We continue to be impressed with how fantastic our teams, across the group, have handled the Coronavirus outbreak. They have remained vigilant in sticking to our strict safety guidance, whilst providing the highest quality of care. Here is a snippet of the work we have been doing to protect our residents and staff.
New Government Guidance
We have explained to the teams that they must remain vigilant, even with some lock down restrictions easing, and we are confident they will do so, as the managers across the group have been very impressed with how seriously each member of staff are taking their responsibilities.
We have asked them to discuss with their family members, if they are going back to work and live in the same household as them, how important it is for them to social distance themselves from their colleagues and to be washing their hands regularly.
Staff Testing
We have now started to encourage more staff to get tested, even if they are not showing symptoms. We are hoping that, if we can do this regularly, we may be able to catch some staff who have Coronavirus but are asymptomatic. This is being done in a controlled manor so to not effect the care being delivered in the Homes.
Black, Asian and Other Minority Ethnic (BAME) Staff Members
Any BAME staff members will now discuss their roles with their managers, and how we can make the Homes as safe as possible for them to work in. This is after a study by the NHS showed that BAME staff members may have a higher chance of a more severe reaction if they caught Covid-19.
Facemasks
We had implemented sessional face masks for all of our staff since the 8th April and we are now offering fresh PPE to all visiting healthcare professionals as some wear their facemasks sessionally, meaning they could be kept on after visiting other care homes.
Dedicated Isolation Areas and Split Floors
The dedicated isolation areas, and split floors with dedicated staff teams, that we set up as soon as our Homes closed on the 15th March have proven effective in making sure any residents, suspected of being infected or precautionary after a hospital visit, are cared for appropriately and that all other residents are as safe as possible.
Communication
We have not provided many updates through our website as our Operations Director, Jonathan Garton, has been sending weekly updates directly to the staff teams, and the family and friends of our residents by email. We have also been providing updates to our residents through our management teams within the Homes.
Activities
Activities have continued to be amended to be as safe as possible, whilst still enjoyable and stimulating for our residents. Mocktails, to improve hydration, and breathing exercises have become a regular part of our schedules during this period.
Please follow the Homes individual Facebook page for regular posts about daily life within our Homes. These have shown some lovely moments, safely adapted activities (such as Corridor Karaoke) and events, and how our residents’ spirits are still high. This is all down to our fantastic staff teams! Please check out some pictures below….
As a company we hope everybody is safe and coping well through these troubling times.
