Care home visitors

[beautifulblueskies]

Why are visitors still allowed to visit?
I've been told that mental health overrides the risk of catching covid by my boss.
Personally I think you have more chance of recovering from MH than the virus especially if you're in the vulnerable category.
But then I only risk my life for £8.40 per hour and my opinion is worth even less than that.
Why are the government not legally enforcing LOCKDOWN MEANS LOCKDOWN for care homes when (some) care homes are blatantly making there own rules.

Our care home has banned visitors for the past month.

Surely it's also covered by you shouldn't be socialising with people outside of the household?? I can't go visit my nan at her house so why would I be allowed to visit her if she was in a residential home??

The care home my mil is in, stopped all visiting since 14th march.

My mum’s in a care home and visiting has (quite correctly) been stopped during the lockdown.

I’m not sure about the mental health angle - are you in local authority or private. I’m asking as my mum’s LA and they were a lot quicker to stop the visiting.......... the LA care homes in our area tend to be a lot clearer/consistent about a lot of things in general whilst there seem to be more shades of grey in the private homes.

If you can, and I know it’s not always that easy, can you maybe try to ask your employer where the legislation that visitors are allowed because some/all of the residents have mental health issues?

By the way, you do an amazing job and what you get paid is a scandal. We should be ashamed of ourselves that we don’t value you much, much more. You provide so many people with care and companionship and give many families, like mine, peace of mind that our relative is being well cared for. You are a star ⭐️

Our care home has been in lockdown since mid March. Sad, but necessary

I can't/won't visit my relatives or friends either even though they are suffering terribly with mh issues right now. I'm at a loss for words and do not want to be at work.
Even some staff are blatantly off out out after work (young staff with boyfriends/girlfriends) why pile you're makeup on at 1.30 when your shift finishes at 2pm to go home and isolate??🤨??
Relatives coming and going and not adhering to the 2 metre rule even.
I'm at a loss. And you say anything you get criticised and talked about.

Private sector

The care home my sil works for has been on lockdown since before the rest of us were. Staff are being picked up in home bus to keep them off of public transport and their temperature taken before the start of each shift. They have all the relevant ppe and still the virus is in the home.

I can't believe they are allowing visits. Surely it's against the rules anyway as it would be the same as visiting them if they still lived in their own homes which wouldn't be allowed. Can you get advice from the non emergency police? If possible I'd look for another job. Easier said than done a lot of the time though I know.

OldGranvilleHouse....don't, I'll cry, I'm already an emotional wreck, your words make my heart ache. Being torn between caring for those that depend on you or protecting your family is breaking me right now.
Honestly you're loved ones mean so much to us too, they are not a job to us they are people who we are fortunate enough to work with.

Private care homes are notorius for not giving a shit about anything but profit. I'm not surprised that they aren't doing all they can to protect staff. Has perhaps a relative kicked off that they'll be taking mum/dad out of the care home should they not be allowed to visit?

I'd be looking for a new job in light of how little your employer cares for your health and safety.

Mlou32 sort of but not really that way around. It's younger people we look after. So it's actually parents kicking off (well certain ones) and it can't be one rule for one family and another for others so now other parents are thinking it's ok. Not all families though, some actually get the risk and are staying away unaware of the risk other families are putting their loved ones at

DH's grandma's home hasn't allowed visitors since about 3 weeks before lockdown. They have allowed his grandad to stay there with her but he's not allowed to leave at any point.

I think Matt Hancock’s announcement that people should be able to visit care homes if a relative is dying has just put a shed load of pressure on homes

Until they are all properly kitted out with PPE expecting them to facilitate visiting, and kitting those visitors up, is highly unfair

Where I work, we been on lockdown for a month.

Really surprised that any homes are still open for visitors My mum's (private) home has been on lockdown for weeks now.

@Mlou32 I totally agree with you. The LA ones at least try to do things properly and I think they generally care more about both the residents and their staff, imho. That’s not to say there aren’t great private homes and less good LA ones but, on balance, I think the LA ones have the edge. Where they may fall down is level of facilities, decoration, stuff like that - but these things are less important than good care.

@beautifulblueskies I’m sorry if I’m making you all emotional, but it’s absolutely true what I say. We should be ashamed of how we treat care workers (and other often low paid people who do necessary, difficult and responsible jobs). I will forever be grateful to each and every one of the wonderful staff who look after my mum and all the people who live there. Like you, they say they love their jobs and their residents and the fact that it’s low pay is secondary. However, that’s no justification for you and others to get paid what you do.

As I said earlier, you and your thousands of colleagues up and down the land are stars ⭐️ ⭐️ and don’t you ever forget it.

sorry, paid badly* for what you do. Important word missed out 😳

My dad's care home shut down to visitors very early on - I was so grateful because it saved the awkward conversation with my mum that I didn't think I should be going near her let alone taking her in my car for half an hour each way to see my dad as usual.

As it stands she's speaking to him daily on the phone as she always has done and I'm talking to her on the phone. As his wife of 53 years it's hard and it's killing her emotionally but it's keeping them both as safe as we can in a physical sense right now.

I'm raging on behalf of anyone working in a carehome right now who is being expected to put their safety at risk for the sake of visitors - my dad's carers have always had my complete and utter respect not only for the work they do with him, but the care and compassion they show my mum (even when she's angry at the world and taking it out on them because she thinks he's wearing the wrong socks and he now lacks the capacity to know or care but was insistent they were the ones he wanted to wear...)

We've been so, so lucky so far and I'm keeping everything crossed it remains that way because I want my Saturday afternoons with that bunch of characters in the lounge back - if the absolute most awful thing was to happen I'd hope there would be a way of saying my goodbyes to my dad without compromising the safety of those who have given so much to us all.

And I know how much the residents you care for mean to you @beautifulblueskies - I've see it in every interaction I've watched at my dad's home. I don't think I'll ever be able to thank those that work with him (and in turn people like you) enough

Well I would be putting my foot down in any case with the employer. If Matt Hancock has said that relatives should be able to visit their dying relatives, then unless one of the residents of the home is dying, relatives shouldn't be allowed in.

I would be asking the employer to be justifying the risk that they're putting stagg and other residents under.

Staff

my dd is in a care home. mixture of ages and all disabled.
they stopped visiting before lockdown. residents seem to be coping. even dd who has lds. its really hard not seeing her.(thank god for face time) but the safety of her and the others is more important.
shocked that any care home would allow visitors.

The home I work hasn't had visitors since mid march.
We do however have speciall arraingments when someone is end of life. We have one patient now who is. We have had the family come in after having temps taken and straight into the room, no contact with ither residents and facemasks and gloves on staff. So far they've been a couple of times to say goodbye. They aren't supposed to be out either as sheilding due to theiir own issues.
We often have family drop things off and chat through the window to their family.

Report to the police. Pretend one of the visitors has a cough. Enough bad press about care homes at the moment that they might take it seriously.

I don’t know any care homes that are allowing this , you can like we do wave at the door from the window. Mental health does not override corona , that’s why the law has changed.
Social workers can only visit people who are experiencing significant harm.

Copied direct from the government hope this helps

family and friends should be advised not to visit care homes, except next of kin in exceptional situations such as end of life. Follow the social distancing guidance.
• Visitors should be limited to one at a time to preserve physical distancing.
• Visitors should be reminded to wash their hands for 20 seconds on entering and
leaving the home and catch coughs and sneezes in tissues.
• Visitors to minimise contact with other residents and staff (less than 15 minutes / 2 metres etc.)
• Alternatives to in-person visiting should be explored, including the use of telephones or video, or