COVID-19 CLAIMS 12 LIVES AT CARE HOME
● Manager: ‘It’s heartbreaking... we are devastated’
TWELVE people have died after a coronavirus outbreak swept through a care home on Anglesey.
The virus swept through the Fairways Newydd Nursing and Dementia Care Centre in Llanfairpwll during the early part of January, and led to a dozen residents losing their lives.
Jodie Jones, the manager at the home, said she had been left feeling “empty” after the outbreak, adding that it had been the worst moment of her career.
She also expressed her belief that the new variant of Covid-19 is likely to have been responsible for the outbreak in recent weeks, which has led to a total of 36 residents at the home testing positive, along with 54 staff.
She said: “It is heart-breaking to lose so many residents.
“All of them were very popular with staff and we are devastated to have lost each of them.
“I’ve always said it is not like working in a hospital, where patients come and go. The residents are with us for months and years.
“A proper bond is built up and the residents become like family. We see them more than we do our own families.
“So, when any resident passes away, it hits the staff hard. It upsets them to walk past the bedrooms and realise a resident is no longer with us.
“Our thoughts are very much with their families at this incredibly difficult time.”
Ms Jones, 40, has spent all her adult life working in the care sector and has been at Fairways Newydd since 2017. She became manager the following year.
“This is without doubt the worst experience I have ever had in my career,” she said.
“There’s such an empty feeling. The people who live here are not just a number, they are part of our lives.
“Whenever I am interviewing staff, I always tell them that I want them to look after residents the same way they would their nain, taid, parents or any other close family member. They treat them with the care they would for their own family. It really has hit everybody hard. The staff are grieving for the residents we have lost.”
The home, near Britannia Bridge, is one of five care facilities operated across North Wales by Fairways.
The company acquired the home in 2017, at a time when it was on the brink of closure.
“We have worked so hard to strengthen the reputation of the home and then this has happened,” said Ms Jones, who lives near Colwyn Bay.
“The last year has been extremely difficult due to the pandemic, but we have done everything we can to try and prevent an outbreak at the home.
“I have great sympathy for the families of our residents, given that lockdown has made it difficult for them to see each other and now many will be grieving their loved ones. It is devastating that this has happened.
“Never did I ever imagine working through anything like this.
“I think it is only when we come out of it that we will realise just what we have been through. When working in it you just do what needs to be done.
“Our staff have done such a tremendous job and have worked so hard throughout the pandemic. They have been absolutely heroic.”
The home has not yet received confirmation that the positive Covid tests were for the new variant of the virus.
However, Jodie believes the way the home was able to success- fully contend with a small Covid outbreak last year is a clear indicator that something has been different this time around.
“We dealt with this outbreak in exactly the same way as the previous one and were confident we knew what to do,” she said.
“However, the fact that this has been so different suggests it may have been the new variant.”
All residents have been isolating in their rooms since the outbreak in early January.
Jodie said: “It has been a very difficult time, but we will be doing all we can to help prevent anything like this happening again in the future.
“We will keep looking after the residents, who don’t deserve anything less than the best treatment.”
Inspection reports have recognised the steps taken within the home to avert any potential outbreak throughout the pandemic, according to the operators.
Mark Bailey, owner of Fairways, said: “I have worked in care for 33 years and this is absolutely the worst experience I’ve had. We are devastated that so many popular residents have died.
“I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the families of our residents. The staff build up close relationships with the residents and I know how upsetting this has been for everybody at the home.
“I want to stress how grateful I am to Jodie and the staff for the work they have performed throughout the pandemic. They have shown an outstanding level of dedication.
“A great deal of work has taken place to try and prevent any sort of outbreak at the home and this has been reflected in the findings of the inspection reports.
“We are doing absolutely everything we can to help ensure this will not happen again.”
A multi-agency Incident Management Team has now been established following the outbreak, involving Anglesey Council, Public Health Wales and Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board.
LOVING tributes have been paid to a “well-respected” dad-of-three from Anglesey who died after contracting coronavirus.
Kevin Hughes, 41, from Valley, died at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor on Sunday morning following a week long fight with Covid-19.
He leaves behind his wife Emma and three children Liam, Sioned and Jamie.
Mr Hughes, a keen Liverpool FC fan, worked for the Welsh Ambulance Service on their ICT Service Desk based at St Asaph.
He had been with the ambulance service since May 2017 as an ICT Service Desk Analyst, having previously worked as a civilian for RAF Valley Search and Rescue operations and also Anglesey County Council.
Chief executive Jason Killens said: “Kevin’s loss will be felt deeply by everyone here at Team WAST and we extend our deepest sympathies to Emma, Kevin’s children and his wider family.
“Our focus will now be on supporting his family and bereaved colleagues at this most difficult time.”
Kara Walsh, ICT service desk manager and Kevin’s line manager, paid tribute to him by saying: “Kevin was a well-respected member of the ICT service desk.
“The messages that myself and the team have received from across the Welsh Ambulance Service since his death, speaks volumes of how well liked he was.
“He will be truly missed by us all.”
Mr Hughes is the fourth Welsh Ambulance Service staff member lost to Covid-19 following the recent death of Alan Haigh earlier this month, Paul Teesdale, a call handler for the non-emergency patient transport service in January, and the death in April of Gerallt Davies MBE, a paramedic in Cwmbwrla.