Update from Sarah Clarke-Kuehn, Group Director Sanctuary Care – 29 May 2020
We are delighted to let you know that we are now able to ease some of the visiting restrictions currently in place in our care homes.
From Monday 1 June it will be possible for you to visit your relative or loved one by pre-booking a visit appointment directly with the care home.
Our priority continues to be preventing the spread of Covid-19 and maintaining the safety and well being of our residents, their visitors and our staff.
We hope you will understand that by permitting even restricted visiting we cannot guarantee that the risk of infection to yourselves is removed completely, but by following the measures described below, we can significantly minimise that risk.
For the time-being we cannot offer visiting without an appointment or visiting within the building itself, and some restrictions will still apply.
All our homes are of different designs with individual outside space, but we hope you will be able to take advantage of the warm weather and visit your relative or loved one in one of the following ways.
A window visit
We will arrange for you to see and talk to you relative or loved one through an open window on the ground floor of the care home. We will ask you to maintain a two metre distance from the window and request that you wear your own face covering.
A garden visit
As long as the garden is accessible from outside the building and your relative or loved one is well enough to go into the garden, we will arrange for you to see and talk to them there. We will ask you to maintain two metre social distancing and request that you wear your own face covering.
A drive-through visit
If your relative or loved one is well enough to go into the car park we will arrange for them to sit two metres away from your car and you will be able to see them and talk to them through an open car window. Again, we would request that you wear your own face covering.
How to arrange a visit
- You should telephone the home to book a visit
- Visits will be for a maximum of 30 minutes and limited to two visitors from the same household
- We aim to ensure all our residents receive a visit wherever possible and so the number of pre-bookable visit times may be limited
- If you arrive late for your pre-booked visit, the length of your visit will be reduced to ensure that other visits can go ahead on time
- If you decide to cancel your visit, please let the home know as soon as possible
- All visitors must wear their own face covering when visiting
- Regrettably, for window and garden visits we cannot allow visits by children under the age of 13
- We request that you do not visit if you are unwell or if any members of your household are self-isolating
- We request that for the time being you refrain from bringing gifts or flowers for your relative or loved one
- If your relative or loved one is cared for in bed and does not have a bedroom on the ground floor, we will do all we can to facilitate a visit, but this may not be possible until visiting within the building is permitted.
I do hope you welcome these first steps towards visiting times; but if you have any questions or concerns whatsoever, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your Home Manager. We hope to see you soon.
Sarah Clarke-Kuehn, Group Director Sanctuary Care