The boss of a Gateshead care home which cares for people with brain injuries and dementia is looking forward to expanding again this spring - after a challenging two years during Covid-19.
Dr Niraj Brahmabhatt - director of the Chase Park Neuro Centre in Whickham - explained that by concentrating on one "wing" of the care home and closing the other during the pandemic, his team had been able to keep their 30 residents safe.
Though staff recruitment had been difficult at times, he said the aim is now to recruit and to invest in the "tight-knit" workforce and new technology.
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Looking forward, Dr Brahmabhatt said: "The idea is to soon be back to full capacity so we can offer more jobs and give more care to our community.
"We are quite a large service but in some ways remain a tight-knit group. Despite the stress of the pandemic everyone stepped up to help out. If people had to isolate, deputies stepped up and nursing staff helped out management. We want more of that teamwork and spirit."
He said the teamwork and "fantastic nursing care" had been a big reason behind the home keeping Covid-19 infections very low - and said concentrating on a smaller number of patients than usual had helped too.
He said: "One of the things we have done throughout the pandemic is to only have one side of the site open - focusing on the 30 residents there has enabled us to really keep them safe throughout."
Dr Brahmabhatt said that during the past two years, issues around staffing and the limits on visitors had made life difficult at times, and added: "Unfortunately we had to keep visitors away until last summer. But we were gradually able to have them outside and then in areas like the cafeteria."
As for staffing, he said the aim was to expand and that there had also been investment in rehabilitation technology to attract the best staff. However, he didn't shy away from discussing the stress on the care workforce generally.
He said: "At the height of the pandemic and during the Omicron wave we just weren't seeing applications. There's lots of talk of burnout in the care sector at the moment so we are looking at ways we can best support our staff.
"We hope that come March and April, like we did last year, we'll see people look at it becoming spring and feel they are able to step up again.
"Despite the pandemic we have tried to continue to invest - we've raised staff wages and when we reopen the other side we will be able to expand the staff further."
He said the "tranquil" environment in Chase Park had been a boon during the pandemic, and hoped that facilities like the home's hydrotherapy pool would continue to attract staff.
In recent weeks Dr Brahmabhatt explained there had been seven new staff and an influx of nurses.
He paid tribute to the care and nursing team, in particular Jane Webber and Alina Inta.
Chase Park has recently installed a "Tyrostation" - which is a state-of-the-art piece of rehabilitation kit - and the care home boss said this meant the home was able to improve its rehabilitation offer and attract new physio team members.
"For the physically able it's not a problem to walk in a straight line or move a ball back and forth, but if you have a neurological condition these things might be really challenging," Dr Brahmabhatt said. The Tyrostation is designed to help with that.
"We try to get residents re-accustomed to movement - it's not a magic cure but it can help them on the way."
