A message from The Abbeyfield Society’s Chief Executive, David McCullough

Ensuring residents’ health and wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do at Abbeyfield and we aim to reflect this both in the way we support the houses and homes that we directly manage and in the guidance we provide to our Member Societies. Every decision we take is guided by the most recent advice from the UK and Devolved Governments with the aim of keeping residents, volunteers and staff as safe as possible.

As the COVID-19 situation evolves and the Government guidance on measures to contain the virus becomes more stringent, Abbeyfield continues to closely follow national advice.  Procedural guidance is regularly reviewed and communicated across the Abbeyfield Family.

In light of the advice that older people must be particularly cautious, Abbeyfield believes social distancing principles to be key, in order to reduce the risk of infection spreading within our properties. The Abbeyfield Society is using this approach for the houses that it directly manages and any staff member displaying symptoms is being asked to self isolate at home until they have completed the required time period advised by Public Health bodies. We provide regularly updated detailed guidance to all of our employees and to the trustees of our Member Societies and are taking steps to ensure that a stock of PPE is accessible across the Abbeyfield Family, if required.

We understand the importance of keeping life as normal as possible for our residents during this challenging time and have developed a number of resources that can be used to provide entertainment and a sense of connection with others such as a pen-pal scheme, activity packs, games, virtual tours and exercise classes. Staff are on-hand to support residents to stay in touch with their loved ones to help reduce the impact of social isolation.

In line with Government advice, our centrally managed houses and homes remain closed to visitors, although those providing essential services such as personal care still have access. We have issued advice to our Member Societies to do the same, along with clear procedural guidance covering those who will need to access sites.

With the aim of ensuring that we are able continue to provide quality care and support across the Abbeyfield Family, we have launched a recruitment programme for staff and volunteers.

I want to extend my thanks and gratitude to the entire Abbeyfield community; to our fantastic residents and their families for their support and understanding and to our amazing staff and volunteers for their ongoing commitment and dedication.

Best wishes, 

David McCullough

Setting up a video chat

We understand that you want to keep in close contact with your loved ones. To help, we have written this handy step-by-step guide on how to set up a free video chat on your smartphone.

1. Download the latest iphone or Android version of WhatsApp. Make sure your loved one does the same.
2. Open the app and add your loved one as a contact.
3. Once your loved one has been added as a contact, click on the video camera icon on the top right-hand corner of the screen.
4. Make sure your sound is turned up

Covid-19

As a responsible provider of housing and care, Abbeyfield is continually monitoring GOV.UK and Public Health Board for advice about COVID-19. This includes following specific guidance for those in social or community care and residential settings and advice from the National Care Forum.

Support for our residents and relatives and staff

Abbeyfield is providing regular updates, reassurance and support to our houses and homes and have set up a dedicated support line and email address for queries regarding COVID-19. Please email covid19@abbeyfield.com if you have any questions or concerns.