Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience and Expectations of Providers of Residential Long-term Care Services

Kvetoslava Repkova

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To contribute to the knowledge focused on effects of the COVID-19 pandemicin s ector of the long-term care services and identify challenges for social work. THEORETICAL BASE: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on long-term care services providers is conceptualised as a human rights issue, but also as a matter of quality in social services, most recently as a lesson from the pandemic for sustainable development and for managing crisis situations in this sector. METHODS: The article brings selected findings of a quantitative survey aimed to examine the impact of the pandemic on providers of residential social services with an aim to identify measures for increasing their preparedness in the field of managing crisis situations. OUTCOMES: With regards to the pandemic, the providers mostly evaluated their situation as comparable to the pre-pandemic period; in order to support future crisis management, they expected, in particular, uniform, clear and in-time guidance provided by the authorities, but also support in the personnel, financial and material areas. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: Need to mediate inter-organizational, intra-organizational and interpersonal interactions of social services’ actors what is considered to be a key role of social work. To prepare social workers for crisis management.

Keywords
residential social services, long-term care, the COVID-19 pandemic, crisis situations, leasons learned from the pandemic

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