Update 6th January 2021
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Due to the rapidly rising number of positive COVID-19 cases, especially with the variant strain across the UK and other countries, the UK Government has implemented a national lockdown. We assure you that our duty of care remains to maintain the health, safety, and welfare of our staff and residents. We are continuing to regularly review our safety procedures with the help and support of Public Health England (PHE) and health professionals, to ensure we adhere to the Government guidelines.
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Please note, even if the home is COVID-19 free, if the transmission in the local community where the home is located is high, the Director of Public Health (DPH) or the local authority are able to instruct all care providers to close to visitors and we are only allowed to re-start visits when the DPH or the local authority sanction it.
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Infection Prevention Control Measures
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We would like to reassure families that Dillon Care are doing all they can to keep their loved ones safe who use our services, whether it is residents, staff or visitors.
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Our staff when starting their shift will enter the location one by one. Before touching any surfaces, they will use hand gels to sanitise their hands and their temperatures are checked and recorded. Anyone with a temperature or symptoms will be asked to leave the location immediately and will be supported from home to follow COVID-19 guidelines.
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Staff who are safe to continue with their shifts will enter a controlled room where they will remove their outer clothing, shoes and handbags and place them in disposable bags. They will then change their clothes into fresh clean clothes and shoes to start their shift. The controlled room with be sanitised and staff will wash their hands and use fresh PPE before attending to residents. Each and every staff will go through this process.
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Any shopping or items are taken to a secure room (where windows will be open for ventilation) and sanitised before being placed into cupboards. The surfaces and floor areas will also be disinfected, and staff will remove their PPE into fresh ones and wash their hands before entering communal areas. Windows will remain open after the process for at least 10 minutes to allow ventilation.
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There is a robust daily cleaning schedule and a deep clean is done weekly or when required for every location.
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Rest assured, any visitors (if any) who enter the location will use hand gels to sanitise their hands and their temperatures are checked and recorded. Anyone with a temperature or symptoms will not be permitted to enter the location. If they are safe to enter, they will be offered face covering, disposable aprons and shoe covers before being able to be let in. A bin is located at the entrance to enable them to dispose of the items securely before leaving the building and sanitising their hands again.
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Booking Window Visits
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When the lockdown was lifted mid-2020, we are able to facilitate visitors, however, we have now had to restrict visitors and residents visiting family homes. We will continue to review this in line DPH advice. We are able to facilitate external window visits.
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All visits must be pre-booked by telephone with the team leader. Visits can be rescheduled as a result of adverse weather conditions. You will be asked a set of mandatory screening questions. If you answer yes, to any of the screening questions when booking your visit, we will not be able to facilitate the visit.
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Upon your visit, should you require any assistance, please telephone the team leader of the location, please do not seek to enter the building for assistance.
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Please notify staff of any gifts that you intend to supply and hand all gifts to the member of staff who greets you, allowing for the gift to be sanitised before being given to the resident. Also, please always wear a face mask during your visit. Civilian grade face mask is adequate if you do not own a surgical face mask.
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Please note visitors to enter the building is prohibited and will not able to offer toilet facilities, etc. to stop the spread of transmission.
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Visual Communication
To reduce the mental impact the lockdown has had on our residents, we will continue to utilise virtual communication through video calls, ensuring residents maintain visual communication with their friends and family. Where virtual communication is not possible, we will send weekly pictures and updates of residents and activities. We understand this does not replace face to face interaction, however, we are striving to reduce the emotional impact COVID-19 has had on our residents.
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Additionally, members of staff will continue to support residents by ensuring they are able to remain in contact through telephone calls and virtual visits, i.e. facetime calls.
Test and Trace
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In December 2020, it was announced that supported living providers are to ensure that residents are tested once a month and staff are tested weekly. This is now in place at all locations that Dillon Care operate. Please note we will hold contact information for staff, residents, and visitors and share it with NHS Test and Trace to help minimise the transmission of COVID-19 and support public health and safety.
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Individuals are able to exercise their data protection rights such as the right of erasure or the right to rectification (where applicable). Please contact the manager for further information.
Communication
We will continue to monitor the government guidelines and restrictions to amend our guidance accordingly. We appreciate your patience and understanding during these unforeseen circumstances. Our teams are working very hard to ensure the safety of everyone at Dillon Care.
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Easy read information documents can be downloaded using the following links:
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COVID-19 Daily Summary -
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
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COVID-19 NHS
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
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COVID-19 PHE
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england
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