You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Sanctuary Care to give staff in self-isolation full pay as number of coronavirus cases increases
All Sanctuary Care staff who are required to self-isolate due to suspected coronavirus will be given full pay, the provider of care homes has announced.
Writing for Inside Housing, Sarah Clarke-Kuehn, group director at Sanctuary Care, said all staff members who self-isolate for 14 days “will be paid for the full duration of that period based on their contractual hours”.
It comes at the provider of more than 100 care homes implements a series of measures to ensure the safety of its staff and residents as the number of identified cases of the virus increases in the UK.
As part of its steps to protect residents from people bringing in the virus from outside the care home, the organisation has given managers and staff clear guidance about managing admissions and visitations.
A flowchart outlining the steps for a home to take when assessing a new admission has been published, and visitors are being given detailed guidance to reduce the risk of bringing the infection into the home – including a ban on those entering who have returned from any high-risk country in the past few weeks.
READ MORE
Informational posters and leaflets have been emailed to all Sanctuary care homes, while staff have been given information through the company’s intranet and mobile apps.
There is concern in the care sector that care facilities and residential homes for elderly people could be particularly at risk of virus spread. So far, six people in the UK have died from the disease, all of whom were more than 60 years ago and had underlying health conditions.
The outbreak of coronavirus in a nursing home in Seattle last week has so far led to 13 deaths.
Meanwhile, the number of reported cases in the UK has risen to 373, a rise of 54 on yesterday’s figure.
Housing associations across the UK have told Inside Housing they are drawing up action plans to ensure that essential services remain in place if the current outbreak continues to grow.
Plans include identifying a “coronavirus lead” to coordinate a response to the virus outbreak and cancelling meetings and other large gatherings.
