“Covid is a nightmare,” says Kristy Smith, manager at St Mary’s care home in Suffolk, “but it has brought humanity to such a beautiful point with kindness. I think it has brought out the absolute best in people.”
Care workers are on the coronavirus frontline and many have reported their concerns over severe shortages of personal protective equipment. But Smith has been keen to ensure that spirits are kept high among the 49 residents at the home near Ipswich.
Visits from families, activity providers and the local community are an integral part of daily life in a care home. But during lockdown, providers are using other ways of keeping residents connected.
“We know how important it is that people can stay in touch with their friends and relatives,” says Sara Livadeas, chief executive of the Fremantle Trust. “Knowing that someone cares about you is a basic human need. It also provides reassurance to relatives who have entrusted the care of their loved ones to others.”
The trust, which supports approximately 1,200 older people and people with learning disabilities, is using video calling technology across its homes and services to enable contact with friends and family.
Some of its homes have also been setting up appointments allowing relatives who live nearby to visit during their daily walk. They can sit outside while chatting on the phone, meaning people can see their loved ones “in the flesh”.
Lilian Faithfull Care, which runs five homes in Gloucester, has also been using technology to keep its 300 residents in touch with their families.
“The homes are taking lots of pictures every day of residents doing activities and sending them so people can be reassured,” says Kelly Richardson, Lilian Faithfull Care’s marketing and fundraising manager.
“They are living their daily lives – taking part in activities such as singing, reading, painting, flower arranging or sitting outside in the garden. They have got the companionship of each other and care teams, and we are concentrating on keeping families up to date, sending newsletters or posting pictures on Facebook.”
Lilian Faithfull is part of the Postcards of Kindness project, which asks people to write to care home residents, and is using social media and local papers to encourage those in the area to send in letters and pictures. Residents have also been painting rainbow pictures and displaying them at their windows, says Richardson, “to show they are passionate about keeping hopeful”.
Homes across the country have been involved in projects to bring generations together, such as hosting nurseries or inviting in local schools. While physical visits have stopped during the coronavirus outbreak, intergenerational activities are continuing virtually.
In Hampshire, the Sunrise of Fleet home hosted regular storytime sessions with the pupils from a local school coming in to read their favourite books. When schools in the area closed, the home put out a call via social media for children to take part in digital storytimes instead.
Families have been getting in touch to take part in the sessions – with some of the children putting on their school uniform to read to the residents, who watch on iPads or a smart TV.
Lisa Baxter, activities and volunteers coordinator, says parents who used to attend a mother and baby group at the home have been sending in videos so residents can keep up with the children’s milestones.
Charity Kissing it Better brings generations together by asking young people to share their talents – which may include music, drama, dance, knitting or juggling – with older people in hospitals and care homes. Since the lockdown was introduced, its volunteers have been singing in the grounds of care homes, outside residents’ windows.
In Suffolk, Smith says children living near the home, which is run by Anchor Hanover, have been sending in letters and pictures, and as people around the country joined the Clap for Carers, the home’s neighbours applauded her colleagues as they finished their shift.
People have left toiletries and other treats for residents and staff, while a local homelessness charity gifted its surplus milk, break, cake and other treats.
Smith says she’s already planning a garden party once the coronavirus crisis ends “because there’s a lot of people we need to say thank you to”.
“People say they can’t wait for it to be over,” she says. “But the beautiful aspects – people have been kinder to each other and smiling at each other – I hope society can keep that little nugget of loveliness.”