22ND APRIL 2022
Current Visiting Guidelines at Gainford Care Homes
The Government has recently announced steps on ‘living with Covid’ whilst visitors to our homes will no longer need to take an LFT prior to visiting, the home will continue to risk manage all visitors on a daily basis, visitors must continue to wear a face mask provided by the home.
Staff will continue to test twice weekly and this will be the same for all identified essential care givers.
Residents will be tested if they display symptoms however will no longer be tested regularly, in outbreak only one visitor will be permitted to visit, homes will now only close for 10days rather than the previous 14 days.
Each individual Home Manager will decide if an appointment system is to continue.
Despite some guidelines remaining in place I am sure you will agree it is lovely to be able to move into the next phase, and despite having to continue to live with COVID-19 it is now possible to have some normality back in our lives.
Thank you for your patience and understanding and all of the support shown to our homes.
8th FEBRUARY 2022
Following changes in Government Guidance on 31st January 2022 regarding visiting please see the updated visiting protocols below:
- Residents can now have an unlimited number of visitors, guidance in relation to testing remains the same therefore please ensure you have a negative LFT on the day you plan to visit. This must be done in advance of your visit, we would also respectively request that it is registered at www.gov.uk/report-covid19-result and your result available for staff to view on arrival.
- The guidance has not changed in relation to face masks, these must continue to be worn at all times indoors.
- We will continue to operate a booking system as previously, staff at the home will check results on arrival and direct you to our stations for hand gel etc prior to you commencing your visit.
- We can continue to test at the home however this could delay your visit by up to 30minutes
- We will continue to test residents in line with guidance, there may be times when the homes close to visitors if we are told to do so by Public Health England, in these circumstances Essential Care Givers can continue to visit as long as they are testing in line with government guidance.
- If the home is closed due to an outbreak visiting pods can be used as well as outdoor visiting weather permitting.
Thank you all for your continued support and understanding, whilst we acknowledge there are still some protocols to follow I am sure you will appreciate this is being done to ensure our residents and staff are safe.
The homes are looking forward to receiving visitors again and hopefully we are now coming out of the other side, if you require any additional information please do not hesitate to contact the Home Manager.
31ST JANUARY 2022
Current Visiting Guidelines at Gainford Care Homes
The visiting guidance from the Government will be changing from today Monday 31st January 2022, we will be updating our visiting protocols as soon as the full guidance is released however in the meantime we will be continuing with appointments.
It does appear that safety precautions will remain such as testing before coming in, and wearing PPE.
Further information can be found at :- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-eases-social-care-restrictions-after-booster-success
15TH DECEMBER 2021
Current visiting guidelines at Gainford Care Homes
Gainford Care Homes are so pleased that our homes can now welcome visitors in line with government guidelines which has now moved to 3 designated visitors with two visitors being able to visit at one time.
All homes are adhering to current guidance in which the staff will support you with, should you have any questions please speak with the home.
Please contact the Home and discuss the regularity of visits agreed by the Manager, please use the booking system that has been introduced. We are doing our best to accommodate everyone’s needs however we must also ensure that the safety measures needed are being followed at all times.
Residents can now take a trip out with one of their designated visitors, all of which must be done in line with infection control protocols. The home can discuss this with you in more detail should you wish to take your loved one out for a trip.
A Visitors protocol is available in all homes which goes into further detail, if you require a copy of this again please contact the Home Manager who will issue you with a copy.
Please do not attempt to arrange a visit if you feel unwell, have a cough, shortness of breath or if you have been in contact with someone who may have Coronavirus.
Our Home Managers and staff are aware of the steps to take to help prevent the spread of infection and you will be informed of all updates accordingly.
Further advice can be found at www.gov.uk If you have any further questions, please contact the Home Manager.
If any changes are made to current guidelines you will be informed at our earliest opportunity, thank you for your continued support.
Updated visiting guidelines at Gainford Care Homes
21st July 2021
Dear Relative,
I am sure that you are aware following the Government’s announcement England moved to step 4 from Monday 19th July 2021.
As COVID cases are increasing in the community and whilst most of our staff are vaccinated along with our residents, we have made the decision to continue with the visiting arrangements currently in place, which will be reviewed again in the next two weeks.
It is important that we proceed with caution, current guidelines in place make it perfectly clear that visitors need to continue to socially distance as much as possible whilst hand holding and a brief hug is permitted, this does increase risk, so we would ask that you continue to be cautious with your loved ones keeping physical contact to a minimum.
A record of all visitors will continue to be maintained; we would preferably request no more than two visitors at any one time. Residents who make visits outside of the care home do not now need to isolate upon return, however this is subject to a risk assessment, we would ask that they are not taken to crowded spaces and that social distancing is maintained within the community.
Facemasks when visiting and Lateral Flow testing is still required some family members prefer to test at home and provide us with a negative result upon arrival. This is perfectly acceptable however if you are unable to do this we will continue to test on arrival.
We do prefer that wherever possible all visitors to the home are vaccinated, this is not mandatory however would encourage everybody to access vaccination if not already fully vaccinated.
All visits must continue to be booked in advance, there are no changes to visiting outdoors these will continue. I hope this provides clarity on where we are at the moment.
Unfortunately, due to the rising cases this situation needs to be constantly monitored, we will continue to be guided by Public Health England and we will ensure any changes are communicated to you as soon as possible.
Thank you for your continued patience and support if you require anything additional please do not hesitate to contact the Home Manager.
