St Luke’s care home opens Covid unit
A RUNCORN care home is opening a Covid-19 unit designed to accommodate patients recovering from the virus after they leave hospital.
The Willow Unit at St Luke’s Care Home on Palacefields Avenue is a 10-bed facility run by Halton Borough Council.
Relatives of residents already staying at St Luke’s were informed via a January newsletter from the local authority, which said the opening was made possible by a reconfiguration of the home that left the Willow unit empty and available.
The letter said the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had agreed the unit could be opened and managed safely, and added that the unit will be accessed via a separate entrance.
One concerned family member has contacted the Weekly News over the facility, and raised questions over infection controls and fire safety for residents with Covid-19 in the event they need to evacuate the unit, which they said is upstairs.
A Halton Council spokesman said the unit has its own team of staff who will not work anywhere else in the home, and will enter the home in their own clothes before changing into scrubs in the unit’s changing area.
He added that staff across the home wear full PPE.
The unit was set up to support residents who have Covid-19 but no longer need hospital care, but some of whom may need a long-term care home stay.
He said these residents will be looked after in Willow, which he said met all its CQC benchmarks, until able to return home or to another care home.
The spokesman said: “Staff will wear full PPE as they do across the care home. Staff from Willow will take their breaks in the dedicated staff room and will not mix with other staff.
“There are full infection control measures in place across the home and these have been devised with support from infection control and agreed with the Care Quality Commission.
“There is a designated lift for the use of residents being admitted to Willow and a full cleaning regime is in place.
“Residents and staff have all been offered the Covid-19 vaccination. Additionally all staff are offered Covid testing three times a week.”
The section of letter sent to relatives referring to the unit opening said: “We have been working with our colleagues from Infection Control and the Care Quality Commission to review how we can utilise the skills and expertise and fully support Halton residents across the borough during this period.
“We have been inspected by CQC (Care Quality Commission) using their Infection Prevention and Control framework, who have agreed that this care and support can be provided safely in St Luke’s.
“With that in mind, we are opening a unit that is dedicated to people who have tested positive and remain positive for the virus but do not require acute care.”
St Luke’s was last inspected by the CQC in 2018 when it was graded “good”.