St Anne’s Community Services- and the UK Coronavirus outbreak
The health, safety and wellbeing of our Clients and Staff are always our top priorities. We have therefore taken comprehensive action to prepare for and respond to the growing coronavirus outbreak in the UK.
This page details the latest advice from St Annes Community Services about the steps we are taking at our homes and services. This information is intended for St Annes Clients, Staff and visitors.
For comprehensive information about the coronavirus itself, please visit either the Gov.UK or NHS websites, or call NHS 24 (Scotland only).
Before visiting a St Annes Community Services
St Annes Community Services remain open to visitors, but we are taking steps to minimise the risk of infection to our Residents and Colleagues. Before visiting any of our services, please consider the following:
- Is your visit essential? We are currently advising visitors to only enter a service if it is necessary to do so. If you can delay your visit or achieve its purpose via another method (i.e. through a phone call or video call) please do so.
- Are you currently feeling unwell? Please do not visit our services if for any reason if you currently feel unwell, particularly if you have a cough, a fever or high-temperature, or have shortness of breath.
- Have you recently been abroad or been in close contact with someone who has? Please do not visit our services if you, a partner or a dependent has recently returned from a Category 1 or Category 2 country, as defined on the NHS website – see details here.
If you are unsure whether you should visit, or if there are exceptional circumstances that mean a visit is necessary despite the conditions above, please speak to the Home Manager before visiting the home.
How to safely visit a St Annes Community Services property
Having considered the above information, if you are still planning to visit one of our services it is important that you do so safely and in a way that minimises the risk of infection to our Residents and Colleagues. Therefore, before visiting and whilst on site, please consider the following:
- Hand washing. It is important that you wash your hands thoroughly before you visit the care home, and regularly whilst you are at the home. Please make sure you wash your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds, using either hot water and soap or 60% alcohol sanitiser gel. The NHS has a video guide to effective handwashing here. Additional hand washing stations have been set up at our homes and services to help visitors wash their hands regularly.
- Coughs and sneezes. We understand there are many reasons why someone may have a cough or sneeze. However, whilst visiting our care homes and services please make sure you have a tissue on you at all times so that you can catch a cough or sneeze. Please then immediately dispose of the tissue in the bin. Remember – Catch it. Bin it. Kill it.
Protecting our Residents and Colleagues
Please be assured that St Annes Community Services is treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and comprehensive contingency plans are in place in the event of a coronavirus outbreak at any of our homes or services.
However, it is important to bear in mind that every year we prepare to respond to infectious diseases, including a severe flu outbreak, and therefore, whilst this illness is new, it is very much business as usual for how we safeguard the health of our clients and colleagues.
In response to the growing UK coronavirus our senior management team led by our CEO meet weekly to review and further develop our plans, reflecting the evolving situation.
We have already taken action , including working to secure the medical supplies we may need in the event of an outbreak in a home, and developing the policies and protocols needed to make sure our services can continue to provide high-quality, person centred care if or when coronavirus becomes more widespread in the UK.
All our staff have been informed of the steps we are taking and how they can help prevent the spread of infection. This includes establishing additional hand washing stations in the reception areas of our homes and offices, installing additional prominent signage about handwashing, and maintaining compliance with the infection control training modules through our e- learning platform.
The Senior Management Team will continue to meet weekly and will be monitoring and reacting to the latest guidance issued by the UK Government, the NHS, Public Health England, Care Quality Commission and our funders (Local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups)
This page will be updated to reflect the latest information and advice regarding any additional steps we are taking to protect clients and staff, as and when this is required.
For anyone connected to a St Annes Community Service who has further questions about our response to the coronavirus, please call the Manager at your local home or service. Alternatively, you can call our Corporate Support Services on 0113 2435 151