Covid-19 testing update

Dear Relatives & Friends,

Without visiting old ground, this has been a challenging year for all of us and we imagine that you, like us, cannot wait to see the back of 2020! However, one thing that we can all be proud of is the way in which we have all worked together as a team to protect our residents and the staff who care for them, and for this, we say a big thank you.

We know that seeing and communicating with relatives is important to our residents, and we appreciate that relatives seeing their loved ones is as equally important. Therefore, throughout our challenges, we have tried to offer some form of visiting and we appreciate your support for helping us to achieve what we set out to do.
You will be aware that care home visiting continues to make headline news, but we respectfully ask for you not to always listen to the media as new ways of visiting requires logistical organisation, staff training, and operational management.

Rapid Testing

We are pleased to announce that we will begin to offer COVID-19 testing for visitors to our care homes in the new year. Regular testing of visitors using the lateral flow device (LFD) can help work towards supporting more meaningful visits with your loved ones when combined with other infection prevention and control measures (such as social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment).

Testing can also support our homes to safely maintain a balance between infection control and the vital benefits of visiting to the health and wellbeing of our residents. However, testing visitors does not completely remove the risk of spreading the coronavirus and as an organisation we will still have a responsibility to put the safety of our residents and staff at the front of everything we do. This means, that despite testing we still have full autonomy over our policy, and we will activate changes that we feel are necessary at any time.

We will update you on when we expect to start testing and until such time you are required to continue booking visits using the system that is currently in place. With this letter, we have attached a visitor testing guidance pack that has been published by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), so you know what to expect when you come for your visits. When we move to rapid testing you will be required to consent to a test being performed and as part of that consent, you are confirming that you have read and fully understand the guidance.

Please note that the guidance gives a lot of information, but we are looking at our operational policy to see if we can help you regarding the registration of the rapid test kit – this will be confirmed in our next communication.

COVID-19 Tiers

Whilst we have a responsibility to keep our residents and staff safe, you too have a responsibility to ensure that you comply with Government guidance on Tiers. If you live in Tier 3 you will not be permitted to visit our homes at this time. However, in the new year when rapid testing starts, we will be able to review our policy to allow relatives living in tier 3 to visit our homes.

Outbreaks & Exceptional Circumstances

In the event of an outbreak in our homes, please note that apart from exceptional circumstances, such as end of life care, visits will not be going ahead in line with government policy.

Christmas Visiting

In line with our current policy, visiting will continue (subject to screening) Monday to Friday only, excluding bank holidays. We will not be facilitating visits on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, or New Years Day. Virtual visits (via our tablets) will be permitted on these dates and time slots should be booked as are they are now.

If you would like your relative to receive a Christmas gift from you, please note that for this to be opened on Christmas day you will need to ensure that the gift is taken (or delivered) to the home by Tuesday 22nd December. This allows us to observe infection control procedures where the parcel (in this case your present/gift) is isolated before the resident receives/touches it on Christmas day. Please contact the home directly if you wish to discuss this.

Thank you in advance for your patience and continued cooperation. We hope that you have a peaceful Christmas and that 2021 brings a year of renewed hope and good luck.

Yours sincerely,

Matthew Nutt
Managing Director