We recently had the pleasure of catching up with Dr. Isabelle Latham, our dedicated Researcher in Residence at Hallmark Luxury Care Homes. Isabelle plays a vital role in enhancing the lives of our residents by integrating research into everyday care practices. We asked her about her unique role, her journey into care, and how she’s helping our care teams continue to deliver exceptional support to those living with dementia. Here’s what she shared with us.
What does your role as Researcher in Residence entail?
My job is to support our care homes to apply, identify and carry out research that improves the lives of those who live, work and visit Hallmark care homes.
Providing excellent care isn’t simple as things can change quickly, and everybody and every situation is different, so it is important that we pay attention to the latest developments and learning about what helps people live well in a care home or with a condition like dementia.
Often research can feel very distanced from what life is like in the “real world”. My job involves finding out what ideas or improvements the care home would like to make and helping them to use research to put it into practice. Researching “in residence” also means I can see the amazing range of skills that our team, families and residents have and make sure we are sharing and celebrating them.
Can you tell us about your route to becoming a Researcher in Residence?
When I started my career, I worked as a care worker in several care homes for people living with dementia. Those experiences meant that I became very passionate about the work care homes do and the people who do it! It also meant there were lots of things that I wanted to influence and change. This led to other roles in care home organisations, focussing on things like safeguarding and training of carers.
Because I like a challenge (and am a bit of a nerd) I studied alongside my work for many years and gained an MSc in social research and a PhD in dementia care. This led me to work for the Association for Dementia Studies at the University of Worcester, where I led care home research and education for 10 years before joining Hallmark.
One of the things I learned in my time in academia is that many researchers don’t have direct experience of care and care homes – which means they’re not always as helpful to the sector as they should be. Researching in residence is a unique role created by Hallmark and it’s all about bridging that gap between research and the real world.
What does a usual day look like for you?
Every day is different, which keeps me on my toes. Sometimes I’m in my office at home doing all the background work for research projects (as well as trying to keep my cat off the desk!). I also help others in Hallmark to think about how they might use research in their roles or look for outside opportunities our homes might like to participate in, so there are a fair few Teams meetings! (which my cat likes to try and attend).
My favourite days are when I get to go and visit our care homes. On these days I spend time with team members or residents planning or doing research – this could involve talking to people, observing what is going on, or running training or other research activities.
What impact do you hope to have in your role to both residents and team?
I hope to be able to help make the most of the passion and skills we have in our care homes to improve the lives of those who live there. I am constantly blown away by the ideas, creativity and commitment our team members have – and they often don’t realise how special and skilled they are!
Working in and running a care home is such a busy, complex job, and the public perception of care homes and care work is sadly very poor – but I hope I can use my role to help our teams to keep improving what they do, share their learning with others and showcase the difference it makes to people’s lives.
What is your proudest moment since being at Hallmark?
My proudest moment so far came at last year’s UK Dementia Congress – a big event in the dementia care world. I was able to co-present alongside team members, so they could showcase the research we’d done. It was fantastic to see our team members talking on such a big stage and sharing their passion and insight.
It is very unusual to hear those voices at events – they’re usually dominated by academics and senior executives – but hearing about real life stories and experiences is so powerful. Not only did our team members do Hallmark, and me, very proud, they also showed other organisations that the people who deliver care are hugely creative and capable and represent a lot of untapped potential!
In a few months, we’ll also have our first journal article, co-authored with Dementia Care Manager at Hallmark Bucklesham Grange, Kirsty Thomas – another proud moment. Again, it’s very unusual to see team members being able to take ownership of the fantastic work they do in this way. I hope these will be the first of many co-written articles and presentations from our care home teams sharing their learning and insight across the care home sector.
What makes you passionate about your role?
I firmly believe that people can live well, even when they need support to go about their daily lives because of old age, disability, or condition like dementia, and I believe that care homes can help people to do this. However, achieving that is complicated: it takes a lot more than just “talking the talk”. The key to moving beyond that is listening to and empowering those people who give and receive the care, rather than assuming we know best.
What is the one piece of advice you would you give someone currently caring for someone living with dementia?
They are a person, just like you or I – give them respect, time and compassion and you will be on the right track.
How do you spend your free time?
As I’ve said I’m a bit of a nerd, so I love a good sci-fi TV series, film or book: being sat on the sofa, with my cats next to me for an afternoon is my idea of heaven. If I’m feeling more energetic, I love swimming and hiking and I’ve also just discovered a love gardening, having always lived in flats before now!