Stephenson Court

Welcome

Taking care of your loved ones is what we do best.

We approach the delivery of care on what we call “The Care Partnership” basis. Simply, this means that you and your family retain full control of how your care should be delivered. We will deliver that care following a detailed assessment, and will do so on your behalf and with your permission.

We will treat you with respect , we will maintain your dignity, and we will always try to comply with your individual wishes and preferences.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information

The Government announced on 14^th December 2021 an update on the management of risk associated with the new variant of Covid -19 Omicron; this guidence comes into effect in care homes in England on 15^th December 2021.

People living in care homes are typically more vulnerable to severe illness as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19). While vaccination is proving very effective, the country are still seeing some cases of severe illness, hospitalisation and death of care home residents who have been vaccinated. Caution is advised as we learn more about real-world vaccine effectiveness and disease severity of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Additional measures are therefore in place to facilitate visiting while keeping care home staff and residents safe. These include:

The key things to know about care home visiting are:

1. Visits in all circumstances

1.1 Essential care givers

Key message

All residents should be enabled to have an essential care giver, who should be able to visit more often. Essential care givers will need to be supported to follow the same testing arrangements as care home staff. When essential care givers are providing direct personal care, they should follow the same PPE and infection control arrangements as care home staff.

The essential care giver role is vitally important to supporting residents’ health and wellbeing.

Every resident should be supported to choose an essential care giver to benefit from companionship and additional care and support provided by someone with whom they have a personal relationship. Essential care givers do not count towards the limit of 3 visitors per resident.

Essential care givers should be allowed to continue to visit during periods of isolation or when there is an outbreak.

There are exceptional circumstances where someone may need the additional support of more than one essential care giver and this should be considered (for example, if a nominated essential care giver is unwell).

Essential care givers will need to follow the following testing arrangements. Essential care givers must:

Essential care givers should read and follow the appropriate guidance for using PPE in the different care scenarios laid out in the guidance on how to work safely in care homes. PPE recommendations are different depending on whether direct personal care or companionship is being provided. More information on how to safely put on and remove PPE can be found in the guidance and visitors should also be encouraged to view the video demonstration. It is sensible for the essential care giver to be supported by an experienced member of staff as they put on and take off the PPE on the first few visits to ensure they are doing so correctly.

Essential care givers should be briefed on the relevant IPC measures in the areas of the care home they will have access to, and reminded of the importance of remaining at least one metre from staff and any other residents they might encounter, though this may differ subject to a local risk assessment.

The care home and essential care giver should also agree any other relevant arrangements – for example, managing immediate visits (if the resident is distressed and the essential care giver is needed urgently to settle them) and communal areas such as staff rest areas that the essential care visitor should not enter.

Clinical care and medical tasks such as the administering of medication and physiotherapy remain the overarching responsibility of the care home.

Where the resident lacks the capacity to choose their essential care giver, the care home should discuss the situation with any attorney or deputy, the resident’s family, friends and others who may usually have visited the resident or are identified in the care plan. In this situation, a person can only be nominated as an essential care giver if this has been determined to be in the resident’s best interests in accordance with the empowering framework of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Consideration should be given to whether there is an attorney or deputy with appropriate authority to make this decision.

1.2 End of life visits

Key message

Visits at the end of life should always be supported, without limiting the number of visitors. Families and residents should be supported to plan end of life visiting carefully, with the assumption that visiting will be enabled to happen not just towards the very end of life, and that discussions with the family take place in good time.

Visitors for visits of this nature should be tested using lateral flow tests. For information on how to test, see the guidance on rapid lateral flow testing in adult social care settings.

End of life care (for residents in care homes) means identifying early those who are in their last year of life, and offering them the support to live as well as possible and to then die with dignity. NHS guidance on end of life care is available to support this process, as well as advice from the British Geriatric Society. There is a role for care home staff to support residents with end of life care, and visiting is an essential factor in this.

The enhanced health in care homes service provides a framework for support from general practice, the care home clinical leads and local multidisciplinary teams (which may include community nurses and professionals as well as specialised palliative care teams).

This support involves early identification, as well as a personalised care and support planning approach with good communication with the individual, their relatives and care home staff through the weekly home care round. The British Geriatric Society advice can support communication. As a resident approaches the last months, weeks and days of their life, it continues to be important to communicate well to enable good and timely decisions around care. Planning these visiting arrangements should proceed from the assumption that visits are enabled in the final months and weeks of life – not just the final days or hours – albeit recognising that these timelines can be difficult to determine with accuracy.