They had no one left to turn to for help. Running dangerously low on protective kit, the staff at Croft House care home could not afford to pay the exorbitant prices demanded by ruthless profiteers.
Exhausted carers were asked to work through their tea breaks so that their masks would not have to be discarded.
But that all changed when Mail Force delivered a vital consignment of personal protective equipment yesterday.
Carers and managers danced, cheered and shed ‘tears of joy’ as the precious cargo arrived at the home in the village of Eastburn, near Keighley, West Yorkshire.
Mail Force PPE Delivery: Staff and residents of the Croft House Care home in Eastburn, Keighley, who have baked a cake thanking the Mail’s new charity Mail Force for vital face-marks, before which staff had to skip breaks to ration supplies
‘I can’t begin to explain the difference this will make to the staff,’ co-owner Vicky Bateman said.
‘That’s amazing, amazing amazing. I feel so tearful with joy. Honestly, we can’t thank Mail Force enough. It’s the best campaign ever.’
Many of the staff on duty waved flags as they crowded into the garden to watch the consignment arrive. They even baked a cake with the words
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Mail Force Charity has been launched with one aim to help support NHS staff, volunteers and care workers fight back against Covid-1 in the UK.
Mail Force is a separate charity established and supported by the Daily Mail and General Trust.
The money raised will fund essential equipment required by the NHS and care workers.
This equipment is vital in protecting the heroic staff whilst they perform their fantastic work in helping the UK overcome this pandemic.
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‘Thank you Mail Force’ in blue icing on it. The home, run by 44 staff, has 29 residents – half of whom have dementia. Bosses introduced stringent lockdown measures ten days before the country followed suit.
These infection control measures have kept Croft House free from Covid-19. But protecting staff and residents has severely depleted its PPE supplies.
When the owners attempted to buy some more, they found that the price had gone up by almost 2,000 per cent.
They used to be able to buy masks for 12 pence each. Last week one supplier was offering to sell the home a batch of the same masks for £2.50 each.
Mrs Bateman, 49, said: ‘It’s outrageous that suppliers are profiteering in this way. It’s just disgusting. That supplier who offered us 1,000 masks for £2,500 is wrong.’
Before the arrival of the PPE consignment from Mail Force – a charity backed by the Mail and its partners – staff had to be restricted to using only two masks per day, to make the dwindling supplies last.
It meant that they were asked to avoiding taking breaks so that their masks would last for longer. Having a break usually requires the masks to be touched, rendering them useless.
Mrs Bateman, who owns the home with her husband Giles, 55, said: ‘One of the staff members said to me that this delivery has made her week and another said it has made everyone happier again.’
One of the residents at Croft House is Betty Hughes, 94, mother of screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes.
Betty has been a resident for six years and has dementia.
Pictured here (left to right are Olivia Cole (18), Charlotte Bateman (18) and Sophie Bateman, who have all volunteered to work at the lockeddown carehome. They are holding some of the Mail Force’s masks
Her daughter, author of the ITV adaptation of Vanity Fair and a forthcoming BBC series on Jack the Ripper, said: ‘On behalf of my Mum, can I offer a very grateful three cheers and a huge thank you to Mail Force.’
Mail Force’s campaign began in earnest a week ago, when it flew an airliner with 20 tons of PPE from Shanghai to London.
Thanks to the speed and extraordinary public support for Mail Force, plans are under way to bring in further airlifts of PPE.
57 test positive in outbreak at Skye care home
By Alex Ward
Two residents have died and more than 50 people have tested positive for coronavirus at a remote care home. Home Farm on the Isle of Skye confirmed 30 of 34 residents and 27 of 52 staff have Covid-19.
The outbreak started a week ago and mass-testing was carried out last Wednesday. A mobile testing unit operated by the Black Watch battalion was deployed to the south of the island yesterday.
The Scottish government says it will track and trace anyone the patients have come in contact with. ‘Having such an outbreak as we have on Skye is shocking and worrying,’ said Ian Blackford, SNP MP for Skye and Lochaber.
‘By supporting the NHS and our care staff, by protecting all our frontline workers and by taking all necessary hygiene steps, we can contain the spread of this virus and do our bit to save lives.’
Figures released last month showed a third of coronavirus deaths in England and Wales were in care homes. The Office for National Statistics said there were 2,000 for the week ending April 17.
Employers were accused yesterday of playing ‘Russian roulette’ with care workers’ lives by rationing or withholding personal protective equipment. According to Unison, PPE is being locked away in some care homes, while in others staff are being told they need to wear it only once a resident has tested positive.
Care workers have told the union they are using bin bags to protect themselves. One said: ‘I’m outraged that my life and my family’s lives are at greater risk because certain staff and managers want to play a game of Russian roulette.’
Another told the union: ‘I really want someone to explain why we’re not wearing masks and other PPE before an outbreak.
Use face masks to limit spread, ministers told
By Victoria Allen
Pressure is building for ministers to make an announcement on face masks, as scientists continue to come out in favour of them.
A committee headed by the president of the Royal Society has concluded masks are an ‘important tool’ for managing the spread of coronavirus.
Ministers are yet to announce whether commuters and shoppers should wear face masks in public.
But in evidence submitted to the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies, the committee said people could spread virusladen droplets through talking or breathing.
Therefore, they suggested face masks may be important in situations where social distancing is difficult.
Venki Ramakrishnan, chairman of the group and president of the Royal Society, said: ‘Face masks, including homemade cloth masks, can help to reduce viral transmission.’