Drumconner is welcoming new residents into our care homes and our highly experienced team are on hand to discuss any concerns or specific questions you have.
We aim to deliver peace of mind reassuring that resident safety and well-being is at the heart of everything we do. Our fantastic staff are working tirelessly in keeping our existing residents and staff safe, but we know that there are still many people who may be struggling or suffering from loneliness who may need our care and support either through a short stay ( respite admission ) or on a permeant basis.
Before any new resident joins us, we carry out a comprehensive assessment of their healthcare needs, choices, and personal preferences. This is normally carried out in person, and we will continue to do so with appropriate social distancing measures and personal protective equipment (PPE) provided by the home.
If government guidelines are in place or we are unable to visit we will carry out a telephone or video assessment, we can also arrange a virtual tour of our premises and facilities and available rooms.
We will test all new residents again shortly after arrival. Government guidelines currently recommend providing a quarantine period of 14 days or until after a second negative test result is obtained and only after a negative test for COVID-19 will residents be able to enter into the main area of the home and communal areas with other residents.
While this does mean that new residents will remain in their room for the first 14 days, our activities and care teams will ensure that residents will receive all the individualised and constant care and support they require plus in room dining services.
The activities team will provide them with varied activities to occupy them physically and mentally focusing on well-being. As soon as it is safe for our new resident to meet our other residents and participate in home life, we will encourage that to go ahead, as it is important to us that all new residents feel comfortable and settle into our homes as soon as possible.
At Drumconner to ensure our residents remain safe staff are trained in dealing with viral outbreaks such as ‘normal’ flu and have long established infection control measures to protect our residents, staff and visitors from the spread of infection.
These measures already included good handwashing regimes, the extensive use of PPE, protocols for local lockdowns and minimising social contact, business interruption plans to manage issues with our supply chains, and detailed training and auditing for all staff on how to manage infection control and in both our homes Drumconner has maintained ample stocks of PPE throughout the pandemic.
When visiting is available all visitors are screened on entering the home, all visiting appointments must be prebooked and will include complete health questionnaires, temperature checking, and the use of a non-toxic disinfection spray and gels.
All visitors must wear the appropriate PPE (medical standard) provided to them by the home at all times and are required to observe social distancing guidelines and to remain in the safe space as directed by our teams.
All visitors must confirm neither they nor any other person in their household has experienced symptoms of Covid-19 (high temperature, loss or change to sense of smell and taste, new/ continuous cough) and at Drumconner we pay strict adherence to the NHS Test and Trace protocols.
Drumconner has established COVID-19 safe family meeting rooms within our home, outside socially distant family meeting areas, alongside video calls to ensure you can still visit and stay in touch with your loved ones. Visits can also be held in our garden (weather and visitation permitting). Visitation is limited to 2 people per visit (when permitted)
In between visits enhanced cleaning procedures ensure the room and all touch points are deep cleaned with disinfection of soft and hard surfaces.
Entry to visitors where essential, are subject to our strict conditions and the Care Home managers have the right to withdraw permission at any time without notice, if they feel that either our residents or our staff’s safety is at risk.
Once healthcare, chiropody and hairdressing visits resume to the homes appropriate infection control measures will be put in place and we hope indoor entertainment and minibus trips for residents can resume again following government guidelines.
The dedicated isolation areas, and split floors with dedicated staff teams, that we set up have proven effective in making sure any residents, suspected of being infected or precautionary after a hospital visit, are cared for appropriately and that all other residents are as safe as possible.
We regularly test all our staff and residents for COVID-19 in line with the government guidelines.
All staff are tested weekly and residents monthly for coronavirus to identify any asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic residents or staff, enabling us to react quickly and stem the transmission of the virus should it appear in any of our homes.
We are confident that these measures have helped us to reduce transmission of the virus, and we are very grateful to our staff, residents and visitors for adhering to the guidelines and helping us all stay safe.
We are delighted to confirm that we have commenced the much anticipated roll out of the programme to vaccinate against Covid-19. We have moved quickly to put things into place, consent has been obtained and residents and families are being supported to make decisions for themselves and their family members.
In early January 2021 the first of the two doses was administered by the local GP practice. This was an incredible and ground-breaking moment and one which has been much anticipated. We may now have an end in sight, and would like to thank everyone for continuing to play their part.
All of our staff are trained in infection control and the signs to spot when identifying COVID-19. We have a clear process should a resident or member of staff show any symptoms.
The dedicated ‘Bubble’ areas and split floors with dedicated staff teams, that we set up have proven effective in making sure any residents, suspected of being infected or precautionary after a hospital visit, are cared for appropriately and that all other residents are as safe as possible.
If a resident is showing symptoms, we will follow medical advice and may move the resident into our safe quarantine area within the home. Only after receiving confirmation of a negative screening for symptoms of COVID-19, will we welcome them back to the main areas of the home. The resident will be cared for using stringent infection control practices and with the correct and appropriate level of (PPE) until we are confident that they are not contagious.
At Drumconner homes we consider our staff our greatest asset , and never has their dedication and professionalism been tested as much as in the past few months in dealing with the challenges posed by coronavirus.
Drumconner homes have very high staffing levels this enables our residents to benefit from safe and attentive care at all times, and wherever possible ensure that care and other services are delivered by our own carefully selected and fully trained staff.
These high staffing levels have allowed us to continue to provide safe, competent and high quality care in our homes during waves and peaks of the coronavirus crisis, when some of our staff had to self-isolate in their own homes, and avoided increasing agency usage and potentially increasing the risk of transmission.
Our staff have all been trained and carry out the appropriate COVID-19 infection control measures, needed to keep our residents safe.
Other measures undertaken to reduce risk include:
Of vital importance to us and the welfare of our residents is a programme of social, physical, mental and spiritual activity. Often, we would use external suppliers to provide these services to our residents however we have stopped this as we felt the risks were too high. These have been replaced with new enjoyable meaningful and stimulating activities delivery by our inhouse activities teams, such as talks, arm chair yoga, poetry reading, singing, games, concerts, reminiscence, gentle exercise, craft sessions, meditation, Zumba gold, film afternoons etc etc all where physical distancing can be safely maintained.
These aspects of care home life are important to us in our Drumconner homes, and throughout the pandemic, particularly during lockdown measures, we knew we had to make sure that fun, positivity and engagement continued, and life felt as normal as it could under the circumstances.
Where socially distanced dining was possible, restaurant dining continued, and where it was not, a hotel tray service for in-room dining was introduced.
As Drumconner homes can be sub-divided into separate areas, residents living within the same floor bubbles are now enjoying socially distanced group activities again and are able to dine in the company of their fellow residents once more.
Each Drumconner home has a Facebook page where regular posts are shared illustrating how daily life is still enjoyed within our homes with some uplifting and touching moments and events.
Whilst our activities and entertainment team have continued to provide fun and laughter to the home with a huge variety of activities and events within the homes nothing is as good as seeing loved ones in person.
Our teams have adapted to provide one to one activities and assist those residents who need help to remain in regular communication with their loved ones. This is where the use of technology has played a huge part allowing friends and relatives to stay in touch through social media apps, Zoom, What’s app, FaceTime, Skype and telephone. More details are available by contacting us at the homes.
We know that making the decision to move into a care home at any time can often be a very difficult decision at the best of times. We also know that in the last year caring for a loved one in their own home during the coronavirus pandemic has presented its own unique and unprecedented set of challenges. This includes issues such as self-isolating, hospital and GP appointments, shopping, lockdowns and the difficulty in obtaining care packages and fear of using agency staff.
The health wellbeing and safety of our residents and staff remains paramount and we have put in place extensive measures to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission reassuring you that making a decision to move into a Drumconner home, is the right decision.
We operate in an open and transparent manner and if you have any queries or require any further information about our homes
please do not hesitate in contacting the home you are interested in on the telephone numbers listed or the Contact Us section of our website.
