Holly Bank celebrate zero COVID infections and full vaccination of residents and staff

Holly Bank Nursing Home are celebrating their residents and staff having the second dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and getting through the pandemic so far without any of their residents contracting COVID-19.

Registered Manager, Ann Mallinson, stated “Staff have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic. We do not use agency staff, so everyone has stepped up to cover shielding, holidays, medical appointments etc. This has meant we have kept unnecessary risk to an absolute minimum. Residents’ families have been extremely supportive of the protocols and guidelines that we have had to adhere to. We have been utilising iPads for video calls, had garden visits in warmer weather, window visits and we converted our porch area to allow screened visits with an intercom system. These have enabled residents to carry on interacting with their families. It has been difficult, but I am proud of all the hard work and support everyone has put in.”

Indoor visiting has now begun, and residents are enjoying spending some more time with their loved ones and getting some normality back.

Ann continued “We had a singer performing a garden concert for us last week, hairdressing has started again and our usual yoga classes with Wonderful You Yoga will hopefully be commencing soon. We are also keen to work again with the pupils from Holy Family Primary School. Over the last 3 years, their year 6 pupils have been coming to visit the residents and we have been taking part in different projects together – poetry reading, World War 2 projects. It has been a relationship that has been hugely beneficial to both residents and pupils. Unfortunately, the visits had to stop during the pandemic so we are hoping by summer we can spend some time together in the garden.”

Staff and residents at Holly Bank Nursing Home would like to thank their local community for support they have received throughout the pandemic – from building relationships with other care home staff and multi-disciplinary teams, to receiving visors made by Birkdale High School, Christmas cards for residents from Greenbank High School pupils and a Zoom Christmas Jokes session with 58^th Holy Family Beaver Scout Group. Everything has helped make the pandemic a little easier and is a real display of community spirit.