St Luke’s Hospital has been chosen as the first care home in the region to be provided with the new Covid-19 vaccination. 75 members of staff have been given the opportunity to receive the vaccination as part of the charity’s work to support the NHS through the pandemic.
In November this year, St Luke’s changed one floor of its building to accommodate patients who need dedicated recovery having had the Covid-19 virus. These patients require specialist nursing care having been initially treated at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. The new Covid-ward at St Luke’s has been made into its own isolation bubble, with its own team of staff and infection control protocols for patients and visitors.
The charity was approached by Oxfordshire County Council to provide this service, as the care home has a wealth of experience in supporting rehabilitation patients, with some of the best facilities in the South East. Before the new ward could start receiving patients, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had to inspect and approve St Luke’s infection control procedures, making the Hospital one of the first ‘designated settings’ in the region.
Luke Ponsonby, Chair of Trustees of St Luke’s commented, “We are very proud to be working with the NHS to offer care to patients who are recovering from the Covid virus. Having the opportunity to support our staff through the Covid vaccination scheme is a huge step forward for St Luke’s. We are committed to helping our colleagues in the NHS through this crisis, and at the same time, safeguard our patients and staff. The new vaccine is going to significantly help us to keep everyone at St Luke’s
safe.”
St Luke’s Hospital has also been chosen as one of 24 care homes in the country to have its own Covid-19 testing equipment. “Being able to run a test on site and get the results within four hours is a gamechanger for the charity. We are required to test our staff every week as part of our Covid-19 protocol and all our patients monthly. Having the tests available to use in-house will mean that we can test a patient who is coming to St Luke’s for one of our other nursing care services, to ensure that we keep our other patients safe from the virus,” commented Richard Burden, Chief Executive of St Luke’s.
The Charity has also been utilising a fleet of new cleaning robots within the Hospital to support its mission to protect its patient and staff population. The robots tour the facility cleaning as they move around the floor to provide an additional level of biosecurity within the building.
