‘Hopefully it will mean life will begin to return to normal’
IT’S the moment residents and staff at Wellcroft Care Home have been waiting for – a delivery of vaccines that will eventually allow them to hug their loved-ones.
Like all care homes, visitors have not been allowed inside since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March.
Though necessary to keep everyone as safe, it’s come at a huge emotional cost for residents, their relatives and care home staff.
But on Thursday Wellcroft took one step closer to normality thanks to the arrival of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.
Pauline Dickins, aged 84, was among the 29 residents to receive their first dose of the vaccine.
The grandmother-of-four, from Heald Green, Stockport, said: “It’s an honour to be among the first people in the region to receive the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine.
“It was an easy process and will hopefully mean that life can begin to return to normal in 2021 and will mean we will all be able to hug our families soon, who we’ve all missed. That will mean a great deal.”
Residents at Wellcroft, a dementia care home, were the first in-line in Stockport to receive the Oxford vaccine as part of the national roll-out.
The majority of care home staff have already received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at Stepping Hill Hospital.
Julie Veritiero, manager at Wellcroft, said it was an emotional day for everyone.
“This is a pivotal moment at the end of a very long journey,” said Julie.
“Getting the vaccine is going to enable us to have normality again after a very hard year.
“To be able to reunite residents with their relatives will be the end of a very emotional journey.”
Only ‘essential’ visitors, such as doctors and nurses, have been allowed inside the home since last March.
A visiting ‘pod’ has enabled some relatives to see their loved ones through a pane of glass.
“There were tears all round when we started the pod visits,” adds Julie.
“It was the first time residents had seen their families for months.
“We use Skype and WhatsApp to keep in touch with families but because of their cognition some of our residents didn’t understand that it was a relative on the screen.”
Julie says vaccination is ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ for staff too. Many have sacrificed seeing their own children and grandchildren to avoid catching or spreading Covid.
Jemma Billing, community matron for the borough, helped administer the jabs on Thursday.
The mum-of-three said there were tears of joy among residents and staff.
“It’s been amazing to be a part of history today,” said Jemma.
“It’s one of the reasons you go into nursing, to feel like you are doing something good.
“We still have a way to go, and vaccination is not going to happen overnight.
“But now we can start to be hopeful. It’s been quite overwhelming.”
Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, the first to be approved, the Oxford vaccine does not need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures and is much easier to move, making it easier to use in care homes and to vaccinate the housebound.
The Prime Minister confirmed almost 1.5m people have now been vaccinated against the disease and the Government intends to give everyone in care homes a jab by the end of this month.