The Chantry

We found the following examples of good practice.

• The service was committed to a programme of regular testing of staff and people using the service, and began to do this as soon as it was available. This identified two asymptomatic cases of Covid 19 and prompt action was taken which contained the virus and prevented spread to others. • The service sought advice regularly directly from Public Health England when a positive case of Covid was confirmed. They found the advice useful and this also provided reassurance to the staff team. For example, following their advice the service made changes to cleaning products which helped reduce the spread of the virus at an early stage. • All staff attended training online in infection control. They could interact with a live trainer and actively participate in the session. Staff found this more engaging and effective than usual online training sessions. • A wooden cabin in the garden was used effectively for facilitating visits as it was close to the external gate. This meant visitors did not need to enter the premises to access it. The cabin was cleaned before and after visits to reduce the risk of cross infection. • Each person using the service had a one to one worker on each shift, and this worker was given responsibility for weekly deep cleans of their room and cleaning the cabin before and after any visits. When one person was Covid positive and found it difficult to self-isolate, their support worker ensured continuous cleaning took place of areas they spent time to reduce the risk of spreading to others. • The risk of cross infection was reduced due to people having their own en suite facilities and many people having kitchenettes and washing machines. • Effective use of return to work interviews when any staff member had been away from work for any reason meant they were supported to return safely and could be given important updates in a timely way. • The service had an up to date and carefully considered business continuity plan which was regularly reviewed. This ensured they were well prepared to deal with arising issues related to Covid 19.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found