'Remember care homes when coronavirus is over' - Reader letter

Let’s not forget care homes when Covid-19 is over.
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Care home beds outnumber adult hospital beds by around three to one and, across the city, care home managers and staff are working long hours under difficult conditions to keep the most elderly and vulnerable safe during the pandemic.

There have been exceptional examples of care home staff moving in to plug gaps and to protect their own families and yet care homes still lack appropriate personal protective equipment for all their staff.

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The Care Home Managers’ Forum, a local self-managed group are supporting members in practical ways, such as sharing equipment, and offering emotional support, via a WhatsApp group, but the pressure is still immense.

Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE at Newfield Nursing Home, Sheffield, April 2020.Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE at Newfield Nursing Home, Sheffield, April 2020.
Jack Dodsley, 79, with a carer in PPE at Newfield Nursing Home, Sheffield, April 2020.

Some residents, who would normally have been conveyed to hospital, are cared for in the home and there is a continuing need to care for residents who are at the end-of-life.

Care home workers are having to deal with the death of people they consider to be part of their family.

Before the pandemic, care homes were far less prominent in the media, or the public consciousness than hospitals or GP surgeries and perhaps a new awareness is growing about the important work they do.

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Care home workers are usually paid minimum wage and the current crisis has brought into sharp focus issues around funding, staffing, and support for care homes.

Let’s not forget this when the crisis is over.

In many cases, extra attention to personal needs, such as online access to church services and additional care while a family cannot visit has become the norm.

New forms of entertainments have been complemented with different methods of getting GP or district nursing advice, while they are unable to call in person.

The spotlight on care homes is welcomed by Care Home Forum co-chairman, who want to see a parity of status for the care sector and welcome any new and practical ways that the Sheffield business community could support and recognise care home staff with discounts, priority shopping and other treats that would help them to maintain morale and keep spirits up.

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If anyone wants more information about how to show appreciation for the hard work in care homes or to make contact with the forum, email [email protected]

Care Home managers have welcomed the positive way The Star has supported residents and families with recent articles.

Now, perhaps, there is a need to campaign for recognition for the thousands of social care workers who have offered love and care to residents throughout the pandemic, recognising that, for this sector, the work to manage the most vulnerable people will continue.

Rachel Coates and James Sherwin

Care Home Forum Sheffield.

Or is it just another thing in the secretive Streets Ahead contract that we can supposedly do nothing about?

Richard Ward

Harcourt Road, Crookesmoor

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