It has been widely acknowledged that the care home sector was hit the hardest during the height of the lockdown. However, at Fairmile Grange Care Home, we feel extremely fortunate to have prevented any cases of Coronavirus.

During this very challenging time, our Home Manager, Cecilia Thomson explains how we were quick to put measures in place to safeguard our residents and our care teams:

“As soon we were informed that Covid-19 was present in the UK, we pre-reordered PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). For us, the next important step was the early closure of the care home to the outside world.”

“I worked within the healthcare sector in the Middle East during the SARS virus outbreak, so I had experience of managing a similar situation before. I knew that it was imperative to lockdown the home as soon as possible. Consequently, we closed the home to new residents and visitors several weeks before the government’s guidance to close care homes.”

As well as the strict hygiene protocol of washing hands, Cecilia asked all team members to change into a uniform when arriving at work, which included every level of staff and management, as well as agency staff. It soon became normal practice and uniforms continue to be washed at work to ensure they are cleaned at the correct temperatures.

As with many businesses and within many households, we have all become a great deal more au fait with social media platforms and video-conferencing apps during the last few months to connect people across the ‘lockdown void; including our residents! Whilst visits to our home were not possible due to our priority to protect both our residents and staff, the care team used the home’s Facebook page and held regular video-calls with residents to help reassure and give updates to families.

While visiting has been restricted, we have allowed end-of-life visits throughout the pandemic at all four of our Encore Care Homes: ensuring the support and wellbeing of not only our residents but their families too. This stage is often an extremely difficult time for all – as such, our strict safety measures ensured relatives could continue to visit and comfort loved ones.

We are thrilled that due to recent changes in government guidance, nominated visitors are now able to visit residents. Due to our lovely outdoor areas, we have been able to safely manage visits in the landscaped garden.

Cecilia expressed: “It’s really uplifting to know that we have managed to keep Coronavirus out of the home, and this spurs the team on every day to maintain PPE and hand washing routines. We have educated the team that precautions to prevent Covid-19 don’t stop at the front door.”

We have reopened our doors at Fairmile Grange Care Home and are welcoming new residents, which is wonderful news as we continue to meet the challenges of Covid-19.

For more information about living at our Fairmile Grange Care Home, please call us and speak with our friendly Home Relations Manager who will be happy to help.