Limited visitation to VSA residential sites to recommence

VSA announced of an important update from the Scottish Government around limited visitations that can begin to re-commence at VSA residential sites from Friday July 3^rd.

Beginning Friday 3^rd July, ONE designated family member, can arrange to visit a loved one. As per the guidance from the Scottish Government, this visit will take place outside, and an appropriate social distance must be maintained. To ensure the safety and wellbeing of the vulnerable residents in our care, the following guideline will be mandatory for all visits to our sites as per Scottish Government requirements:

• The nominated visitor must follow advice and guidance from the Scottish Government and should not visit if they have a temperature or have any symptoms associated with COVID-19
• The nominated visitor will be required to wear full PPE at all times during their visit- and our staff will be on hand to support the visitor with this
• The sole designated visitor cannot change and should be the same person visiting until further notice
• Visits should be limited by both frequency, and by length. Initially visits will be for 30 minutes outside

If you would like to visit a loved one then all visits need to be pre-arranged and agreed with the manager at the residential site. There will be a limited number of visitor timeslots available per day, and the manager at the residential site will advise further.

At VSA, our team has worked hard over the past few months to keep all our residents and staff safe and well. Over this period we introduced a range of alternative activities for our residents to ensure their emotional, social and mental wellbeing continued to be supported; this included activities such as gentle exercise classes (limited numbers at a social distance), coffee chats in our café area with a fellow resident (at a social distance), walks in our enclosed garden areas, one-on-one games and the introduction of technology such as iPads to enable family and friends to maintain meaningful contact with loved one (s).

VSA have also employed additional staff across residential sites to increase the activities offered to help keep residents engaged and motivated.

For further information on visitng a family member, please contact your loved one(s) residential site directly.