On Friday BBC News revealed that more than 12,500 care home residents died between March and May. The report looked at the deadly effect of coronavirus in care homes.

Guardian Carers Managing Director Renate Winkler spoke on the programme about the changes to the care sector as a result of Covid-19. One of the main ways families are hoping to protect their loved ones from Covid-19 is by moving them out of care homes.

Winkler said that “typically it’s not a long term plan.” What happens is that families learn the care home where their relatives are has recorded cases of Covid-19 so they are worried about them getting it. These families are normally “looking at what’s happening in the next one to two months. We’re not seeing people book long term but just to ensure their parents are safe” Winkler explained.

Joe, who has had the virus himself and recovered, wanted to take his mother Rosa out of the care home she was in because other residents developed Covid-19. They have been self-isolating together in her home. Joe said that “the last thing they wanted to do was put her in harm’s way. We’ve been lucky that she hasn’t shown any signs” of the virus.

Same as Joe, sons and daughters have been coming to Guardian Carers in need of care for their loved ones. What families are mostly looking after now is temporary care, until the virus goes away or until it may be safe to move their loved ones back into their care homes.

Many of these families are also looking for live-in care specifically. In the month of March alone, Guardian Carers have seen an increase in demand for live-in care services. While normally around 50% of the services offered would be for live-in care, now it has jumped to almost 90% of all carer placements.

As families cannot go visit their loved ones in their home and want them to be as protected as possible, they enlist the help of live-in carers who are able to self-isolate with them. Live-in care with Guardian Carers is the safest option, as we ensure that the carer works for only one person, maximum 2 at a time. Guardian Carers picks “someone who is very local, who either has their own car, so they’re not using public transport or someone who is within walking distance,” says Winkler.

Live-in carers from Guardian Carers are thoroughly vetted before moving into a client’s home to ensure they are safe. We go back and check what they have been doing in the past 2 weeks, whether they’ve had any Covid-19 related symptoms or whether they’ve been in contact with someone who does. For any live-in placements, we also make sure to test the carers for Covid-19.

Care with Guardian Carers can be arranged quickly, in as little as 24 hours. Any urgent need can be accommodated by our highly-qualified carers, whether a loved one is being removed from a care home or discharged from the hospital.

Here are some of our carers who can support your loved one’s move from a care home: Ma Ana, Mihai and Marva.