While the world is social distancing, we’re encouraging the people we support to stay in touch with family members by using technology. Social distancing doesn’t mean you can’t socialise with the people you love…you’ve just got to do it virtually!

Many of the people we support are used to seeing their family often, so our teams have found a way to keep up this routine. Heather House, for example, have been encouraging the people we support to participate in Skype calls with their families.

The staff team have been arranging times for each family to call and ensuring that the people we support are in the correct environment to sit and talk to their family privately.

Service manager, Graham, said: “Communication and preparation is key. Ensure the correct kind of environment is available and arrange an agreed time with families and the people we support to have a call. Encourage the people we support to be excited to do the call and learn new skills.”

The team have explained why the people they support cannot visit their families, but offered a solution to reduce any drastic changes to routine. This helps reduce any anxieties they may have.

Practice makes perfect! That’s why staff took the action to practice with the people they support, before the real calls, so they were comfortable with the activity. Everyone really enjoyed having the chance to see and speak to their families, using this technology.

As well as organising the Skype calls, the care home has kept all families up to date with what their loved ones are getting up to during the lockdown.

We’re keeping you safe at Voyage Care

We remain focused on adhering to all the latest government guidance and advice relating to the global spread of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). The health and wellbeing of the people we support, and our staff teams remains our highest priority. To learn more about what we are doing, visit our COVID-19 (Coronavirus) resource area.

Please note: This article is about events that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and reflects the safety measures based on Government advice during that specific time period. Please be assured that at all times, Voyage Care follows the appropriate COVID-19 safety measures to keep our staff and the people we support safe.

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