News: 2020

100th Birthday Celebrations today!

We are celebrating today with 100th Birthday Celebrations for one of our residents. This will make 3 residents all over the age of 100! Times have changed - so many of our residents are in their 90’s now and obviously receiving “Good” care!

The Environmental Health Officer from Cheltenham Borough Council carried out our annual inspection.

We have achieved the 5 star rating - again! Obviously we are thrilled!

Well done to all the team!

THIS IS OUR LATEST NEWS REGARDING OUR SAFETY PRECAUTIONS RELATING TO CORONAVIRUS

16th March 2020

Dear Residents, Families, Friends and Visitors

We, at Hampton House, are sure you are concerned by the major issues our country now faces with the escalating situation with Coronavirus. We are all facing extraordinary and unprecedented times. We have not experienced anything like this situation before.

It is apparent that scientific evidence and knowledge of Coronavirus, is developing as the virus has spread and our guidance has continued to change, during the spread of the virus in recent weeks. We have been acting responsibly and effectively, to assist with the containment of the virus. We have been constantly evaluating, reviewing and implementing the necessary actions that have been directed to us from government bodies, over the last few weeks. However, it has now become apparent that we all now need to significantly change our strategies in order to protect life.

Our top priority is to protect the lives of our residents and the wellbeing of our staff. We have decided to change our Visiting Policy and implement NO VISITORS to Hampton House, as a sensible and temporary precaution. We believe that this effective measure is a necessary step, we must take with immediate effect to protect our residents and our staff. The only exception to this measure will be for health care related professionals, hairdressers and chiropodists.

Matt Hancock, Health Secretary, has announced that in order to get through this “health crisis” the focus must now be to “take effective measures to protect the vulnerable people in our society.” We have followed his advice and introduced this additional precaution and this unexpected action.

It is uncertain how long this situation may last, and we recognise this is distressing for all concerned while we face these “major issues” as the number of Coronavirus infected cases and deaths are rising. We have considered the potential damage to our residents’ social wellbeing, but recognise that our responsibility and goal must be the need to save and protect lives.

We do not know how long, or if this decision to restrict visitors is sustainable. Matt Hancock has confirmed that “getting through this health crisis will be a national effort”. We may be asking you all, for your help, and for your practical support in the coming weeks, and possibly months ahead. We are anticipating there are likely to be many obstacles ahead.

At present our residents will be able to continue to interact with one another socially, and use our communal areas as they would in normal circumstances. At present, our residents are free to leave the building if they choose to. We would encourage they on go out for medical appointments and refrain from social engagements.

We will be continuing to accept new residents. Every effort will continue to be made to ensure new admissions are appropriate for the Hampton House environment.

We are obviously concerned for the health and wellbeing of our committed and hard-working staff. The resilience they have already shown in these challenging times has already been impressive. We all rely on their dedication and support, to ensure that our residents continue to receive the high levels of care they deserve and expect. The qualities the staff all continue to demonstrate are a true testament to their calm attitude and professional manner.

Our staff are all working very hard to continue to deliver the care and services to our residents. We have introduced additional tasks for the staff to complete, associated with additional safety precautions that we have recently been implemented. These tasks are taking additional staff time. We urge you please DO NOT TELEPHONE HAMPTON HOUSE for information and updates.

We suggest that you use direct telephone communications with our residents and each other. Please telephone at a time of day when you anticipate the resident is likely to be in their bedroom and avoid involving our staff. We suggest for those residents who don’t have their own telephone line you purchase a mobile phone for their use. Our staff are willing to assist with the recharging of devices.

We urge you - DO NOT TO COME TO THE FRONT DOOR, to gain information or updates, or pass on well wishes to the residents. Our staff will be unable to provide you with information via this method of communication.

We welcome your communications to one another via the post, and we will be happy to arrange for the outgoing post to be posted regularly.

For more information or for individual questions please communicate via email to myself, Roz Elliott, the Registered Manager and Proprietor. roz@hamptonhousecare.co.uk You will receive my email response in a timely manner, but please be aware that we now face extreme pressures to continue to absorb constantly changing government directives and operate as normally as we possibly can.

We welcome any ideas or suggestions you would like us to consider, while we constantly review and assess the situation. Please communicate via email.

Please be assured we are all doing our very best in these unprecedented times. May we thank you in advance for your understanding, cooperation and support.

Many thanks

Roz Elliott

We are now in the middle of Week 3 of “lockdown” since we closed our doors to visitors!

It has been surprising how well our residents are continuing to communicate with their families and friends, albeit that some technology has been a rapid learning curve for many. Our Manager, Kim is keeping in regular email and telephone contact with the families of those residents who do not wish to embrace, or who are unable to manage the new communication methods. Many of our residents are navigating mobile phones, laptops and ipads for the first time - where would be all be without these fabulous methods of communication?

Mother’s Day has come and gone! Our celebrations continued, sadly without any families, with a drinks party before our delicious Sunday Roast Lunch. Our residents enjoyed our specially planned Vintage Tea Party later that afternoon. The dainty sandwiches and savouries were devoured and the cream scones are always a very popular treat on the cake stand.

We have a new ray of sunshine!! Our residents told us on a recent in-house survey they would love to have a pet! Tony and Roz Elliott - the owners of Hampton House had been thinking about buying a puppy, and so with the residents’ request in mind, the decision was made! This week we all welcomed the arrival of a new Border Terrier puppy named Barney!

We assembled in the garden today to “Clap for carers”. The mood was positive and the residents were able to share their thanks with a big clap for the care staff.

Some photographs were taken for us to post on our social media and the residents felt empowered that they were able to express their gratitude.

We will all be clapping with the rest of the country this evening. Many of our residents won’t be standing outside the front of the building because they may already be in their pyjamas! Hopefully we will still be able to heard their claps loud and clear!

We assembled in the garden today to “Clap for carers”. The mood was positive and the residents were able to share their thanks with a big clap for the care staff.

Some photographs were taken for us to post on our social media and the residents felt empowered that they were able to express their gratitude.

We will all be clapping with the rest of the country this evening. Many of our residents won’t be standing outside the front of the building because they may already be in their pyjamas! Hopefully we will still be able to heard their claps loud and clear!

We have been enjoying our beautiful garden and the unseasonal high temperatures. The garden furniture is out and the garden patio is back in use!

We are all encouraged to have a daily walk outside, especially in the rear garden. We have a path that leads all around the garden, so we can make a full circuit if we are feeling up to it! There are benches to rest on if we fancy a rest or a chat with friends.

The fabulous kind and caring staff offer us help and support when we need it to venture outside. Some of us take our zimmer frames, others rely on a 4 wheeled walker and some use a walking stick to help them on their way. It certainly makes us all feel brighter to feel the fresh air and get some gentle exercise.

The bluebells have started to push their way up and this is certainly a sure sign that the warmer days and lighter evenings have started.

We’re celebrating National Food Week and have devised special menus for our residents to enjoy over the coming days.

The decorations are up, and the mood is happy and positive.

Today we have eaten scrummy delights with a Caribbean flavour; this has included a creative chicken dish and a dessert with caramelised pineapples and rum!

Countries that theme on our menu will include, India, Portugal, China, Greece and good old British traditional food.

When we closed our doors to visitors on 16th March 2020 to shield ourselves from the deadly Covid-19 virus. Who would have imagined that it would have lasted for 100 days?

We have remained COVID-19 free during the global crisis, with the care and support from our dedicated team. We all continue to work hard to reduce the risk of any possible Covid-19 infections.

Today we have reopened to visitors to enable our residents to see their loved ones. We have put in place precautions to keep our residents and staff as safe as we can.

Hopefully in the coming weeks Covid-19 will be retreating further and our lives will be able to return to normal.

The sun is shining, the mood is positive and our gardens are looking beautiful!

We have welcomed visitors back to Hampton House for outside visiting in the car park.

We have managed to enjoy some dry days, although some have been incredibly hot to contend with. Our visitors have been bringing their own seating when they visit - this reduces the risks of cross-infection. Our staff are safely escorting our residents in and out of the building to meet their visitors.

The likelihood of a “second wave” of Coronavirus, is a constant worry. We continue to act safely and cautiously with these limited outdoor visiting arrangements. We recognise that many of us are in need of a hug, but sadly this will have to wait for the time being.

Our residents are a seriously vulnerable category of people and it is not safe for the them to leave Hampton House for the time being.

Our rear gardens are looking beautiful and the residents have been enjoying garden walks and sitting outside when the weather allows.

The residents remain positive on the whole, and we are keeping them occupied with events, celebrations, garden visits and plenty of social occasions to participate in, if they choose to.

Our dedicated team of staff continue to work diligently and with caution during these unpredictable times. The resilience they continue to show is admirable.