Communities
"This last year has been incredibly challenging. The top priorities have been to save lives, protect the most vulnerable people in our society and safeguard the NHS but it has meant our contact with family and friends has been significantly limited - something that many of us, myself included, have found difficult.
"Older care home residents are among those groups identified as at greatest risk, so we have taken a very cautious and clinically led approach to social contact in these settings." Dr Jenny Harries OBE, our Deputy Chief Medical Officer, explains more about the approach.
"A year on from the last International Women’s Day and the mantra of ‘trying to have it all’ has truly taken on a whole new meaning" for Fatima Khan Shah Programme Director of Unpaid Carers and Personalised Care in West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership.
In this searingly honest blog, Fatima reflects on caring for loved ones with long term conditions, looking after children and balancing all the difficulties that come with managing complex home lives.
While the pandemic has reminded care staff how capable and resourceful they are in a crisis, the traumatic nature of their experiences over the last year has also meant learning to accept help from others. As a regional manager with Cygnet Health Care, Vicky Bradshaw was struck by how many of her colleagues have bonded and supported each other in ways they had not experienced before.
Across the UK, Lifeways employs almost 11,000 colleagues supporting nearly 5,000 adults with diverse and complex needs, across a variety of community settings, including our supported living services and residential homes. The COVID-19 pandemic means getting things right has never been more important for many thousands of people.
Louis Laleye is a physiotherapist at a Royal Star & Garter care home in High Wycombe. He caught COVID-19 in March 2020 and later took part in the antibody trial. He explains why he decided to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
Three effective COVID-19 vaccines are now approved for use in the UK. With their approval, and the rapid expansion of vaccination sites across the country, the national NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Programme is progressing at pace to reach the most vulnerable, working in line with the priorities set by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). It is a testament to the importance of the work of health and social care staff that they have been prioritised by the JCVI to receive vaccination.
Clenton Farquharson's family have had many heated debates about the new COVID-19 vaccines and whether or not to take them. Clenton believes this is a common worry among Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, fueled by misinformation and a shortfall in efforts to assuage concerns about safety. He writes for the Social Care blog now to counter these issues, encourage honest conversations and presents a short video demonstrating how getting a COVID-19 vaccination is no big deal at all.
On the first day the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was rolled out, HC-Ones Daneside Court care staff were fortunate enough to be among the first to be offered vaccinations. Understandably, there was some nervousness among colleagues around the vaccine being new. As Managing Director of HC-One’s family of care homes. Ruth Yates wanted to lead by example so, along with 12 other willing colleagues, she attended the Countess of Chester Hospital to be vaccinated.
When it became apparent that coronavirus was a real and present danger to our communities – and that our health and care workers were on the frontline of the battle to contain it – we knew effective protection for these amazing people would be among our top priorities. The provision and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been a vital part of our strategy to keep care staff safe – especially those in care homes and other restricted care settings. Here's our update on how we're doing exactly that.
As we approach a festive season that will be very different for all of us, Fran Leddra and Mark Harvey, our Chief Social Workers for Adults, offer their hopes, thoughts and heartfelt thanks for the support of health and care colleagues this year. Their message is simple: look after your own mental and physical health as much as those around you. You deserve as much support as anyone else.
