Harrogate-based Vida Healthcare has opened a Controlled Admissions Suite to protect new residents and the wider community in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched at Vida Grange in July, the suite can hold up to 10 residents at any one time and has a permanent team of six staff members offering round-the-clock care.
The initiative has been created in response to the COVID-19 crisis and will be kept in place until it is deemed safe enough to return to normal admissions processes.
Vida Healthcare developed the facility to enable new residents to be admitted to its homes without jeopardising the health of existing residents and staff.
New residents are now tested for COVID-19 prior to arriving and are then cared for in the suite before being transferred to their dedicated home once the quarantine period has been completed.
Bernadette Mossman, healthcare director at Vida Healthcare, said: “It was key for us to develop an initiative which enabled us to pick back up with our admissions process, and offer high-quality care to more vulnerable people.
“We’re fortunate, due to the design of our building, that we’ve been able to launch our Controlled Admissions Suite to welcome new guests and to reassure their families.
“This allows us to closely manage new admissions to ensure their safety and to offer support to families who are looking for specialist dementia care.”