Retaining older staff members in care homes and hospices in England and Australia: the impact of environment.

AIM To explore the views of older Australian and English care home and inpatient hospice staff on the physical environment of their workplace. METHOD The paper reports on an issue that was highlighted during a larger ethnographic study of the inpatient environments in which older people receive end-of-life care. During visits to sixteen care homes and inpatient hospices-seven in England and nine in Australia-informal discussions were held with staff in which they described the challenges posed by the physical environment of their workplace. RESULTS Several of the staff, who were predominantly older female nurses, described the difficulties of working in a care environment that was not always fit for current purpose. For example, they found it tiring to have to walk long distances between tasks, and experienced difficulty with manoeuvring heavy equipment on unsuitable floor surfaces. CONCLUSIONS In order to promote the health of older, experienced care home and hospice staff and encourage them to remain in employment, it is important that the physical environment of the care setting is designed in a way that meets their needs. Older staff should be included in decisions about the refurbishment and rebuilding of care environments.