Sheffield care home still ‘Covid-19 free’ nearly a month after staff moved in to spend lockdown with residents: ‘Having a good system is all we've needed’

“We'll be going home in six days - we agreed to do a month, and then we'll be getting taken over by a second team.”

And the ‘lock-in’ at the home in Ranmoor – which has made national headlines as an example of heroic selflessness amid the pandemic – has worked, Sarah-Jane is proud to report.

“Most care homes have been affected by Covid-19 - ours hasn't. We are Covid-19 free. We had really good measures in place before things got worse. We're all safe, we stopped visitors very early on, and had staff living here and not going in and out.”

There have been outbreaks of coronavirus at more than 2,000 care homes across the country, leading to promises from the Government that all residents and staff with symptoms will be tested as laboratory capacity increases.

“If we had tests it would allow extra staff members to come in because we'll know they're OK,” Sarah-Jane says.

Sarah-Jane is one of eight staff who volunteered to move in with the home's 23 residents whose ages range from 65 to 98, putting them at high risk of serious illness should they become infected.

Next week four staff will be going home, including Sarah-Jane. The chef is staying, along with two night carers. All of the replacement team have been self-isolating beforehand, and if they are showing any symptoms they will not be able to step inside the premises.

“I'm looking forward to going home, but it's worrying as well, because obviously another team's coming in," Sarah-Jane says. “It's quite scary out there, really, isn't it? I'm looking forward to being able to give my family a hug goodnight and to see them. I know my residents will be well looked after by the girls that are coming in, but we just need some tests really so we can feel even better.”

The atmosphere in the home has remained positive. “We're all singing and dancing,” says Sarah-Jane. “We've been out on the patio enjoying the sunshine. Our day is very much the same - doing activities with them and so on. The only thing is, they can't see their families and we can't see ours, we don't go home at the end of the day. But thanks to technology we can video call with our families and keep in touch. It's worked really well, we're very fortunate that we're able to do this and we've got staff to do it.”

Bridgedale House, she points out, would have sealed itself off regardless of any wider lockdown strategy.

“We'd stopped visitors from March 13, staff took good measures wearing masks and gloves on public transport and having their temperatures taken – we still have our temperatures taken, even though we're not going anywhere. Having a good system in place is all that we've needed. There have been so many homes affected by it and they haven't had any measures put in place, they've still got staff going in and out. Some have still got relatives going in and seeing them. That's how it's easily spread.”

The home, she emphasises, has no issue with a lack of personal protective equipment either.

“We've got all that we need. We've got masks, gloves, sanitiser... I know others have struggled, but to be honest our management team saw it coming.”

Sarah-Jane, 23, lives in Nether Green with her parents and her fiancé.

“We're saving up for a house,” she says. "He's been self-isolating. He works in a supermarket and suffers with asthma – they're at high risk as well. He didn't stop working straight away, but the day before I went into lockdown he said 'I won't be going to work tomorrow'. He's got to keep himself safe. The sooner everyone realises we've got to stay at home, hopefully we'll get over this.”

Bridgedale House’s lockdown, however, is likely to continue for a lengthy period.

“It could take months, we don't know. We're probably going to be on lockdown and not accepting visitors for some time, until we know it's alright and back to normal out there. I'm going home for a couple of weeks and then I could be coming back for another month."

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