Sheffield care home leads the way in the fight against coronavirus

In the words of one care home manager from Sheffield, staff have been “quietly going about their business delivering excellent care” long before badges of honour and weekly claps were introduced.

Janet Marshall has been the care home manager at Sanford House, which is one of three care homes in Sheffield independently owned by Nargis Firdous, for four and a half years.

She said: “Care homes get such bad press but not all of us are like that. There’s some care homes out there that are functioning quite well.”

Janet’s comments come as several care homes in the city have been criticised by their own staff over their handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

She said: “We have had no cases with our staff or patients.

“As soon as we got a whiff of it we locked down for visitors. Most of our residents stay in anyway so we thought it would be more likely that people would be bringing it in.”

Sanford House cares for 32 patients aged between 49 and 83 who have learning difficulties and mental health conditions. They are looked after by no fewer than 32 staff around the clock.

In July the home was rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission, something Janet said is a rare achievement in the sector.

She said: “At the start of the lockdown I did a three-month shop from Iceland on Chesterfield Road so we didn’t have to worry about food.

“We also held hand-washing lessons with our residents and taught them how to wash their hands and sing happy birthday twice.”

The home has also introduced rest periods for residents three times a day where they will go to their rooms while the communal areas are sanitised.

Janet, who has worked in care for 20 years, added: “A driver also picks up all our staff so they don’t have to use public transport.”

PPE supplies are plentiful and staff are also provided with hand gel.

“I don’t keep it in my office,” Janet said.

“We carers are in the background and we never get mentioned.”