Care homes have been ‘managing the Covid-19 situation well’

SHETLAND’s care homes have been managing the coronavirus situation well, a meeting of the isles’ health and social care partnership will be told on Thursday.

There is also an improved picture at the Wastview care home in Walls, meanwhile, which suffered an outbreak of Covid-19.

A report due to be presented to a virtual meeting of the integration joint board on Thursday from NHS Shetland’s director of public health Susan Webb said that a review of care home practice in the isles has been carried out.

In addition, visits at all Shetland care homes were undertaken by the infection prevention and control team from 9 to 30 April.

“The two pieces of work identified that care homes were managing the situation well,” Webb said.

Figures from the National Records of Scotland show that nearly half of all Covid-19 deaths registered in the country have been in care homes.

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Five out of the seven Covid-19 deaths registered in Shetland relate to care home settings.

A total of 63 staff members and residents were tested at Wastview recently after an outbreak of the virus, which led to deaths at the home. All tests came back negative.

Webb said that testing has also been undertaken in other care homes, but results have been negative.

She added that “weekly meetings are in place to monitor on an ongoing basis infection prevention and control measures, physical distancing, staffing levels, PPE [personal protective equipment] availability and appropriate usage, testing”.

In April the Scottish Government requested that an enhanced system of assurance should be put in place in the country’s care homes around and the safety and wellbeing of residents and staff.

Webb said that all care homes are proactively contacted by the isles’ public health team twice weekly to pick up any issues or causes for concern.

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“An online training programme is in place and all staff have completed the PPE module with timescales in place for completion of the full programme,” her report added.

Webb’s report confirmed that care centres all initially had an ‘outbreak kit’ including PPE, and they were supplied with more as required.

“All care centres now supplied with PPE and process in place for rapid supply of more as required, through Shetland PPE co-ordinating centre,” the report added.

Webb also added that Shetland’s integration joint board had been allocated nearly £300,000 from a Scottish Government fund to support the challenges in the social care sector.