OUR RESPONSE to CORONAVIRUS

Visiting your relatives

I want to start by saying a huge thank you to you all from our owners, Barry and Sharon Sinclair, myself and all of the staff at Chanctonbury Healthcare for your continued support during this challenging time. We have received, and continue to receive, some amazing feedback, reviews and gratitude, which every day provides us all with a huge boost and sense of pride and motivation. This means so much to our teams!

If you have not provided a review and would like to please follow the link below:

https://www.carehome.co.uk/submitreview

With the opening of all facilities and the reduction in mask wearing the risks to us all are much higher. We want to make your visits as comfortable and as meaningful as possible but our priority is the safety of our residents, staff and yourselves. We would advise that you take the opportunity to have your vaccines, because we know that this provides some reductions in symptoms and some immunity.

Therefore, please see the below for updated guidance regarding our visiting procedures at this time.

You are still required to book a visit with the home directly and complete a visitors questionnaire. This will allow us to manage visits safely and it will also mean that if we do have positive case then we can make the individuals aware and if you are planning to visit and we have to close the home we can contact you directly to ensure that you do not have a wasted journey.

What you can do to help manage the risks

There are lots of ways you can help to reduce the risk of passing on the virus without knowing during a visit:

• get the vaccine when it is offered to you. Vaccination is one of the best defences to combat infection. It significantly reduces the transmission of infection, particularly after two doses. It is strongly recommended that residents and visitors receive two doses of vaccine before conducting visits
• take a rapid lateral flow test on the day of your visit
• do not visit the care home if you are feeling unwell or have symptoms of coronavirus
• wear a mask throughout your visit
• wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water when you arrive at the care home

Most importantly, remember to limit close contact, use whatever PPE the care home asks you to, and keep it on. Gloves should only be necessary when providing close personal care.

Masks will continue to be worn at all times.

In the event of an outbreak in the care home
Definition: two or more people (staff or residents) testing positive in the care home

In the event of an outbreak, all movements in and out of the care home will be minimised as far as possible and limited to exceptional circumstances only, such as to visit a friend or a relative at the end of their life. These restrictions will continue until the outbreak is confirmed as over, which could be at least 14 days after the last laboratory confirmed or clinically suspected cases were identified in a resident or member of staff in the home.

If the care home makes a decision you disagree with

If the care home makes a decision you disagree with, it would be best to speak to the care home manager, in the first instance, and ask to discuss the situation or contact Sandy Atkins Operations Director.sandy.atkins@chanctonbury-care.com

Named visitors

Named visitors can come in for a regular indoor visit, sitting in the same room as loved ones, with no screen or other barrier in between.

Named visitors and residents are advised to limit close contact (excluding essential care givers). Physical contact like handholding is acceptable if hand washing protocols are followed. Close personal contact such as hugging presents higher risks but will be safer if it is between people who are double vaccinated, without face-to-face contact, and there is brief contact only.  Masks will continue to be worn in the home at all times.

Named visitors should be tested using rapid lateral flow tests on the day of every visit and produce a negative COVID-19 test prior to their visit.

We are asking visitors to be supportive of the care home and recognise that the home will need to ‘share out’ visiting appointments so everyone gets the chance to have one.

There is no change to the essential care giver visiting. The will continue to use the same PPE guidelines and testing regimes as the staff.

Please see the link below of the official guidelines if you wish to have further information.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visiting-care-homes-during-coronavirus/summary-of-guidance-for-visitors–2

• If you require LFD packs then please ask at the home.  If you have any difficulties with completing the test or registering it then please contact the home and make them aware prior to the visit so that they can ensure that a staff member is allocated to help you on your arrival to the home.

Sandy Atkins – Operations Director