National Care Group continue to follow all national and local guidance to ensure all necessary safety measures are in place to keep our staff and the people we support safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is testament to the skill and professionalism of so many, supported by the National Care Group COVID-19 Response plan, that the rates of infection amongst the people we support continues to be extremely low.

This has certainly been the case at Jamesons Care, Colchester. Where to date there has not been a single case of Coronavirus reported. with the team working hard to keep everyone safe and following guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus.

The service has implemented measures including, conducting daily risk assessments, widespread testing and always using the recommended levels of PPE when supporting individuals. Richard Mason, Registered Manager at Jamesons Care, said: “Everyone has worked really hard to ensure the safety of all of those involved within our services. We have taken every measure and guidance provided on-board and have continued to ensure that the people we support are not impacted by the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures.”

The service has organised activities and encouraged residents to take up new hobbies and skills during lockdown, with some enjoying gardening whilst others have been playing games at the service.

With local lockdown measures in place, residents have not been able to see their family and the service has had to restrict the number of visitors as a precautionary measure.

To help overcome the issues facing individuals not being able to see their family, the service has invested in iPads for residents to FaceTime their family and still remain in contact with them – even if they are unable to visit the service.

Jill Hopcraft, Regional Operations Manager, said: “The service has been very innovative in their approach to prevent the virus from spreading. From making tough decisions regarding lockdown and visitors, to following the guidance, it is great to see that all the measures that are in place have benefitted the staff and residents and has resulted in zero cases of the Coronavirus.”

National Care Group are pleased to see the level of effort and commitment that has been shown at Jamesons Care, with the support staff and the individuals we support working collaboratively in ensuring no one is impacted by the pandemic.

To stay up to date with National Care Group's COVID–19 response plans including weekly updates you can visit our COVID 19 Update pages.