?First we will gather data for individuals in the North East which includes data collected while in care homes, Emergency Department visits and other hospital admission data. This unique dataset will allow us to examine changes and outcomes of care for residents from before, during and after the easing of lockdown. Subsequently we will interview care home staff and community clinical staff to understand how their decision making changed during the pandemic and how this affected care home residents. We will collate the findings to develop recommendations for future guidance and policy on how care homes react in pandemic outbreaks and on broader strategies for health provision for the care home population.