'We became their family' - care home on lockdown

After the first Covid lockdown was officially announced in 2020, "things were changing on the hour, every hour".

Nursing home manager Melanie Dawson has reflected on the impact of that time, five years on, and the lessons learned, alongside staff and residents at her care home.

On 23 March 2020, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson told people to "stay at home" but at The Lawns home in Kempsey, Worcestershire, preparations were already under way.

Ms Dawson said she decided to close the care home to visitors two weeks before the national lockdown, on the weekend of Mothering Sunday.

"We get a tremendous amount of visitors into this home," she said.

"I spoke to Simon, our managing director, and took the decision to close The Lawns just because I could see it coming our way.

"Families were really grateful."

Ms Dawson said residents reacted with quiet resilience.

"Old people have their own thought process. They went back to their experience of the war and just sort of said, 'it'll all sort itself out'."

However, behind the scenes, she admitted it was an intense time.

"We were testing people three or four times a week. With a staff team of 78, that's a massive amount," she said.

"You can't just isolate someone in their bedroom when the home is their bubble. These people were their family."

For lifestyle and wellbeing lead Joy, who worked throughout the pandemic, the lockdown was a time of great pressure.

"We were very lucky here - we didn't lose anybody - but that was through hard work, long hours and covering for people who couldn't come in," she said.

Half a decade on, the team now focus on "living every day".

"Smile every day, laugh every day," Joy added.

"Before we cleaned, obviously, but now we're much more conscious of infection control.

"Even now, if someone's got a cold, you're suddenly transported back five years."

She also remembered supporting residents at the end of their lives.

"They couldn't have their loved ones hold their hand, and that's where we stepped in," she added.

Mary, 86, a current resident of the home, was isolating with her husband at their house during the pandemic.

She had happy memories of lockdown as she said it gave them precious time together before he passed away.

"It was all right, really," she said.

"We just got on with it. Did the garden, walked up the hills. We had a bit of fun."

She missed seeing her family but said the phone kept them connected.

"It did affect me a bit but I knew it was temporary. And I had my husband. We had each other," Mary said.

He died not long after the pandemic, following a fall.

"We were near a hospital and they took him in. A lovely little boy brought me a cup of tea," she said.

"I sat and held [my husband's] hand till he died. It was terrible... but you've got to get up and carry on."

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