East Riding care homes get 'creative' to enable visits

Care homes in the East Riding have installed screens, pods and temporary outdoor areas to enable visits following a change in coronavirus guidance allowing them during lockdown.

East Riding councillors heard care homes had been “creative” in their measures to allow families to visit relatives after the new coronavirus lockdown began on Thursday, November 5.

Yvonne Rhodes, the council’s business management and commissioning lead, told the Health, Care and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny Committee changes meant visits had resumed with one or two exceptions.

Council public health lead Andy Kingdom said homes had “gone out of their way” to enable visits after having to make difficult choices earlier in the pandemic.

He added new lateral flow tests, which can return results within an hour, and measures from the homes meant visits could become easier.

It comes as the government announced changes in guidance for care home visits to allow visits, provided they are done safely with PPE and social distancing.

Outdoor and ‘closed window’ visits continue at homes where coronavirus outbreaks have occurred.

Ms Rhodes told councillors care homes had been “really creative” in their measures for visits.

The officer said:

“Care homes have received a large number of infection control grants to put arrangements in place.

“The sector has been really creative, fitting rooms with full screens and installing visiting pods to allow them to resume.

“One or two homes in the East Riding have still not put measures in place but we’re encouraging them to and we’re working to help them with solutions.

“The visits are very carefully managed, people get a time slot and they have to stick to it.

“Some of them have even built outdoor facilities which look like sheds, but inside they have seating, heating and two way intercoms so families can have their visits in them.

“You have to touch wood because you can’t take anything for granted, but when you look at infection rates now compared to April you see the sector is doing a really great job.

“And outside visiting is really not good at this time of year.

“One of the highest costs for families with loved ones in care homes has been that they can’t visit them.”

Mr Kingdom said new measures meant care homes were having to make less of the “terrible calculations” on visits they had had to earlier in the pandemic.

The public health lead said:

“Care homes have already seen what happens when outbreaks happen, the effects of it can be traumatic for residents and staff.

“Earlier on families may not have seen their loved ones until the end of their lives.

“It’s a really difficult, terrible calculation, but it’s one that homes had to make to keep residents and staff absolutely safe.

“But now they’re able to put these measures in and improve the quality of life for their residents, it’s their homes.

“With them and the new tests we think they’ll be able to find better ways to make visits happen.”

Council adults, health and customer services lead John Skidmore said “relatively low” infection rates in homes meant visits could now take place safely.

He added officers had been “relentless” in their support for care homes, calling daily for updates.

Mr Skidmore said:

“Levels of infection remain low in our care homes, we’ve had a small number of outbreaks but these have been down to complacency.

“We’re we’ve seen outbreaks in care homes or elsewhere has been down to people dropping their guard and not following the rules.

“Staff in homes and at the council have been working 24/7 on this, it’s been tough for them.

“We’re continuing to remind them about controlling infections and dealing with any queries they have.

“But we recognise this is going to be a tough winter, we’re in as strong a position as we can be but we’re not complacent.”

Mr Skidmore said council officers were also trying to find residents in the wider East Riding not considered vulnerable before coronavirus but who may now be struggling.

He added rising job losses and the impact of coronavirus on mental health had seen demand rise for council help.

The officer said:

“Our heads of services have completed plans and assessments and they’ve helped us identify who the vulnerable people are.

“It could be children and families impacted by school outbreaks, people who’ve had their benefits change or those who’ve suffered job losses.

“Some of them are people we previously wouldn’t have known about, children and parents experiencing anxiety for example.

“Demands on services have also been rising in relation to things like domestic violence and cyber crime.

“We remain very challenged, but safeguarding our most vulnerable is really important.”