Hello Everyone,
With the situation changing almost by the hour in relation to Corona Virus, I feel it is vital to appraise you of our position and what we are currently doing to try and keep everyone in our care safe. We know that we are responsible for the care of the most vulnerable group in the community and we therefore ask that you understand and support our actions which we believe are for the overall safely of everyone.
We are all in uncharted territory and no one has complete, definitive knowledge as to the future trajectory of the epidemic. All we can do is rely on our 40 years of rigorous infection control measures and put as many safeguards as possible in place.
WE DO NOT HAVE ANY INCIDENCE OF CORONA VIRUS IN THE HOMES AT PRESENT.
For weeks we have been preparing for this situation. All our staff have had gloves and sanitizers supplied by us to use outside of work. They have been given a raft of instructions about using these resources, socializing, using public transport, using cash, sanitizing mobile phones, social distancng and of course instructions on meticulous handwashing and how to a report any concerns. We have barred from workplace any staff returning from foreign holidays for 14 days and will be paying them whilst they are in self isolation. This is because any flying carries a risk both from air crew, the planes themselves, other passengers and airports. Our service users are only as safe as the people they come into contact with.
We now know that there are at least 2 confirmed cases in Cardiff. You may think this is insignificant but we all need to remember that those two people may have been infectious for at least a week prior to diagnosis, maybe even longer. During that time they may have been to supermarkets, banks, resturants, pubs, the cinema etc. No one can be certain that they have not come into contact with this virus indirectly already.
The government is advocating a staged approach. “Contain” being the first and “Delaying the spread” the second. Within the care home setting we need to be effective at stage ONE because to slow the spread if it were to get inside the home will likely be well nigh impossible with our client group.
For this reason we are taking what may seem to be some drastic measures immediately.
We have asked all but ESSENTIAL visitors to stay away. We have set up an I pad for each home and you will be able to talk with your relatives by calling using facetime as follows
Tydraw Lodge tydraw37@gmail.com
Wentworth Lodge wentworthlodge7@gmail.com
The I pad will be sanitized between uses and kept in the lounge or dining room.
I know this isn’t ideal but in the circumstances we consider it to be the best option. If you need other forms of visual contact please let us know and we will try and accommodate them. It may be that you will consider purchasing an individual smart device for your relative.
Doctors and health care professionals will be asked to enter at the rear, go straight to a dedicated zone, put on a mask and sanitize their hands under our supervision. This is because we can not be certain that health professionals are not carrying the virus themselves. They are high risk for obvious reasons.
We are obviously being super rigorous with sanitizing surfaces and ensuring regular hand washing of both staff and service users hands. We have ordered 4 machines to clean the air in circulation though how effective these will be is somewhat uncertain. We have also asked staff to remove outdoor shoes at the door and have a pair of indoor ones in the homes to avoid bringing the virus in on their feet.
If you have any other ideas that may help us please let us know.
If anyone has a spare push bike they can lend us we need a few. This is to enable staff to avoid public transport which will be a major source of infection.
We will give you quick updates by text if things change of course.
We understand that these restrictions will cause sacrifice and inconvenience but we trust that you will see the long term benefits. “This too will pass”. We just need to ensure that we are not left with devastation in the wake.
With kindest regards
Very sincerely
Mary Cottrell
Responsible Individual.