Families

Housekeeping

We have a dedicated and motivated housekeeping team who support us with making sure that residents' rooms and communal areas are kept clean. Please ask to speak to them should you have any queries or if you see something that needs attention. Please refrain from bringing any cleaning products into our centres without liaising with the housekeeping staff, as we must risk assess any product we use for the residents' safety.

Meals

We do have set mealtimes; however, we try to be as accommodating as possible and drinks and snacks are available outside these times. Please speak with a team member for these times as they vary from centre to centre.

Sharing a meal with a loved one is an important everyday activity and it is one we encourage. You are welcome to join your relative for a meal, but please let us know in advance so our catering staff know to prepare your meal.

If you would like to occasionally bring in food or treats for your loved one, that’s great, but we ask that you speak to our nurses as they will be aware of any potential risks. Please don’t share meals or treats with other residents as they may have an allergy, may require a specialist diet, or may need certain consistencies of food to prevent choking.

Your Relative’s Room

We fully understand that moving to one of our centres can be a difficult and disorienting transition, so we encourage you to personalise your relatives, room. We love to see framed photographs or pictures, but we have one ask – could you please ensure that they are covered with Perspex and not glass as this is less hazardous for our residents. Likewise, please feel free to bring in small items of furniture and soft furnishings. Please speak to the general manager if you would like to do this.

Should you wish to bring in valuables for your loved one, we are happy to store these in our central safe, where all items are registered and photographed with the resident’s name. Please don’t leave such items with residents, as we cannot be responsible for valuable items, equipment or clothing left with a resident of which we have no knowledge. 

You may also bring small electrical items in for your loved one; however, any electrical items will need to be PAT tested before use. Please speak to a member of staff for more information.

Laundry

We have a fantastic laundry department who are responsible for washing our residents’ clothing. To comply with our stringent infection control measures, we wash clothing at high temperature, so we ask that you only supply clothes which can sustain high temperatures and tumble dryer drying. We also ask that all clothes are handed to reception, so they can be labelled and logged to your relative.

Unfortunately, we don’t operate a dry-cleaning facility, so we ask that these items are kept to a minimum. Please speak with your loved one’s named nurse to arrange for these items to be cleaned.

At Ethos Care, we operate a no smoking policy – smoking is only permitted in our gardens where we have allocated spaces.

Photography

It is entirely reasonable that you will want to have photographs of your loved one while they are staying with us and we may also wish to have some of our events and activities.

We are of course, mindful of our confidentiality responsibilities under GDPR and we would therefore request that when taking pictures or videos, you ensure they do not include other residents.

If you would like to see pictures of your loved one participating in our activities, you must sign a consent form which will be kept in their file.