A charity which supports adults with learning disabilities and complex mental health needs in Weston is ‘thrilled’ services users are being prioritised for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Cintre has supported living and residential homes in Weston, and staff also work with people in the community. These adults have autism, OCD or other physical or mental health challenges, which has made social distancing and lockdown measures especially tough.
People being supported by the charity are also more susceptible to contracting viruses than the general population, so Cintre is now working hard to ensure they are vaccinated as soon as possible.
The charity’s chief executive Dr Claire Mould said: “Residents in the homes we support have had their vaccinations, which is fantastic. But individuals we support in the community are probably more at risk, because they are living independently and might not always have the capacity to understand social distancing and restrictions.
“We were absolutely thrilled when they announced individuals registered with a GP with learning difficulties will be vaccinated. It’s hugely important that we prioritise this group. We are working very hard with individuals to support them to get vaccinated.”
People with a ‘severe or profound’ learning disability were already in priority group six for the coronavirus vaccine, and adults with Down's Syndrome have already been offered a jab, in priority group four.
Public Health England has now confirmed everyone on their GP’s learning disability register will be invited for vaccination as part of priority group six.
Cintre has been working hard during the pandemic to adapt the support it offers. The charity provides assisted living and residential care for adults with complex mental health needs at Earlfield Lodge in Weston.
Dr Mould said the pandemic posed many challenges for residents who could no longer see family members, or go outside, and were being cared for by staff dressed in full PPE.
She said: “We are supporting individuals with complex needs and we had to tell them about the restrictions and they don’t always have the capacity to understand, which is incredibly challenging.
“With someone on the autistic spectrum, who is very used to having set routines, we had to tell them they couldn’t do certain things they were used to. This has the potential to lead to behavioural issues.
“We also had to deal with residents going to hospital appointments, where they then had to isolate for 14 days. Staff had to give one-to-one support for that individual to keep them entertained and safe, so they didn’t feel like they’d been shut in their room."
Although there have been many challenges, Cintre said the communities within its homes have become closer- with staff holding quizzes, board game sessions and karaoke, organising face time with families and setting up a wellbeing café.
Cintre also had to adapt the support it offers to people in the community, which Dr Mould said was 'far harder'. In the first lockdown, community visits had to stop due to the risk to staff and services users.
Dr Mould said: “Someone living on their own in the community could be quite frightened about what they were hearing on the news, and then their support just stops. So, we had to be incredibly mindful of that as we could see deterioration in their mental health.”
The charity set up face time meetings with key workers; held Zoom cooking and art sessions - which involved staff dropping boxes of ingredients and supplies to their door – and ran face time exercise sessions and walks.
During the third lockdown, Cintre decided to continue with face-to-face support as many people were struggling with social isolation.
Dr Mould said: “We made the decision to carry on doing face-to-face support because we realised that for some individuals the risk of us not going out and providing them with that support was more detrimental to their mental health than Covid risks because we were in PPE and staff are incredibly robust in procedures.”
Cintre is keen to hear from local businesses who are interested in partnering with the charity to support its projects and activities, or help with volunteering. To find out more, email Rachel.hoskins@cintre.org
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