Whilst 2020 has certainly brought its challenges, we are extremely proud to say that we have remained COVID- 19 free throughout the pandemic. Of course this hasn’t been by luck, we have worked hard to make sure that our staff, residents and their families are safe, whilst ensuring that our usual high-level of care is delivered.
Read on to find out what changes we have implemented to our elderly care since the start of COVID-19.
Continued our tradition of marking important milestones
We love a good celebration at our care home in Worthing, and COVID-19 definitely hasn’t stopped us!
Throughout the year we’ve continued with our regular events including holding The Boat Race event, celebrations for Easter, VE-day, and Wimbledon as well as our annual Summer Grill and concert – all whilst keeping in line with the Government guidelines.
More recently, we held a Harvest Festival, where our residents were able to join a Harvest Church Service through Zoom, followed by a Harvest Celebration Lunch specially prepared by our lovely head chef Fran. These events were available to everyone staying with us; even those who could not leave their rooms were included by Zoom when they wanted to be.
Over the coming months, we know that there are many more events to celebrate and as long as we can do so safely, we have no intention of shying away from them. Our care home in West Sussex is currently planning our annual Bonfire Night and Christmas celebrations.
Stayed connected
We knew that staying connected to loved ones was paramount for a happy lockdown in our care home in Worthing. We made Zoom, Skype, Facetime and Facebook Messenger part of our daily schedule, with residents booking in for a call with their family members. We even provided training for our residents to help them get the most out of the new technology.
Encouraged visitors
Zoom does its job but nothing can beat a face to face conversation. That is why as soon as it was safe to do so, we enabled outside visitors to our care home in Worthing.
Going the extra mile to keep everyone safe, we even converted a former bedroom next to the front door into a designated visiting space where families can come and spend socially distanced time with their loved one(s).
Regular temperature checks
As you are likely to know, one of the main symptoms of COVID -19 is a high temperature. We put in place very strict policies on temperature checks for staff and visitors to make sure that we are keeping an eye on potential symptoms and outbreaks.
We are also strictly following government guidelines on PPE usage and social distancing where possible, and are only making admissions to our care home in Worthing after a negative test.
Our staff are tested every week, while our residents are tested once a month. This will allow us to catch the infection quickly and minimises the chances of infection spread throughout the home.
Introduced the use of plastic screens
We invested in plastic screens to minimise the chance of visitors bringing any unwanted germs and illness into our home. This not only allows our residents the immensely important contact with the outside world that they need but also keeps them safe.
This has meant that we can continue with our planned activities, including inviting our pianist Lucy in to play and sing with our residents. We have surrounded the piano with screens, meaning that we can all sing “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” loudly and together.
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High attention to cleaning
We pride ourselves in already keeping a clean, fresh environment for our residents, so additional cleaning was not a major change. We did however increase the number of times a day we clean each room as well as modifying the way we clean so that touchpoints are regularly disinfected.
A new way to disinfect rooms
As part of our modified cleaning routines, we have invested in a new way to clean our residents’ accommodation. We now use fogging technology to allow rooms to be disinfected with a cloud of disinfectant that can settle on every surface. So you and our residents can rest easy in the knowledge that their rooms, and the rest of our care home in Worthing is being cleaned thoroughly.
Keeping on top of the news
As regulations and situations are constantly changing, we are always reviewing the latest Government guidelines on how to keep safe in this strange time. We make sure that our rules and regulations reflect any changes as and when they occur.
Virtual tours
For those who are just starting to look for residential care for a loved one, we have invested in new technology and created virtual tours of our home. This allows prospective clients to take a look at our care home in Worthing in a safer, more convenient way.
Take a virtual tour now to see what our care home in West Sussex has to offer.
Facebook updates
To help keep family and friends updated and entertained with what we’re doing, we have posted, and continue to post, regularly on our Facebook page.
We often post pictures of our happy residents participating in the day’s activities, with the occasional video too.
Contact Country Lodge
The health and safety of our residents is our priority, and we have been, and continue to be, more than happy to put these extra safety measures in place to ensure that our residents are content and safe.
With the ever-changing rules, we will continue to work hard to make sure that we remain COVID-19 free.
If you would like to know more about our care home in West Sussex and what our clients think of us, take a look at our reviews.
If you would like to discuss finding the perfect care solution for your loved one, please phone our team on 01903 830600, or email manager@country.cwmarketing.co.uk.