Therapeutic environments are becoming increasingly essential to care homes as they seek to manage more older residents with complex needs – and keep them out of hospital. Joe Hulbert explains why this requires a rethink of the role of therapy in residential care.
For many years, therapeutic interventions such as hydrotherapy have been firmly rooted in clinical environments. Hospitals, rehabilitation centres, and specialist units have traditionally been seen as the appropriate settings for structured therapy, supported by dedicated staff, controlled conditions, and purpose-built facilities.
Yet the landscape of residential care has undergone a profound transformation. Care homes are no longer simply places of accommodation and support; they are increasingly complex care environments, supporting individuals with a wide range of physical, neurological, and age-related conditions. Residents are entering care later in life, often with higher levels of dependency and more complex needs than in previous decades. Many require ongoing intervention rather than episodic care.
This shift raises a fundamental question for the sector: if care homes are now delivering care at a level once associated with clinical settings, should they also provide access to the therapeutic environments that support that care?
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