Covid Update

Information for Families and Friends of Residents of The Wilverley Association.

Coronavirus – COVID-19

 

Update 1st July 2022

Dear Family and Friends

We are now open and welcoming family and friends back into our homes. We still ask that you wear a mask in line with Government guidelines for social care providers in order to keep our residents safe whilst Covid-19 numbers are still rising.

We will continue to update you, but want assure family and friends that we would be delighted to have you visit your loved ones in the home.

We have a full programme of events being released for you to enjoy with your family members.

Best wishes

 

Amanda Alexander-Pierce

Interim CEO

 

 

Update 23rd September 2021

As I am sure you know guidance for visiting is changing on a fairly regular basis. We don’t want to confuse you by putting something up which is not current. So please contact the appropriate home for clarification.

Most visits will require some PPE so be prepared to wear a mask as a minimum, we don’t want people to have to isolate if they visit their loved ones but there may still be some circumstances where this is still required to keep everyone safe. We get our guidance from gov.uk and the the CCG.

As always I appreciate your support as we work our way safely through these difficult times.

Best wishes

Pam Hall
CEO

 

 

Update 6th May 2021

As I am sure you know guidance for visiting is changing on a fairly regular basis. We don’t want to confuse you by putting something up which is not current. So please contact the appropriate home for clarification.

Most visits will require some PPE so be prepared to wear a mask as a minimum, we don’t want people to have to isolate if they visit their loved ones but there may still be some circumstances where this is still required to keep everyone safe. We get our guidance from gov.uk and the the CCG.

We need to do individual risk assessments so you will need to talk to us in advance please. If you come to the home without having a discussion with staff and you want to take your loved one out, completing a risk assessment will cause you a delay and may be difficult for us to do well. Where possible please give us notice.

As always I appreciate your support as we work our way safely through these difficult times.

Best wishes

Pam Hall
CEO

 

Update 16th February 2021

It has been a few weeks now since our residents and staff had their first vaccination. Whilst some staff experienced side effects, residents didn’t report any problems which is good news. We understand that we will have now built up a degree of immunity which is very reassuring. After almost a year I am pleased to report that we haven’t had an outbreak of COVID 19.

The numbers of people with COVID in both local communities remains low which is great and we continue to be grateful to staff for following the guidance and putting the residents first.

As you are aware we continue to maintain safe visiting, in line with government guidance. Please contact the homes for more information.

Best wishes

Pam Hall
CEO

 

18 March 2020

Updated 24 March 2020

Dear Relatives

Due to the recent increased focus on Coronavirus COVID-19, we would like to take the opportunity to set out the Wilverley Association’s position and how we want to support the friends and families who are residents in our homes.

We would firstly like to reassure you that we are keeping close to the information so that we can put measures in place to support both our staff, residents and their families. We appreciate that the situation has been developing quickly so we have included some information below that we hope will answer some questions that you may have.

People’s mental and emotional wellbeing is really important to us and therefore we are mindful of this when making any decisions. If you do have any questions, suggestions or concerns please talk to us.

These are the key areas we would like to talk to you about:-

  • Restricting and manging access to the homes
  • Managing infection control
  • Updating you on what we are doing

Restricting and manging access to the homes

Based on the Government’s advice we are no longer accepting visitors to either home with exception to:

  • Relatives of very unwell or end-of-life Residents, for which any access arrangements must be agreed with the Registered Home Manager in advance of attending site

Updating you on what we are doing

Some of the things we have been doing are:

  • training staff to carry out tasks across all areas of the business
  • identifying which people have children of school age and the potential impact of the closure of the school on our homes
  • requesting and understanding staff availability and flexibility
  • The management team are continuously reviewing and planning our approach with what is a developing situation, whilst being guided by Public Health England and Government bulletins

Managing Infection Control

Hygiene

Please follow the following guidelines from the World Health Organisation on infection control:

  • frequently clean hands by using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. There is a video the NHS use to illustrate best practice in hand washing and this can be found here; www.nhs.uk/video/pages/how-to-wash-hands.aspx
  • when coughing and sneezing cover mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue – throw tissue away immediately and wash your hands.
  • avoid close contact with anyone who has fever and cough.

What we would ask you to do

Upon arrival we would ask that you wash your hands immediately, and you follow the guidelines from the World Health Organisation on infection control:

  • frequently clean hands by using alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. There is a video the NHS use to illustrate best practice in hand washing as above
  • when coughing and sneezing cover mouth and nose with flexed elbow or tissue – throw tissue away immediately and wash your hands.
  • avoid close contact with anyone who has fever and cough.

If you are a member of a group that has been advised to self-isolate or take other precautions, please follow this advice. For more information on individuals who should be self-isolating https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-people-with-confirmed-or-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection

Before leaving the house please consider if this is a visit you need to make, and if it could be done differently, i.e. through facetime or skype. We are currently asking staff to donate old iPhones and iPads to enable this. If you have any of these items that you could lend us please let us know.

These are difficult times for everyone; we appreciate your ongoing support and will continue to keep you informed if things change. If there are ways in which you prefer to be contacted, please let us know.

If staff notice behaviours of concern from visitors, we have asked them to speak to the individuals directly and raise any concerns with their manager.

Best wishes

Pam Hall

CEO