When the Coronavirus crisis first hit the UK back in 2020, the greatest fear was that it would overwhelm the NHS and that hospitals would face immediate collapse, this was partly saved by the introduction of nightingale hospitals to take away some of the strain off the care system.
We at Live In Care have worked tirelessly to ensure all our live-in carers and clients remain as safe as possible, from regular weekly testing, PPE being available at all times through to booking our carers into priority vacination appointments.
Even though restrictions were stepped down on the 19th July in England and again on the 16th August 2021, we still take the risk of covid to be a serious risk to our clients and carers.
Our main goal throughout the coronavirus epidemic and always has been to ensure that all of our clients, staff and carers remain as safe as possible. These are unprecedented times, and we’re doing our utmost to ensure that the guidance and procedures that we put in place follow the latest advice from the Government and the NHS. This includes the adequate provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as aprons, gloves, hand gel and face masks, which we have been supplying to our carers all over the country.
The virus that causes COVID-19 infects people of all ages. However, evidence to date suggests that two groups of people are at a higher risk of getting severe COVID-19 disease.
- These are older people (that is people over 70 years old)
- Those with underlying medical conditions (such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer).
With the unsettling times that we find ourselves in, which looks like the ‘new norm’ we appreciate that many of you have questions about your or a loved one’s care, or even what we are asking our carers to do. We want to be completely transparent with you so that you can feel reassured and safe in the knowledge that you’re being looked after properly.
Please do contact us if you are worried about the impact that Covid 19 may have on your loved ones care and we will be happy to help.
We will continue to provide peace of mind for our clients and carers through several crucial actions during this period:
- Though we still offer short term live-in care, we have extended our assignment length to minimise the number of changeovers needed, continuous single carer support is now available for up to 12 weeks.
- We are regularly briefing our carers on the situation – following health, medical and Government advice – including their key worker status, enhanced cleaning and sanitisation routines to help support clients in their own home.
- We are following government guidelines on testing. If our carers show signs of symptoms or the clients they are supporting, we will advise them on priority testing, guide them through the process and appropriate actions required.
- We will ensure the carers have access to the required PPE.
- All of our assessors are still carrying out assessments on a one to one basis with PPE in place and the reassurance that they are tested weekly and take instance covid tests (lateral flow tests) prior to entering a hospital or care home setting.
Our actions are based on the Government’s official Coronavirus advice and the NHS official advice.
We will continue to review and follow homecare industry advice and best practice in all circumstances.
If you think you have coronavirus, then you can get a free NHS test today to check if you have coronavirus now.
Anyone who has symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) can get a free test to check if they have the virus. Some people without symptoms can have the test too. This test is called the “antigen” or “swab” test.
There is another type of test (antibody test) that checks if you’ve already had the virus. This test is not widely available yet. You can find out about antibody testing on GOV.UK.
We are continually monitoring the situation and will update any new developments here as they occur.
NHS Test and Trace
The NHS Covid-19 contact tracing app has launched as part of the coronavirus testing and contact tracing programmes in England and Wales. It’s the fastest way to see if you’re at risk from coronavirus with tools including contact tracing, local area alerts and venue check-in.
How Test and Trace works
If you have symptoms
- Self-isolate for 10 days as soon as you experience symptoms. Anyone else in your household must self-isolate for 10 days from when you started having symptoms.
- Order a test immediately or call 119 if you have no internet access.
- You will receive your results. If you test positive you must complete your 7-day self-isolation and your household must complete self-isolation for 10 days from when you started having symptoms. If your test is negative, you and other household members no longer need to isolate.
- Share contacts. If you test positive, the NHS Test and Trace service will contact you with instructions of how to share details of people with whom you have had close recent contact and places you have visited.
If you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive
- You will be contacted by the NHS Test and Trace service that you have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive.
- You will be told to begin self-isolation for 10 days from your last contact with the person who tested positive. Your household does not need to self-isolate with you if you do not have symptoms. They should take care to follow guidance on social distancing, hand washing and avoid contact with you.
- Order a test if you develop symptoms or call 119 if you have no internet access. Your household must self-isolate immediately for 10 days.
- If you test positive you must continue to stay at home for at least 10 days. The service will be in touch to ask about people you have had close recent contact with. If your test is negative you must still complete your 10 day self-isolation period as the virus may not be detectable yet.
Leaving contact details when visiting businesses and venues
Businesses and organisations are being asked to collect contact details of their visitors. The records will help NHS Test and Trace to reach anyone who may have potentially been in contact with a positive coronavirus case.
Businesses will collect names and contact numbers of customers and visitors and the date and time of the visit. This information will be stored for 21 days and then safely deleted.
Covid 19 Frequently Asked Questions
What extra precautions are Live In Care taking?
At Live In Care, we want to ensure that all our carers and clients remain as safe as is possible during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and to do so, we are introducing some country-wide protocols and procedures.
What if we have an overseas carer who cannot travel because of coronavirus?
If your regular carer is unable to travel, we will look to replace them with a carer who is in the country already
Should I consider moving my loved one to a care home?
We believe that it is much easier to limit infection risk if someone stays in their own home, rather than moving to an care environment where many other high-risk people are in close proximity to each other.
