The outbreak of COVID-19 throughout the world has led to unprecedented measures being taken in social care services in order to meet the challenges we all face.
Please know we are doing everything within our power to keep those in our care safe and to keep our vital services operating as normally as possible during this difficult time. We are adhering to Government guidance - and in some cases going above and beyond those measures.
All staff are now based at home for the foreseeable future, unless operationally essential to be on site, for example, in our residential homes and supported living services. Inevitably, this may affect the way we work with you and this is outlined below, along with current adaptations to our practice that have been necessary:
Fostering and Adoption:
We are still inviting enquiries from people interested in fostering and adoption. For a copy of our information brochure, please visit our Fostering and Adoption websites. You will still be able to request a call with a social worker to discuss your situation and find out more about the application and assessment process to become a foster carer.
We may need to operate on reduced staffing – there is a chance this might slow down your application process, particularly as we will need to visit you at home at some point, provided that it is safe to do so. Every circumstance is different however and we will keep you informed every step of the way.
Should you require support with access to adoption or historic care records, please be aware that we are continuing to work and accept referrals during this period. However, our access to records is limited whilst the team are working from home and it may take longer than usual to respond to enquiries. We will update this notice as soon as this situation changes. We do understand the distress this may cause and sincerely apologise for this inconvenience, which is unfortunately beyond our control.
Residential services - Edensor Care Centre, Cabrini House and Semi-Independent 16+
We have unfortunately reduced access to our homes to essential visits only, which are heavily restricted and determined on a case by case basis. We are doing everything we can within our capacity to keep families in touch with their relatives on an individual basis by creating safe meeting spaces and by updating our Edensor, Cabrini House and Diagrama Foundation Facebook pages regularly.
Please rest assured that while these measures are necessarily stringent we are working very hard to ensure our residents continue to live varied and fulfilled lives inside our homes. We have taken measures to introduce new activities and equipment and are utilising all our resources to make life as enjoyable and as normal as possible for everyone.
We will continue to update this notice regularly, as Government guidance changes. If you have any questions at all about our practice in context of the Covid- 19 outbreak, or any other questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our team.
February 9, 2021