Disturbing lack of action in Care Homes

[esjee]

My mum is currently in a care home. Obviously I understand it's a difficult thing to manage in care homes, but is the below really how it is being treated in homes across the country?

• zero ppe at any time. None!!
• visitors banned for most part I think but still have additional staff or volunteers to play games etc
• no attempt by carers at all to practice social distancing even when doing things like delivering meals or watching them take medication
• no attempt to encourage social distancing among residents e.g. by room layout
• don't have additional cleaning throughout day of high touch surfaces, including those touched by carers when entering residents rooms

I'm sure carers and care homes are under a lot of pressure and this isn't intended to insult them, but the lack of any measures is terrifying. No effort at all to minimise risk, and I doubt they have a clue what they'd do if a resident got it. I assume it'd just run rampant and the death toll would grim. My mum is very high risk, but she's not at death's door and still has her mental faculties, so the idea that she and others like her in these places are due to die anyway so what's the point fucks me off.

Very worrying. A friend works in a care home and they have no PPE. No advice but awful.

It is very worrying there seems to be no action.

This shows why the “isolate the old/vulnerable whilst everyone else gets on with it” couldn’t have worked. With even the NHS struggling for PPE and tests for their staff, if we had let things carry on as normal, there’s no way it could have been kept out of care homes, or away from those receiving home care. You can tell visitors to stay away, but care home workers and home helps aren’t magically immune from bringing in the virus.

It sounds like they could be making more of an effort.

I have worked in care homes and hospitals and I agree with you op.

I work in a care home, but not a carer. Resident's are being encouraged to gather in large groups and the 2 metre rules is not being applied. Staff in and out all day, we have no PPE and have been told it is not required. I think you are right to be worried.

My friend posted pics yesterday with their new PPE

This worries me, because I have clients who live in care or supported living homes.

In one, the rules are that only staff are allowed in or out. All day service activities and social groups outside the home were stopped at an early stage to keep everyone safe.

In another, residents can still come and go from the building but no visitors are allowed. Only after 2 weeks did the management announce that communal areas would be disinfected, but it only happens at night. Residents are still free to congregate throughout the day--even though some will have left the building for essential shopping and may not have practiced social distancing.

It feels like only a matter of time before it spreads amongst the people who live there.

Some care homes , please remember how unbelievably difficult a job it is to maintain social distancing.
Yes some homes will not be following rules and they should be absolutely but the majority will be working incredibly hard to protect their residents

I teach and assess in care but used to be frontline for a very long time and many of my friends are still there. Firstly dependant on the home the residents may not understand the changes needed and not be able to social distance, staff managing that makes it very challenging.

Believe me the shortage of PPE is terrifying for them as well, they have always used PPE far before this as it's a requirement, but the stocks have dried up intensely. Homes are begging for help with PPE from the local authority and not getting a lot of support. They cant just randomly refuse to deliver personal care when the deliveries stop coming so what do you expect them to do?

Your mum may have full capacity but many in homes dont and are terrified and will be genuinely frightened if carers stay away from them.

Room layout is more often than not on a risk or medical need basis with minutiae most lay people have absolutely no concept of, there are requirements for moving and positioning space needed , hoist moving , etc.

Finally the one bit that really pisses me off about your post is the comment that carers just think that it doesnt matter if old people get it and die. These carers go in for often 12 to 18 hour shifts, they have an incredibly difficult job even without the virus , most have been locked down for weeks already , they spend all day delivering personal care , trying to keep people stable an happy , when the food deliveries started delaying , the PPE started coming. See I still speak to my learners o remote where I can. Most of them are working double shifts , Managers who are sleeping in their offices , tracking down their own PPE to protect residents , homecare carers who are having to self isolate still agreeing to ring and make contact three times a day to an isolated client who needs human contact. People dont understand care services at the best of time and now you think it's ok to say they dont care if their residents die???

Unless you have any concept of what professional care requires dont comment. You have no idea how bloody hard most decent homes and carers are working.

I think after seeing what is happening in the care homes in Spain I can see why you are worried.

It’s so sad how they just seem to expect this to happen so aren’t protecting these people properly.

Who is 'they'? Who isn't providing the protection? What's happened is the private sector is dependent on the market - and that market can't source the appropriate PPE. When care homes are run like this, of course protection of residents and staff is going to go out of the window. Care staff are working miracles but need proper support. What can we do to push for it? So many of us have relatives in homes or working in them.

azaleanth90

Sorry. I’m not meaning to be critical. You are in a very difficult position. Which is absolutely not the fault of the caring profession but seeing what has happened in Spanish care homes is heartbreaking and i think it’s only a matter of weeks before it is the same here.

In terms of “they” I’m talking about the government. They’ve had plenty of time to prepare but didn’t and lives will be lost because of this.