Our residents are staying in contact with families online, as the battle to prevent the spread of coronavirus continues. With strict measures in place to safeguard our residents, the dedicated Encore care teams use many online platforms to keep residents connected.
All of the care homes have tablet devices with access to closed Facebook groups, so relatives can get regular updates on activities within each care home. The care team are also supporting residents with help to use a phone or video call to keep in touch.
We’ve become quite the techno-wizards, so to help you navigate through the vast amount of online options, we have compiled five of the top video call websites and apps to help you catch up with your friends and family:
Skype
Skype is one of the oldest and most reliable apps for video calling. You can join a call as a guest without creating an account or you can call landlines and mobiles from around the world with a subscription. You can used it on your desktop, mobile, tablet, games consoles and Alexa. With HD video calling, live subtitles mobile screen sharing and call recording, you can experience one to one or group calls without missing a moment.
Whatsapp has fast, simple, secure messaging and calling for free, available on phones all over the world. With group chats, you can share messages, photos, and videos with up to 256 people at once. This is great for an intimate chat with a small group of people, however please bare in mind that you are limited to a video call with only three other users at a time.
Facebook Messenger
Facebook Messenger is a free app for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone to make video calls on the go. This is a great app which lets you use both front and rear cameras for video recording. There are no group video calls as Facebook’s goal is to connect people intimately face to face no matter where they are or what mobile connection they have.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft teams is a great tool to meet with groups of 10 or 10,000. You can host audio, video, and web conferences with anyone. This app is great if you have lots of contacts to catch up with daily as everything can be stored within the programme. Microsoft teams is a great tool to meet with groups of 10 or 10,000. You can host audio, video, and web conferences with anyone. This app is great if you have lots of contacts to catch up with on a daily basis as everything can be stored within the programme.
FaceTime
FaceTime is only available on Apple products, such as the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac’s. As long as you’re on Wi-Fi or cellular data, you can stay in touch with family and friends or connect with anyone in the world, even at long distance, and not only hear but see the people you’re talking to.
: If you have a relative or friend living in an Encore Care Home and would like to speak to them, please get in touch with the wellbeing team to co-ordinate this. Some of our homes are also posting information on their Facebook page, so worth checking these out too.
