10th November update – Since the outbreak of the pandemic, Buckland Care Homes have restricted visitors to enable us to effectively shield our residents and keep them safe. We know how extremely difficult it has been for residents and relatives to not see their loved ones over the past few months and we thank you all for your understanding on this matter. We really do think it has played a huge part in keeping people safe. We wanted to update you on a few key issues.

Testing & PPE:

We are now being provided with large scale testing kits to enable us to test and re-test staff and residents regularly allowing us to react quickly and minimising the risk of an outbreak. We have ample PPE from a private source available for staff, residents and visitors to use if required.

New Admissions or New Staff Members:

Rest assured we are doing everything we can to keep the virus at bay in the care homes and any new admissions or new members of staff members are tested before entering the building. New staff are training in handling Coronavirus as well as Infection Control in their first few weeks.

Visits:

Between lockdowns, we were able to allow socially distanced visits depending on the facilities at each home. During this November lockdown and with the advice of several councils we have stopped visits with the exception of window visits in order to protect our residents in the second wave of the pandemic. Indoor visits will be encouraged for residents who are ‘end of life’, with visitors taking the necessary precautions. We would appreciate your cooperation with this and hope you understand that the reasons behind the restriction of visits is to ensure the safety of both residents and staff. Window visits must be booked in advance with the manager so we can arrange for your loved one to be ready for you. Socially distanced visits will be able to resume when the lockdown ends, unless the local councils advise otherwise. We very much look forward to welcoming you into our care homes again.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Buckland Care Team