Chapter 3: The direct impact of COVID-19 in Gateshead

Care homes have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, especially in the early months.

At the beginning of the pandemic, there was an awful lot of Covid in the community. The company and staff who didn't have it worked so hard to keep the home going.

To support the NHS, we set up a unit for people who had Covid-19 and were being discharged from hospital and couldn't go home as they either didn't have a care package in place or were from a different care home that couldn't take patients with Covid-19. These were new residents who didn't know our staff - this was the hardest thing for me and my team.

At the beginning of the pandemic, before the unit for residents with Covid opened, we had difficulty in getting PPE. Our normal supplier couldn't provide it and the company drove round all over trying to get it. Also, it took time to get training on donning and doffing PPE. It felt as though care homes were left out. I think it's been a real lesson from the pandemic that social care is there to support the NHS.

These were really difficult times for staff. We had a cry every Thursday - I don't know what it was about a Thursday, but we used to have a breakdown and cry.

The social distancing was very hard for residents. At the beginning we kept everyone two metres apart even in the lounges, and only two people to a table in the dining room. Staff wore masks which made it difficult for communication with residents. After two months you could really see the impact that this was having on residents. So, we did a risk assessment and put residents together in bubbles of two who could sit next to each other in communal areas. 

To keep people in contact with their families, we had window visits, tablets for Zoom meetings and encouraged telephone calls. We put in an extra telephone line. Staff were the bridge between their families and a loved one. Some residents' families, their husbands or wives are elderly, and we've supported them as much as residents over the last two years.
Care Home Manager, Gateshead

Staff make an awful situation a whole lot better by testing us, giving us PPE and letting us sit downstairs or in garden with dad. But even I notice how staff and my dad seem weary and need some relatives' intervention.

My dad came straight from hospital last year, I've never seen the lounge where he spends his days and so look forward to a cuppa and a game of bingo with the people he spends his life with now. 
Care home resident's daughter 

Mam went into a care home on a respite basis in March 2020. The home had a lovely atmosphere and I used visit regularly, without having to make an appointment, taking my granddaughter with me. Mam had her birthday that month. There were many members of the family there to help her celebrate.

The next day, the care home went into lockdown due to Covid. It was terrible, we could no longer visit mam and we felt she would think she had been abandoned by her family. When we called her on the phone it just wasn't the same due to mam's dementia and the fact that she couldn't see us.

Today mam is a shell of her former self. Visits have to be made by appointment only and the time we actually have with mam is approximately 30 minutes. Only five members of the family are allowed on the visiting list. Mam has a beautiful baby great granddaughter she has yet to meet, and I only hope she will get to meet her one day.
Care home resident's daughter

Next - Chapter 4: Coming together to respond to the pandemic