With the advent of the coronavirus and all the restrictions that have come with it, live-in carers may have questions about protocol involving incoming carers, outgoing carers and who stays where.

This can be very confusing, not to mention frustrating. Most agencies have now placed their own recommendations in force, although there are still going to be cases where things do not go as planned.

A classic example of this is where a live-in carer is with a client. Her stay has been extended because of the lockdown, but the incoming carer insists on returning to the client.

What is the solution?

Unfortunately, there is no ‘hard-and-fast’ rule here although there is a lot of common sense which should come into play, with both outgoing and incoming carer.

In the early days of the lockdown agencies all made decisions regarding which carer moved where and for long.

One thing that all agencies agreed on was that keeping movement to a minimum was the wisest route to take, and for this reason carers would have received notification that you should where possible stay with the client they were presently taking care of.

To move between clients or even come from home to a client poses extra risk of passing on the virus. Every time we travel, we run the risk of encountering an infected person.

Trains and buses are notoriously busy and even taxis cannot be thought of as safe to use so the less you travel, the less risk you have of not only getting the virus but also passing it on.

What about 2 weeks self-isolation?

If we think about the full picture right now, taking two weeks to self-isolate as soon as you reach a client is simply not viable. Where would you stay? Staying in the house with a client and an outgoing carer puts them at risk while you attempt to show that you are unaffected.

If you are affected you will not only pass this along to the client, you will also highly likely infect the outgoing carer, who will then pass it on..

What if the carer insists on coming?

If you are in this situation it is vital that you talk to your agency. They need to be aware that their rule is being flouted and they should step in to cancel the incoming booking.

If you are not with an agency you should speak to family or POA as soon as you can. No one needs much explaining these days why it is important to social distance. They also need to be aware that any incoming carer may possibly (and highly likely) infect their loved one and you.

If this is something that the family agree to then, unfortunately, you may not have an option to stay. Realistically, you need to find a place as soon as you can and move out on the handover day with minimum contact with the incoming carer.

To sum up

While this is a nasty situation for any carer to be in, it does and will happen. An incoming carer wants that job and is determined to return.

Particularly now, with the coronavirus, this is a stupid thing to insist on, and only places more people in danger. If the other carer insists on returning, move out as soon as possible and stay safe yourself.

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