The Burlington

We found the following examples of good practice

During national lockdown restrictions, staff had supported people to keep in touch with their families through telephone and video calls. Since lockdown restrictions had eased, the provider had put arrangements in place to enable safe visiting. A visiting pod had been created which was accessible without travelling through the home. Visitors were required to have their temperature taken and to return a negative result from a lateral flow test (LFT) immediately before their visit. Visitors were also required to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

People had been supported to access medical or healthcare treatment if they needed it during the pandemic. The home's GP carried out a weekly round via video call and visited to assess people face-to-face if necessary. District nurses visited the residential unit for wound dressing and monitoring people with diabetes.

The home was clean and hygienic. Additional cleaning schedules had been implemented, including of frequently touched areas. All staff had attended infection prevention and control (IPC) and COVID-19 training. Staff had access to the PPE they needed and had attended training in its use.

During an outbreak of COVID-19, people who had tested positive for the virus were cared for in a different part of the home to those who had tested negative. Staff supported people to self-isolate in their rooms and specific staff were assigned to care for people who had tested positive for COVID-19. Since the outbreak, the home's communal rooms had reopened in a way which enabled social distancing.

The provider had reviewed the home's contingency plan in relation to COVID-19 to take account of factors such as an increase in staff absence due to the virus. Risk assessments had been carried out for people who may be disproportionately at risk of COVID-19 and measures put in place to reduce risks where necessary.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found