35% of Brits "too frightened” to put parents into care homes
New research has found that 35% of British people are too afraid to place their parents in a care home, citing concerns such as the transmission of COVID-19, loneliness, and fears of them falling over and sustaining an injury.
The research was commissioned by Kepler Vision Technologies, a company that creates AI solutions for care homes. The survey asked 1,000 UK adults with a parent aged 75 or over how they felt about care homes. It follows the crisis in care homes where tens of thousands of people died of COVID-19, prompting scrutiny of the way residents are treated.
Despite these concerns, when questioned about the perception of public sector care homes, 60% of people with parents in care said they believe that the quality is improving, compared to 35% of people who don’t have a parent in care, demonstrating a deep divide between those who have experience of the care sector and those who don’t.
Other findings include:
* Over 40% of survey respondents said they would choose to live with their parents instead of placing them in a care home
* 60% of people with parents in care said they believe that the quality is improving
* 49% of people with parents in a private care home said quality is improving
* 50% said reasons for improvements were better care staff
* 49% said improvements were due to better monitoring systems
Dr Harro Stokman, CEO of Kepler Vision Technologies said: “Skilled carers remain the single most important element of the care home industry, but the last year and the ongoing staffing crisis have put them under enormous pressure. No-one should have to worry that their parents are getting anything but the very best care, and it is encouraging to see people recognising the importance of monitoring systems in ensuring that.
"The best way to make sure that both staff and residents are looked after properly is to seek out tech solutions that minimise the bureaucratic strain on staff and maximise the amount of face-time that they can have with residents.”
Kepler Vision’s Night Nurse solution alerts staff or carers when someone has a fall or is in distress. Via a camera, it captures images and uses AI technology to identify an event that might trigger an alarm.