Last updated: 26 July 2021
We are committed to supporting all our residents and providing extra support for the most vulnerable in our community. We will be working to keep providing critical services that need to be available for groups including older people, those who need safeguarding and those in receipt of benefit payments.
Here is a list of the council services and their current status during national lockdown:
Visiting care homes
Visitors are a central part of care home life. It is crucially important for maintaining the health, wellbeing and quality of life of residents. Visiting is also vital for family and friends to maintain contact and life-long relationships with their loved ones and to contribute to their support and care.
- Every care home resident can nominate up to two named visitors who will be able to enter the care home for regular visits (and will be able to visit together or separately as preferred). These visitors should be tested using rapid lateral flow tests before every visit, must wear the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow all other infection control measures (which the care home will guide them on) during visits. Visitors and residents are advised to keep physical contact to a minimum. Visitors and residents may wish to hold hands but should bear in mind that any physical contact increases the risk of transmission
- In addition to their two named visitors, residents with higher care needs can also choose to nominate an essential care giver
- Care homes can also continue to offer visits to other friends or family members through arrangements such as outdoor visiting, rooms with substantial screens, visiting pods, or from behind windows
- We recommend you contact individual homes before visiting to confirm their most up to date visiting policy and any changes to government guidance
- No visits will be permitted in the event of an outbreak or if a visitor tests positive when completing their lateral flow test
Day services
The return to services from week commencing 5th April is with the expectation that all services will be able to resume their operations in a COVID-19 secure way, similar to how they were operating last Autumn. This means that certain limitations will continue to need to be in place for the time being. These include
- A continuation of robust infection control measures based on the providers’ environmental risk assessments
- Staff and service users not attending if they have symptoms
- A maximum of 15 individuals that use the service in one building at any one time
- Clients and staff being restricted to small bubbles and not mixing across these, and
- People being restricted to choosing to attend just one day service
We will keep the re-opening date under regular review to make sure that the national or local position does not change again – for example if infection rates start to rise again across the city or a new variant of concern emerges.
In the meantime, day service providers have been asked to continue to offer remote support to individuals, in the form of keeping in touch/welfare calls, activity packs and online sessions.
Respite services
You will be able to access respite services. The support available will be limited to caring for people from one household at any one time. We will be prioritising access by reviewing the needs of those being cared for and their carers.
Home care and residential care
Please visit our care homes pages for more information.
Support available to you
If you have any questions, need support, emergency food support, help with getting medication, or would like someone to talk to please get in touch with the COVID-19 helpline.
The COVID-19 helpline is open at the times below, call 023 8083 4800, or complete our online form:
- Monday: 8.30am to 5pm
- Tuesday: 8.30am to 5pm
- Wednesday: 9am to 5pm
- Thursday: 8.30am to 5pm
- Friday: 8.30am to 4.30pm
- Closed bank holidays
If you need to talk to someone about your care and support needs, please telephone 023 8083 3003.
