It is with considerable regret that we had to ask the resident to leave Aspen Hill Village. Asking a resident to leave their home is never a decision that we take lightly.
The resident was asked to leave because her family refuses to comply with our visiting policy. We appreciate that restrictions placed on visiting is exceptionally difficult for our residents and their loved ones. However, we have a duty of care to ensure the safety of all our residents and to minimise the risk of transmission of the virus into our homes. This requires us to follow government guidance which restricts visiting.
Unfortunately, despite the family having signed their agreement to our visiting policy following their mother’s admission in April 2020 and attending several meetings to discuss visiting, the family have repeatedly breached our Covid-19 visiting policy, placing their mother, our other residents and staff at risk of harm. Since service of notice and a subsequent appeal hearing, the resident’s family continue to breach our visiting policy, and as recently as this weekend were observed in the grounds of the Home without permission, without having booked a visit and breaching national government lockdown restrictions.
We categorically refute any suggestion that this was a ‘revenge eviction’ because their daughter raised concerns on a Facebook site. We operate an open door policy and the manager welcomes all residents and their families to raise concerns directly at any time so that these can be addressed. Unfortunately, our reasonable requests to adhere to our visiting policy has led to an irreconcilable breakdown in our relationship with the resident’s family.
Our priority is and has always been the welfare of our residents. Whilst we were one of the first homes in England to put in place visitor restrictions in early March 2020 to protect our residents, we have worked tirelessly to facilitate contact between our residents and their loved ones. Between July and September we have arranged over 400 visits with a satisfaction rate of 98%. We would like to thank all our relatives for their continued support in following the government guidelines at this difficult time for all.