We made it! Covid 5 Years on
“It was a time where we had to change our way of life” Vanessa Washington, Oaklea Team Manager
This weekend marked the 5th anniversary of the global Covid pandemic – and a day of reflection was held on Sunday across the UK.
“It is an opportunity to come together to remember those who lost their lives since the pandemic began and to honour the tireless work and acts of kindness shown during this unprecedented time. Events will be taking place across the UK and there are lots of ways to get involved, both at home and in your community.” National Care Forum (NCF)
As you will recall Oaklea customers, employees and partners from Northumberland to Cumbria to County Durham were affected.
Some of the images from that time – from clapping for carers to letters of thanks…
Changes in behaviour
Team Manager at New Road, South Lakes, Vanessa Washington was at the heart of supporting people in 2020…and has taken time out to reflect:
“It’s amazing what people did – both customers and staff. It was a time where we had to change our way of life – especially having to stay indoors and not being able to do things we took for granted. Since Covid we’ve noticed changes in behaviour and some of those we support are taking a longer time to re-adjust but thanks to our teams we are making good progress.”
So many challenges
“One of the things during Covid was having to work as a wider team across areas – when say a team went down with Covid and having to look at alternatives and re jig how we covered absence and ensured our customers got the support they needed.”
The language changed
PPE became a term in common usage…even local schools – like Appleby Grammar & QEGS Penrith made PPE visors for our care teams.
Covid wheels set in motion
In the Eden Valley we delivered home made wholesome food, medicines and other vital supplies from the Appleby Hub community enterprise to those isolating.
Recognition from on high…
NCF (National Care Forum) gave Oaklea a big thank you – including putting us in a book ‘Caring in Covid’
Find out more about how our national body – NCF (National Care Forum) marked the day of reflection here https://www.nationalcareforum.org.uk/care-sector-news/covid-19-day-of-reflection-9th-march-2025/
Making waves – Splashing back to normality!
A great example of how those we work with have bounced back comes from Alice – she has regularly given back in her community – and this weekend gave her time to raise funds for fellow charity Manna House with a ‘swimathon’. She went with support, Dotti Gibbons:
“Took these pics of Alice doing a swimathon for Manna House where she goes to craft class on Monday. She was truly amazing – done way more than 40 lengths of pool. I love the one where she posed with her arms perfect for 5 yrs on from Covid. It will be a time we never forget. I still have long Covid chest problems so I never forget. But we bounced back.” Dotti
Lest we forget
Across the UK, just under 227,000 people died who had the virus listed as a cause of death – with more than 16,000 in Scotland and more than 12,300 people in Wales.
