Posted 17/03/2020

Our Response To The Coronavirus 17|03|20

We know that this is a worrying and uncertain time for everyone. We wanted to reassure you that we will continue to do all we can to support you and your family over the coming weeks and months.

We will continue to update this web page throughout the Coronavirus response and will also continue to be active on social media and digital channels.  We will, where appropriate provide postal / paper updates too.

Here's our current plan, as you will understand, we may have to adapt it as the situation develops:

-          In line with Government advice, we are moving as many of our staff as possible to working from home where their role supports this.   Please do bear with us, as this does mean that you might wait a bit longer to speak to our staff.  You can access information about our services on swan.org.uk and speak to us via Live Chat there too.

-          Furthermore, in line with Government advice, our staff will be re-arranging all currently booked face to face visits so they can be carried out by telephone or other means.  Aside from planned care visits, our teams will only visit you in your home in exceptional or emergency situations.  We will be unable to visit a property where a household member is self-isolating or has symptoms of the virus. If you need us during this period, please do contact us and we will talk through the options as to how we can support you.

-          Our repairs contractor Axis has put arrangements in place to try to maintain services to residents.  However, it is likely that they will begin to prioritise emergency repairs and so you might find we are unable to meet our usual time frames for all other repairs.  There may well be a situation where only emergency repairs will be possible, but we will notify you if that is the case.    These arrangements are being put in place to help us maintain a safe and secure home for you and all Swan residents.

-          Our Housing Teams will remain available to support you via the telephone and live chat on www.swan.org.uk    

-          If you are concerned about your financial position because of the impact of the C-19 virus, our Welfare Benefits team are standing by to support you.  You can call them on 0300 303 2500 or email them via info@swan.org.uk   Again, please do bear in mind, that they are likely to receive lots of additional calls, so it may take time for them to get back to you, but they will do so.

-          Our Estates Services Team will continue to provide caretaking services but they may have to adapt their schedules to cover staff absences and to respond to the evolving restrictions on movement.  Again, we ask for your patience if you find that the service isn't delivered in the usual way over the coming weeks. 

-          If you are a resident living in one of our supported housing schemes - advice has been shared locally as to how we will do our best to maintain services during this period.   

-          If you are resident in one of our NHS schemes, you may notice that there are some changes and potentially a reduction to the housekeeping regime to reflect changes to our safe working arrangements with staff and potentially to reflect reduced staffing levels. 

-          If we provide care in your home, we're currently working with the Clinical Commissioners with regards to the continued provision of care at this time.  

-          We will continue to seek to engage with you about our services but you will appreciate that we won't be arranging face to face meetings until restrictions are lifted.  Our Resident Involvement and Community Development Team will be working with our engaged residents to find ways to continue to speak to you.

-          If you are a Hera resident the team will continue to be available to support you on email via: info@hermanagementservices.co.uk or via phone 0345 683 8812.

We will continue to communicate with you over this period both through our social media and website and also through the next edition of HOME which we are timing to come out to you with useful advice on this evolving situation.  

Our teams are  going to be very focused on delivery of services during this difficult time, so if you need help please go to our website www.swan.org.uk, check out our advice on Facebook and Twitter, contact them by email to info@swan.org.uk or use Live Chat on our website. If you still don't find what you need please do call the team on 0300 303 2500, but note that it may take longer than usual to answer your call.