Coronavirus - Update 2
The health, safety and wellbeing of our residents, staff, visitors and contractors remains our number one priority. We have been closely monitoring government guidance in minimising the impact of the virus.
Limiting visits to our care homes
In order to keep our residents as safe as possible, as a preventative measure, we have now taken the decision to close our four care homes to visitors, including family members and friends until further notice. We have not taken this decision lightly and appreciate it may cause some concern, however we have put a contingency plan in place to make sure families are informed and feel connected with their loved ones.
We have stopped visits from the local community and external entertainers however we are doing everything we can to keep life as sociable as possible for residents. If there is a situation where it is critical you visit one of our care homes, please firstly discuss this by phone or email with the care home manager.
Protecting our residents and staff
Care home staff are receiving daily briefings and our sheltered housing mangers are following all advice. We will continue to take universal infection control precautions to manage the risks in our homes and schemes to safeguard the health and well-being of our residents and staff. Our care home staff, scheme managers and support services team have been informed of the steps to take to help prevent the spread of infection.
The majority of staff from our support services office in Seaford and our scheme managers will begin to work from home over the next few days for most of the week until we are advised otherwise. Our business continuity plan is in place and residents and staff welfare continues to be our top priority.
We will continue to support our sheltered housing residents remotely through a variety of communication methods during this time.
We have shared the steps to help prevent the spread of infection with residents in our housing schemes and are making plans to support them through this time.
Working with others
We have been communicating with our suppliers and contractors to ensure they have a business continuity plan and are following government advice.
We will be focusing on essential and emergency maintenance work on our properties and contractors will be checking and asking screening questions to residents before they enter a property. It is essential that residents let us know if they have symptoms of COVID-19 before contractors enter their homes. In addition, we are communicating with our partners using the telephone and digital communications, rather than post.
Thank you
We appreciate your support at this time and for complying with government and public health advice. We are all in this together and are doing the best we can. The latest government advice can be found here.