Our Covid-19 Policy
How we are dealing with Covid-19.
The pandemic has been a struggle for everybody. Unfortunately, Cedar Lodge has not escaped its fair share of challenges.
But despite the gloom it has brought, we have been buoyed by the immense fortitude of all our residents; as well as the kindness of our families and local community.
Everyone has rallied round. And have been so touched by all your flowers, letters, and calls of support throughout the pandemic.
If you’re considering care, you’ll naturally have worries about the risk posed by Covid-19.
And while we can’t guarantee you won’t be affected by Coronavirus, we will do everything possible to keep Covid-19 out of Cedar Lodge.
On this webpage, we’ll tell you all about the actions we’ve taken to achieve this.
We hope that this trying chapter will soon be behind us. We’re happy to confirm that all our residents have received their two jabs against coronavirus and relevant boosters.
So watch this space. As care in the time of coronavirus is ever evolving.
In a few months time – this page may no longer be necessary. But until then listed below are the measures we’re taking to protect you and your loved ones from Covid-19.
If you’d liked more information about what we’re doing, call us today on 01386 293 033 and Rupert will be delighted to help with any questions you may have.
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Care Home Visiting & Trips Out
We’re delighted that we’ve been able to resume in-person visits at Cedar Lodge.
Residents are able to host their loved ones at any time of day in their rooms, the garden or in any of our communal areas such as the lounge or drawing room. There is no need for visitors to book ahead with the care home. Neither is there any need for visitors to test or wear PPE during their visit and social distancing has been lifted. However if you feel unwell, we kindly ask that you postpone your visit until you feel better to prevent the spread of any infections.
Trips out from Cedar Lodge are welcomed too. Loved ones are free to take residents out as they please. The care home also organises regular trips out for its service users – such as coffee mornings at the Royal Legion in the village, community meet-ups & shopping at our local Morrisons, as well as fun day trips to the theatre, nature reserves and even the seaside!
For friends and family who live farther afield, virtual visits are still possible via Skype and FaceTime. Care staff will be on standby to help residents operate the technology.
Should there be an outbreak of Covid-19 at Cedar Lodge, we may ask residents to limit their visitors to a single visitor at a time. We may also ask visitors to wear PPE such as masks. Negative and asymptomatic residents will still be able to leave the care home for trips out in line with the latest government guidance.
What would we do in an outbreak?
Traditionally, good care has revolved around touch, friendly smiles and close listening. We’re therefore thrilled that we’ve removed our mask mandate for staff and visitors in light of the changing Covid environment. However, proportionate controls such as enhanced hand washing, and the use of PPE when delivering personal care, remain in place.
Should Cedar Lodge experience an outbreak of Covid-19, we would put the following measures into practice.
On a macro-level, we have re-engineered the layout of our home to better protect residents. In the event of an outbreak, PPE stations would be set up quickly throughout the home.
We would encourage residents to isolate in their rooms and postpone communal activities. However, those residents who were negative/asymptomatic could continue to host single visitors at a time, as well as leave the care home for visits out during the outbreak period.
Like most other settings, we no longer test for Covid-19 at Cedar Lodge. However, should we suspect 2 or more cases of respiratory infection amongst our service users, we would test the first 5 suspected residents for Covid-19 in line with government guidance. Depending on the circumstances, we may test for further types of infection (such as flu) and consult the West Midlands Health Protection Team for further advice.
If you or a loved one decide to move into Cedar Lodge, you can rest assured that the infection controls we have in place have been inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for best practice. And while we’re hot on our controls, we never lose sight that this is your home.
As in this not-so-normal time, keeping life as normal as possible for our residents has never felt more important.
What is our Covid Council?
At the start of the pandemic, we quickly realised that we needed buy-in from every member of our team to weather the health crisis.
We therefore decided to bring together a ‘Covid Council’ – made up of both staff and management.
During the pandemic, we met on a regular basis to discuss the latest guidance issued by the government and various bodies: like Public Health England, Worcestershire County Council and the NHS.
We thought about how their guidance affects our home. And how we could improve our measures that we already had in place to become more Covid secure.
At Cedar Lodge, anyone on our care team could join the Covid Council. As everyone has a role in our home’s protection.
And it’s worth protecting.
The wartime spirit shown by all of our residents throughout the pandemic has acted as a humble reminder of how Cedar Lodge is such a special place to be.
As the Covid-19 situation has improved, our Covid-19 council has since been integrated into our regular staff and resident meetings. But the council is ready to resume should the need arise!
If you’d like more information on our measures to protect against Covid-19, call our friendly care team today on 01386 293 033.