Belong Welcomes Changes to Government’s Care Home Guidance

Among the thousands of care homes benefitting from the changes to Covid guidance in England last week, dementia care specialists, Belong, welcomed the move to enable new residents to move to its Atherton and Wigan care villages without the need for them to self-isolate, for the first time in over a year.

The government’s revised advice, which came into place on June 21st, allows those moving from their homes into residential care and nursing environments to do so without a subsequent 14-day self-isolation period – providing necessary requirements are met, including being vaccinated and testing negative for Covid-19.

The move has already proven to be a lifeline for local couple Jan and Bill Davies. Just days after the change, Jan moved in to the Belong Wigan care village in Platt Bridge for respite care. Husband Bill Davies said: “With Jan having dementia, I thought that isolation would do more harm than good, so I was very happy that this wasn’t required. The Belong staff have been terrific, I can’t thank them enough.”

Gill Menguy, general manager at Belong Wigan, commented: “This is very welcome news and a vital step in helping older people to access appropriate support. Many have been struggling at home without adequate care provision for fear of having to self-isolate in care homes. Now this is no longer the case, we can provide reassurance customers can access all facilities, interact with colleagues and other residents, and receive regular visits from family.”

Prior to the government’s changes, all residents moving into care or briefly leaving for high-priority reasons, such as for GP appointments, were obliged to complete a self-isolation period of 14 days, regardless of their circumstances – a requirement which many in the sector felt was not proportionate to the reduced risks, given rapid progress with vaccinations, continuous testing, and the strict infection prevention and safety measures in place.

Belong’s CQC Outstanding-rated villages can also facilitate short stays for respite care without the need for self-isolation, again where Covid-safe conditions are satisfied through a risk assessment. The same applies to residents returning to the village after taking trips away, for example, overnight stays with families.

Rebecca Woodcock, general manager at Belong Atherton added: “With regular testing in place and the majority of colleagues and nearly all residents in our villages vaccinated, the requirement to isolate has been perceived to be an excessive measure, preventing people from accessing much needed support. This is particularly true for families, such as Jan and Bill, who are looking for respite care, which really doesn’t work if the full period will be spent in isolation. The safety and welfare of our customers and colleagues is always our priority and being able to interact with other people is an intrinsic part of looking after mental health.

“We’d say to anyone in need of care for their older loved ones, or those living with dementia: help is available, whether short or long-term, at home or in one of our villages, Belong can help.”

Pictured: Jan and Bill Davies at Belong Wigan