As we hear the welcome news that life is beginning to return to normal following lockdown, it is our pleasure and privilege to dedicate this monthly bulletin to thanking each and every member of the SNC family for their commitment through this time. The tireless hard work invested in keeping the people we support, engaged, healthy and above all safe, has been remarkable. We are exceptionally proud to say that at SNC, we have had no confirmed cases of COVID- 19 and this is down to an approach which balanced continuous, compassionate and reassuring care with vigilant safety procedures, based on evolving guidance. It would be impossible to pick out individuals to name here……EVERY single person has contributed during this unexpected and challenging time. Whilst you will know the valuable part you have played (and the energy it took to do so!!), you may not be aware the extent to which your efforts were being mirrored by others in the SNC family. This is our opportunity to show all at SNC the sheer size of the collective effort over the past 3 months – an effort of which we are very proud and very grateful.
Once again – a sincere thank you to all!!
Sensational Support Workers
Where can we begin? From the very beginning of lockdown right up to today, our support workers have put the people we support at the forefront and done everything possible to protect them both physically and emotionally. Many proactively stepped forward and welcomed the idea of isolation rotas – committing to long stretches of time at the services. In many cases, this meant sacrificing time spent with their own families…..time which has felt more precious than ever before.
As talk of lockdown became a reality, our staff and those they support felt the turbulence and uncertainty of the situation. Our support workers responded incredibly to this, by creating new and meaningful routines to replace the familiar ones that had been snatched away. In houses where Active Support had already been introduced, staff ramped things up to provide turbo-charged Active Support!! Even in services where formal AS has not yet been introduced, incredible efforts have gone into providing variety in activities, keeping people busy and ensuring the emotional well- being of those we support.
Magnificent Managers
Our management team have done a fantastic job of supporting and motivating the staff and people we support through this difficult period. The beginning of the lockdown period was unsettling and it felt that our only option would be to reactively deal with the changes that were coming. However, our managers were extremely proactive at anticipating how the changes would impact people in different ways and providing individualised support and planning to keep them as settled and safe as possible. Our managers have continued to make house visits and work at the office, adhering to distancing guidance, in order to keep operations running as smoothly as possible and assist staff and people we support.
Superb Staffing and HR Team
Laura, Abbi, Rosie and Bethan have continued to manage the mammoth task of coordinating staff for all supported living, respite and outreach services. They have also been managing an ongoing recruitment drive, adapting to different interviewing measures to observe social distancing and ensure safety. They have succeeded in also juggling the additional pressure of covering shifts at short notice, when staff have presented with potential COVID symptoms and needed to self- isolate.
And of course… the wonderful people we support!!
The people we support have shown incredible resilience and flexibility during tough times. With day centres, colleges, discos and activities off the table and long periods without seeing family and friends, we expected to see people struggling from the earliest days of lockdown. But on the contrary, people have their chins up, focused on other activities and many have used the time constructively to embark on projects and learn new skills.