To find this revelation from an NHS carer shocking?

[Lizzie523]

I have a very vulnerable family member that I have not seen since covid. She is now in the late stages of alzheimers and have been starting to wonder if I will ever see her again.

Recently her carers had been visiting her whilst also going to look after a person with covid at the same time. Their highers up explicitly told them they must not inform us or other family members this was happening/the risk to her.

So far she has not caught covid but I dont feel confident about it not happening in future. AIBU to be beside myself with worry?

Can no one else in the family look after her?

I'm not sure what else they can do. Have Covid specific staff?

I would feel the same in your position. I'm just not sure what the answer is.

Are carers working in ppe and on the assumption that any client or relative could be positive. They cannot pass on confidential medical info to other clients or their families. You could ask what precautions they are taking. How do you know they have a covid positive client if they have been told not to discuss it.

Unfortunately, same as with NHS staff, care staff can not pick and choose who they go to, and they can not discuss other service users with you. If you ask any questions, the likely answer will be that they can not discuss anything related to this other persons care.

In this current era, the only way to make absolutely sure your relative is safe is to cancel the carers, which obviously may not be an option.

But OP, if you feel your relative is at risk from the carer, you accept that the carer is at risk themselves. Why is that ok?

You have no right to know about the health of any of their other clients.

What worries me about this is that they are talking about other service users medical history to you.

I don't think they need to tell you that patients they see have COVID. They should however, way before now, told you what their COVID practices are and been clear that they would be treating people with COVID. If your family member caught COVID I'm sure you would still want the care providers to keep seeing her if she was at home.

Those of you deeming it unacceptable, what would you suggest?

I'm a community midwife and if a woman needs a visit then she needs a visit. Covid positive or not.

I use ppe and would try to make her the last visit.

Really not sure what else is expected.

And I'm pretty surprised people wouldn't have realised this happens tbh.

When you say NHS, do you mean someone from the community care teams or district nursing teams ? Providing a specific health related need, so wound care or certain medications.
Or do you mean domicillary care, providing personal care, meals, medication prompts, which isn't provided by the NHS, possibly by Social services which outsource to private care providers ?

I understand why it would be very upsetting and stressful OP especially if you weren’t expecting that. However, that is how care is organised - my brother is a carer and they’re overstretched and under paid and often not given all the info.. He says they wear gloves and a new mask go every person but that’s all they get given.. I think it would be unreasonable to complain if they’re following the procedures they’ve been given, but I can understand if you’d want to change the care arrangements for the time-being. I really feel for you but I would be basing decisions on what is best for all aspects (I.e. is it more important to be as shielded from covid as possible but have much less care, or the other way round).

Carers should be wearing PPE regardless of whether or not their clients a COVID positive.
They should be disposing of masks, gloves and aprons after every visit.
If that's not happening, challenge it.
If it is, I don't see a problem.

I've never heard anything so ridiculous. You have no right to know who else the carers are treating.

They will wear full ppe for every visit they do. They won't be exposed to peoples germs covid positive or not SO THEY WONT SPREAD THE VIRUS

There has always been a risk but hearing that this was happening has been so upsetting. It has made real that I may not see her again (I dont live near) and that she may die from this. We are not equipped to give the round the clock care she now requires.

Just fYI I am not the POA here. The POA is considering what steps she can take without the risk of the carer losing her job.

How good is the PPE? Is it the same standard they would use in a Covid ward or is it a flimsy apron and mask?

I'm shocked that they are discussing other service users with you, this is a complete breach of privacy and not acceptable.
Unfortunately staff have to look after both Covid positive and Covid negative people, they will be using the correct PPE and following guidelines issues from the government.
If you aren't happy then perhaps you as a family should solely take care off your loved one

The carers should be working within the covid risk assessment of their agency eg ppe, cleaning, distancing when possible etc, the last one obviously being impossible when providing personal care.

That is all they can do. They can't choose not to provide care to someone who has a particular illness or virus. As pps, hospitals are full of patients who are covid positive - staff are trying to isolate and separate when possible but it isn't always.

It sounds as though the carers' mitigation measures have been effective so far as your relative hasn't contracted the virus. And yes it is correct that other people using the service nor their relatives should be informed of another person's medical status.

I'm sorry to sound harsh, but unless you want the carers to stop visiting all together, there will always be a risk of viral transmission between humans.

My 83 year old mother has just been discharged from hospital. Someone with covid was admitted to the ward, obviously only picked up when they did the routine testing. There's a very small chance that she has the virus, but the alternative to her being admitted to hospital for treatment would have been her dying at home with hypothermia, pneumonia and sepsis.

@Gingerkittykat I don't know, I would have to ask the POA.

They weren't actually even equipped with PPE at all for a long time. It was pretty shocking how long it took for them to be provided with it in the first place.

If your relative was in hospital, you be expect to be told about every other patient on the ward with an infectious illness?

Hardly comparable to normal times is it @MissLucyEyelesbarrow?

Especially as we have now just been told this next mutation is the most transmissible of all.

Lizzie523 sorry, I don't understand why the carer could lose her job? do you mean breaching confidentiality? If she didn't identify the person, I'm not sure that it would be.

@Gingerkittykat

How good is the PPE? Is it the same standard they would use in a Covid ward or is it a flimsy apron and mask?

The "flimsy apron and mask", the mask being a paper surgical mask,is the appropriate PPE for covid +ve clients, unless you're going to undertake an aerosol generating procedure.

Did the carer tell poa they had a covid client? The only solution would be to pay for private carers who test negative and have no other clients. Maybe 2 live in carers. The care company can tell you what system they have in place. What do they plan to do if a district nurse or doctor needs to visit?

I can't bring myself to vote on this. It's too tragic, for everyone in the loop. Only .

No, we're not living in normal times but the point about people being entitled to confidentiality about their medical status still stands. I don't expect the person with covid wanted to catch it.

The lack of PPE for care staff earlier this year was indeed shocking, but there is no way that individual care staff should be blamed for that.