Update from Sarah Clarke-Kuehn, Group Director – Sanctuary Care, 5 January 2021

Today, I would like to acknowledge the latest announcement from the government regarding lockdown restrictions across England and Scotland, and what this means for care home visits and general care within our homes.

I appreciate the news on the new variant of Covid-19 and returning to tougher restrictions may cause concern and increased anxiety for many. That’s why I want to assure you our priority has always been and will continue to be preventing the spread of Covid-19 and maintaining the safety and wellbeing of our residents, their visitors and our teams.

Continuing safe care home visiting

We are pleased that care home visiting can continue throughout this lockdown and we already have the measures in place for this to do so in many of our homes.

As always for families of our existing residents, I welcome you to speak with your home’s manager in the first instance to find out how our visiting guidance applies to your local care home. All our homes are of different designs with varying indoor and outdoor space available, so visiting options listed may vary from home to home. For those who are enquiring about new care options for loved ones, our dedicated Enquiry Support Team are here for you. 

At all times, we continue to take direction from the local Public Health Inspector regarding the ‘R’ rate in every area and monitor this ourselves very carefully. We will also consistently reviewing our visiting guidance and details below may change instantly, as and when required.

Our overview on care home visiting at this time:

• All visits will be carried out in dedicated visiting rooms with screens, visiting pods with screens , or behind closed windows
• We are welcoming two visitors at a time per each resident. Visitors must be from the same household
• The two designated family visitors will remain the only parties who are permitted to visit the home while we remain in the current national restrictions
• Face masks or coverings must be worn for the duration of the visit and until you have left the home
• Residents who are receiving end-of-life care will continue to receive family visits and all parties will be supported throughout this time.

All of our homes have iPads so that residents and their loved ones can continue to catch up over FaceTime, Skype or alternative video calling apps. Our teams will happily support residents with accessing apps, ensuring virtual visiting is accessible for as many of our residents as possible.

If you are considering a new care home for a loved one and have further questions, please do call our Enquiry Support Team who are here to talk, six days a week on 0800 917 0478.

Sarah Clarke-Kuehn, Group Director Sanctuary Care