We are very conscious of the continued media scrutiny on social care and particularly care homes. Whilst you are not able to visit your loved ones we feel it is more important than ever to keep you updated.

Many of you continue to contact us and we are very grateful for that, both so that we can understand your concerns and also to hear the words of gratitude that you are expressing to our care staff. We also thank you for your patience where, upon occasion, we may not be able to respond to your calls as quickly as we would like.

We are doing all we can to support our staff to enable them to look after your loved ones. The use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has changed and we want to assure you that we are strictly following public health authority guidance to ensure we are using it correctly whenever it is required. We know that for some of our residents wearing PPE can cause anxiety. We understand you may also be anxious but, it is important that we use it as directed, in order to protect the wellbeing of all staff and residents.

This week we welcomed the Government announcement for more testing to become available for both staff and residents who are non-symptomatic. We are working with the associated Government Departments to arrange this across all of our homes.

There is some great fun and creativity happening in our homes every day, from life size games of ‘Hungry Hippo’, singalongs and craft work, to some special plans for our homes close to Helston to mark Flora Day next week. Our Activities Teams and support workers have been incredibly busy and innovating at this time.

We also continue to be touched by the generosity of our local communities, with donations ranging from Personal Protective Equipment to home-baked cakes. We are updating our Swallowcourt Facebook page every day to acknowledge the kindness of others.

Thank you for your continued understanding and support. We send our best wishes to you and your families and that you will remain safe and well.