Following a reasonably quiet summer during which not a lot changed we now find ourselves having to prepare for a long winter and planning around all the Government guidelines that have started to appear again!! We would like to share with you how we continue to play our part in combatting this dreadful virus.
Before we go into more detail we just want to say once again how grateful we are to our staff team and thank them for all their hard work, dedication and commitment to what they have done over the past few months and what they are going to have to continue doing over the coming months.
They are all a credit to their profession and have been told that they should celebrate all of their hard work and never again call themselves ‘just support workers’ because they have proved that they are much, much more than that. We are sure you’ll all agree with us and join us in thanking all of them.
The Government has made it very clear to us that everything we do must keep the needs and safety of the people we support and our staff at the forefront of all our activities. Therefore the framework that we have worked within for the last 8 months continues and although it has led us to possibly having to make some unpopular decisions it has kept our Service Users and Staff safe and well.
Our guidance currently comes from:
- The NHS
- The Department of Health and Social Care
- Public Health England
- CQC
At any time, any one of these bodies can tell us to do something and we must act immediately. This sadly means that some activities and visits have had to be cancelled without much notice.
Here’s a few things we are currently doing in the homes:
Testing
We are now undertaking regular weekly testing on all our staff and monthly testing for our service users. It has taken a while to get these tests but we welcome the ability to keep on top of the infection.
Visit’s to the home
Currently all visits to the homes will need to be supervised and visitors will be individually risk assessed. We have a Visitors Policy in place that will be updated regularly when government guidelines are released.
Track and Trace
Should any one visit any one of our homes they will now be required to fill in a Track and Trace Form. This form collects visitor contact details and should we experience an outbreak we are legally obliged to pass these details on to a representative from Track and Trace who will contact those on the list. We keep this data for 21 days from the date of visiting.
Flu Vaccine
Evidence has shown that people who get the flu are at higher risk of also contracting COVID 19, so it is essential that as many people as possible are vaccinated. We are working hard to get as many of our staff and service users (subject to a best interest) vaccinated as possible but supplies are low.
Please be assured that all of us at Fountain Care Ltd and Loving Care Ltd continue to have the care and welfare of our staff and service users at the forefront of all that we do. We will continue listening and taking on board advice and guidance from the appropriate channels, doing what we can to stop the virus spreading. We hope that you are all keeping well and safe and that you will continue to do so in the coming months.
We will continue to update you as and when advice and guidance is issued and things change.
