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no.288 • £4.75 incorporating
October 2020
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Carers “walk a tightrope” over visits CARE providers are walking a tightrope as they allow residents to see their loved ones while keeping those same vulnerable people safe from Covid-19. On one side they understand how vital it is that care and nursing home residents, particularly those with dementia, see their loved ones to safeguard their mental health and overall happiness. But on the other they fear exposing all of their vulnerable residents and staff to a pandemic that has already claimed the lives of 15,484 care and nursing home residents across England and Wales. Provider organisation the Independent Care Group said the sector needed better support and better guidance from the Government as it tries to balance both sides of a delicate and dangerous situation. Chair Mike Padgham said: “A large number of care and nursing homes have been facilitating safe, socially-distanced visits, either outdoors during good weather or indoors. “But at the same time, we have a huge duty of care to all of our residents and staff to protect them from Covid-19. “The pandemic hasn’t gone away – the recent surge in infection cases shows that and we have to be
very mindful of a second wave. “If we are to allow home visits we have to be vigilant, and stick strictly to the Covid-19 safety instructions.” Care providers fear a second wave of Covid-19 would be particularly devastating for the older and vulnerable people they care for, who are particularly susceptible to the virus. “Every death is the tragic loss of a loved one – a mother, a father, a husband, a wife, a son, a daughter an aunt, uncle or friend,” Mike added. “We have to be extremely careful and not let Covid-19 capitalise on any complacency and claim yet more lives. “With winter coming on we are approaching a very dangerous, critical period in our fight against this pandemic and it is up to each and every one of us to take extreme care.” The ICG is calling on the Government to provide better guidance over home visits to give clarity to the sector. Providers are also worried about claims made against them over residents who die from coronavirus while in their care. They want the Government to indemnify providers against such action, as they do NHS care providers.
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Brinnington Hall residents have been strutting their stuff on the dancefloor to keep fit and have fun during the coronavirus pandemic. The care team at the Stckport home created the ‘Strictly Come Brinnington’ competition to bring both staff and residents together through their love of music and dancing. The residents and team worked together to create fun routines to showcase to their ‘studio audience’ in the home’s social area. The competition was such a success, virtually bringing not only the local community together but also sparking the attention of professional dancer Flavia Cacace. n Margaret Harley is pictured wearing her self made ‘Sandy’ wig from her lively Grease performance and holds up her first place certificate.
Annual awards postponed WE ARE extremely sad to bring you the news that we have taken the incredibly difficult decision to cancel this year’s Caring UK Awards. At a time when the care sector has shown such amazing determination and courage to get through these unprecedented times, we would have loved to have recognised these efforts at our glittering awards ceremony at the end of the year. Meeting all our finalists is always the highlight of our year and we love visiting care homes the length and breadth of the country but we feel that this isn’t appropriate in these current uncertain times. So after careful deliberation and discussions with the venue and sponsors, we feel that the most responsible course of action to protect the health and safety of our nominees and sponsors is to cancel this year’s awards and look ahead to 2021 and brighter times. The date is set for Thursday December 2 2021 and nominations will remain open throughout the year closing on August 31 2021. We’ll be returning to the fabulous
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Athena in Leicester and we are excited to have a full 15 months to ensure that next year’s celebration of excellence is the biggest and best yet. All nominations for this year’s awards will be carried over to next year – and nominees will have the opportunity to update their nominations should they wish to ahead of the closing date. Thank you for all your nominations and support and we look forward to celebrating your amazing feats in 2021. Thanks too to our sponsors for your continued loyalty and support. In the meantime, in view of the massive contribution our wonderful care homes and dedicated care workers have made during 2020 we will be launching our 2020 Roll of Honour in the coming weeks. We want to hear all your stories about selfless individuals who have gone above and beyond for those in their care, teams who have battled through the most harrowing of times as well as tales of bravery and love. Watch out for details on our social media pages, in Caring UK Weekly and in Caring UK magazine.
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