Warwick care home team reflects on getting through Covid-19 pandemic after winning party

Up to 40 members of the team at Leycester House Care Home will be able to celebrate after winning a VIP private party, worth £1,000 thanks to a competition at That Gin and Cocktail Bar in Swan Street.

Care home manager Tracy Barton, recalls: “We’d heard all the horror stories of what had happened in other care homes and felt very lucky because we got almost right through 2020 with nothing and then all of a sudden it was November and we were hit.

"We spent Christmas and New Year in full lockdown, residents were eating their Christmas dinners in their bedrooms.

She added: “It was frightening for the residents and for the relatives who weren’t allowed to come in.

"I was so proud of the team who were covering shifts for each other, supporting each other and literally holding each other up, despite being frightened of the virus and for what it could mean for them and their families.

"There were regular WhatsApp messages going out to relatives and so many of our team caught the virus and were off sick with it so the rest of the team pulled together. I honestly couldn’t be prouder.

“It is still a bit of a spectre hanging over us.

"We are watching the rest of the world move into an endemic phase and the care homes are two or three steps behind, which we understand because we still have a duty to protect our residents and care teams, but it can be a long hard and uncomfortable shift wearing a mask for 12 hours a day, if not more.”

The team was nominated for the competition by Shelly Jones, a carer who works with the 30-strong dementia care team at Leycester House.

Shelly, from Hatton Park, said: “It was so hard because we weren’t aware of how difficult a time we were in for.

"Sometimes when we look back at it now, we think, how did we get through that? It was an eerie time.

“With dementia it is particularly hard because they look at you and try and read what you say but with the mask on they can’t see your expressions or see you smiling.

“We all did our best and are proud of how we dealt with it and got through.”

Bar owner Steve Bazell said he was so touched by the competition entries, he has also decided to present a £100 voucher to a runner-up, Stuart Bird from Warwick.

The father-of-two was nominated by his wife Tracie following his battle with stomach cancer which was diagnosed earlier this year.

Steve said: “It really resonated how hard they worked at Leycester House throughout Covid and then into a cost of living crisis on the back of it.

"Hopefully for a few hours they can come and enjoy the party in the private hire room and have fun.

“We had a lot of deserving entries and a particular family who have gone through a very difficult time also got a bonus prize of a £100 voucher to spend at the bar.

"Thank you for all the entries and we hope by giving a little back that people have a great night.”