Blog Post

What the COVID-19 Vaccine Means for Residents at Avon Park Care Home Southampton

Ayaan Heri • Mar 29, 2021

Deciding whether moving into a residential care home is the right choice for yourself or a loved one can at times seem overwhelming. As people age, their memories tend to deteriorate, which can have a severe impact on how well they can look after themselves. That can range from struggling to get dressed up, forgetting to take daily medicines, to falling out of bed during the night.

If you think that you or your loved one needs extra everyday assistance, there are numerous care options available, from specialist nurses to 24/7 hours residential care. Continue reading as we outline the main benefits of moving into a residential care home.

What has the COVID-19 vaccination programme been like at Avon Park Care Home Southampton?

When it was announced by the government that all health and care workers should be vaccinated by the end of December 2020, around 40 % of our staff team were not particularly keen on receiving the vaccination. The home manager decided to resolve this issue by conducting one-to-one meetings with staff members to understand why there was a significant reluctance to be vaccinated within the team.

The social media conspiracy theories and reporting in the news had caused fear and anxiety among some of the staff. There were concerns that the COVID-19 vaccine could cause harm, since it was created and approved quicker than the usual process for average vaccines. False information around the COVID-19 vaccine was quickly spreading, causing people to be more reluctant to become vaccinated.

Our main priority was to first tackle the numerous speculation and misinformation about the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. Information leaflets were printed out for the team, with details of the completed vaccine research studies so that staff members could understand the long-term benefits of being vaccinated.

One of our team members has a family member that works for Pfizer, which is one of the largest COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers. This person provided us with further reliable information on the vaccination and how it works. Once the team felt reassured, the manager sent out consent forms to the team for vaccinations and the uptake was a successful 99%. Staff information and contact details were then sent to the local hospital, Queen Alexandra. The staff were then given appointments to attend their first vaccination.

Have all the staff in Avon Park Care Home been vaccinated?

By the end of December 2020, the whole team, including the provider, had been administered their first COVID-19 vaccine. The whole team have now had their first vaccination and, at the time of writing, only one team member is waiting for their second dose.

Have all the residents in Avon Park Care Home been vaccinated?

Our resident’s doctor's surgery was contacted regarding vaccination for our residents, and they arranged a day to attend the service and administer the first lot of vaccinations to our residents in the beginning of January 2021. All our residents were keen to have the vaccination and staff were able to reassure them and advocate for the vaccination programme, as staff had already had their vaccination.

The procedure, benefits and the possible side effects around the vaccinations were fully explained to residents, and consent forms were completed by the residents and their family members. As such, we are proud to say that all our residents have had their first and second vaccination. The vaccination brand that our residents received was the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.

What are the benefits of having the Covid-19 vaccine?

One of the main benefits we have seen from the COVID-19 vaccine is the excessive confidence amongst the team and residents that they will not become seriously unwell should they contract the COVID-19 virus. This is especially important to our team as we begin to accommodate face-to-face visiting in the next couple of weeks, and the country begins to slowly come out of the national lockdown.

By ensuring that all members of staff and residents have been vaccinated against COVID-19, we have lessened the chance of spreading the COVID-19 virus to friends, family members, visitors and NHS workers that regularly visit the care home.

We are committed to helping end the COVID-19 pandemic

We at Avon Park Care Home are committed to providing a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccination programme. We are also optimistic and positive about the future and the protection that we have following full roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine within our care home.

Although we are acutely aware of transmissions and the fact the vaccination does not prevent this, we are confident that our home and staff team has done everything they can to protect the residents whose home we work in.

Since the outbreak of the virus, we have been COVID-19 secure and have followed strict hygiene protocols, with robust infection control measures in place. As always, the safety of all our staff and residents is our top priority. We are delighted to remain open and accepting new admissions, in accordance with the Government guidance to care homes. To book a safe viewing by appointment only, please contact us on 01489 574616.

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