The Forbury Residential home
Church street
Leominster
Herefordshire
HR6 8NQ
31.05.2021
Dear Residents and Family,
We are excited to write this letter. Since the announcement by the government on 17th of May 2021, we have been busy gathering information about what we can and cannot do.
We have worked hard here over the last year keeping residents and staff safe. Our residents were one of the first the first in Herefordshire at The Forbury care home to receive their first and second doses of the vaccine. At Forbury we will continue to keep your relatives safe – staff are tested 3 times a week and residents are tested once a month as per government guidelines. We have all become experts in infection control, all with several certificates to prove it CQC and Local Authority! Items coming into the home continue to be sanitized or quarantined. Masks continue to be mandatory for all staff and PPE worn as per government and local authority infection control guidance.
But… the light is at the end of the tunnel. The sun is on its way and you are allowed back inside!.
Please find below our plans on how to manage this going forward:
• Visits will be by pre-booked appointment only. We would advise to ring on day, we may be able to arrange for you to take your relative to Grange when the weather is good.
• All visitors will require testing before entering the home or provide us a proof on you mobile phone of NEGATIVE LFT test results.
• We will be offering weekly PCR tests for those visitors who would like to come regularly as well as the rapid response tests on the day of the visit.
• Visitors are not required to have had the vaccine.
• For now, just two visitors per visit, but we will be allowing another two registered visitor per resident on a different day. This is at the discretion of the Manager as we are passionate about how our residents feel.
Only two visitors will be permitted on any single day of the week to visit 2 individual residents. 1 visit per day per resident and we will be operating a fair system for all visitors.
• Distanced, screened visits will still be on offer. If you feel that you may be a high-risk individual for the time being this may be more appropriate. Please be advised: It is likely we will have a ‘waiting list’ of visitors wishing to attend. If you are late, without warning, we will not be able to hold your visit time for you and if it will be passed to another family
The procedure of internal visiting:
1. Book visit a minimum of 48 hours in advance
2. Please do not use public transport to get to the visit.
3. Please wear clean/freshly laundered clothes and do not stop on the way to the visit so as not to contaminate yourselves in a public space – no nipping out for petrol or flowers.
4. We will take temperature in the office.
5. Please leave gifts and goodies in the office; these will need to be quarantined or sanitized.
6. A swab will be taken of your throat and nose and tested on site. Results take 30 minutes. We advise you wait in the car for results.
7. Once a negative result has returned, we will give you a fresh mask and take you inside. Do not enter the home until your result has returned.
8. Once your mask is applied please do not remove it or touch it until your visit is completed and you are outside the home.
9. We will show you to the bathroom. Wash your hands, following instructions provided; using provided disposable towels to dry your hands, we will advise to use an Alco-gel as well.
10. Visiting, for the time being, will be within your loved one’s in the conservatory, no bedroom visiting allowed.
11. Please remember to regularly sanitize your hands; there are lots of opportunities to do this within The Forbury.
12. DO NOT remove your mask. Unfortunately, no refreshments or food will be able to be consumed during your visit.
13. Unfortunately NO visits to your homes are allowed, unless agreed to self-isolate after return for 10 days and PCR testing afterwards.
14. Sit back and enjoy some quality time with your loved one. We’ve missed you!
Yours Sincerely
Everyone at The Forbury
The visitor(s) please read the Summary of guidance for visitors from the Government at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visiting-care-homes-during-coronavirus/update-on-policies-for-visiting-arrangements-in-care-homes
THE FORBURY TIMES 