Delight at care home which can get through 700 masks in a day
ON just one day, the staff at Lawnfield House could get through more than 700 masks.
So when Mail Force delivered 3,000 masks yesterday, they were understandably delighted.
So far the care home, which has 41 residents all with dementia, has remained coronavirus-free. It means masks are necessary only for personal care and hygiene purposes, and when coughs and mystery illnesses give cause for concern.
But if a suspected case arrives, recommendations for the disposable face coverings to be thrown away after contact with any individual mean this home could get through hundreds.
As Mail Force, the independent charity supported by the Daily Mail and its partners, oversaw delivery of its latest consignment, senior care assistant at Lawnfield Darren Bailey, 40, said: ‘We need more masks because we can never tell when a case of the virus will happen – and we need to be prepared.
‘So far we’ve stayed Covid-free because staff have been adhering to strict instructions – we don’t wear our uniforms home, we change as soon as we get in, and we protect ourselves, our families and the residents.
‘We’ve upped our hand hygiene, making sure we wash our hands at least every half hour, and making sure the residents do so before and after meals.
‘These masks will help us do our best to keep the virus outside. The problem with PPE for residential homes like ours is that there are so many homes it is difficult to maintain supply.’
Lawnfield House, in Brondesbury Park, north-west London, is part of the MHA – Methodist Homes for the Aged – group, caring for council and personally funded residents, regardless of faith or belief. This single group alone has some 90 care homes and 80 other schemes.
At Lawnfield staff are already extra busy turning their hand to hairdressing through necessity. On top of the 41 residents
‘Lockdown has been a challenge’
aged from their 60s to their 90s there are 17 sheltered flats next door when they sometimes have to lend a hand.
And helping vulnerable residents is a particular challenge when, with their dementia, they are struggling to understand the virus lockdown. Mr
Bailey said: ‘Staff are going over-board to keep residents informed about the virus. That basically involves answering the same questions 50 times a day.
‘We’ve explained to some of them that it’s something like the Spanish Flu of a century ago, because some of them are aware what that was like.
‘One of our personal problems meanwhile is that lots of shops are only open 8am to 8pm – and that’s our day shift. We have to wait for a day off to go shopping.’
Senior care assistant Daisy Calang said: ‘We already use masks and gloves for personal care, and those whose health we aren’t sure of. We haven’t had testing of course. And if the virus arrives here we could be using masks for every contact with every resident, which could be a couple of times a day, meaning we could get through 80 disposable masks a day each. That’s why it’s so important we have enough.’
Fellow senior care assistant Adeline Munu, a mother of two, said: ‘The lockdown has been such a challenge.
‘You could see the fear on the residents’ faces when they discovered they wouldn’t be able to see their loved ones. We’ve been helping them see them on FaceTime and Zoom over the internet.’ Latest coronavirus video news, views and expert advice at mailplus.co.uk/coronavirus