Local Charity Cintre Rises to the Challenge of Running of Earlfield Lodge Dementia Care Home in Weston-Super-Mare During Pandemic

UNITED KINGDOM / AGILITYPR.NEWS / June 18, 2020 / Bristol-based Cintre works with vulnerable adults with complex mental health needs, through residential homes and one-to-one services. At the beginning of January 2020 it was asked to take oversight of the management and operational services of Earlfield Lodge in Weston-super-Mare.

Cintre was brought in to prevent the service having to close as, due to unforeseen circumstances, it had received an “Inadequate” grading by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and subsequently a closure notice. 

Since then, Cintre has been working closely with the Earlfield Lodge team, North Somerset Council and the CQC to dramatically improve the quality of the service.

Like all care homes, Earlfield Lodge has experienced many challenges during this period of lockdown.

Dr Claire Mould, Chief Executive Officer of Cintre, comments, “Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic has created complexities for all residential homes, we are putting the expertise and experience we have from running Cintre’s residential facilities into developing the Earlfield Lodge service and keeping residents, staff and essential visitors safe during this time.

“As well as increasing our already stringent health and hygiene measures, we are working doubly hard to secure essential supplies, to ensure all our residents continue to receive healthy and nutritious meals, medications and medical supplies.”

Whilst the essential restrictions and changes to procedure are in place to ensure the safety of residents – which means no non-essential visitors to the site – the dedicated staff at Earlfield have been working extra hard to combat feelings of loneliness and isolation in residents, creating imaginative, caring new ways of allowing families and friends to communicate with them. They’ve introduced a closed Facebook group where they can share photos of loved ones (with next of kin’s consent, of course!) enjoying a night-time tipple or gardening in sunny weather, and regular Skype video calls to help keep everyone in touch.

Staff are also discovering skills they never knew they possessed – running pop-up hairdressing and beauty appointments and organising ‘cinema nights’, screening many an old favourite. Performers can no longer come inside, but residents are still enjoying their singing, as they stand outside at a safe distance. The home is also participating in wider initiatives such as ‘Postcards of Kindness’ where people from around the world send cards to residents of care homes, brightening their days and sparking lively conversations.

Earlfield Lodge is a large home made up of four separate Victorian houses, joined by a spacious sun lounge.

It is registered with CQC for 65 adults who are older people and/or have dementia. The home is organised to look after older age adults who require a straightforward service of residential care. It has developed over 50 years of operation to become a home to support people with a diagnosis of dementia in any form (currently 80% of the residents have dementia).

Ninety staff, made up of care workers, housekeepers, kitchen staff and maintenance are employed to support this service.