At last a gazette with some good news. We can confirm that we will be reopening to visitors from  Monday 8th December. Sadly there will be some restrictions with the reopening which are detailed as follows:

Government guidelines state that each resident should have one key visitor utilizing Covid safe visitor zones within the home with a maximum of two overall.  After some discussion we felt it was fairer to allow two key visitors per resident. Each family will have to identify two key visitors and advise the office of who they will be. Please note each key visitor will have to consent to weekly testing for Covid.  We appreciate this may be frustrating and disappointing to some families as every resident will have more people who would like to visit especially due to Christmas. But we have to consider the safety of all of the residents and staff members within the home.

Visits will only take place in the visitors room and not in the rest of the home at this stage.

All visits are to be prebooked with   Carol or Vicky only Monday to Friday. If you can’t reach us by phone you can email Vicky.yewtree@gmail.com or message via Facebook. Visits will be booked for a maximum of 45minutes and a staff member will be assigned to the room to assist residents. We ask all visitors to arrive before their allotted time to allow for the completion of the risk assessment and Covid test.

During the visit if families would like to utilize the IPAD or laptop to contact extended family members then please let Carol and Vicky know  at the time of booking.

Once again the country is in lockdown with cases of Covid-19 rising. Please be assured that residents and staff continue to be closely monitored and should any possible symptoms be present then a test is quickly arranged and the residents/staff are isolated until the results are received. Weekly testing of staff continues and residents are tested every twenty eight days with our next whole testing to be completed on Tuesday 10th November 2020. The homes current status is Covid free at present.

We understand that keeping in touch with loved ones is important for the mental wellbeing of our residents and their families so following the recent changes in government guidelines we are making some changes to our visitors’ policy.  The following stay in touch options are available for families to choose from:

In bedroom visits – These are only available to “essential visitors” and all visitors will be included in our weekly testing program. A risk assessment will have to completed prior to entering the home. PPE must be worn throughout the visit and visitors will enter / leave the home at the nearest entrance. All visits are to be prebooked with Management.

Coming Soon New Visitor Room – The new visitors room is now ready HURRAH!!!. However sadly the room cannot be opened at present due to ongoing infection rates within local areas. We will advise you as soon as restrictions have been lifted, but we are hoping the room will be opened once lockdown is lifted in December.

Room facilities include refreshment stand, hand washing facilities, hand sanitizer station outside the room and additional hand washing facilities at the front of the building. A desk area on each side of the room with screens separating residents from families/friends. There is an intercom fitted to assist residents with sensory impairments.

A staff member will be present to assist residents during the visit. We propose initially the visits will be for 30 mins at a time with an hour gap in between to ensure the home can be fully disinfected between each visit. All visitors will have their temperature taken upon arrival and asked to complete a risk assessment prior to the start of their visit. PPE will be supplied which is to be worn during the visit. Masks are to be worn at all times you are on site. Interactions between staff, other family members and residents are to be kept to a minimum. The visitors room will only hold a maximum of two visitors at any time.

Staying Covid 19 Secure 2020

Coronavirus Risk Assessment June 2020

Please find above links to our Covid-19 Risk assessment and compliance declaration. If you have any queries with regards to the information continued within the documents please speak to Carol Lightwood on 01562 710 809 option 3. 

CQC Engagement and Support Call

We recently completed a telephone engagement and support call with the CQC in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently the CQC are not undertaking routine inspections services through the pandemic and will instead be maintaining contact with providers through existing monitoring arrangements and by undertaking engagement and support calls. A link to the report in result to the recent communication with the CQC can be found at the top the page. 

June 2020 Newsletter

Hello and welcome to your June newsletter from a quiet and sombre Yew Tree Nursing Home. Normally around this time we are excitedly planning our garden party and talking about all of the exciting things we have planned. But sadly like most things this has been postponed due to the ongoing pandemic.

The last two weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster for all the staff following the devasting results of our home testing process. As you are already aware we had fourteen residents test positive to the Covid virus which meant sadly our VIP area was not large enough to accommodate. Most of the residents who tested positive were asymptomatic meaning they showed no symptoms so we were unaware of the number of residents who would be affected.

Results started to be delivered on the Friday following the test however most weren’t received until the Sunday morning. Following the delivery of the first results was a stressful seventy two hours ending early hours Monday morning while Carol and I moved residents within the home so we could create a larger VIP exclusion zone.

The VIP area was managed by a dedicated team of staff who looked after all of the needs of the residents who tested positive and proved to be our saving grace with stopping the spread of the virus running throughout the home.

We did complete an additional test for all residents who tested negative to ensure that no further residents where asymptomatic following the 14 date incubation period which came back as negative.

The VIP area has now returned to the original six bed unit ready should the need arise again. The unit will be kept available for the next couple of months while we monitor the ongoing situation.

I would like to reassure everyone once again that since the outbreak we have had no problems with obtaining PPE and continue to have excellent stock levels. 

April 2020 Newsletter

Hello from lockdown at a quiet Yew Tree. We hope you are keeping safe?.

It seems like forever since I have written a newsletter so wanted to just send you a little hello and update you all on what we have been up to since the lock down began.

Firstly we would like to say a thank you to all the friends and families who have adhered to the no visiting rule we know this is a difficult time for everyone and really appreciate all you have done to support us in this fight against the pandemic. We will however do everything we can to assist keeping the links to family open. We can provide video calls either via Facebook or Zoom, Telephone calls via the nursing home system and you can send normal post through the usual channels. If families would like to drop off any items for their loved ones, then there is a box located by the front door with deliveries. Please note that all items will be wiped with antibacterial  wipes before going into the home or kept for 72 hours outside so please bear this in mind. The procedure for dropping off items is. Please place the bag, labelled for whom the items are for, by the front door, ring the doorbell and step back behind the barriers. A staff member will collect the delivery as soon as they may be able however please bear in mind there may be a delay if they are busy.

We would also like to say a huge thank you to all the families and friends who have sent the staff cards, letters and gifts showing your appreciation of all the works we have done to protect the Yew Tree family they really are appreciated.

The weather has been very good to us since the lock down began so we are encouraging as many residents that are able to, to enjoy the outdoors while the weather is warm. If any resident  would like to  visit the garden then please speak to a staff member at anytime…………..

March Newsletter 2020

Welcome to your March Gazette and would you believe that Spring is fast approaching although with the amount of weather changes we’ve had since Christmas who knows what the season will bring.

In the gardens you may have noticed that Merry Legs has arrived at last. On the day of arrival you may have heard a lot of neighing from Merry Legs as she announced her arrival  with such fan fair for all to hear and in return Duncan did some very proud prancing and lots of sniffing through the fence as they made friends. We had intended to start with a slow introduction so Duncan would have time to get used to having another pony around. However Duncan’s charms were just too much to resist and Merry legs decided she wanted to be with him almost immediately so the full meet and great was escalated very quickly. We did a very short introduction on the Sunday which resulted in Duncan showing more interest in Merry Legs new stable and treats rather than Merry Legs herself but he did eventually say hello. Followed by a full introduction and trot into the paddock by both ponies on the Monday.

Merry Legs has since become Duncan’s shadow and where ever he may be you can rest assured she’s not far away with even a little nudge out of the way for Duncan whenever food is involved. We will be keeping them apart on weekends and evenings at present so Duncan can have a little rest for a while, as sometimes Husbands needs a little break every now and again, well that’s what John tells me anyway.

So everyone please join me in welcoming Merry Legs to the Yew Tree Family. John has provided carrots and apples by the paddock which your are welcoming to give to the ponies should you wish……..

February 2020 newsletter

In our January Gazette we advised you of the inspection we received from the CQC and we were awaiting the results which we have now received. A copy of the full report is available in reception, from the office or the CQC website which can be obtained from the link on our website. In summary I can confirm we received requires improvement in Safe  and in Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well Led  we received the good rating. With our overall rating being GOOD.  The reason provided for the requires improvement was due to thickener in use on the side in the lounge and a couple of bottle of creams found in the reading room which was in the process of being distributed. We would like to reassure all of our residents and their families that this matter was immediately rectified within 48 hours of the inspection and new cabinets are now located in the lounges and in residents bedrooms. The other area he was unhappy with was the CCTV which we mentioned in our last newsletter. However we having been speaking to residents, families and staff and most people we have spoken to are more than happy with the installation of the system and the couple of people who weren’t 100% sure about the idea understood the reason for the system and had no problems signing their consent. But over all the report was positive and showed he did see all of the good that we all work towards.

Well Done Everyone on all your hard work!!!!…………..

January 2020 newsletter Consent Request Form Residents Privacy Notice – CCTV

Happy New Year

Welcome to your first newsletter of 2020. The year certainly started with a bang this year when we received the knock on the door of the CQC inspectors. Luckily the CQC inspector this time was a lot friendlier than the last inspector we had and although he was very thorough Carol and I didn’t feel like we had been through the Spanish Inquisition. The feedback we received on the day was positive and we are just awaiting the final report to see where we have been marked. We will update you all as soon as we receive notification from the CQC. Fingers crossed for a GOOD rating.!!!!…….