Care home conversations during lockdown

Generally things have worked well. There has been more one to one interaction with residents and staff have been much more involved in activities within the home.
Now each resident has chosen a named visitor (usually a family member). Visiting is allowed, but must be pre-booked.

We have online teams meetings every two weeks with all Service Heads and family members, to keep them updated and for any questions or concerns to be raised. Typically, 30 families regularly join in. It's working well. The meetings have a fairly loose agenda and family members direct the meetings, with a record kept of proceedings.

We use the APP - RELSAPP, provided by Hallmark Care Homes who own the care home. This has been brilliant and people were able to share photos etc. Facetime is also used. Technology really helped people keep in touch.

At the end of the first lockdown Avery ( parent group) encouraged relatives to meet residents and take them out which was extremely well received. Avery provided detailed protocols as to how this should be done.

A choir sang for residents. Children have written letters to residents. Rugby School have taken residents out. Staff have taken residents to Marks and Spencer at Elliot’s Field shopping Park and a local pub when they were open. Staff ensure they know residents individual needs.

Zoom recordings of activities completed within the care home are uploaded to our facebook page.

We played the Atherstone Ball Game yesterday. We are doing activities in the lounge, residents have been helping to make pizza's, getting involved with flower arranging and making Valentine's cards. We are trying to keep them pampered and engaged. We share photos of residents celebrations and what is going on in the home on our Facebook page.

Our visitors pod was installed last year, it works by families booking their pod slot, which is usually 30 minutes , but can be up to 2 hours. On arrival, family members are laterally tested and if all ok the visit goes ahead. The pod is outside - like a garden room and is accessed via a sheltered walkway from the home. Families access via a separate door. Cleaners go in afterwards. It's a lovely bright area, all heated and very well used every day. Only families in county can use this at the moment due to travel restrictions.

We are keeping relatives informed about what we are doing by sending regular emails to family members, particularly those out of county and we also hold zoom meetings. They took a bit of getting used to for residents, seeing their family members, but now they are working well and very popular. We also have a monthly newsletter.

With all the residents and staff now vaccinated – our motto is “onwards and upwards” and we don’t stop to prevent this becoming a reality.

We’re using our visiting rooms to celebrate Christmas every day in December, so family members can share a safe Christmas dinner with their loved one. Christmas is about family whether that’s the 25th or the 14th, so we’ve invited all relatives to have Christmas with their loved one in a way that keeps everyone safe. Christmas meals have already been held by several families across the group and we’re getting incredibly positive feedback from residents and family members.

We are hoping that we will be able to have face to face visits again.
We hope that flow testing i.e. ongoing testing will happen and will be helpful

We’ve been dancing. Staff instigated regular dancing in the homes which raised everyone’s morale.

We are putting a team together to lead on how we will have relatives visiting the home safely.

We held a residents and relatives meeting on Zoom which was really successful

The support from outside has been phenomenal. We had lots of letters from the local people saying they hoped we were okay. The residents wanted to give something back so they wrote messages on leaves and we put them on trees around the local community.

We have had a classical singer in the garden, the neighbours joined in it was so good, the residents all loved it.

We have created a Facebook page updated normally every day, sometimes every other day to share what's happening in the home with families and extended families of residents. We've had some great feedback about this and how people feel connected. When family members call, they have something to chat about when they've seen the sort of activities residents have been enjoying doing.

We asked our local communities to help us create ‘busy boxes’ full of items to keep people entertained in lockdown and received games, books and other items as well as letters, cards and pictures from members of the community and school children. This has resulted in ongoing penpal friendships in some cases.

The Activities Coordinator keeps a diary of calls to make, she skypes all over the world for residents. The diary helps her keep track of who might need extra support to stay in touch with people.

We have a visitor pod and we have been using much more technology with residents, using IT to facilitate video calls with families and friends, accessing online yoga classes with our usual instructor, online music sessions and keeping families and volunteers involved by using Zoom. We have a very active Facebook page. We need to make sure that we give the residents the best Christmas especially if there is still limited visiting. The residents are making gift hampers for their relatives which include a USB with messages and photos. We are holding a series of zoom Christmas parties with families so that they feel connected. We have a number of great links with community groups and national organisations. We are accessing initiatives and offers of help where we can.

We are making our reminiscence room into a sealed room with a specially installed speaker system, with speakers in the ceiling, so people can talk and hear each other properly. It should work automatically. We want the room to be as comfortable as possible with nice furniture. We have put a lot of thought into this because we want it to be a nice experience for people.

We have bought a tabletop tablet which is a large tablet on wheels. We are going to buy another one. Today we used it for a special Church Service on Zoom for Remembrance Day. The Church Representatives, who usually come in and take services in the home, are now doing services for our residents to participate in online. The Baptist Church also hold an online service on a Sunday. Once they have finished the Sermon you can unmute, and everyone can participate in the talking and the singing. We are also going to get a copy of the Sermon and a DVD of the service so people can watch it anytime.

Residents have been making stuffed animals for local children and we donate food to the Fosse Foodbank.

The staff are putting on a Panto this Christmas

We have a tabletop tablet which is like a large TV on wheels. We have been using it so that people can see their relatives easily, they use it to play droughts and dominoes, watch old black and white films on YouTube and play requested songs. It has sensory apps that are great for the visually impaired. We can play bonfire fireworks on it. You’d be surprised at how much of a good investment it is. It is on wheels so you can move it to anyone.

We have built a pod in the garden, it’s more of a log cabin really and soon residents will be able to use it to have visitors. We are thinking of doing a Christmas Day ‘experience’ for each resident, so families can come and have Christmas lunch in the hut together, We are going to try and do it up like a grotto, with lights. “It’s been tough on residents so we hope this will help.

We have been supporting residents to make arts and crafts they can send to their relatives. Relatives and residents have really appreciated this.   

We still have ‘resident of the day’ where we make sure they feel extra special, by doing things they like, such as their hair and nails and giving them a spa bath. We have two Activities Coordinators doing activities every morning and every afternoon. We have movie nights.

We write weekly newsletters and have closed window visits. The Activities Coordinator goes round making Zoom calls. Every relative gets the chance to have a Zoom call, one lady does a crossword with her daughter every week. We could do with more technology, tablets for all the residents to contact their relatives. Landlines you can talk on but residents and relatives like seeing each other. When WhatsApp goes on a big screen, it would be lovely to see their relatives like that, especially with Christmas coming up. Christmas lights in the car park would be lovely, and Carol singers. We had 'kissing it better' and it went down well. People can wave when they go past care homes.

We normally have a carol service at Christmas, so it would be nice if someone could come and sing at the door. We like the Wednesday Wave. 

When I worked at Cedar Lodge our GPs used to come to the window and all clap, they came with kids, too - it was wonderful for our GP to be supportive.  The schools could come and clap outside, that would be lovely.

We went virtual with facetime, then we had garden visits, with the 2-metre rule, they went went well and we had window visits. We have got tablets for video calls, and are getting more. Some residents have their own phones they can use too. We also made use of what we already had, which was an intercom system, so visitors sat in the conservatory where they can see their relatives in the lounge and they can both chat through the intercom.

We have an activities coordinator in place, morning and afternoon. A carer has taken on this role who already knows our residents. We have done pottery, painting, card making, homemade decorations for Halloween and we are now working on Christmas decorations. Everything is wiped down, gloves are used and all materials put away afterwards, in line with infection control guidance.
This has helped create a happy atmosphere with lots of social interaction within the home to help cope with the every day issues of Covid.

We have been trying to introduce more activities and encouraging talking with families via Whats App. At Christmas we hope to have a party, it will have to be for residents only, but we’ll get the karaoke machine going

The Activities Coordinator wants to adapt a room into a library so is sorting equipment and bookcases. Staff have done singalongs and dances with our residents. While we couldn’t have the hairdresser here we have been washing and setting the residents hair, it has been fun.

We played hook a duck with fishing nets in a pool, it was fun and went down well.

All of the Manager's we have spoken to have said there has been a lot of extra work over the last year and that at times it has been really tough.

The local community and relatives have shown their thanks in many different ways. These thoughtful gestures have all been greatly appreciated and have helped staff to feel motivated and positive. 

Lots of care home Managers have told us that the support from Warwickshire County Council and Public Health Warwickshire has been excellent.