4 years ago
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admin
We thought it would be helpful for you to know the latest on life in our care homes and how we are responding to the Covid-19 epidemic.
Springdene Group is continuing to take measures across all the homes to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, including enhanced cleaning regimes and use of specialist cleaning products.
All our staff are wearing Personal Protective Equipment, as recommended by Public Health England.
At this time, in order to keep residents in our homes safe, along with our staff, we continue to suspend visits to the homes. Exceptions to this are visiting medical professionals. We hope you understand this is in the best interests of everybody.
As you will know, some residents have been confined to their rooms for personal protection, but we are pleased to say that we are gradually allowing people into the common areas on a rotating basis. Social distancing rules will be observed, balancing physical safety with emotional well-being.
We are also pleased to announce that staff in our homes are now becoming eligible for the national Covid-19 testing programme in line with PHE’s guidelines. The first member of staff was tested this week and others will follow.
However, it with great sadness that we report the death of Vivien Frey, the activities coordinator at Spring Grove. Vivien had worked for the company for nearly 20 years and was greatly loved and respected by all who worked with her. In particular she was a prime mover in the running of the Spring Grove Music Festival for 15 years.
“She was a great personality, at the heart of all Spring Grove’s activities and a crucial part of our operation – loved by residents and their families alike,“ says Medical Director Robin Powell. “We will miss her hugely and send out sincerest condolences to those she has left behind.” On the issue of communication, we know that during the embargo on visits it is distressing for relatives and friends not to be able to see their loved ones physically. But we are doing everything we can to facilitate phone calls or Skype, or other forms of video conferencing. To this end we have acquired tablet devices for residents to use.
Happily, the homes continue to be in contact with the “outside world”. Last week Spring Lane featured on the BBC’s Six o’ Clock News, with the news team filming through the front windows, to be greeted with waves and smiles from staff and residents.
And in a lovely gesture, pupils from Hornsey School for Girls baked trays of cakes and pastries and presented them to Springview, Spring Grove and Spring Lane. They came complete with a painting of a rainbow (right). Everybody reported on how delicious they were.
Nor was the spirit of Easter neglected. On Good Friday residents at Springview were greatly amused by the arrival of the Easter Bunny (left).
Meanwhile Waitrose, the supermarket group, donated some beautiful daffodils and Easter eggs, which also cheered everybody up.
We hope to make this newsletter a regular event, so we’ll be back in touch before long. Meanwhile, thanks to all families and friends for their cooperation in these extraordinary and difficult times. And a specially big “thank you” to all our staff who are working so hard to keep everyone cared-for and safe.
Thank you for your continued co-operation.
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5 years ago
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admin
WELCOME to the latest edition of our weekly newsletter, in which we report on life in our Springdene homes and how we are facing up to the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 epidemic.
Life is tough for everybody in these terrible times, but we are making excellent progress in our homes in preventing the spread of the disease. We pay tribute to the selfless and heroic efforts of our staff in making sure all the residents are safe and well looked after. And we are grateful to the residents themselves for their forbearance and understanding, with many having to stay in their rooms for personal protection.
We are happy to report that we have good supplies of personal protective equipment, which all our staff wear at all times. We are also applying the rules with regard to wearing the kit with a rigour over and above that required by Public Health England. Springdene Group continues to undertake comprehensive cleaning programmes using specialist cleaning products.
A covid-testing regime is underway for the evaluation of residents who may be suspected of having the disease. The first testing kits for residents arrived this week. Staff are being offered tests, too, with the first seven having undergone tests, with more to follow as the government accelerates its testing programme. This requires getting staff members to the test centre in Wembley – a challenge for those without cars: perhaps there are volunteers among you who could help with this crucial task?
You can be assured that we will let families know as soon as possible when any of their loved ones is ill. And extra care is being taken in looking out for residents who have less capacity. Although some of our care staff are self-isolating and away from work, we are pleased to report that all the shifts in the homes are being covered. We are recruiting new carers and volunteers and, where necessary, our managers are filling any gaps. Even our group operations manager is rolling up his sleeves and dispensing medicines!
To reward our hard-working staff for their efforts, we are looking at increasing sick pay if they have to be absent through isolation or illness. We are also providing staff with bowls of fruit and take-away pizzas as thanks for their efforts.
We know how frustrating it is for residents not to be able to physically see their loved ones at the moment, but you can rest assured they are being especially well looked after, with lots of smiles and attention from their carers. We encourage everyone to make use of the tablet devices that are available to video-call relatives. Staff are only too happy to help with any technical difficulties.
Food, delivered to rooms where the dining room is closed, is of its usual excellent standard, and we pay tribute to the often-unsung efforts of the staff at our contractor CaterPlus in making it so delicious in difficult circumstances.
You may have seen in the news this week that Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced new proposals to allow people to be with gravely ill relatives in care homes before they die so they can fulfil a ‘right to say goodbye’. At Springdene, this has always been the case, and you can be assured that we will waive the embargo on visits whenever a family faces such circumstances. On a happier note, there is lots of activity in the homes to keep residents entertained and to bring sparkle into their lives. At Spring Lane, the residents made Beatrix Potter characters to stick on the windows to symbolise the coming of spring. And Caroline, the activities coordinator, has been running bingo from the end of the corridor, with residents playing from their doorways, She has also been reading a daily short story over the tannoy.
At Springview, Eirlys the activities coordinator, wrote a brilliant spoof song, “Is this the way to fight Corona?” to the tune of Tony Christie’s ‘Is this the way to Amarillo? It was performed with gusto by the staff, and the residents had a ‘right laugh’, especially over the verse ‘The supermarket shelves are bare/Can’t find toilet roll anywhere’. It was so good, said someone, it should be entered for the Brit awards.
We’d like to express our appreciation to the group of Highgate ladies who donated 25 goody bags for the staff at Spring Lane. The bags included shower gel, wipes, porridge, lunch snack, energy bar and drinks. These ladies just wanted to say ‘thank you’ to all the carers and staff of Spring Lane for doing an ‘amazing job looking after all the residents’.
One final thing. We thought it would be a nice idea to create a picture book in memory of Vivien Frey, our much loved activities coordinator at Spring Grove, who died suddenly last week. If residents or families have any memories, anecdotes or pictures they would like to share, please send them to Adrienne Rosen at arosen@springdene.co.uk.
Thank you for your continued co-operation.
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6 years ago
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admin
HEARTFELT thanks for all your responses to last week’s newsletter, voicing your appreciation for the heroic and incredibly tough work our staff are doing in the face of the Covid-19 crisis.
“Thank you so much for the newsletter. It means so much to me to hear how you are all getting on. You are all doing such a marvellous job,” writes Anne, Helen Joplin’s daughter. Meanwhile, Kay Thompson emails: “Thank you for keeping us all updated on life at your care homes. It must be a very stressful time for you all but I’m sure you know that what you do is so greatly appreciated by all friends and family.”
Alan and Linda Almond express a view held by many: “We wanted to reiterate how grateful we are to all you guys. The care and diligence that every one of you have displayed has been fantastic. We really do appreciate everything you are all doing.”
We’re delighted to hear that every Thursday evening you are all clapping or rattling saucepans to express your support for our hard-working carers – as well as their counterparts in the NHS. And for that, a big vote of thanks to you too!
We are also grateful for the many tributes to Vivien Frey, our much-loved activities coordinator, who died suddenly earlier this month. They include one from the distinguished actor Simon Callow who first encountered Vivien when his mother Yvonne was in Spring Grove:
‘Vivien stood out as a powerhouse of kindness and enthusiasm, never ceasing for a moment to think about what would enliven the residents’ days. I can see her now, reading out loud from the day’s newspapers, drawing the residents into discussions about world affairs, the arts, personalities of the day – everyone came alive. Vivien was a sparkling, generous, loving spirit and she’ll be terribly missed, not least by me.’
Meanwhile, the hard work at Springdene goes on in these hugely difficult times. You will have read in the press over the past week of the problems with the national supply of personal protective equipment. Well, we are pleased to say that we have been able to source our own supplies for the weeks ahead. Our staff are wearing the full PPE gear as recommended by Public Health England, and because we have adequate quantities, no corners are being cut.
Testing is proceeding apace, with more residents undergoing tests this week. However, testing for staff has not been as fast as we would like because the closest government testing station is a drive-through centre at Wembley and many of our staff do not have cars. However, the government has now offered a pilot scheme for testing at home and the first home testing kits have arrived this week.
You will know that over the past week residents continue to be asked to stay in their rooms for personal protection. We appreciate how frustrating this can be as many of us enjoy a natter with our friends or a comfy seat in the lounge. It’s made even harder in
the absence of visits by friends and relatives. But this is decided on the best medical advice for everybody’s welfare.
Rest-assured, though, that our room-bound residents are getting lots of extra attention from their carers, who make sure they never go short of company. We have a plan in place, as soon as the restrictions are lifted, to allow residents into the communal areas on a phased basis, while keeping social distancing rules. We’ll keep you posted when this happens.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of things to keep folk amused and entertained. Caroline, our activities coordinator at Spring Lane, is presenting everyone with a special pack each day.
The packs have been fun to assemble and each resident gets one tailor-made to meet their requirements. On one day, for instance, the pack contained an ‘Important events from this day in history’ article, an April poem by Laurie Lee, the joke of the day, a ‘name this vegetable’ visual quiz and an animal quiz.
This week Caroline has been taking individual residents on garden visits, with fruit plates and some April flower quizzes. Shakespeare’s birthday on April 23 saw residents working on recognising famous actors who had played a Shakespeare character and the Queens’ birthday on April 21, featured another visual quiz, ‘Name that Royal’.
The quote from the Queen that day was very apt for staff and residents alike: ‘When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead, they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.’
Over at Springview, activities coordinator Eirlys has set up a ‘Pen Pal Club’, deploying members of her extended family to write letters to the residents. We hear this is going to be very popular. How nice to get a good old-fashioned letter rather than a cursory email or text! Meanwhile the Vicar of Hampstead Parish Church is arranging for his parishioners to write cards of encouragement to the residents of Spring Grove.
There was another marvellous moment when Gladys Gathergood, our oldest resident at Springview, celebrated her 107th birthday on the Queen’s birthday. Morrison’s supermarket sent her a cake and some flowers. “I was truly Queen for the day,” says a delighted Gladys.
We remain indebted to all our staff for their incredible hard work and devotion to duty during this crisis. Where staff have been self- isolating, extra carers or volunteers are being brought in and we are proud to say that no shift has been left uncovered. We have made sure everyone knows they are appreciated by offering extra sick pay.
Many of you have asked how you can help the staff in their magnificent efforts. One simple way of showing your appreciation is by sending in a treat – it only needs to be something simple like some fruit, a box of chocolates, cakes, some handcream or even a simple ‘thank you’ card.
Getting a treat is a bit like getting a hug, said one, after being presented with a ‘goody bag’ donated by a group of volunteer ladies from Highgate last week. And we all need more hugs these days…
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