As we move out of the crisis caused by coronavirus and return to normal it is time for us to reflect on what has happened so far.

It is unbelievably sad that people have lost their loved ones so suddenly in unforeseen circumstances. I am very sorry for the loss of the residents who passed away. I am glad that we managed to keep visits going at end of life but cannot imagine how hard it must be for friends and family trying to say ‘goodbye’ and arrange funerals in recent weeks.

I am relieved to say that while we have sadly lost some of our older residents to the virus, we have not seen increased (or excess) deaths from other causes. Any routine or necessary visits to hospital have continued throughout and we maintained consultations with GPs and primary care teams, sometimes via video link, as required.

Safe visits to our homes and services have started, mainly held outdoors and following safe distancing guidelines. I am hopeful that we will be able to reinstate safe indoor visits too in due course.

We are reviewing our response to the crisis, in order to take any learning from our actions, in case there is a second wave of coronavirus.  It is more important than ever that we remain vigilant with regard to risk of infection. We have good supplies of PPE and we are continuing to deliver training on infection control.

Thank you once again to our care and supported living teams and back office employees who have risen to this unprecedented challenge. I am delighted that we have recruited over 50 new starters in recent weeks, from all walks of life. I really look forward to them using their varied experience to help us deliver great care every day.

The community continue to support us with messages, cards, gifts and donations. Please keep them coming!

If you want to make a financial donation to The Fremantle Trust, or do any fundraising for us, the link is: https://www.justgiving.com/thefremantletrust. We plan to use any donations to build up our activity teams, to help people to stay in touch with their friends and relatives and to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable day.

You may have seen reports in the media about demand for care home places dropping, however, interest in our services remains positive. We are here for people who need our help, both now and in the future.

In the meantime, I welcome all feedback to sara.livadeas@fremantletrust.org.uk

Sara Livadeas

Chief Executive