Tag: Care home visiting News

08.06.22

Dear Residents, Families and Friends.

It has been a while since my last note and things have changed considerably so here is our current visiting policy based, as always, on government guidelines.

We understand that contact with family and friends is vital to our residents’ health and wellbeing. So, we are so pleased to have introduced to a more relaxed visiting structure. You’re welcome to visit your loved one inside our care homes as often and for as long as you wish, with hug and handholding.

There’s no need to book but please call 10 minutes ahead so our homes expect you. You will be asked for evidence of a negative LFT upon entry, however if you visit regularly, you need only test twice per week. Unless you have an exemption certificate you are asked to wear a mask at all times within our homes along with any other PPE provided to you by our team upon entry. Please speak to the manager if your loved one be distressed by you wearing a mask. When departing please wash your hands before making your way to reception.

We ask that you do not visit if you feel unwell, even if fully vaccinated and have tested negative for Covid. Other respiratory viruses like flu and norovirus are just as dangerous for your vulnerable loved ones. You may resume visiting 5 days after you feel better following symptoms like: cough, cold, high temperature, diarrhoea, vomiting etc.

Internal visits may be cancelled without notice if directed by the local authority should a Covid outbreak occur. However, pre-arranged essential and end of life visitors are exempted, and all others may visit externally using the booking system on our website.

Should you experience visiting problems, please provide feedback to our care home’s office.

Although our homes have always been a hive of activity, we have enjoyed the returning buzz that visitors inevitably bring and it’s a real joy to see so many faces that we have not seen for such a long time.  We look forward to you experiencing first-hand our comprehensive resident’s social programme.

A big thank you to all our resident’s friends and families for your support, as well as our teams for their continued hard work and dedication to our residents.

Yours sincerely

Dave Lock

Executive Chairman

15.12.21

Dear Residents, Families and Friends.

I hope you are keeping well. Here is our updated guidance on how we can support you to visit your loved ones based on the government care home visiting guidelines published yesterday. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visiting-care-homes-during-coronavirus

The changes, in brief, are that we must now limit visits to ONE essential visitor or a group of THREE visitors maximum plus pre-school age children.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

For the safety of your loved ones all team, healthcare professionals and contractors must be fully vaccinated, or medically exempt, prior to entering our care homes. The government now strongly recommend the same for family visitors, but they are not requiring this. We believe that you, the relatives, should vote to decide this important question. Please click on the link to our survey and answer YES or NO to ‘Should all visitors be fully vaccinated to enter our care homes’ The survey will close Thursday 16th December at 16.00 and we will then announce the result.

Our full revised visiting arrangements are detailed below with changes in red and commence from Saturday 18^th December.

Yours sincerely

Dave Lock

Executive Chair

INTERNAL VISITING

• You can make visiting entry appointments via our Adept Care Homes website.
• Entry times are available at 15-minute intervals to allow our team to screen visitors and to prevent excessive people in the entrance and corridors.
• You may visit as often as you like providing entry times are available for everyone to do so.
• To protect mealtimes, entry times are available from 10.00 to 11.45, 14.00 to 16.30, and 18.00 to 19.30 and we ask all visitors to leave our care home between 12.15 to 14.00 and 16.45 to 18.00.
• We will review the entry time frequency closer to Christmas for the expected increased demand over the festive period, or before if necessary.
• Apart from mealtimes you may spend as long as you wish with your loved one but upon arrival, please let us know your estimated departure time.
• Your visits will be in the comfort and privacy of your loved one’s room.
• You may visit your loved one in a group of up to a maximum of THREE visitors in total, (excluding essential visitors and pre-school age children). Please consider how room overcrowding may create anxiety for your loved one.
• You must not access any other area of the care home, including toilets, except for your loved one’s room and children should be supervised accordingly.
• Each visitor, including children over the age of 4 years, must provide proof of a negative lateral flow test (LFT) that has been registered on the government website on the day of your visit.
• You may collect a LFT from our care home and conduct it at your home prior to visiting. Or you may conduct your LFT upon arrival at our care home, but you will have to wait up to 30 minutes for the result prior to entry.
• Prior to entry you must have a successful screening by a team member who will ask you some infection control questions and do a temperature check.
• You cannot visit if you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 or if you feel at all unwell even if you are vaccinated and have tested negative.
• Upon entry our team will ask you to sanitise, or wash, your hands and provide you with PPE (surgical mask, apron, and gloves) to wear at all times within the care home.
• You must follow all government Coronavirus guidelines at all times during your visit.
• We encourage you to hug and hold your loved one’s hand to help their health and wellbeing. Gloves may be removed for hand holding but we ask for your hands to be washed before and afterwards and if there is no toilet in the room, please ask our team where to do this.
• To keep visitor numbers inside our care homes down, please make any care queries about your loved one by phoning our care home and not during your visits.
• Any items you bring in for your loved one should be easily cleanable like boxes but not flowers etc.
• If you are exempt from wearing a face covering, you must inform us prior to visiting. We will consider the matter taking into account all circumstances such as your vaccination status and relationship to the resident.
• Your visit is not conditional upon being fully vaccinated: however, this is strongly recommended by us and the government for the safety of your loved one and our other residents.
• We will notify changes to our visiting arrangement via our text service so please ensure that our care home has your mobile phone number.
• We may need to exclude a resident from receiving visits in rare exceptional circumstances should a risk assessment determines this is necessary i.e., particularly those clinically vulnerable to Covid.
• Internal visiting may be suspended for a period, or cancelled, without notice upon guidance by our care homes’ local authority. However, visiting will then continue in our external visiting pods.

VISITING PODS

Our external Cabins and Gazebo will now only be utilised should a Covid-19 outbreak occur in our care home. Any 2 residents or team members testing positive is classed as an outbreak and these are mainly team infected within the local community who then isolate out of work to avoid infection risk within our care homes

• You should book a 20-minute visiting slot via our website
• You are not required to have RFT or wear a face mask.
• You may hug your loved one before and after your visit.
• You will not be able to enter any area of our care home including toilets.

EXTERNAL VISITS

You may take your loved one on visits out of our care homes and they may stay overnight in your home. However, we ask that you strictly follow our infection control and testing guidelines to keep your loved one safe and avoid return infection risk to our other residents.

• You may take you loved one on external visits out of our care homes to visit your home or outdoor spaces such as parks, or public gardens.
• Your loved one should not go into any indoor spaces other than your home.
• They may stay overnight at your home subject to our care home’s prior risk assessment and authorisation.
• Please agree collection and return times with our care home prior to your arrival.
• Visitors must provide proof of a negative lateral flow test (LFT) that has been registered on the government’s website on the day of your visit.
• You may collect a LFT from our care home and conduct it at your home prior to visiting. Or you may conduct it upon arrival at our care home, but you will have to wait up to 30 minutes for the result prior to entry.
• Your loved one must only travel to and from the visit in your car or a private taxi and not by public transport.
• All visitors to your home whilst your loved one is there must provide you proof of a negative LFT that has been registered on the government website on the day of their visit.
• Residents will not have to self-isolate when they return.
• If you need the support of a team escort, please discuss with our care home.

ESSENTIAL VISITORS

Essential visitors are given access to all communal areas of our homes and therefore must comply with the same stricter testing regime that our team do.

• Essential visitors will usually continue visiting in the event of an outbreak unless we are requested not to by our local authority.
• All residents may have ONE essential visitor (care giver) for regular internal visits who are authorised and registered with our care home.  
• In some circumstances the manager may authorise TWO essential visitors to visit at one time.
• If you think your loved one would benefit from this type of visit, please speak to your home manager about becoming an essential visitor.
• We will need to agree how often you visit, when and what support or practical help you will provide.
• You will have the same testing regime as our team to include a weekly PCR test taken at the home with the homes e mail address used for results. And two LFT a week provided by us, one on the same day as your PCR and one 3 to 4 days later.

RELUCTANT TO VISIT?

If you have not visited your loved one because they have dementia, and you have concerns of any type or are worried about how they will respond by maybe not social distancing and trying to touch you etc. Then please ask your home manager to speak to our Dementia Manager, Karen Middleton, who will help you and the home to make visits possible. This organisation advocates and provides support for families of residents living with dementia who are finding it difficult https://goldstandardsframework.org.uk/john-s-campaign-dementia

15.12.21

Dear Residents, Families and Friends.

I hope you are keeping well. Here is our updated guidance on how we can support you to visit your loved ones based on the government care home visiting guidelines published yesterday. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visiting-care-homes-during-coronavirus

The changes, in brief, are that we must now limit visits to ONE essential visitor or a group of THREE visitors maximum plus pre-school age children.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

For the safety of your loved ones all team, healthcare professionals and contractors must be fully vaccinated, or medically exempt, prior to entering our care homes. The government now strongly recommend the same for family visitors, but they are not requiring this. We believe that you, the relatives, should vote to decide this important question. Please click on the link to our survey and answer YES or NO to ‘Should all visitors be fully vaccinated to enter our care homes’ follow this link to take the survey. The survey will close Thursday 16th December at 16.00 and we will then announce the result.

Our full revised visiting arrangements are detailed below with changes in red and commence from Saturday 18^th December.

Yours sincerely

Dave Lock

Executive Chair

INTERNAL VISITING

• You can make visiting entry appointments via our Adept Care Homes website.
• Entry times are available at 15-minute intervals to allow our team to screen visitors and to prevent excessive people in the entrance and corridors.
• You may visit as often as you like providing entry times are available for everyone to do so.
• To protect mealtimes, entry times are available from 10.00 to 11.45, 14.00 to 16.30, and 18.00 to 19.30 and we ask all visitors to leave our care home between 12.15 to 14.00 and 16.45 to 18.00.
• We will review the entry time frequency closer to Christmas for the expected increased demand over the festive period, or before if necessary.
• Apart from mealtimes you may spend as long as you wish with your loved one but upon arrival, please let us know your estimated departure time.
• Your visits will be in the comfort and privacy of your loved one’s room.
• You may visit your loved one in a group of up to a maximum of THREE visitors in total, (excluding essential visitors and pre-school age children). Please consider how room overcrowding may create anxiety for your loved one.
• You must not access any other area of the care home, including toilets, except for your loved one’s room and children should be supervised accordingly.
• Each visitor, including children over the age of 4 years, must provide proof of a negative lateral flow test (LFT) that has been registered on the government website on the day of your visit.
• You may collect a LFT from our care home and conduct it at your home prior to visiting. Or you may conduct your LFT upon arrival at our care home, but you will have to wait up to 30 minutes for the result prior to entry.
• Prior to entry you must have a successful screening by a team member who will ask you some infection control questions and do a temperature check.
• You cannot visit if you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 or if you feel at all unwell even if you are vaccinated and have tested negative.
• Upon entry our team will ask you to sanitise, or wash, your hands and provide you with PPE (surgical mask, apron, and gloves) to wear at all times within the care home.
• You must follow all government Coronavirus guidelines at all times during your visit.
• We encourage you to hug and hold your loved one’s hand to help their health and wellbeing. Gloves may be removed for hand holding but we ask for your hands to be washed before and afterwards and if there is no toilet in the room, please ask our team where to do this.
• To keep visitor numbers inside our care homes down, please make any care queries about your loved one by phoning our care home and not during your visits.
• Any items you bring in for your loved one should be easily cleanable like boxes but not flowers etc.
• If you are exempt from wearing a face covering, you must inform us prior to visiting. We will consider the matter taking into account all circumstances such as your vaccination status and relationship to the resident.
• Your visit is not conditional upon being fully vaccinated: however, this is strongly recommended by us and the government for the safety of your loved one and our other residents.
• We will notify changes to our visiting arrangement via our text service so please ensure that our care home has your mobile phone number.
• We may need to exclude a resident from receiving visits in rare exceptional circumstances should a risk assessment determines this is necessary i.e., particularly those clinically vulnerable to Covid.
• Internal visiting may be suspended for a period, or cancelled, without notice upon guidance by our care homes’ local authority. However, visiting will then continue in our external visiting pods.

VISITING PODS

Our external Cabins and Gazebo will now only be utilised should a Covid-19 outbreak occur in our care home. Any 2 residents or team members testing positive is classed as an outbreak and these are mainly team infected within the local community who then isolate out of work to avoid infection risk within our care homes

• You should book a 20-minute visiting slot via our website
• You are not required to have RFT or wear a face mask.
• You may hug your loved one before and after your visit.
• You will not be able to enter any area of our care home including toilets.

EXTERNAL VISITS

You may take your loved one on visits out of our care homes and they may stay overnight in your home. However, we ask that you strictly follow our infection control and testing guidelines to keep your loved one safe and avoid return infection risk to our other residents.

• You may take you loved one on external visits out of our care homes to visit your home or outdoor spaces such as parks, or public gardens.
• Your loved one should not go into any indoor spaces other than your home.
• They may stay overnight at your home subject to our care home’s prior risk assessment and authorisation.
• Please agree collection and return times with our care home prior to your arrival.
• Visitors must provide proof of a negative lateral flow test (LFT) that has been registered on the government’s website on the day of your visit.
• You may collect a LFT from our care home and conduct it at your home prior to visiting. Or you may conduct it upon arrival at our care home, but you will have to wait up to 30 minutes for the result prior to entry.
• Your loved one must only travel to and from the visit in your car or a private taxi and not by public transport.
• All visitors to your home whilst your loved one is there must provide you proof of a negative LFT that has been registered on the government website on the day of their visit.
• Residents will not have to self-isolate when they return.
• If you need the support of a team escort, please discuss with our care home.

ESSENTIAL VISITORS

Essential visitors are given access to all communal areas of our homes and therefore must comply with the same stricter testing regime that our team do.

• Essential visitors will usually continue visiting in the event of an outbreak unless we are requested not to by our local authority.
• All residents may have ONE essential visitor (care giver) for regular internal visits who are authorised and registered with our care home.  
• In some circumstances the manager may authorise TWO essential visitors to visit at one time.
• If you think your loved one would benefit from this type of visit, please speak to your home manager about becoming an essential visitor.
• We will need to agree how often you visit, when and what support or practical help you will provide.
• You will have the same testing regime as our team to include a weekly PCR test taken at the home with the homes e mail address used for results. And two LFT a week provided by us, one on the same day as your PCR and one 3 to 4 days later.

RELUCTANT TO VISIT?

If you have not visited your loved one because they have dementia, and you have concerns of any type or are worried about how they will respond by maybe not social distancing and trying to touch you etc. Then please ask your home manager to speak to our Dementia Manager, Karen Middleton, who will help you and the home to make visits possible. This organisation advocates and provides support for families of residents living with dementia who are finding it difficult https://goldstandardsframework.org.uk/john-s-campaign-dementia

Dear Team.

We have received new government visiting guidance with significant changes. We will review our visiting policies and provide our updated guidance later this week. The good news is that families will have much better access to their loved ones shortly. This should have a positive effect on home life for team and residents.

We believe that we have done better than most care providers and continue to provide the best care and resident-focused activities as possible. You can view our Autumn Newsletter here.

I have previously told you about our Pandemic Revival plan with major changes to help return our service to our pre-pandemic levels that make Adept ‘A superb place to live or work’. A main item of that plan was to thank you all for your hard work throughout Covid and reward you by bringing forward next April’s annual pay rise that you have been paid from 29th September 2021. We have also introduced our new team benefits package including private GP access, discounted shopping, cinema, bikes, etc. We hope these measures will encourage team retention and promote recruitment.

Another part of our plan was a management restructure. I would like to announce that Business Director Kenny Nelson has now stepped up to Managing Director, I have moved to Executive Chair, and two further new directors have been appointed. You can view details here. We have also made some changes to strengthen our management and enhance our homes support team. You can view our new management structure here.

Finally, I would like to say how proud we all are of adept’s achievements over this very difficult period by receiving ‘carehome.co.uk’ s Top 20 Best UK group award’ for the fifth year running as well as the Care Home Awards High Commendation Award for Best Small Care Home Group. So, thank you once again, we couldn’t have done it without you all.

Yours sincerely

Dave Lock

Executive Chair

Dear Residents, Families and Friends.

We have received new government visiting guidance with significant changes. We will review our visiting policies and provide our updated guidance later this week. The good news is that you can expect much better access to your loved ones shortly.

In the meantime, I would like to relate to you how the past (nearly) two years of pandemic has affected our homes and the service we provide.

The challenges have placed unprecedented pressure on the whole care sector. I am sure that you have read about all of the issues in the media so there is no need for me to explain, except to say they have all added greatly to the workload and stress of our management and wider team. For a long time, our central homes support team were unable to visit homes to provide their essential support.  Inevitably, this and pandemic restrictions have affected some of the services that we provide to our residents.

However, we believe that we have done better than most care providers and continue to work hard to meet your loved ones needs. Where possible, all residents have received their Covid Boosters and 100% of our team are vaccinated, or medically exempt. We continue to provide the best care possible and deliver strong resident-focused activities in all the homes. You can view our Autumn Newsletter here.

With the potential of Covid being here for some time to come we have made a Pandemic Revival plan to push on with bold changes to return life in our homes to our pre-pandemic levels that make Adept ‘A superb place to live or work’.

Like all care providers, our greatest challenge is maintaining staffing levels to keep your loved ones safe. So, to thank all our team for their hard work throughout Covid we have brought forward April 2022 annual pay rise and increased pay by 6% on 29th September 2021. We have also introduced our new team benefits package including private GP access, discounted shopping, cinema, bikes, etc. These measures should encourage team retention, and to promote recruitment we offer a £600 Golden Hello payment.

I would like to announce that Business Director Kenny Nelson has now stepped up to Managing Director, I have moved to Executive Chair, and two further new directors have been appointed. You can view details here.  

We have also made some management changes to strengthen our management and enhance our homes support team. You can view our new management structure here.

Finally, I would like to say how proud we all are of adept’s achievements over this very difficult period by receiving ‘carehome.co.uk’ s Top 20 Best UK group award’ for the fifth year running as well as the Care Home Awards High Commendation Award for Best Small Care Home Group.

Yours sincerely

Dave Lock

Executive Chair

Dear Residents, Families and Friends.

There remains very little change to the government’s guidelines on care home visiting. We still agree with this cautious approach to prioritise the safety of your loved ones in our care. However, we sincerely hope that we can open visiting up further in the near future as government guidelines allow.

Over 90% of our team have now received at least one vaccination and all are required to be double vaccinated by 11^th November unless they have a medical exemption. This will also be the case for all care home visitors such as: health professionals, entertainers, contractors etc. However, government guidance excludes resident relatives from needing to be double vaccinated.

Our full visiting arrangements are detailed below with any visiting changes in red/bold. 

Yours sincerely

Dave Lock

Managing Director

VISITING ARRANGEMENTS

The following applies to Cabins, Gazebos, and Internal visits (not external/out of home)

• Visiting appointments are to be booked via our website.
• Visiting slots are for 20-minutes because of limitations of team resources.
• Number of visits is a max of 2 visits per week for each resident.
• Number of visits is a max of 1 visit per week for each household or 2 if you are the only household visiting. Additional visits may be possible subject to availability, please liaise with the home.
• All Coronavirus guidelines as set by the government are to be followed.
• Maintain as much distance as possible from all people during the visit unless hand holding has been agreed prior to the visit.
• Care queries about your loved one should be made by calling the home and not during your visits.
• Items brought for residents should be easily cleanable; boxes are good but not flowers etc.
• Virtual communication is encouraged, and resident assistance is available if resources allow.
• Visiting arrangement changes are notified via our text service so please ensure that the home has your mobile phone number.
• Resident exclusion from receiving visits may have to be made by us in exceptional circumstances if a risk assessment determines this is necessary i.e., particularly those clinically vulnerable to Covid.
• Face coverings required unless you are exempt or wearing one distress’s your loved one living with dementia, in which case please inform us prior to visiting, in such case you will need to wear a face visor. To make communication easier speak loudly and clearly whilst keeping eye contact and avoid concealing your face further with say, a hat.
• Visits are not conditional upon vaccination; however, it double jabs are strongly recommended for the safety of your loved one and all other residents.
• Visiting may be suspended for a period, or cancelled, with no, or short, notice upon guidance by the homes’ local authority.

VISITING CABINS

• Up to 4 adults and 2 children maximum per visit. 
• Arrive at least 5 minutes prior to appointment time for Covid screening including a temperature check.
• Rapid tests are not required.
• Hugs and contact are to be avoided.
• Face coverings are to be worn to and from the cabin.
• No Internal access to any internal areas of the home including toilets.

VISITING GAZEBOS

• As cabins except that face coverings are to be worn at all times during the visit.

INTERNAL VISITS

• Visiting appointments are to be booked via our website for either a cabin or gazebo.

• Call the home after making this appointment to ask for your visit to be converted to an internal visit.
• Arrive at least 30 minutes prior to your appointment time for Rapid Lateral Flow test and screening including a temperature check.
• PPE (surgical mask, apron and gloves provided) are to be worn at all times during the visit.
• The visiting area will be a designated safe place.
• There will be no access to any other internal areas of the home including toilets except for handwashing.
• Ensure you hand wash and/or use gel.
• Each resident may have an UNLIMITED number of named visitors.
• Each resident may have up to FOUR named visitors attending a visit at one time.

• Up to TWO small children under 4 years old may also attend the visit and are not subject to testing requirements or PPE use.
• Visitors must keep physical contact with residents to a minimum. Handholding is possible subject to prior hand washing. Hugs are higher risk but possible if brief and between double vaccinated people without face-to-face contact.

EXTERNAL

Residents may leave our care homes to visit named visitors’ homes or outdoor spaces such as parks, or public gardens. Overnight stays with named visitors are possible subject to the home’s prior risk assessment and approval.

• Named visitors information is the same as for internal visits
• Each resident can go out with or meet up with up to FIVE named visitors.

• Residents will not have to self-isolate when they return.
• If you need the support of a team escort, please discuss with the home.
• Collection and return times must be prearranged and approved by the home.
• Named individuals collecting residents should arrive 30 minutes prior to the collection time to take a Rapid Lateral Flow Test and undergo Covid health screening (not essential visitors who follow team testing routine).
• Named individuals must wear a mask and gloves at all times during the visit.
• At least one of the named visitors must stay with the resident at all times.
• The resident must not meet people that are not named visitors or go into any indoor spaces other than a named visitors home or to use toilet facilities.
• The resident must only travel to and from the visit in the named visitors car or a private taxi and not by public transport.

ESSENTIAL VISITORS

• ALL residents may have ONE ‘essential visitor’ (care giver) for regular internal visits that must be registered with the home.
• If you think your loved one would benefit from this type of visit, please speak to your home manager about becoming an essential visitor.
• We will need to agree how often you visit, when and what support or practical help you will provide.
• You will be subject to the same testing regime as our team.
• Essential visitors are considered exceptional circumstances and should continue in the event of an outbreak unless there are specific reasons not to do so.

RELUCTANT TO VISIT?

If you have not visited your loved one because they have dementia, and you have concerns of any type or are worried about how they will respond by maybe not social distancing and trying to touch you etc. Then please ask your home manager to speak to our Dementia Manager, Karen Middleton, who will help you and the home to make visits possible. This organisation advocates and provides support for families of residents living with dementia who are finding it difficult https://goldstandardsframework.org.uk/john-s-campaign-dementia