Manx Care will begin a phased re-opening of Residential Care Homes for older people from Monday 16 August.
Temporary closures have been in place in eight homes operated by the Adult Social Care division of Manx Care as a result of a number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and increased levels of community transmission.
The Residential Care Homes for older people operated by Manx Care that will begin their phased re-opening from Monday 16 August are;
- Southlands – Port St Mary
- Cummal Mooar – Ramsey
- Langness/Gansey – Port St Mary
- Thie Meanagh/Sweetbriar – Douglas
- Reayrt Skyal – Ramsey
There will be some restrictions in place to ensure a controlled and manageable move to opening fully. For 14 days the following measures will be in place;
- Visiting will be allowed, but all visits must be pre-arranged with the management team of each home. Appointment bookings will be available from Monday 16th August 2021.
- Visiting will be restricted to one person at any time, and following Infection Prevention and Control clinical advice, will be for 15 minutes.
- All visitors will be asked to carry out a Lateral Flow Test (LFT) at each home prior to the visit, and they will be required to comply with PPE and hand hygiene guidance on arrival and throughout the visit.
- In addition Manx Care is strongly recommending that during this 14 day period residents do not leave the care home for visits with family/friends, with the exception of urgent or emergency medical treatments.
This guidance will in place until 27 August when it will be reviewed.
Reayrt-ny-Baie in Douglas will remain closed until Friday 20 August, at which point the position will be reviewed, due to the continued outbreak of COVID-19 in the home which is impacting both residents and staff.
Manx Care is continuing to provide daily support to privately-run Care Homes for older people across the Island, particularly with regard to COVID-19 screening and surveillance, and the provision of infection prevention and control guidance.
Andrew Foster CBE, Chairman of Manx Care, commented:
'We are pleased to be in a position where we are now able to begin the reintroduction of visiting to our care homes. However, we have a duty of care to protect our vulnerable residents and our staff and therefore this will be with some mitigations and restrictions in place for two weeks.
'We understand that this has been an incredibly difficult time for both friends and family, but also for our staff who have worked tirelessly through such a challenging time to continue delivering a safe service.
'During this time our staff have received some unacceptable abuse from frustrated and upset families and friends. I would ask that we please be kind and have patience with each other while these protective measures are in place.'
The revised Residential Care Home visitor policy will be uploaded on www.gov.im by 17:30 on Friday 13 August.
