Dr Amy Horton, 'The UK care home sector'

Dr Amy Horton sought to identify concentrations of financial risk among care homes to help inform future funding decisions by policy makers.

Amy Horton is co-investigator on the project, ‘Understanding the financial impact of COVID-19 on the UK care home sector - implications for businesses and the workforce,’ which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

The project seeks to identify concentrations of financial risk among care homes to help inform future funding decisions by policy makers. It also explores the experiences of care home staff of working throughout COVID-19, including whether they have been affected by any financial pressures on the sector.

The aim is to influence support for care staff from government and employers. To design the research with the care workforce, which involves a survey and interviews, Amy undertook a review of the literature. She also consulted policy partners in the sector – UNISON, the trade union, and the National Care Forum, which represents non-profit care homes – to understand their perspectives on the priorities for research.

The findings from this process were presented in a short briefing paper, which was submitted to the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology, responding to relevant Areas of Research Interest identified by parliamentarians.