Research nurse urges south London care homes to join ENRICH

A south London research nurse is urging care home managers to get involved with the NIHR's ENRICH programme.

The ENabling Research in Care Homes (ENRICH) programme brings together care home staff, residents and their families with researchers. The programme provides a toolkit of resources to help care homes make the most of research. This toolkit also helps researchers to set up and run studies in care homes.

Uju Rockson-Rapu, a Community and Public Health and Social Care Research Nurse with the NIHR CRN South London's direct delivery team, who is based at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said:

“Our ENRICH members know about research. They can respond when asked to support a study, which makes running research within a care home easier.

"Care home managers find ENRICH to be an exciting opportunity. They join in the hope of improving health and social care. I urge other care home managers to consider joining ENRICH."

The direct delivery team supports research in non-hospital-based settings, such as schools and care homes.

A care home director has said his organisation will work with the NIHR to champion research in social care across London.

Nightingale Hammerson is now part of the NIHR's Research Ready Care Home Network. The network brings together care home staff, residents and researchers. The hope is the network will improve the quality of life, treatment and care for all residents.

Nuno Santos Lopes, Director of Research, Innovation and Community Engagement, said:

“Our NIHR certification reinforces our commitment to investing in research. We want to develop best practices and challenge how we care for our community. We will also urge other social care providers to join the research movement."

Nuno said research and the work of the direct delivery team have benefited his organisation.

The NIHR CRN South London worked with Nightingale Hammerson on the AFRI-c study. The direct delivery team worked with care home staff to recruit people to the study. Researchers tested air filtration systems to see if they could prevent coughs, colds, flu, and COVID-19 in care homes.

Nightingale Hammerson is an independent charity specialising in the care of older people. The organisation has served the Jewish community since 1840. The NIHR is the largest funder of health and care research in England.

You can find out more about the ENRICH programme on the NIHR's website.