North Yorkshire care homes prepare for ‘cautious’ return to visiting

A “cautious and vigilant” approach will be used to ensure indoor care home visits can take place across the Harrogate district from tomorrow.

North Yorkshire County Council has written to all care providers to emphasise the importance of allowing visits, but adapting guidance to suit each setting.

Under government guidance, each care home resident can have a nominated visitor, and the county council is encouraging care homes to make the visits “meaningful” – at least 30 minutes. Trips outside with relatives should be particularly supported, the letter said.

Richard Webb, NYCC’s director for health and adult services, said:

 “We must be cautious to keep everyone safe because past experience shows that the easing of restrictions can also lead to an increase in cases. We are still under national restrictions and so we need to be cautious and to avoid becoming complacent.

“The national covid-19 vaccination roll-out is also great news and the number of people who have received a vaccine so far is very encouraging.

“However, the vaccine’s main purpose is to prevent or reduce risk of death and serious illness. People who have been vaccinated can still catch or transmit Covid-19. New variants of Covid-19 may also be resistant to the vaccine and present new risks so we need to remain careful and vigilant.

“Everyone will need to co-operate to make indoor visiting a success. All visits will need to be planned and residents, families and friends are asked to be mindful that everyone will want their ‘fair turn’ for visits. This may initially limit the numbers of visits that are possible.”

Designated visitors will need to wear PPE and follow each home’s individual rules for safe visiting. Areas should be set aside with good ventilation and limiting the need for walking through other areas of the building.

Guidance suggests visitors can hold hands with their relative, recognising the increased risk of transmission, but discourages other close contact such as hugging. Care homes will still be able to allow “essential care givers” to offer personal and other care in some situations, where a resident’s illness or needs make it better for them to be supported by a family member.

Visiting will be cancelled in care homes which have outbreaks of covid cases, but essential care givers should still be able to visit, along with those seeing relatives nearing the end of their lives.

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The council said its approach will continue to be guided by care home residents and their families as well as staff. Cllr Michael Harrison, executive member for adult services and health integration, said:

“We believe it is important that everyone who lives in a care setting should be able to see their loved ones and to take trips out into the community if they want to.

“Many providers have been working to support safe visits and this will step up a gear as indoor visits are allowed. Our job is to work with providers and give all the support we can to make sure this can be done safely to avoid any resurgence in Covid-19 infections.

“As before the lockdown, any arrangements for visits and trips must be consistent with national and local Covid-19 rules so that people are as safe as possible.”

Boroughbridge care home, garage and homeowners fight floods

A Boroughbridge care home, garage and homeowners have been fighting against the floods with pumps and mops today.

Persistent rain from Storm Christoph caused water levels to rise, which caused particular problems for people living near the River Ure and Milby Cut Canal.

The level of the Ure peaked last night at about 15 metres as concerned residents watched on powerlessly.

Stephen Jenkins (pictured above), who owns the Riverside Court care home, has had water pumped out of the basement today. He told the Stray Ferret:

“I’ve been here since 1989. When Boroughbridge flooded in 1991 the care home was protected. But in 2000 the Environment Agency opened up this third arch of the bridge.

“Ever since then the water starts seeping out underneath the patio. If they don’t put that pump in it starts to flood. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about it now.

“My main concern is the boilers. Obviously being a care home we need to keep the central heating running at all times. We also have all of our fridges and freezers on pallets permanently.”

Malcolm Angus, who owns Canal Garage in Boroughbridge.

Flooding is also a long-running source of frustration for Malcolm Angus, owner of Canal Garage in Boroughbridge.

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Mr Angus and staff have been mopping the floor today. He told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been lucky this time, the water has come up further before. There’s a burst water main up the road, which is bringing the water down.

“It pools at that junction and then comes across to the garage, that’s causing the problem at the moment, not the canal.

“Cars go through the water on the road and it flows down to us. We get no help. In terms of the canal I have lived here since 1995 and it has not been dredged once.”

Pumps have been out in force today.

On the nearby Milby Cut Canal, Nigel Crowther owns a home looking over the water. He remains calm about the situation:

“I have been keeping track on the Environment Agency website. It doesn’t matter what is happening in Boroughbridge, it’s about what is happening further up the catchment.

“So when you know it is going to be heavy rain for a sustained period you have to get ready so we have put up gates and we have a flood wall around our house.

“The levels peaked at about 10pm last night and it sustained that level for four hours before it started to drop off slowly.”

Harrogate man works with local businesses to send gifts to care workers

A 150 self-care gift packages will be ready to be delivered to health care workers today to thank them for working through the pandemic.

David Billington began the project as he wanted to say thank you staff in care homes. As an ex-care home manager himself, David said he knows how much pressure the staff have been working under.

During the pandemic he has worked closely with care home workers, in his role as a funeral director, and began reaching out to local businesses to help.  Soon had 23 local companies offering vouchers and products.

Well known businesses and organisations including Harrogate Rotary, Hugh Rice Family Jewellers and Mama Doreen’s worked with David to bring some festive cheer to local front line workers.

A total of 150 packages are now ready to be delivered from today to Harrogate district care homes.

Care homes have nominated staff members that have gone above and beyond to receive this little pick-me-up.

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David Billington, now a funeral director at Full Circle Funerals, said:

“Some staff were working such long hours and I saw all they were doing and knew I had to do something to help. We needed to say thanks. So many people have been lovely and generous and it has just highlighted to me the community in Harrogate. It has definitely exceeded my expectations.”

The care packs will be delivered by Full Circle Funerals to nominated staff from Henshaws, Granby and Granby Rose Care Homes, Berwick Grange, Harrogate Skills for Living and Vida Grange throughout this week.

Harrogate care homes install visiting pods

Care homes in the Harrogate district have installed visiting pods so residents can meet relatives safely.

Vida Healthcare has opened three ‘together again’ pods to enable visits to continue over winter. One is at Vida Hall in Starbeck and two are at Vida Grange in Pannal.

Current guidance allows for one designated visitor per pod. But if one relative cannot attend another person can visit instead using the pod.

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The pod enables Anne Thompson to see her husband, who has been at Vida Hall since 2015. She said:

“The staff at Vida have been wonderful in allowing us to keep up with the daily lives of our loved ones, however it’s been stressful not being able to visit in person.

“Seeing our loved ones is really important to us and it’s comforting to know that you’ve set up these pods to give us safe opportunities to come and visit.”

One of the pods at Vida Grange.

Bernadette Mossman, the healthcare director at Vida Healthcare, said:

“Visiting relatives in care homes is a fundamental need for families and residents. The pandemic has reduced our ability to be able to facilitate this much needed interaction.

“Our brand new ‘together again’ visiting pods are one example of innovations we’re implementing to ensure our residents can safely connect with their loved ones.”

Guidance on care home visits

Care home visits will continue in North Yorkshire despite the country entering a second national lockdown.

The county council restricted visits during October but advised homes they could relax the rules in November to allow one designated visitor for each resident.

Officials have said the measure will continue through lockdown, but homes that report an outbreak will have to restrict visits.

Care home visits to continue through lockdown

Care home visits will continue in North Yorkshire despite the country entering a second national lockdown.

The county council restricted visits during October but advised homes they could relax the rules in November to allow one designated visitor for each resident.

Officials have said the measure will continue through lockdown, but homes which report an outbreak will have to restrict visits.

Richard Webb, director of adult social care at the county council, said he was pleased that new government guidance will allow visits to continue.

He said:

“We know how very important it is to the mental health and emotional wellbeing of residents and their friends and families for visits to care settings to take place, if at all possible, without jeopardising safety,

“When covid-19 infection rates began to rise across communities in September we asked care homes to pause routine visits so as to protect residents.  However, we set up a task group which included residents and families to look into how visits could be made safe long-term.

“We acted on their recommendations so that from the start of November we could ask  all care homes to be open for one visitor for each resident, subject to keeping to rules on hygiene, physical distancing and protective equipment.

“We are very pleased that the new national lockdown regulations will enable these visits to continue.”

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It comes as the government has to set out further guidance to encourage care homes to allow visitors through lockdown.

The advice reiterates the use of PPE and social distancing when allowing visitors into homes.

Meanwhile, North Yorkshire has also bid to be part of a national pilot for care home visits.

The scheme, which was revealed by care minister Helen Whately last week, would allow one relative or friend of a care home resident to be treated as a key worker.

This would enable people to visit loved ones in homes during the winter, though no dates when this might be implemented have been revealed.

Harrogate district care homes to reopen doors to visitors

Care homes in the Harrogate district will be able to open their doors for visitors from Sunday.

With strict procedures still in place, a resident will only be able to see one designated visitor.

However, in care homes where there are covid outbreaks, visits will be stopped to protect residents.

It comes after North Yorkshire County Council advised care homes to stop visits throughout October amid rising infection levels.

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While those infection levels are still on the upward trend, the county council is keen to balance safety and wellbeing.

Richard Webb, the corporate director for health and adult services at the county council, said:

“North Yorkshire is currently still in tier one. But if part, or all, of the county moves into a higher level of restrictions at any point, then decisions about visiting may be beyond our control.

“However, I have already alerted Public Health England that we would like to see a more flexible approach to care home keeping in touch arrangements than the current tier two and tier three restrictions allow.”

Meanwhile, as previously reported, almost a quarter of North Yorkshire care homes have reported at least one covid infection since the second wave.

A quarter of North Yorkshire care homes affected by covid

Almost a quarter of North Yorkshire care homes currently have at least one covid infection.

Richard Flinton, chief executive of North Yorkshire County Council, revealed the situation in a bulletin on Wednesday. He said:

“Despite robust outbreak management plans, we now have more than 55 care homes out of a total of 233 with single cases or outbreaks, and three of those now have a very difficult situation with wider scale infection. This is a serious matter, as you will understand.”

The council is due to make an announcement on reopening care homes to some visitors today.

It advised care homes to close during October.

A council spokesman said the announcement was still due to go ahead.

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Mr Flinton reiterated that North Yorkshire’s tier one status was hanging by a thread and that people’s actions now would determine what happened at Christmas. He added:

“If we are to have any chance at all of staying in this tier, and to give us all the best chance of being able to be with our loved ones at Christmas, we need to step up and stand together as a county and we will explain this in more detail over the coming days.

“In my role as chair of North Yorkshire’s Local Resilience Forum, I am regularly asked when all this will end.

‘The answer is unfortunately not as straightforward as the question. In truth, we will need to adapt the way we live for many more months.”

Announcement on re-opening Harrogate district care homes imminent

Care homes in the Harrogate district could re-open their doors to visitors soon.

North Yorkshire County Council advised care homes not to allow visits during October — a decision that distressed many residents and their families.

Richard Webb, director of health and adult services at the council, told a press briefing today an announcement was imminent. He said:

“On Friday I plan to make an announcement about visiting in care homes. We have had advice against visits all through October.

“This announcement will be contingent on what tier restrictions North Yorkshire is in.”

North Yorkshire could move from tier one to tier two by the end of the week, which would lead to tougher restrictions and may therefore impact the care home plans.

He said the decision about care homes also depended on their ability to prevent covid outbreaks. He said there had been three “large outbreaks” in the county’s care homes in the past week.

Care homes could operate a nominated visitor scheme whereby a designated visitor is tested regularly so they can continue visiting.

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Harrogate resident Judy Bass will be watching the decision closely. As previously reported, she has joined a pressure group called Right for Residents that is campaigning for restrictions on visits to be eased.

She and her brother visited their dad every day before March. Judy said:

“I just feel like I’ve let him down. What’s he living for at the moment? Hardly anything. He will just give up.”

 

North Yorkshire could enter tier two this week

North Yorkshire could move into tier two coronavirus restrictions by the end of the week, according to the county council’s director of health and adult services.

Richard Webb said this morning the situation in the county was “hanging by a thread” due to rising infection rates.

The Selby and Harrogate districts are particular problem areas, with seven-day infection rates of 230 cases and 203 cases per 100,000 people respectively.

Average infection rates in the county remain below the England average of 220 cases per 100,000.

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But they are rising, which prompted Mr Webb to issue the warning at today’s weekly press briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which is a partnership of agencies that tackles emergencies. He said:

“The situation in North Yorkshire is now hanging by a thread. We are currently in tier one but that is really on a knife edge.

“We may even be in a situation at the end of this week where we move into tier two restrictions. But we are hoping that we can prevent that.

“We want to stay in tier one. It is better for livelihoods and for economic wellbeing. Today we are asking people to act now to save lives more than ever.”

Mr Webb said it would be up to the government to decide North Yorkshire’s fate.

People in tier two areas are prohibited from socialising with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting.

People in pubs and restaurants can only consume food and drink while seated. Takeaway food can only be bought after 10pm if ordered online or by phone.

The press briefing also revealed that Harrogate District Hospital has 12 coronavirus patients – three of whom are in intensive care.

Harrogate care home unable to get flu jabs for staff

A care home provider in Harrogate has struggled to get flu jabs for its staff and has claimed that others are in the same position.

Disability Action Yorkshire, which has a care home for young disabled adults in Harrogate, has only managed to get three jabs so far.

The charity has 38 staff in total, which means that fewer than 10% are protected from the flu.

Jackie Snape, the chief executive at Disability Action Yorkshire, was one of the three who has had the jab and told the Stray Ferret:

“We have been told that health and social care is a priority but our staff have been unable to get the flu jab. The GPs and pharmacies have a blanket rule to keep the jab available for those over 70. It means that there aren’t any flu jabs for social care staff.”

Disability Action Yorkshire, Chief Executive, Jackie Snape.

The staff have been told to try again in November and December but Jackie fears that it will be too late by then as it will be in the middle of flu season.

Jackie added that she fears if there are problems with the flu jab then there may be issues with the coronavirus vaccine as and when it becomes available.

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She has been in regular calls with other care homes in the Harrogate district and says that all other providers are in the same position.

Earlier this year the government launched what it called the “most comprehensive flu programme in UK history”.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at Public Health England, said:

“There is no shortage of flu vaccine – enough has been ordered to vaccinate 30 million people, with the most vulnerable being protected first. It is usual for manufacturers to stagger deliveries of the vaccine. Every year, there is a phased roll-out and vaccinations continue throughout the autumn. Some GP practices and pharmacies may ask people to wait until they receive further deliveries.”