VISITS to Brookside care home and the return of hairdressers are two of the changes for residents following the publication of the latest Government advice.
The Order of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) report, “We have been accommodating two people from the same household or social bubble to visit their loved ones in our homes, but the latest Government guidance now restricts that to one constant visitor. We appreciate how disappointing this will be to families, but it is important that we follow all the latest guidance from the Government. Ideally these are being arranged in outside spaces but for those unable to access outdoor spaces, we are now able to allow one constant visitor to visit a loved one indoors.
“OSJCT operates 82 homes and accommodation schemes across Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, West Sussex and Suffolk. The trust employs around 4,800 staff, who provide high-quality, person-centred care for more than 3,500 older people including dementia, intermediate, respite and day care, and specialised nursing.
“Encouraging socialising in the homes has been a key development and residents can now take part in activities with fellow residents in small groups and socially distanced at a distance of two metres.
“The return of hairdressers to homes is something that residents have wanted, and we have put robust procedures in place to enable this, while maintaining high levels of safety for residents and employees of our homes. A risk assessment will be carried out for each appointment and appointments will not be possible for residents of a home that has experienced an outbreak within the last 28 days.
“The hairdresser must have had a negative Covid-19 test result before restarting appointments and this will be done by the home on a weekly basis, as will a temperature check on every day the hairdresser attends the home. Each home will also provide full PPE for the hairdresser and visitors.”
Brookside care home manager Jamie Carter said, “It has been amazing the way everyone has pulled together since March. I have witnessed great positivity from staff, and we have received lovely messages of support from family members, often accompanied by very welcome cake. The way the community has pulled together to support Brookside has been fantastic to see. Some local people who were furloughed from their job came into the home to help with activities and ran quizzes and helped residents with gardening in community spaces.”
Staff at Brookside say that have felt safe and supported because PPE from The Orders of St John Care Trust has been plentiful from the first day it was needed, there are very clear policies in place and OSJCT locked down in good time at the beginning
The trust added, “After being selected to take part in a Government testing pilot programme, all OSJCT care home staff have been tested weekly throughout July regardless of where they show symptoms and residents will all have one test. This enables us to identify potential cases of Covid-19 much sooner and between 6th-29th July, we carried out 11,585 tests, which have returned a 99.45% negative rate in employees and 99.77% negative rate in residents. The Government announced that all care homes would receive ongoing testing from 1st August and therefore we are expecting to move seamlessly from our pilot to this new process.”
Dan Hayes, OSJCT chief executive said, “Our employees and volunteers have been incredible during these unprecedented times, providing the highest level of commitment and compassion to thousands of our community’s residents who need care and support more than ever.”
OSJCT add, “The quality of OSJCT’s service has been accredited by the National Care Forum, through its “Quality First” framework and the trust was delighted to have again been awarded a ‘Top 20 Recommended Care Home Group’ Award in the Large Care Home Group category of carehome.co.uk 2020 awards.”
