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no.287 • £4.75 incorporating
September 2020
The Number One magazine for the care sector
Residents are protected by home design THE owners of an Edinburgh care home have revealed how the innovative design of its building has helped protect residents from coronavirus. Cramond Residence, which cares for up to 74 older people, says its success to date in keeping the virus at bay is partly because the building was specially designed for enhanced infection control. Bosses have praised staff and relatives of residents for their efforts in halting the deadly disease, while revealing their secret weapon has been … architecture. Director Graeme Kelly, himself a qualified surveyor, said: “Fortunately our care home was purpose built and when it was being designed, we ensured that infection control was a top priority. “We worked with the architects at every stage to include the most up-to-date best practice. “So far, those measures have stood up very well to the challenges our sector is facing from coronavirus.” Among the most important design elements are self-contained, small-group living units, a clever air extraction system and specially laid out bathrooms. Graeme added: “We’ll never be complacent, because nowhere is immune from coronavirus. “However, the thoughtful design
of our home has been an extremely important factor in protecting our residents so far, along with the professionalism of our clinical-led care team. “It’s well known that large, communal areas can lead to the fast spread of infection throughout a care home. “Our design addresses this, because Cramond Residence is designed to function as nine separate homes across three storeys. “Each small group living area has up to eight bedrooms, with a private lounge, dining and snug facilities. “When necessary, residents can be cared for in small groups using the self-contained facilities. “This is excellent for privacy and quality of life generally, but really shows its true value when everyone is working together to reduce the potential for an infection to spread.” The small group living philosophy also extends to staff. In periods of heightened infection risk, the care and services teams adopt a system known as “cohorting”. This sees specific staff dedicated to just one of the residence’s nine self-contained homes, dramatically reducing possible infection spread from staff movement.
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Home hosts traditional carnival
The 75th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day and the end of WWII has been marked by veterans at Royal Star & Garter’s three Homes. Residents participated in a series of commemorative events at the charity’s homes in Solihull, Surbiton and High Wycombe over the weekend. They also took part in the national events marking the 75th anniversary, including a two-minute silence at 11am on VJ Day. At Surbiton, the Union Flag was raised by Florence Mahoney (pictured), a WAAF veteran. Residents later enjoyed tea and cake and raised a toast to the end of the war.
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A CARE home in Surrey has treated its residents to a special vintagestyle fairground carnival in its grounds, complete with all the traditional games and festivities. Princess Christian Care Centre, a residential care home near Woking, recently held a socially distanced carnival where residents enjoyed classic games such as coconut shy, physic reading, tin can alley, sponge-throwing, lucky dip, and more. The retro funfair also saw staff dress up in circus-themed attire, including clowns, mimes, magicians and ringmasters, with a host of prizes up for grabs and a banquet of delicious cakes and treats on display. Held to evoke positive memories of traditional British carnivals in times gone by, and to provide the residents a chance to enjoy the summer sunshine, the event was a huge success, with residents and staff alike getting into the festival spirit, albeit socially distanced. Christine Foster, activities manager at Princess Christian Care Centre, said: “We asked our residents what they remembered from the fairgrounds and circuses they attended as children. “We then created a variety of stalls, with up to 95 per cent of signposts being designed and painted by the residents themselves. “Although everyone had to socially distance, it was a great day that brought a lot of happiness and fun during lockdown.”
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