Covid-19 Updates

At Caring Homes we're doing everything we can to keep our residents, their families and our colleagues safe. Following the most recent changes in Government guidance we continue to ensure our own guidance aligns to the same. Where we believe national guidance is subjective or not robust to maintain the safety and wellbeing of our staff and residents, we will add protocols to national guidance to help to quell the impact of Covid-19.

At Caring Homes we are ensuring that all the necessary and appropriate precautions are in place, to protect both our residents and our colleagues. Our Infection Control Assured promise reflects this and our standards are set by our care services and quality control teams in line with Government advice and tested in our Homes to give all our customers, residents and colleagues peace of mind at this time, and all the time. Please note we will supply PPE to be worn by visitors.

We would like to thank you for the continued support, patience and understanding during this time.

Latest guidance on visiting

We are delighted to be welcoming visitors into our Homes and have policies in place that acknowledge the latest Government guidance in England, Scotland and Jersey. Please discuss our policy details with your Home Manager.

Our visiting guidance remains necessarily cautious and we will monitor the situation as we increase visits and trips out. Our key points include:

• In England, every care home resident can nominate up to 3 visitors who will be able to enter the care home for regular visits (this number does not include essential care givers or preschool age children)
• Visitors should make arrangements with care homes in advance of the visit, to ensure safe visiting practices can be maintained. The duration of visits should not be limited if safe visiting practices can be maintained
  
• Visitors should receive a negative lateral flow test result and report it on the day of their visit, either by conducting the test at home or when they arrive at the care home – essential care givers need to follow additional testing arrangements; this does not affect our visiting arrangements as we have always advocated this approach
• Every care home resident should be supported to have an identified essential care giver (in addition to their named visitors) who may visit the home to offer companionship or help with care needs – essential care givers should be able to visit inside the care home even during periods of outbreak affecting the care home

The letter from the Scottish Government notes the following;

• When socialising at home or in indoor public places individuals should limit the number of households represented in your group to a maximum of three households at any time, with everyone encouraged to take a lateral flow test before meeting. If it is safe to do so, people living in care homes should continue to be supported to see and spend time with those important to them as outlined in Open with Care visiting guidance. All visitors should undertake a Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test before attending, vaccinations and boosters are to be encouraged and no-one with symptoms or identified as a close contact should meet with residents in and out of the care home;
• Adult care homes should continue to support indoor visits. However, in line with the recommendation for the general public to limit the number of households meeting indoors to three, we recommend that there should be no more than two households meeting with a resident at one time inside the care home
• As before there should be no restrictions placed on frequency of visiting. This will be guided by care home arrangements, which take into account the ability of the home to manage the number of people attending at any one time to ensure safe visiting practices can be maintained
• The duration of visits should not be limited if safe visiting practices can be maintained;
• Anyone who visits an adult care home – family/ friends (including children) and visiting professionals should undertake an LFD test before every visit (previously this was twice weekly for regular visitors). Exception in exceptional circumstances e.g., end of life / distress but all IPC measures to be followed
• For Indoor visits, all visitors to care homes should wear a Fluid Resistant Surgical mask (FRSM) as per Open with Care guidance;
• For adult care homes with a COVID-19 outbreak, care homes can support residents to choose a named visitor who may visit the resident in their private room if the local Health Protection Team has agreed this can happen
• Adult Care homes who do not have a COVID-19 outbreak, should continue to support residents to undertake visits out, but the following is advised: residents are recommended to undertake an LFD test before leaving the care home and after returning from visits out (test every other day for up to 14 days), unless this would cause harm or distress. If the resident returns with symptoms, they must isolate as detailed in the Public Health Scotland care home guidance and get a PCR test. Ask anyone meeting residents out with the care home to undertake regular LFD testing and receive a negative LFD test on the day of the visit. Encourage everyone – residents and those they are visiting - to have had their COVID-19 vaccinations including booster if eligible. Residents are recommended to avoid mixing with a large number of people indoors;
• Adult care homes who do not have an outbreak should continue to support residents to participate in activities within the care home – these are an essential part of care home life and are vital to wellbeing. Large groups of visitors such as choirs and carol singers are currently not recommended inside the care home (existing advic

Latest guidance reviews the need for isolation for non-Hospital admissions

The Government has announced that admissions are of less risk if a person has been appropriately vaccinated and the person is being admitted from their own Home and not from another Care Home or Hospital setting. Residents may be admitted to a care home from the community without needing to complete a 14-day self-isolation period, if they satisfy the requirements. Please ask for details.

20th December 2021