Shropshire Star

Staff went above and beyond during snow, says Shropshire care homes boss

THE chief executive of Shropshire’s largest independent care home provider has paid tribute to the hundreds of staff who went ‘above and beyond the call of duty’ during the badrecent extreme weather to care for residents.

Published

Coverage Care workers stayed overnight and walked long distances to work in freezing conditions to ensure that residents at its homes would be looked after.

David Coull, who heads up the not-for-profit organisation, said the selfless actions of all staff concerned deserved special recognition. “I would like to say a huge thank you to every single member of staff who went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that our homes could operate safely and our residents remained well cared for in very extenuating circumstances.

“Their dedication to duty and putting the residents’ needs first above their own demonstrates the calibre of staff we are lucky to have at Coverage Care.”

Coverage Care runs 14 residential and nursing homes – Barclay Gardens, Chillcott Gardens, and Lightmoor View in Telford; Barleyfield House, Briarfields, Coton Hill House and Montgomery House in Shrewsbury; New Fairholme, Oswestry; Farcroft, Wellington; Greenfields, Whitchurch; Innage Grange, Bridgnorth; Stone House, Bishops Castle; The Cottage Christian Nursing Home, Newport; and Woodcroft in Market Drayton.

At Barclay Gardens, staff stayed overnight and swapped shifts to ensure that as many people as possible could make it into work. They also looked after visiting relatives to ensure they were safe.

Coton Hill House staff worked extra shifts to ensure the home was safe and residents well cared for. Manager Michelle Humphries said: “It was both humbling and rewarding to actually see the dedication of these special individuals towards the residents and the home and really showed me that there can be positive outcomes in desperate situations.”

In at least two instances members of staff kept colleagues mobile using their 4x4 vehicles and several members of staff abandoned their cars to walk in to work.

Three members of staff at Briarfields stayed overnight on Saturday because of concerns they wouldn’t make it back to work the next day and others came in early and brought their children with them after schools were closed. Manager Denise Morris and Assistant Manager Nina Padget also helped staff dig their cars out of the snow so that they could get home.

In Market Drayton, staff slept overnight at Farcroft knowing they would be unable to get home while others took colleagues home who would otherwise have been stuck.

At Montgomery House in Shrewsbury, staff worked extra hours, walked long distances into work and provided transport for colleagues who would not have been able to get there.

Two staff walked nearly six miles through the snow from Wellington to Lightmoor View and at Stonehouse, the husband of the home’s manager Keturah Bloor volunteered to transport staff in from outlying areas of south Shropshire while others spent the night at the home.

At Bridgnorth’s Innage Grange staff also extended their shifts, volunteered to cover each other, provided 4x4 transport to keep colleagues moving and even shovelled snow.