SAGE ADVOCACY DISCUSSES ON LMFM RADIO WHY IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE LEARN FROM THE IMPACT THAT COVID-19 HAS HAD ON NURSING HOMES May 27, 2021

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Sarah Lennon, Executive Director, Sage Advocacy, joined LMFM's Michael Reade show to discuss why it is important that we learn from the impact that Covid-19 has had on nursing homes and why it is vital that we continue to ask what more could have been done to safeguard, vulnerable older people.

Ms Lennon said evidence suggests that the current support and care system with its high reliance on residential nursing homes was totally inadequate to safeguard older people.

She believes it is crucial that we now gather “reliable data” to ensure that we learn from the experiences of Covid-19 in nursing homes and examine key issues such as hospital discharges, movement between nursing homes, occupancy and staff skills.

Ms Lennon said it is also time to start talking about why the long term support and care of older people is currently biased towards congregated settings like nursing homes when Sage Advocacy knows from its work that the majority of older people want the choice to be supported and cared for at home.