Infection control


were being told and then added to it. What we did feel was that we were always one step ahead of the game.” The home continued:


“Communication was also key. We held daily staff briefings every morning where we discussed our strategies for the day, reinforced the government guidelines for staff ensuring that we were clear about what they could and couldn’t do, and clarifying infection control in the home”. Risk infection assessments for service


users, staff and relatives were adopted early on, in some cases, and any resident showing the slightest concern regarding symptoms was isolated in line with guidance. In addition, staff were required to isolate at home for two weeks if they were unwell in any way. Other examples of how care services


stepped up to meet the needs of their users included activity packs for those in their rooms, lots of one-on-one activities and time spent with their key workers, Zoom calls to families, and emotion books, to name but a few. One home said: “When visitors were


stopped from visiting, we provided Facetime (calls), and encouraged family emails/letters to be read. Home activities continued and we had a purpose-built glass pod constructed in the home. This allowed visiting entertainers to be in a Covid-secure pod and entertain the residents safely. Our experience has been that some relatives have found it more challenging than the residents”.


Taking care of staff During the pandemic, regular group meetings were held in many care homes. These offered private, one-on-one chats for staff who wanted someone to talk to. One service said it introduced a topic board, which had information on staff support that was available. Questionnaires were also handed out to staff to gather information and identify


what other support may be required. “Wellbeing was brought up at the daily


briefing,” said one. “We had support telephone numbers for those who felt vulnerable. Staff were able to come to us for help with food etc., particularly at the beginning when shelves were cleared from the supermarkets. “I remember we sent our maintenance


man out with money to buy up 30 sacks of potatoes from a farm lorry parked on the side of the road and then he ran them home for the staff! We paid staff absences before the infection control funds appeared so everyone felt secure.” The home continued: “Those staff who


were assessed by us as in need of shielding were supported with this and we kept in touch with them by email. Feedback from the staff is they felt supported, so I feel we would not change that”.


What could have been done differently? So, what would homes and services have done differently looking back? The main response to this question was in relation to PPE. This was very difficult to get hold of as huge amounts were being ordered globally, causing a sudden shortage with demand outstripping supply. Of course, this was not the fault of the


care service. One service said: “I think, from a national perspective, we should have been wearing masks from the start. However, they were the hardest piece of PPE to get our hands on”. Some homes said they wished they


had stopped family visit and other visitors much earlier. That brings up the challenge of guidance not stipulating this from early on, and so any move to do this could have clashed with the human rights of the service user and deprived them of their liberties.


December 2021 • www.thecarehomeenvironment.com


Other services said they would have


kept service users apart at more of a distance in the home. This was often an issue of space and logistics, and some service users not understanding the social distancing requirements due to conditions such as dementia. In reality, social distancing was an almost impossible task at times. The issue of staff support also came


up in the responses on what could have been done differently. Some said they would have tried to offer more support in terms of psychological as well as physical support. This is related to the fear factor with


the Covid pandemic, which meant everybody was scared. This affected staff greatly. Would they take the virus back to loved ones? Would they become very poorly themselves? Will the people in their care become very poorly and survive? It is clear the pandemic took a toll on mental health.


Implementing infection control procedures Next, I asked whether care services were able to practise infection control procedures well. Most homes had robust procedures in place that were reviewed regularly and in line with government guidance at the time. Yet the challenges mentioned


above, together with lack of access to suitable PPE, meant that homes were doing the best they could under highly unprecedented circumstances. That, coupled with the large amounts of service users and staff becoming sick at such speed, meant - with the best will in the world - following strict infection control procedures was a challenge. Some services undertook online


training to keep up to date with infection 37


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