Jemini Response 52 Summerheath Road

We found the following examples of good practice.

Staff spent time with people reassuring them about the need for staff having to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). Staff would usually reveal their face at the door to people's rooms and say hello before putting the facemask back on. This helped reassure people and helped them to recognise staff.

The registered manager had adopted various measures to encourage social distancing. For example, people had two sittings at mealtimes and a separate room had been added where people could eat. Space had been created between tables. Dedicated areas of the home had been put aside for specific activities for example, arts and crafts. People enjoyed following routines and careful timing ensured there was no overlap. A large garden contained three separate out houses that were used by people for different activities.

The registered manager had followed government guidelines for visitors. Some family members had been able to meet their loved ones and join them on walks to a local park. One resident whose family were not able to visit received a letter or a poem on the same day each week which they enjoyed and helped to reduce anxiety. The home used iPad's and helped some people to facetime and video call relatives.

Staff worked exclusively at the service and were all involved in cleaning the home. A regime involving two hourly cleaning of high touch areas for example, door handles and tabletops, was in place and the whole home was deep cleaned weekly. The service was clean throughout.

A robust training schedule was in place for all staff which included PPE, infection prevention and control and Covid-19 specific training. Training was provided both from an internal trainer and from an external source. Staff were kept up to date about changing guidelines by regular bulletins from the local authority. The registered manager provided daily welfare support to staff through conversations and an ongoing programme of supervision meetings. An external life coach had been made available to staff if needed.

An annex at the front of the building served as the point of entry and exit for all visitors including staff. Temperatures were taken and PPE put on in this area. There were PPE stations and bins for disposal of used PPE throughout the home although these were kept out of the corridors to help prevent trips and falls.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found