Today's blog is going to be a story of two halves. I feel rather duck like at the moment. For the residents we are having a lovely time, everyone is busy, the sun is shining and we have lots of plans for Easter. Under the surface I am paddling away furiously, and will continue to do so.
S and I speak often throughout the day, regardless of whether we are actually at LTC. In the last few weeks we probably speak or message each other 20/30 times a day. This morning our messages started at 5.45am, planning Easter activities, discussing residents and planning PPE. The responsibility of looking after 20 residents and 22 staff members literally keeps me awake at night, but I am following all the guidance we are provided with. I know that thousands of care home owners and managers are doing exactly the same thing.
The last few days have been busy for the residents. S&S have done an amazing job cutting and styling hair. I have promised J I will colour her hair when we get hold of some hair dye. On Tuesday some of the residents felt a little down in the dumps (we are encouraging all residents not to watch the news more than once a day) so we came up with a plan, a glass of champagne**, well, it was Tuesday, so that was as good an excuse as any. R shouted out "Let's have a toast to LTC, the best place in the world". Which brought a tear to my eye. L had a birthday on Wednesday, J had baked a wonderful cake with her name on and all the carers sang Happy Birthday and made a real fuss of her. I was not there, but getting the video and being able to forward it to family members was a privilege. Another staff member sent me a video of the lambs in the field behind her house so that I can show the residents. Like me, I know the staff have the residents continually on their mind. Easter weekend is nearly upon us and we have planned Zoom activities with family members - exercise classes, Name that Tune and Easter Quiz. It will be wonderful to have family members with us on the screens as they can't be with us in person. We also have a treasure hunt planned with clues for every resident. Yesterday we had chair based exercises, and almost all of the residents joined in, many also spent a few hours in the garden, enjoying milkshakes and cups of tea (we also thought that was an unusual combination, but they requested it...).
And below the surface, this is what is going on without the residents being aware. We have had two staff meetings which all staff have attended (that is more tricky than it sounds with 24 hour shift patterns). All PPE and infection control guidelines have been checked and donning and doffing PPE has been discussed in detail. Staff have their temperatures checked at the start of every shift. I have been on numerous calls with PHE and County advisory bodies and NHS staff. I am regularly in contact with other care homes as this situation develops (and sadly many homes now have Covid 19 within their homes). S and I have managed to source more items that are so hard to get hold of - thermometer probe covers was the challenge yesterday. My daughter has even been helping me by tracking down 11R face masks. If we need to move into the quarantine phase, S and I will speak to those residents who are able to understand the procedure if we do have more than one suspected case of Covid19. All residents will be quarantined to their rooms for 14 days, all staff will wear PPE. We will have these conversations calmly and try not to worry the residents, but I feel that they need to be prepared. I worry about the impact on the mental wellbeing of residents seeing us with visors and facemarks, and of course this will be an issue for those residents who are unable to hear so well.
What worries me most - is that they won't be able to see us smile, they won't be able to feel our skin when we hold their hand or give them a hug. But, I promise I will do everything I possibly can to keep everyone safe.
In the meantime, I will keep busy, keep smiling, keep all the residents smiling, and paddle like mad beneath the surface.
**. It wasn't actually champagne, but prosseco, I have promised we will have some of the real stuff when we get through this tricky time...
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