Well, what a busy week we have had since our last update!
Following the latest government guidance, our team carried out virtual training and competencies to take swabbing tests and check for asymptomatic Covid-19 carriers among our residents and staff. In scenes reminiscent of a field dentist clinic, all 78 current residents, incoming residents and staff were swabbed and samples were then dispatched for testing.
Over the next 48 hours, we received a stream of negative results in our email inbox. Each time we opened one, we counted our blessings that the result was negative. Earlier this week, we received our last result and all our staff and results are currently Covid-19 free.
Ongoing health checks of staff will continue with swabbing when needed. We will also have support from the NHS track and trace service that has now been introduced across the UK. This system ensures anyone that develops symptoms can receive a test quickly and find out if they have the virus. The system will also alert those that have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive. This means we can respond quickly and conduct any self-isolation or testing we need to keep everyone safe.
With new residents, we’ll continue to conduct tests before they move into the home. We will always confirm a negative result before residents move in to our home. If you’re considering residential or dementia care for a loved one, please give us a call to talk through how we may be able to help.
As life returns to some semblance of normality across the UK, we continue to maintain a strict lockdown and implement the highest level of infection prevention. We intend to remain at the same level of shielding until the Government advise that it is safe to ease these measures and our risk assessments indicate this is safe. We won’t take any decision on opening until we have talked to residents and families to reach a collective decision.
Staying connected with our families continues to be very important. This week, we sent surprise packages to our families, including handmade cards, photographs of residents and a VE Day newsletter. Everyone was happy to receive these and we’re glad that we could lift the spirits of our families.
As each day in care is different, especially at this unpredictable time, we wait to see what next week brings!
