Coronavirus latest

We are continuously monitoring the advice from government and our regulators, applicable at a national and local level, to ensure we are safeguarding our residents and colleagues. We review this information regularly and will update this page and the documents shared below in the event of any developments.

Where localised restrictions have been put in place, we are following this and providing extra guidance where appropriate to our colleagues and residents.

The following websites also contain useful guidance:

If you have any questions, please speak to your local manager.

A senior team is meeting regularly and will continue to monitor the situation.

Our number one priority is the health and wellbeing of our residents and colleagues while continuing to provide essential services residents rely on.

In both our care homes and housing, our colleagues have access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect themselves and residents from the virus. We have adhered to the requirements from Public Health England at every step, and we are continuing to replenish our stocks.

Earlier on in the crisis, a substantial number of our colleagues had to self-isolate in accordance with the government guidelines. The peak of this is now complete and we have also maintained our staffing levels through effective recruitment.

Anchor Hanover operates 114 care homes as well as Retirement and Extra Care housing across 1,700 sites in England and Wales. These settings differ significantly so it is appropriate that the responses to the current crisis are suited to the needs of the residents.

Care homes

Our 114 care homes are continuing to provide 24-hour residential care, including specialist dementia care, and we are supporting residents who are being discharged from hospital.

We are ensuring social distancing is adhered to (and where not possible, PPE is worn by colleagues) and regular deep cleaning is being carried out. Colleagues are also undertaking regular handwashing upon arrival and throughout their working hours, as well as utilising all appropriate PPE. All our homes are also part of a government repeat testing approach to keep our residents and colleagues safe from the virus. This will see residents and colleagues tested on a regular basis.

Our care home visitor arrangements are in line with government guidance. Colleagues are helping our care home residents stay in touch with their family, friends and community despite the present challenges.

We have increased our use of Skype and Facetime to host meetings for residents and their loved ones and our homes are providing regular activity updates on social media.

Our #BeKindtoOneAnother initiative has seen schools and the wider community send pictures, poems and messages of support to our residents in isolation. The response has been heart-warming and has provided a lovely boost to the morale of residents and colleagues alike.

A temporary role of Welfare Assistant has also been established to further support resident engagement, enabling our care colleagues to focus on the individual needs of our residents.

Housing

As with our care homes, residents and colleagues in our housing are adhering to social distancing where possible. This has included restricting access to communal areas, with rules in place to prevent social contact, and colleagues who are able to do so are now working remotely. Managers are visiting the site regularly and are maintaining regular phone contact with residents and we are working with our housing managers to enable them to return to site more regularly with a view to being able to open some of the communal areas.

To help protect the health and safety of our residents an in line with government guidance we are continuing to limit the number of visitors to our housing locations. We are strongly advising residents to meet their friends and relatives away from the housing location unless they are providing them with essential care.

We are maintaining essential services to residents while safeguarding the wellbeing of all on site. In our retirement housing, we are continuing to provide:

Anchor Hanover on Call, our 24-hour emergency contact.
Food deliveries where this is part of the resident's normal service.
Our welfare benefits and energy switching advice service, BeWise.
Online services for residents to make payments, update details etc.

Essential checks and repairs on utilities are continuing in the interest of health and safety.

Some activities have inevitably been affected. Non-essential works are currently suspended and cleaning times may be altered with cleaning staff from other locations stepping in to help.

New lettings and sales have also now started again, ensuring relevant government guidance is followed.

We are continuously monitoring the situation and official advice. Our Executive Team and Operational Teams are holding regular coronavirus calls to ensure effective following and sharing of government guidance.

The safety and wellbeing of our residents and colleagues is paramount. We are taking every possible step to safeguard this while continuing to support our residents. We have also published the risk assessment for our Bradford office below, as required by the latest guidance.

Useful documents

Download our housing residents' FAQs (updated 31 July 2020)

Download our care residents' FAQs (updated 30 July 2020)

Download the risk assessment for our Bradford office (updated 31 July 2020)