Care of the Ageing Veteran Population: Developing an Evidence Base for the Royal Hospital Chelsea Model of Care

Summary

Royal Hospital Chelsea (RHC) has provided a sheltered housing environment alongside integrated health and social care and comradeship for British Army veterans since 1692, following a decree by King Charles II to aid the "relief of veterans broken by age and war" (RHC, 2018). Today approximately 300 In-Pensioners, known globally as 'Chelsea Pensioners' live at RHC. They also have access to an on-site infirmary providing nursing or personal care for up to 68 people (CQC, 2019).

RHC is in central London (UK) and comprises of several historical buildings, protected by the organisations Mission Statement to "…safeguard their historic home for the veterans of tomorrow". In-Pensioner's must have served in the British Army as a non-commissioned officer (or have served at least 12 years 'in the ranks' prior to becoming a commissioned officer), be aged 65 or over, be free of any financial obligations to dependents, and at the time of admission be able to live independently. Traditionally a male-only residence, RHC welcomed its first female Army veteran in 2009.

There is an absence of evidence to support the impact of care delivery and the Chelsea Pensioner experience, with the only evidence being RHC Annual and Care Quality Commission (CQC) reports which focus on strategic and operational matters rather than the impact of the wider social care or environment.

This lack of evidence presents a unique opportunity to evaluate RHC's current service provision, inform future direction and address the hiatus in evidence-based research to quantify the impact of its model of care.

Conditions

• Quality of Life
• Aging Well

Interventions

OTHER

Coffee Morning

Coffee mornings (a maximum of n=2) will be held to raise awareness of the project and to promote participant recruitment. These will be held remotely via video conference if Covid-19 restrictions prevent in-person attendance by the researcher.

OTHER

Recruitment Leaflets

Recruitment leaflets will be hand-delivered to all In-Pensioner residents at Royal Hospital Chelsea. Leaflets will be delivered internally by Royal Hospital Chelsea internal mail-room

OTHER

Consent Form completion

All participants will be asked to complete Consent Forms before engaging in the study. The researcher will be available to answer any questions via phone calls if required.

OTHER

Participant Information Sheet

All participants will receive Information Sheets which they will read in their own rooms (or elsewhere for Key Staff). The researcher will be available to answer any questions via phone calls if required.

OTHER

New In-Pensioner Resident Information Pack

New In-Pensioner resident information packs will be distributed by a member of RHC staff as part of their 'arrivals' process and six months after residency at RHC. The researcher will be available to answer any questions via phone calls if required.

OTHER

Key Staff Interviews

Key Staff interviews will take place with the Researcher in a private space at Royal Hospital Chelsea. If Covid-19 restrictions are in place, 'online' interviews will take place using a digital platform such as 'Skype', 'Teams' or 'Zoom'.

OTHER

In-Pensioner Resident Interviews

In-Pensioner resident interviews will take place with the Researcher in a private space at Royal Hospital Chelsea. If Covid-19 restrictions are in place, 'online' interviews will take place using a digital platform such as 'Skype', 'Teams' or 'Zoom'.

OTHER

ICECAP-A Quality of Life Questionnaire

New In-Pensioner residents and In-Pensioner residents taking part in the Qualitative Interviews will be asked to complete n=2 QoL questionnaires. New In-Pensioners will be asked to complete their QoL measures when the individual takes up residence at Royal Hospital Chelsea, the second six months later. In-Pensioner residents taking part in the interviews will be asked to complete the questionnaire at the start of the interview.

OTHER

WHOQOL-BREF Quality of Life Questionnaire

New In-Pensioner residents and In-Pensioner residents taking part in the Qualitative Interviews will be asked to complete n=2 QoL questionnaires. New In-Pensioners will be asked to complete their QoL measures when the individual takes up residence at Royal Hospital Chelsea, the second six months later. In-Pensioner residents taking part in the interviews will be asked to complete the questionnaire at the start of the interview.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Royal Hospital Chelsea

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Northumbria University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Gemma Wilson-Menzfeld, PhD · Northumbria University

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2021-05-11

Primary Completion

2022-11-07

Completion

2024-01-24

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations