Updates on resident outings from care homes

In the light of increasing community transmission of the COVID variant Omicron, it is our duty as care providers to mitigate risks of infection to our residents – your loved one – as much as possible.

For that reason, we have decided to take the following precautions:

  • We encourage relatives and friends who visit our residents to not take their loved one out of the care home unless absolutely necessary. We recognize the desire for residents to be present at family events, such as weddings. However, we would ask that these be limited as much as possible, and that our relatives have the health and safety of their loved ones uppermost in their minds when thinking of taking them out of the home. (Please note that this doesn’t affect a relative spending time with a resident in the gardens/grounds of the home.)

 

  • Where an out-of-home outing by the resident is deemed necessary, residents will be required to isolate for 7 days on return to the care home. In addition, they will be tested daily with a Lateral Flow Test (LFT) for 10 days following their return.

 

We know you will understand our duty to safeguard your loved ones, as well as our staff, during this most recent wave of COVID infection in the community. This decision was not one taken lightly. The spike in community transmission notwithstanding, we are seeing delays in receiving test results and examples of Omicron not surfacing in tests for up to a week. All of these factors combined are of deep concern when we are the caretakers of the most vulnerable people in society.

Lastly, I am asking for your cooperation when a family member, or someone else in contact with your loved one, does test positive. If this happens, please let your care home know immediately.

Thank you in advance for helping us to help your loved one, and our hard-working staff members, during this particularly challenging time for our care homes. If you have any questions your Home Manager will be happy to answer them.

Yours sincerely,

Jill Kerr,

Group Chief Executive Officer