CEO and Founder
Paul Urmston
We take our duty of care towards the health and well-being of both our residents and our staff extremely seriously. We have completed a thorough risk assessment of our environment.
Our updated COVID risk assessment is based on the latest government guidance and it has been significantly revised to ease the overhead on the operational requirements of the rehab whilst maintaining an effective admission process and treatment environment.
This current policy is based on the assumption that we will not be able to accept placements for residents who are in the highest risk category of becoming seriously ill from COVID.
This risk assessment has taken into consideration various aspects of resident risks including the benefits of an effective admission process, the participation in ESH Community’s programme including safe detoxification, our education programme and the aftercare we provide.
The impact of the COVID pandemic has changed over the years as more people have been vaccinated and new variants of the virus have emerged with potentially less severe symptoms. We have also gained more awareness and experience of managing COVID in our environment.
We continue to review the best practice approaches that describe how to operate a residential rehabilitation facility safely in the current environment to be able to meet the latest Government Guidelines.
We have reflected on our own experience and we believe we have taken a safe and robust approach above what the Government currently recommend.
The additional measures we are taking have been integrated into our day to day practices and procedures to manage the rehab through the ongoing pandemic situation.
Resident Admission Process
- Following initial engagement with ESH Community, potential residents and the families are invited to attend a Pre-Admission Assessment.
- Pre-admission and admission sessions are held in our dedicated Admissions Office away from the main residence.
- The pre-admission meeting focusses on some COVID related checks to ensure the potential resident is not in the highest risk category of becoming seriously ill from COVID these include:
- Checking for any COVID/Flu/Cold symptoms in the last 14 days
- Assessing the potential resident’s current COVID vaccination status, potential residents not fully vaccinated will be individually risk assessed
- Assessment of any pre-existing physical health conditions, for example respiratory problems or serious liver disease which would put them in the highest risk category of becoming seriously ill from COVID
- If the potential resident has any COVID, cold or flu symptoms on the day of admission we will test for COVID as a precautionary measure to help to keep the rehab COVID free.
- If a test is required assuming the COVID test does not highlight any potential COVID issues the admission can proceed.
PPE
- Our general approach to PPE is that it is not required in our regular day to day activities as the nature, efficacy and quality of the services we deliver would be detrimentally impacted if PPE was used in our day to day interactions with residents
Staff Training
- This COVID Secure Risk Assessment shared and discussed with all staff.
- Information on how and when to use PPE
- Process for resident admission COVID testing
Updated 10/04/25