Care staff wear lanyards showing 'there’s always a smiling face behind the mask'

A care home in Tunbridge Wells has launched a new initiative, so all its staff now wear lanyards with a photo of them smiling, to help residents who may feel interactions are less warm and friendly with staff wearing full PPE.

The new initiative called Birchwood Smiles has been adopted by all staff at Birchwood House care home and at its home care company Birchwood Care Services.

Niral Patel, Birchwood’s owner, said: “It’s our team’s smiling faces that so often get mentioned by residents, clients and their families. So, everyone loved the idea of Birchwood Smiles and quickly got behind it, and we’ve been able to roll it out across all of our staff.”

This simple gesture is already proving effective and although there are hopes of a Covid-19 vaccine being rolled out soon and elderly people will be the first to receive it, Birchwood is preparing for PPE being a part of daily life for some time to come.

Wendy Ryan, manager of Birchwood Care Services, said: “So much of caring is about making a human connection and we wanted to remind our clients that there’s always a smiling face behind the mask. If you smile at someone, nine times out of ten you’ll get a smile back, and what’s important to remember is sometimes we’re the only people our clients see in a day.”

Ms Ryan added: “For those who have dementia this is even more important. Continuity and routine are essential. A familiar face helps build rapport and trust. We want to create a positive, happy feeling for all clients.”

Birchwood has adapted its services throughout the pandemic, locking down Birchwood House early in 2020 and introducing family visits to Birchwood House in June, using a fully secure visiting area. Birchwood Care Services has adapted by significantly reducing staff interaction and making more use of video and telephone supervision. Birchwood Care Services also held its first virtual Care Awards in 2020, to keep morale high and thank staff for their continued efforts. Categories included ‘Going over and above’ and ‘Best compliments from clients’.

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