I am delighted to report that all residents and all staff were vaccinated this week. Other than the one staff member who tested positive for Covid19 and remains asymptomatic, we have remained Covid free. We are testing regularly and all is well and calm. Today every resident had a manicure and we have been enjoying singing along to the Sound of Music. I was able to sit and chat with every single resident today one on one, they are happy, content and as safe as we can possibly keep them all. As I type this the ITV news is on in the background in one of the lounge areas in our care home. There is a “ special program “ about the challenges experienced by those living with dementia in care homes. The headlines talk about how the pandemic has had a detrimental impact on residents with dementia due to the lack of visits from family and friends. Apparently ITV did an exclusive survey of over 100 care homes to ask whether the physical and mental health of residents had been Impacted, nin
On Monday morning a member of staff tested positive when they were tested with the daily Lateral Flow Test. They were immediately sent home with a confirmatory PCR Test, that subsequently confirmed the positive result. It was what we had feared for the last 10 months; our first positive test. The staff member is asymptomatic and took no risks, she did everything right. She feels dreadful, when she has done nothing wrong, but being a carer by nature means that her thoughts are of the residents and other staff. We had planned for this, the next steps have been ingrained for months. We were ready. Enhanced Infection Protection Control protocols were implemented, residents were quarantined, in their rooms or in the public areas for those who would not understand the restrictions. We started testing daily. All residents were tested. Alongside that we reassured residents and staff and communicated with families. Health Protection team were notified. It is now Friday, all of the