connected In a time when we are all being told to stay at home, and to have no face-to-face contact with any person we don’t live with, people care providers support are at risk of loneliness. To combat this, Helen Wildbore, Director of the Relatives and Residents Association, has shared her top tips and methods for keeping people in touch.
Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives. This is the message echoing across the country as we come together to try to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Families find themselves suddenly separated, no longer able to visit relatives or friends receiving care, whether at home or in a care setting. We know from the calls we are receiving to the Relatives & Residents Association Helpline the impact this is having on those receiving care and their families. We hear from callers struggling with this loss of contact, racked with worry about how their relative will cope without seeing them. Contact with family and friends is vital for everyone’s emotional and mental wellbeing, but especially so for those 42
CMM May 2020
who are older, or affected by dementia or other conditions. These connections can help to avoid isolation, loneliness and depression.
HOW TO STAY IN TOUCH Staying away doesn’t have to mean losing contact, and care providers have a key role to play in supporting the wellbeing of those they care for by helping them to stay in touch with relatives and friends. There are several ways to do this – with the most effective often being video or phone calls. Even where a person communicates non-verbally, or perhaps appears not to take in verbal communication, a phone call from a family member/friend, with their familiar voice, could still be beneficial.
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