Home closes doors after workers’ positive tests
AVALLEY care home decided to close to visitors just days before Christmas due to positive Covid test results amongst its staff.
Highfield Hall Care Home on Grane Road, Haslingden closed its doors for 14 days in line with Government guidance.
The home is owned by Each Other Care who have eight other care homes in the North West, and consists of 60 residents across three units: residential, dementia and respite.
Gavin Robertson’s 95-year-old mum is a resident at the home and he expressed his upset at their decision to close just before Christmas.
He said: “When there was news of staff members testing positive for coronavirus, all of the residents subsequently tested which came back negative - but no one had any symptoms or illness anyway.
“This will be the second consecutive Christmas that the care home has been closed and I have been unable to visit my mum.
“I am a frequent visitor to the home, seeing my mum five to six times a week and I wonder if this could be her last Christmas.
“The needs of the relatives need to be taken into account.
“The lockdowns have had an adverse effect on my mum’s mental health and I do worry about her constantly.
“All those poor lonely old people in the home looking forward to finally having a Christmas with their families and now this. Criminals are locked inside buildings, not people who have done nothing wrong.”
Government guidance on care home visiting states that in the case of an outbreak, “controls may be in place for up to 28 days following the last positive case especially as we learn more about realworld vaccine effectiveness and disease severity of the Omicron variant.”
Guidance also outlines the steps care homes may take in order to continue offering visits, even during outbreaks.
This includes “wellventilated spaces with substantial screens, visiting pods or from behind windows - rooms should be left to ventilate with external doors and windows open between uses wherever possible, while aiming to maintain a comfortable temperature for residents and visitors.”
Barbara Cameron, the interim home manager at Highfield Hall Care Home said: “A couple of our staff members have tested positive for coronavirus and in-line with government guidelines, we have decided to close the home for 14 days.
“However, residents who have received three doses of the vaccination will be able to leave the home to see loved ones this Christmas.
“Unfortunately, no one will be able to visit the home and unvaccinated residents will be unable to leave.
“Residents that do leave the home during this time will need to produce a negative lateral flow test before they leave and another when they arrive back. All of our staff and our residents have regular PCR tests and we will be monitoring the situation to see when our staff members will be able to return upon receiving a negative result.
“We want to keep everyone as safe as possible, but our intention is not to keep everyone away and families will still be able to drop-off presents at the door as usual.”