More than a third of people (35%) are “too frightened” to put their parents into a care home, new research has found.
The research, commissioned by Kepler Vision Technologies, found that over 40% of people would rather have an elderly parent live with them than place them in a care home with concerns ranging from the transmission of COVID 19, to loneliness, and fears of them falling over alone and sustaining an injury.
Despite these concerns, 60% of people with parents in care 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.
This also holds true for private care homes, with 49% of respondents seeing improvements in quality, versus 32% without a parent in a care home. The most commonly cited reasons for improvements being better care staff (50% of respondents) and better monitoring systems (49%).
Dr Harro Stokman, CEO of fall detection system provider, 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.”
