Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic The Huntercombe Group have been fully committed to making sure we keep all our residents, patients and staff as safe as possible.
During the full lockdown period in the first half of 2020, we followed Government advice and asked that (other than in exceptional cases) visitors, including family members, friends and other professionals did not visit any of our sites. We appreciated that it was particularly difficult for our patients and residents to be apart from their families and friends and we worked hard to support them to keep in touch with their families and friends using technology.
As we enter the second national lockdown in England, we regrettably once again have had to minimise footfall at our sites. Our first duty is to ensure patient and resident safety, and to comply with national requirements. This means that we are requesting that all visits when possible are facilitated through virtual / video-conferencing means. However, on those occasions when a face to face visit in person is indicated, services will accommodate one consistent visitor (subject to an appointment system, social distancing and the wearing of a mask) in an outdoor space. In exceptional circumstances, individual sites may be able to facilitate an indoor visit, but these will be subject to the site’s ability to manage this safely and pending additional approval. You are asked not to visit if you have been in contact with someone who is symptomatic or have recently experienced symptoms yourself. Likewise, if we have an outbreak of coronavirus at any of our services or we are instructed to do so by local agencies, we may have to restrict visiting further.
Our staff continue to do all they can to ensure that life in our services remains as optimal as possible for everyone that we look after. We will also do everything we can to communicate our visiting arrangements with you as proactively as possible.
We really appreciate your support with these measures. We are, of course, closely following and complying with the Public Health authorities and all associated guidance to ensure that we keep our residents and patients safe and that our staff are supported to continue to deliver great care.
Dr Amlan Basu
FRCPsych
Medical Director
The Huntercombe Group
