CARE HOME GETS FIRST KIT DELIVERY FOR TWO MONTHS
A CARE home which has successfully battled to keep Covid-19 at bay has had its first delivery of PPE in more than two months.
Hankham Lodge received just a single box of medical face masks at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.
Since then it has had nothing despite pleas to health agencies – with desperate bosses even ordering fancy dress medical gowns as an emergency back-up.
Now, thanks to Mail Force, the home – which looks after 17 elderly residents in Eastbourne, East Sussex – has received two boxes of protective coveralls.
Luckily, they have not had a single virus case due to a strict social distancing and disinfection routine.
Owner Peter Sims, who has 20 part-time and 12 full-time staff, said: ‘It has been impossible trying to find PPE so this is a huge boost for us, so thank you. I have to say the local agencies have been pretty rubbish. I didn’t even get a reply when I twice reached out to the local resilience forum. I’ve sent numerous emails to multiple agencies without much joy.
‘We had a single box of 300 masks delivered at the start of this pandemic and nothing after that. We managed to source our own gloves and a volunteer group gave us some visors they had made.’
Mr Sims, who lives on the premises with his wife and children, added: ‘Luckily we haven’t had anyone showing symptoms of Covid-19 but we’ve been holding our breath. It’s quite stressful.’
The two boxes of 40 coveralls were accepted by staff, who said they now feel safer.
Fran Weston added: ‘They’re exactly what we’ve been looking for. Thank you.’