Blog - #lifeinlockdown at Frank House

Gill Excell, Service Manager at Frank House, an Aspens residence in Erith, talks about how residents and carers are filling their time during lockdown.

Ed: Hi Gill! How are things at Frank House right now?

Gill: We’re trying to keep as busy and active as possible... here's how:

Spic and span!

We involve everybody who lives here in keeping our lovely house clean and germ-free. We’ve built a good routine – we disinfect the whole house daily, including door and window frames, light switches, door handles etc. we even jet-washed all gardens and pathways! And it goes without saying we’re very hot on the hand-washing - even if someone just goes for a walk in the garden, they’ll wash their hands or put on hand gel when they get back.

Life with no visitors

We’re getting people out for short walks, just so they can see the sky and have a hit of fresh air! But of course we can’t allow any visitors at the moment, unless it’s an emergency. We ask family to drop care packages and other items at the door and it does make people’s day when they receive one. It’s lovely to see the smile on someone’s face when they’re sent something from a loved one.

Working through it

Frank House’s carers are really doing an amazing job and going above and beyond right now. We’re offering telephone and video calls to support our outreach clients and their families and we’re doing ‘shop and drop’ and medication ‘pick and drop’ for those who need it. Sometimes it’s just nice, apart from anything else, to remind people know we’re there for them and that we’re only a phone call away.

We have lots of fun, too!

It can’t all be doom and gloom, so we make sure we have some fun each day, too. We’ve been running keep-fit classes and teaching people how to cook delicious new dishes, which we enjoy when we all sit down to eat together in the evenings. And we’re having dancing and singing nights! Our own little disco. As you can see from the pics, we’ve got a lot of creativity in Frank House so people have been keeping busy with arts and crafts. We love the Thursday night #clapforourcarers and we’ve been making signs and bunting to hang out front, to show our support for the carers who are working so hard at the moment.

Ed: It sounds like Frank House is doing a great job of keeping cheery and getting through it. Do you have a final word?

Gill: Only to say that, despite the very difficult situation that everybody is in at the moment with Coronavirus, life does go on and we’re trying to appreciate any good that we see. It’s lovely when we all sit down to eat together in the evenings, for example, and that people are taking turns to cook. It’s heart-warming to see how people can adapt and support each other when needed.