Residents and staff at a care home in Ripon have been praised by the mayor of Harrogate for their response to coronavirus.
Borrage House was visited on Friday by the mayor and mayoress of Harrogate, Cllr Stuart Martin and his wife April, to say well done on having no cases of covid-19 so far.
Cllr Martin told the Stray Ferret it was “a real privilege” to visit a care home in Ripon that had such a good record in keeping residents safe.
Borrage House manager Sarah Aitken thanked residents and staff for their perseverance during these difficult times.
Sarah told the Stray Ferret:
“Without wanting to jinx it, we’ve had no cases of covid-19 or any suspected cases. When everyone feels like the world’s ending in care homes it’s nice to have a bit of good news.”
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Residents were also given a boost earlier this week when opera singer Katherine Jenkins performed a live stream direct to four care homes across the UK, including Borrage House.
Sarah said song and music have been key to keeping residents upbeat and occupied.
Agnes, a resident at the care home who will soon be 100, loves Katherine Jenkins and the performance brought back happy memories.
Sarah said:
“Katherine sang ‘We’ll meet again’. That has a lot of memories for Agnes. She met her husband during the war when she was working at a munitions factory.”
Although the country is opening up, care homes are still vulnerable. Sarah said the 40 residents at Borrage House have embraced technology to keep in touch with family members, even though it might be confusing for some because they are used to having regular in-person visits.
She said:
“We have to support them and that’s up to us to keep things positive and happy. They are aware, we’re not hiding anything from them.
“We’ve got laptops, families have been doing FaceTime. That’s been fabulous. They’ve been brilliant. They’ve adapted brilliantly to it and understand that this is the way it is for now.”
