The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced a pilot scheme to monitor infections in care homes in England.
The pilot aims to build on the success of the Vivaldi study during the pandemic, with a wider remit to study other infections.
The Vivaldi social care project has been commissioned by UKHSA in collaboration with University College London (UCL) and other partners including The Outstanding Society, Care England, and NHS England.
This pilot will work with over 500 care homes in England to monitor infections such as COVID-19, flu, norovirus, and urinary tract infections, and analyse the data in order to help reduce infections in care homes for older adults.
The Vivaldi study, a national surveillance study, was commissioned by UKHSA during the pandemic to investigate COVID-19 infections in care homes. Researchers looked at the impact of COVID-19 in care homes, what could be done to prevent the spread of infection, and the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccination.
Professor Steven Riley, director general of data, analytics and surveillance at UKHSA, said: "UKHSA’s collaboration with UCL on the Vivaldi study helped us understand the impact COVID-19 had in care homes and fed directly into important policy making decisions, helping to protect those living and working in adult social care settings during the pandemic.
"We are delighted to be able to continue this work through the Vivaldi social care pilot which will improve our understanding of infections in care homes and similar environments beyond COVID-19 and will provide valuable data that will contribute to our mission to prepare for, prevent and respond to health threats, protect livelihoods and, most importantly, save lives.
Professor Laura Shallcross MBE, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Professor of Public Health at University College London said: "The Vivaldi social care project is a fantastic opportunity for researchers, residents, relatives, staff, and care providers to work together to tackle the problem of infections and outbreaks in care homes. By learning lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, we aim to find new, better ways to protect residents that do not impact negatively on their quality of life."
