COVID 19 VISITING CRITERIA FROM TUESDAY 4TH AUGUST 2020

Dear family member

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding over the last number of weeks with the first phase of reopening visiting at Glenashling Nursing Home. We appreciate the importance of maintaining family connections with loved ones and understand how difficult it has been for everyone. Visiting restrictions have a key role to play in preventing accidental entry of Covid-19 in a residential care setting and guidelines will be subject to constant review based on the most up to date Public Health advice. We are now planning to move towards phase 2 of our visiting reopening and are again following closely the guidance received from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre and the Department of Public health.

We thank you in advance for your cooperation with phase 2 of visiting reopening.

Please see below changes to the visiting with effect from Tuesday 4^th August 2020

COVID 19 VISITING CRITERIA FROM TUESDAY 4^TH AUGUST 2020

Each resident can now have multiple nominated visitors. The Nursing Home will require contact details for the nominated visitors to allow for contact tracing if necessary.
A Maximum of Two visitors can be present at any one time and visits need to be arranged in advance with Glenashling Nursing Home.
Visits of up to 1 hour will now be facilitated. We would ask that if visitors intend to stay less than an hour or wish to have a shorter visit to advise us if possible when booking to avoid blocking slots for other visitors and to assist in accommodating everyone.
Visits must be scheduled to avoid a heavy volume of people at any one time and to allow us to safely manage visiting for all our residents and staff.
Unscheduled visits will not be facilitated.
Outdoor visits continue to carry a lower risk and will continue to be preferable (weather permitting) however indoor visits will be permitted where this is not possible. Visitors should continue to wait outside the Oratory at their scheduled visiting time and await screening and direction from staff.
Visitors will be asked if they have had COVID- 19 or have had close contact with a person with COVID-19 / suspected COVID-19 symptoms within the time period as determined by national guidance.
Visitors should declare that they have no symptoms and undergo a temperature check before being permitted to enter Glenashling Nursing Home.
All visitors will need to comply with temperature-checking, determination of previous known exposure to COVID – 19, and use of correct hand-hygiene techniques.
NO visitors with fever or respiratory symptoms will be admitted.
Visitors are required to sign in on entry to Glenashling (regulatory requirement).
Visitors will be guided in performing hand hygiene when they arrive.
Visitors are required to wear a face covering or surgical mask during the visit with some flexibility in relation to the needs of the resident and visitor when safe distancing is maintained. If visitors do not have their own face covering they will be provided with a surgical mask by the facility and its disposal will be monitored. National guidance will be adhered to in application of the surgical mask.
Children under 16 will now be permitted to visit once accompanied by an adult who takes responsibility for ensuring appropriate conduct and if the child is able to comply with the general requirements for visiting.
Visits will continue to take place Monday to Friday from 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm, when the main cohort of staff are on duty and away from mealtimes. Please see below procedure for booking a visit.
Outings for a drive with a family member may be facilitated subject to risk assessment and confirming that the family member does not have symptoms of COVID-19 and is not a COVID-19 contact. This must be discussed and planned with Anne-Marie in advance.
If visitors are having difficulty attending within those times, please contact the Nursing home to discuss and we will do our best to facilitate this.
No food/ refreshments are permitted. Use of the resident’s bathroom facilities will not be permitted.
The resident’s right to decline a visitor shall be respected.

HOW TO BOOK A VISIT

You should ring the office on Friday between 10am and 12pm the week prior to which you are visiting. This enables us to best plan for the management of visiting for the week ahead.
Bookings can only be taken through the office on 01 6272694 and slots will be allocated as available.
BOOKINGS made outside of this booking time will be facilitated if possible but cannot be guaranteed. Bookings cannot be taken over the weekend.
Only visits booked through the office will be facilitated, no bookings can be made with the resident/family member direct.
Please bear in mind that when you are ringing to make an appointment the lines may be busy, we appreciate your patience in this matter.

Yours sincerely

Garry Gavigan

Provider Nominee