Advice on COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Coronavirus Update – 5th April 2023

From Monday 3 April 2023 the Government made further changes to the guidance for adult social care related to coronavirus. As a result, HICA no longer requires care home visitors to LFD test prior to entering a care home nor wear a face mask. We will still have face masks available if you would prefer to wear one. Unfortunately if the home is considered to be in outbreak visiting may not be possible, and you should contact the manager who will provide you with an update and advice.

We would ask that visitors should not enter The Lodge or The Grange Suite if they are feeling unwell, even if they have tested negative for COVID-19, are fully vaccinated and have received their booster. Transmissible viruses such as flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and norovirus can be just as dangerous to care home residents as COVID-19. If visitors have symptoms that suggest COVID-19, they should follow the guidance for people with symptoms of a respiratory infection.

If you have any queries regarding the new regulations please contact The Lodge or The Grange Suite directly.

 

Covid Update – 16th December 2022

We hope this latest update finds you all well.

Risk-based use of masks- All Services.

 The use of face masks all of the time across adult social care can cause difficulties for people receiving care and staff looking after them. Guidance has now been amended to support a risk-based approach. This replaces previous guidance that stated face masks should be worn at all times across adult social care.

The use of face masks for staff and visitors may now cease for general care provisions. Masks still need to worn if:

• A staff member is caring for a person suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19
• A staff member is a household or overnight contact of someone with COVID-19 (e.g., family at home)
• Staff and visitors need to re-commence mask wearing if there is an outbreak of COVID-19 in the setting.
• The service user prefers the care giver to wear a mask.
• There is an outbreak of respiratory illness or other infection and Health Protection or infection control teams have recommended the use of face masks

 

Covid Update – 4th September 2022

We hope this latest update finds you all well.

We appreciate that there has been a lot of changes for the general public, but we must emphasise that we are still obliged to follow the guidance for care homes and for homecare. Under current guidance, we no longer need to ask any visitors to our services to test for Covid before entry. We do still ask that all visitors to services do not attend if you feel ill prior to coming in.

Care homes still require visitors to wear PPE, which is available on site. Please be aware that under current guidance, The Lodge may need to close to visitors who are not essential care givers in the event of an outbreak. Please contact the home prior to visiting.

Covid Update for The Grange – 9th April 2022

Changes for Visitors

Since our last Resident briefing, a new announcement was made by Government. This was around the number of visitors to Care Homes. We are not a Care Home, however we believe the visitor rules needs to be adapted to meet the ‘road map’ out of lock down. During lockdowns we have asked that residents have one nominated visitor from their support bubble.

From Monday 12^th April residents will be able to have two nominated visitors from your support bubble. We will need to ask visitors to provide their contact details for track and trace at Reception and we request all visitors continue to come through Reception to complete temperature testing.

We strongly recommend  visitors request their own lateral flow tests and complete a test before visiting. Individuals can request up to two per week on the following website link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/twice-weekly-rapid-testing-to-be-available-to-everyone-in-england

Covid Update – 24th February 2022

This latest update applies to The Lodge only.

We hope this latest update finds you well.

From 24^th February 2022, most of the remaining COVID-19 guidance in England has been lifted, although we have been advised that for providers of health and social care, there is very little change to guidance.

Although members of the general public no longer need to isolate upon testing positive for covid- the current guidance for care homes, visiting and homecare staff is  unchanged. Staff must still isolate for 5 days, and have a negative LFT on day 5 and a negative LFD test on day 6 prior to the start of their shift.

I appreciate that there has been a lot of changes for the general public, but must emphasise that we are still obliged to follow the guidance for care homes and for homecare. We have been made aware that guidance for care homes and homecare’s is not anticipated to change until the end of March. We will communicate changes with you as soon as these happen.

 

As a reminder to testing for home care:

• Staff should conduct a daily LFT on the days that they are working before their round begins.
• Staff should register the LFT test results online as soon as they have completed them using the service UON. If staff do not have access to the internet, they can also report results by calling 119, but MUST provide the UON. The UON is the unique organisation number that you use to order test kits and PPE. You should share this with your team.

 

As a reminder to testing for care homes:

• Staff should be tested daily using a rapid lateral flow test (LFT) before their shift begins on the days they are working. There is no longer a requirement to complete a weekly PCR. PCR are only used for staff as part of outbreak or recovery testing. Staff can complete this at home but MUST use the UON to report the test, and evidence of this should be sought prior to them starting the shift.
• Residents should still be tested once a month with a PCR.
• Visitors should still complete a LFD test prior to visiting. If this is done at home, they should demonstrate evidence of this prior to entry. This includes contractors
• For staff who have tested positive, PCR tests should not be undertaken for 90 days, even if you are completing recovery testing. This does not apply to LFD testing, which should resume immediately upon return to work.

 

There have been no changes in regards to the use of PPE for either home care or care homes.

 

Covid Update – 2nd February 2022

This latest update applies to The Lodge only.

We would like to extend our thanks to families and friends for their patience. We appreciate that the government announced via a press release that visitors to care homes would be unlimited from Monday, but we have only just received the official guidelines. Please accept our sincerest apologies.

Visiting is crucial for family and friends to maintain contact and life-long relationships with their loved ones, and to contribute to their support and care. With immediate effect.

For all of our care homes, we are pleased that there is no longer any restriction on the number of visitors our residents receive. Visitors should continue to make arrangements with individual care home in advance of the visit, so that we can manage the number of people attending at any one time to ensure safe visiting practices are maintained.

Unfortunately, for services deemed as in outbreak, only essential care givers and end of life visits can continue. We will continue to offer visits outdoors, in visiting pods or from behind windows during an outbreak, and also virtual visits. We appreciate this is not the same, but unfortunately, the definition of an outbreak has not changed, and the guidance for visiting during an outbreak has not changed.

If you have any queries pertaining to a particular home please contact the home direct who will be happy to answer any questions.

Covid Update -13th December

This latest update applies to The Lodge only.

We hope this communication finds you well

Unfortunately, since our last communication, we have received further updates from the Department of Health and Social Care in relation to care home visiting. At HICA we’re doing everything we can to keep our residents and our colleagues safe. Following the most recent changes in Government guidance we continue to ensure our own guidance aligns to the same.

Visits

Due to the rapidly rising number of positive COVID-19 cases across the UK, and the increasing cases of the Omicron Covid Variant, the Government has outlined additional guidance to visits within care home settings. We assure you that our duty of care remains to maintain the health, safety, and welfare of our staff and residents. Government guidance currently states that for the safety of care home residents, visiting will be restricted to 3 nominated visitors and an essential care giver per resident. This is desperately sad, particularly as we approach the festive season, as we understand how much visiting means, but we must continue to follow the government guidance in place.  Our motivation is unchanged, and we welcome family and friends of our residents to our care homes in a responsible, safe manner. All nominated visitors will still be required to test and use the relevant personal protective equipment (PPE). To this end, we request that visits are still booked in advance, so we can ensure that we are prepared to assist with testing registration and use of PPE. Government guidance on Infection Prevention Control and PPE for care homes has not changed, therefore we are sure you will understand the importance of making our homes safe for everyone. On arrival, to support the Test and Trace systems, we will still need you to complete a form with your name, address and contact details, as previously.

Visiting Out of Care Homes

Residents may leave care homes, that are free of any Covid outbreak, to visit with family or  friends. All visits out of the care home that are not assessed as high risk will be supported. Residents who visit outside of the care home who have received both Covid vaccinations will need to complete a LFD Test every other day for a period of two weeks, following the visit. Residents who visit outside of the care home, who are not double vaccinated, will be required to isolate in their rooms for a period of two weeks, upon their return.

 

Essential Care Givers

All Residents can nominate an Essential Care Giver, which is a person who will provide a greater degree of personal care or support to maintain the health and wellbeing of a resident. If you think that your loved one would benefit from this type of visit, you should discuss with the Care Home Manager who will advise on the role and ensure that the appropriate risk assessments are complete. An Essential Care Giver will be required to follow a protocol and risk assessment which will be drawn up by the Care Home staff, Resident (or advocate)and Essential Care Giver

Essential Care Givers must follow the same testing protocol as the staff, which is both via LFD Test and PCR testing. LFD testing has now increased to three times a week and a PCR test must be completed at the same time as one of the LFD tests. If the home has an outbreak, Essential Care Givers can still attend and support the Resident. Testing will be increased to a daily regime. Essential Care Givers will be supported to understand the protocols around donning and doffing of PPE, and infection prevention and control guidance.

We once again take this opportunity in thanking you for your understanding and continued support as we go through these difficult times. As always, it is our intention to safely encourage visiting to be as easy as possible, bringing our homes back into the heart of our local communities We would like to thank residents and their family and friends and our teams for their incredible support and good will as we continue to do everything we can to keep residents safe, happy and leading busy, fulfilled lives.

 

Covid Update -21st July

This latest update applies to The Lodge only.

We hope this communication finds you well. We are now pleased that following a review, from today, Tuesday 20^th July 2021, there has been an amendment to visiting both inside and outside of The Lodge for our residents.

The UK Government has now lifted many Covid-related restrictions from Monday 19^th July, and associated guidance in relation to the lifting of many restrictions, has now been received. July 19 marked a relaxation by the UK Government of Covid restrictions within England, supported by the successful UK Covid vaccination roll out.  The emphasis from Government moves to a position of responsibility being put on individuals and organisations to safely ‘get on with life’, managing effectively the continued threat of Covid.

Visiting in The Lodge

We are very pleased that there will be no restriction on the number of named visitors and the number of visits per resident per week, where the home is out of Covid outbreak, and the visitor returns a negative test. HICA is proud to have maintained safe, high levels of visiting during these challenging times, which we trust our families have valued.  Our motivation is unchanged, and we welcome family and friends of our residents to our care homes in a responsible, safe manner. All visitors will still be required to test, and use the relevant PPE, which may mean scenarios of higher-than-expected footfall and short waiting times to enter the home as the team facilitate this. To this end, we request that visits are still booked in advance, so we can ensure that we are prepared to assist with testing registration and use of PPE. Government guidance of Infection Prevention Control and PPE for care homes has not changed, therefore we are sure you will understand the importance of making our homes safe for everyone. On arrival, to support the Test and Trace systems, we will still need you to complete a form with your name, address and contact details, as previously.

If you are experiencing coronavirus symptoms or have in the last 10 days, or if any member of your household has been in contact with a positive case or has been advised to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace you should not visit at this time.

Visiting Out of The Lodge

Residents may leave The Lodge, providing it is free of any Covid outbreak, to visit or stay overnight with family or a friend. All visits out of the care home that are not assessed as high risk will be supported, and not subject to advice to self-isolate on return to the care home. Unfortunately, the need to isolate does remain if a stay in hospital is complete.

Where visits out are accompanied by a named visitor, the accompanying visitor will need follow the same testing regime as they would when visiting a care home.

Essential Care Givers

All Residents can nominate an Essential Care Giver, which is a person who will provide a greater degree of personal care or support to maintain the health and wellbeing of a resident.  If you think that your loved one would benefit from this type of visit, you should discuss with The Lodge Manager who will advise on the role and ensure that the appropriate risk assessments are complete. An Essential Care Giver will be required to follow a protocol and risk assessment which will be drawn up by the Lodge staff, Resident ( or advocate)and Essential Care Giver

Essential Care Givers must follow the same testing protocol as the staff, which is LFT testing and PCR testing. Generally, LFT testing is done twice a week and a PCR test is completed at the same time as one of the LFT tests. If The Lodge has an outbreak, Essential Care Givers can still attend and support the Resident. Testing will be increased to a daily regime. Essential Care Givers will be supported to understand the protocols around donning and doffing of PPE, and infection prevention and control guidance.

We once again take this opportunity in thanking you for your understanding and continued support as we go through these difficult times. As always, it is our intention to safely encourage visiting to be as easy as possible, bringing our homes back into the heart of our local communities.

Covid Update – 4th May

We hope this latest communication finds you well. This latest update applies to The Lodge only.

We are very pleased that the government has announced its further continuation of its journey of lifting restrictions. The government made a welcome announcement in March that care home visits could re-commence, and in April extended this to two nominated visitors. We are now pleased that following a review, from today, Tuesday 4^th May 2021, there has been an amendment to visiting outside of care homes for our residents.

Updated supplementary guidance has been released by the Department of Health and Social Care over the bank holiday which now allows for residents to leave their care homes, to spend time outdoors, without the need to isolate on their return. The supplementary guidance states that residents should be enabled to leave their care home to spend time outdoors, without subsequent isolation for 14 days, in the following circumstances:

Resident is accompanied by:

• a member of care home staff or,
• one or both of their nominated visitors or,
• their essential care provider (where applicable),

Visits should take place solely outdoors, except for the use of toilet facilities

• there should be no visits to indoor spaces (public or private)
• the exception to this is that residents will be able to access polling stations

Visits should not involve the use of public transport

Unfortunately, visits outside of the care home that do not meet the above criteria will still require a period of isolation upon return.

We are very pleased that for several weeks, we have had no residents or staff testing positive for COVID-19 in our care homes, through our continued regular testing regimes.  This is such a relief for everyone and gives us great confidence in the amazing vaccination programme that continues at pace. For reassurance, we continue to be fully enrolled in the Government’s regular testing programme for residents, staff, and visitors. This currently involves multiple tests per week, to give us a clear picture of the COVID-status in our homes and allows us to take swift action if there are any changes

We will continue maintaining opportunities for visiting to take place which is critical for supporting the health and wellbeing of all residents and their relationships with friends and family. We also remain committed to maintaining the infection control measures we have in place in all our services.

All visits must be pre-booked to enable us to manage them safely and ensure the appropriate cleaning and hygiene regimes are in place. This also enables our teams to identify which type of visit is best suited to you and your loved one and to take you through the protocols we have in place to protect everyone involved. If you are showing any symptoms which could indicate coronavirus, please do not travel to the care home as you will not be able to proceed with your visit. We will also publish up to date guidance on our website which can be found at https://www.hica-uk.com/

Visiting Protocols

All visits must be booked in advance by appointment and we can only facilitate a certain number of visits per day for a limited duration to allow us time to effectively clean the area in-between visits (The local service will provide you with further details for these arrangements). If you intend on attending with a child, please let the service know at the time of making the booking, as there are different guidelines for testing and use of personal protective equipment dependent upon age. We thank you for your understanding in regard of this.

All visitors must also complete a simple Health Declaration Form prior to each visit taking place to ensure their safety and the safety of others. If you are attending with a child, we ask that you complete this on their behalf

We will ensure that everyone follows the protocols to support visiting safely in regard to the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and we will ensure that personal protective equipment is made available to you to support your visit.

All visitors as will be asked to complete a Lateral Flow Device test before entering the home in line with government guidance. Alternatively, you can test yourself at home prior to your visit, but you must be able to provide evidence of this test, which must be complete on the day of your visit. This is a simple test that requires you to have a swab of your mouth and nasal cavity (for a few seconds) If you have any worries about this test then please contract a member of the local team who will hopefully reassure you and support you in enabling this to be completed.

We will still have in place our procedures for visiting outdoors or at windows. If this remains your preferred visiting method, this will continue alongside the face-to-face visits by nominated visitors and we will help you to look at the best options for you to consider visiting your loved one.

We once again take this opportunity in thanking you for your understanding and continued support as we go through these difficult times- we now have some light at the end of the tunnel and look forward to the days when we have visitors back fully into the services.

Covid Update – 12th April

We hope this communication finds you well, despite the current difficult circumstances. We are very pleased that the government has announced its continuation of its journey of lifting restrictions

As you will no doubt have seen, the government have recently announced that some lockdown measures related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak are starting to be eased. After many months of restrictions, this is a move that we are encouraged by with measured optimism. We, therefore, wanted to let you know how these moves will impact the processes and restrictions that we currently have in place at Buckshaw Retirement Village.

If you are showing any symptoms which could indicate coronavirus, please do not travel to Buckshaw Retirement Village as you will not be able to proceed with your visit.

The Grange

From Monday, 29^th March 2021 groups of no more than six individuals were permitted to come together in an outside space observing social distance as necessary. A visitor from a resident’s support bubble (the same reoccurring visitor) can visit in their home and residents can go to visit their support bubble. We will review this in due course as we continue on the road map out of lockdown.

The Senior Management team, including the CEO meet fortnightly with the Buckshaw Management Team to collaborate and share best practice and provide guidance.  We continue to monitor all developments and, unless there is a major shift across the country beforehand, will be reviewing our position on visits again on or around the middle of May. Below we have bullet pointed the changes which come into effect from 12^th April 2021

• Two nominated visitors from a resident’s support bubble may visit. We will need to ask visitors to provide their contact details for track and trace at Reception and we request all visitors continue to come through Reception to complete temperature testing.
• We strongly recommend your visitors request their own lateral flow tests and complete a test before visiting. Individuals can request up to two per week on the following website link:
• https://www.gov.uk/government/news/twice-weekly-rapid-testing-to-be-available-to-everyone-in-england
• Hairdressers and Beauticians to re-open
• Activities through the Wellbeing (Grange) and Hospitality Coordinators to restart in groups of 6 both inside and outside.
• Meal in your room with your bubble person can be arranged and pre-ordered (this is a chargeable service). Please ask at the desk for more details.
• Private cleaners and private hairdressers can complete home visits
• Communal spaces reopen to 6 or less in the building – Residents only

The Lodge

Visiting Protocols differ at The Lodge as it follows the government guidelines relating to care homes.

From April 12^th it is planned that a maximum of 2 nominated visitors may be able to visit their loved one who can either visit together, or separately. If you intend on attending with a child, please let the service know at the time of making the booking, as there are different guidelines for testing and use of personal protective equipment dependent upon age. We thank you for your understanding in regard of this.

All visits must be booked in advance by appointment and we can only facilitate a certain number of visits per day for a limited duration to allow us time to effectively clean the area in-between visits (The staff will provide you with further details for these arrangements). We thank you for your understanding in regard of this, and we will try our best to accommodate your preferred time.

All visitors must also complete a simple Health Declaration Form prior to each visit taking place to ensure their safety and the safety of others.

We will ensure that everyone follows the protocols to support visiting safely in regard to the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and we will ensure that personal protective equipment is made available to you to support your visit.

All visitors as will be asked to complete a Lateral Flow Device test before entering the home in line with government guidance. This is a simple test that requires you to have a swab of your mouth and nasal cavity (for a few seconds) If you have any worries about this test then please contract a member of the local team who will hopefully reassure you and support you in enabling this to be completed. Once this procedure has been carried out you will have to wait for the test result (usually about 30 mins) and it must come back negative before going into the service.

If you test positive you will be asked to take a PCR test which has a greater level of reliability but needs to be processed in a laboratory. Testing positive will mean unfortunately that any planned visit will not be able to proceed; we of course will support you over the next few days as you await the result of this test and will try to facilitate a remote visit by the use of telephone or internet call.

We will still have in place our procedures for visiting outdoors or at windows. If this remains your preferred visiting method, this will continue alongside the face-to-face visits by nominated visitors and we will help you to look at the best options for you to consider to visit your loved one.

We once again take this opportunity in thanking you for your understanding and continued support as we go through these difficult times- we now have some light at the end of the tunnel and look forward to the days when we have visitors back fully into the services. We remain ever grateful for your continued support and understanding while we all work through this difficult and unsettling time.

If you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the Buckshaw Management Team.

Update – January 5th 2021

Following developments at a national level we have again updated our guidance which comes into effect from January 5th.

As of the 5th January Buckshaw Retirement Village will be following the National Lockdown restrictions and regulations.

For The Grange and The Court we regret to say that we continue to not be able to accept visitors unless they are a part of a resident’s support bubble (limited to 1 person) or are delivering essential care.

We also regret that at The Lodge remains closed to all visitors other than health and social care professionals. We may be able to provide window visits as well as virtual visits. Please contact the The Lodge manager for more information.

This will not affect visits for residents who are end of life, and the service will liaise with you to make appropriate and safe arrangements.

We appreciate that these regulations continue to cause some anxiety but the health and wellbeing of our residents and staff is our highest priority and we are working hard to prevent the spread of the virus within our services.

For more information, please head to the Government’s website.

We thank you for your continued support during these troubling times and wish to assure you that all care will continue as usual.