Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Bristol care homes have taken extensive measures to ensure their residents are protected from COVID-19. From moving staff into the home to restricting visiting to close members of the family, Bristol’s care facilities have done everything possible to reduce the spread and maintain the already high standards of care.

But has this impacted the numbers?

According to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics, COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in male care home residents, accounting for 33.5% of all deaths between 2nd March – 12th June 2020. 

COVID-19 was also the second leading cause of death in female care home residents, after Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for 26.6% of all deaths.

Statistically, England had a significantly higher age-standardised mortality rate for deaths involving COVID-19 (1,182.9 deaths per 100,000 care home residents) compared with Wales (822.3 deaths per 100,000 care home residents).

However, since mid-April 2020, we have seen a slowdown in both the total number of deaths and deaths involving COVID-19 in care home residents.

What about Bernash?

At Bernash Care Home in Bristol, we are fortunate to have remained clear of any coronavirus cases and all of our residents remain asymptomatic. But this pandemic does not allow us to stand still or rest on our laurels.

COVID-19 still poses a major threat to vulnerable care home residents as well as being a risk to our visitors and our staff.

How will Bristol care homes stay safe from coronavirus over winter?

The Department of Health and Social Care has developed a new adult social care winter plan devised to curb the spread of coronavirus infections in care settings during the winter months.

As part of the plan:

• people receiving adult social care and care workers will receive free PPE
• decontamination and cleaning processes will be further developed
• a new dashboard will monitor care home infections and help local government and providers respond quicker
• a Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care will be appointed to represent social care nurses and provide clinical leadership to the workforce

The government is also preparing to strengthen monitoring and regulation by local authorities and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), including asking them to take strong action where improvement is required or staff movement is not being restricted. 

However, we still feel care homes in Bristol have been overlooked and we are championing a change to this.

What are we doing at Bernash Care Home?

As the residents at Bernash Care Home and their families will already know, we have been at the forefront of putting actions in place compared to other care homes in Bristol. 

We were the first, residential nursing facility in Bristol to restrict visiting to close members of the family and we also later restricted visiting altogether to provide extra reassurance to staff, residents and families.

As shown by the lack of COVID-19 cases we’ve seen, we believe this was proactive protection for our residents that has guarded their health.

What’s next?

In accordance with government legislation, we’ve implemented a daily deep cleaning practice in all communal areas  as well as rigorously cleaning all of our frequently touched surfaces.

We’ve also committed to keeping our residents safe by:

• Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Regularly checking the temperature of all residents and care home staff
• Rolling out a new Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test which has a 30-minute turn around.
• Limiting visitation to 2 constant visitors per week

Our staff will also be wearing lanyards with a photo of them smiling, to better help the residents interact with staff wearing full PPE.

And we will regularly access our internal procedures to ensure we’re doing the utmost to protect our residents and the wider Bristol community.

Still have questions?

If you are considering moving into a care home or you’re helping a loved one find residential care, please feel free to give us a call on 01275 833670. 

Our team will be more than happy to answer any questions you have regarding residential care or dementia care services in Bristol.