We’re keeping things positive at Barley View. Despite the perpetual doom and gloom surrounding care homes lately, our residents and staff remain upbeat and are finding new ways to make the most of lockdown. Our focus is caring for our residents and keeping everyone at Barley View safe.
While we’re not immune from negative influences, there is a need for us to brush them off and focus on the work at hand. This is no easy feat, but we’ve managed. As lockdown grinds the country to a halt, we carry on. We have to.
To date, we haven’t had a single case of COVID-19 in our home.
At Barley View, we acted decisively from the very onset of the pandemic, closing our doors long before lockdown demanded. We quickly set up video calls for relatives and commenced a social media storm of positivity. Now, more than ever, we understand that relatives need reassurance. The need to know their loved one is being cared for has never been so intense. Through smiling faces and daily updates, we hope that in some small way, we can help relatives feel better about a situation so far beyond normality.
To that end, we recently created a new blog space, Barley Buzz, which focuses on honest and open updates from manager Jane about life in lockdown.
For the residents, it’s been a case of keeping things as normal as possible throughout the recent upheavals. We’ve continued to keep residents active and engaged with a wide range of activities, with big plans for the upcoming VE day celebrations currently in the works. Staff and families from the Calico Group have been helping residents keep in touch with the outside world, through a pen pal scheme that has seen a welcome influx of letters, postcards and pictures.
Of course, safety has been paramount of late. Our latest action plan continues to go above and beyond official guidance, to the benefit of residents and staff alike. Our staff can come to work confident that we, as a team, are doing everything in our power to minimise risk and keep infection at bay. Staff have taken on new responsibilities to reduce our reliance on external professionals and broaden our skillset still further.
So far, PPE supplies are still going strong and for that, we feel incredibly lucky. What’s more, we’ve managed to source tests, on the rare occasion it’s been required. The offers of support, equipment and supplies we’re receiving from the local community have been incredibly moving. While lockdown is tough, the community spirit it has nurtured has been incredible.
As we move forward, and the government begins to draft exit strategies, we’ll continue to take all necessary steps to protect our home and the people who live and work here. During this strange time, when nobody can be confident what will come next, we remain confident of one thing – we will come through this.
