Extra staff deployed to help ease pressure on Dorset's care homes
It's after a rise in cases of Covid-19
Last updated 29th Jan 2021
Extra care home staff are being drafted in to help Dorset’s care homes cope with COVID pressure.
Dorset Council is working with the care sector across the county to support them in keeping residents and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It follows a care home member of staff testing positive for coronavirus at Harbour House care home in West Bay.
The staff member had received their first dose of the vaccine, and has no symptoms. The whole care home has been tested since and nobody was positive for the virus.
Staff are being routinely tested to ensure no cases are brought into homes.
But, this is creating a large amount of pressure on staff who are also helping with the vaccine rollout campaign, on top of normal every day work.
Anna Knight, Chair of the Dorset Care Homes Association had this message for family members:
“A lot of us have also got relatives in care homes. I’ve got a brother who’s in care who I don’t get to see very much apart from on skype and many of us have got families who are far away and can’t see.
“You need to trust us. We’re doing our best to keep everybody safe. It’s all about kindness right now, we just can’t be kinder than we are right now. Let’s care for each other, support each other, and work through this together.
“It is a terribly difficult, upsetting and challenging time for the care sector right now. We are working as hard as we possibly can, with the support of our local authority and health colleagues to ensure that our residents and staff remain as safe as possible by implementing the highest level of infection control prevention measures. There are many homes with open situations in Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole which clearly evidences just how virulent this virus is. We are working harder than we have ever worked before to try and keep COVID-19 at bay."
Cllr Laura Miller, Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care and Health at Dorset Council said:
“It is not just our statutory duty, but also our moral duty to safeguard all residents and staff in care settings in Dorset. I am acutely aware that each resident is an individual person, many with families and loved ones, and our teams always have this at the forefront of everything they do in keeping people safe.
“As this is something that impacts on the lives of residents, their families and loved ones, and staff in care settings, I don’t feel it is appropriate for me to comment on individual care homes. They will continue to receive the high level of support they need and deserve at this time.”