Clacton care home boss: "We don’t have enough masks to change them every day"

Edensor Care Centre, in Orwell Road, Clacton, is run by Diagrama Healthcare, a not-for-profit charity.

It provides dementia, nursing and residential support for the elderly.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, the highly rated facility has had to adapt and make changes in order to protect both its workers and residents.

The care home’s stock of personal protective equipment is now having to be rationed, so staff are each having to wear one mask for up to a week.

Government advice states surgical masks can be used throughout a single session, where an employee is working within a care setting or exposure environment.

The guidance says the single session ends when the worker leaves such an environment and once the mask has been removed, it should be “disposed of safely”.

But carers at Edensor are having to spray their protective masks with alcohol after each shift, before hanging them on a washing line so they can be re-used.

Dr David McGuire

Diagrama Healthcare’s chief executive Dr David McGuire, says they have been forced to take the measures because of sparse supplies.

“We have done everything within our power and resources to keep our residents protected, but we don’t have enough masks to change them every day,” he said.

“We have all been spraying our masks with alcohol in between shifts and then replacing them weekly.

“Understandably, some are scared about what might happen, while others are angry that better equipment is not available.

“We have to buy what we can ourselves and stretch our resources out to protect residents as best we can.”

Dr McGuire says the home has been in contact with the Care Quality Commission and local authorities at all times, who have been supportive of the new measures.

The healthcare provider has also opted to put in place its own additional protocols, after deeming the Government’s advice not “good enough”.

At Edensor, for example, staff have been instructed to wear scrubs instead of clothes for each shift, which are then cleaned immediately after their shift.

They are also required to disinfect their shoes before entering the home and, where possible, vulnerable residents are encouraged to stay in their own rooms.

“The Government guidance for care homes is putting lives at risk and I cannot hold my silence on this matter any longer,” said Dr McGuire.

“We have been forced to take our own measures, because the advice has been nowhere near good enough to protect vulnerable residents effectively.”

Parliament returned yesterday amid mounting criticism of the Government over its failure to ensure NHS and care home staff treating coronavirus patients have the protective equipment they need.

Ministers have insisted they are pursuing “every possible option” to secure additional kit but said that, with unprecedented worldwide demand, the situation is “very challenging”.

The first of three RAF flights finally left on Monday for Turkey to begin collecting a consignment of personal protective equipment (PPE) including 400,000 surgical gowns.

But it is unclear when the items will arrive in the UK with Local Government Minister Simon Clarke saying only that it would be in the “next few days”.

The Government said meanwhile that 140,000 gowns had arrived from Burma but with the NHS using 150,000 a day, the demand on resources remains intense.

With fears that staff in hospitals and care homes are risking their lives, the TUC called for an independent inquiry into the Government’s handling of the issue to be mounted before the end of the year.