The Hall Residential Care Home in Thornton-Le-Dale, North Yorkshire, has launched an Until You Can campaign, to document how it is going the extra mile for residents’ during the period of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Hall, which provides residential care for up to 47 residents, has been closed to all visitors since 17 March and has reported no cases of coronavirus. It has launched an online campaign to reassure the families of its residents that they are being well looked after during the lockdown.
Until You Can documents in pictures, the measures carers at the home are taking to bridge the gap left while visiting remains suspended. The photographs are captioned to include the phrase until you can. Images include depictions of staff holding hands with residents, with the caption “holding hands with your loved ones until you can”. Another shows a carer supporting a resident with video calling, captioned, “letting you see your dad until you can see him in person”. And a picture of a recreational activity taking place in The Hall bears the caption, “having fun with your mum until you can”.
Diane Hagan, registered manager of The Hall, said: “The lockdown is incredibly difficult for everybody – we’ve all been separated from our loved-ones and forced to harness the power of technology and social-distancing to keep us connected.
“But this is even more acute in care home settings, where residents, who are even more vulnerable to the virus, are likely to remain shielded for much longer than the average household.
“We are determined, throughout the period, to do everything we can to keep our residents connected with their families and give them every opportunity to live their lives to the full, making their health and physical well-being our top priority.
“Because of the nature of the support we provide to our residents, social-distancing isn’t always possible. In care settings, this makes us, uniquely able to continue to provide, personal, one-to-one attention for our residents.
“We know how hard it is for our residents and their families to be separated, which is why, in addition our video-calling programme, we have launched the Until You Can campaign, to reassure loved ones on the outside world that we’re holding the fort for them until the restrictions are over and they can be together again.”
Joyce, 93, a resident of The Hall, added: “The lockdown is hard on everyone but we’ve been through worse and together, we will come out of this even stronger.
“The staff at The Hall are working non-stop to make sure we have everything we need and keep in touch with our families.”
