The coronavirus is known to infect the elderly and people with underlying health conditions more frequently. Meanwhile, a care home facility in Scotland managed to save itself from any coronavirus cases during the global pandemic.
Clair Anderson, the manager of the care home decided to lockdown the facility in mid-March. While the other nearby facilities took this measure a week later, she succeeded in saving the lives of the elderly. She caters to 27 residents at the facility and some of them are 97-year-old. She asked them to maintain social distancing among each other and wear protective equipment.
Eskgreen care home is a small facility in Mussel burgh, located in the east of Edinburgh. The council-run facility did not report a single coronavirus case in the elderly or the staff of the care home. A lot of elderly care homes in Scotland reported several coronavirus cases during the previous months. Most of the care homes also reported several coronavirus deaths.
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Anderson said that she closed the care home facility a week earlier before the lockdown implemented in other care homes. Some council officials did not support her decision but her plan seemed to work as there are no coronavirus cases in the facility.
She said that she managed to have more staff for sanitizing the facility. The domestic staff regularly cleaned common sports such as doorknobs railings.
The staff members also provided the residents with protective equipment such as masks and disposable gloves.
The everyday life of the residents at the facility changed immediately after she implemented the lockdown.
The residents did not have any more yoga classes during the lockdown as the yoga instructor could not reach the facility.
The facility adapted to exercise routines for residents in the care home.
Other activities at the facility such as Karaoke nights occurred while residents followed social distancing and avoided crowds among them. The residents and staff wore PPE most of the time to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Anderson said that the lockdown is strange for the residents but they are trying to cope with the current situation. The lockdown at the facility also halted the visits from the family members of residents.
Most of the visits occurred through glass windows or they could meet in the care home garden where they can maintain social distance.
Some of the residents at the facility have dementia. Anderson expressed that she had problems while explaining to them about the lockdown situation.
It is difficult for them to understand social distancing which sometimes causes problems. She also needs to remind them about the distancing repeatedly.
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A dementia patient in the facility was unable to understand social distancing practice. She kept asking why her family is sitting away from her. She also tried to sit with them and it was really difficult to persuade her otherwise.
The lockdown also impacted the mental health of the residents. They were content with the new rules at first. But over time, they became weary of the rules and staying away from their families negatively impacted them.
The residents are looking forward to the end of lockdown as the coronavirus cases dropped in the country. They are hopeful that this situation will end soon and they will be able to reunite with their families.