Support for shielded families

My wife is required to be shielded for medical reasons. We have two children. We are increasingly concerned that when I will need to return to work and the children must return to school she will still be shielding. There is government advice on precautions we can take ie staying apart in the home, removing clothing and showering when coming in from outside, cleaning bathroom after each use etc but my fear is that this is very unpratical and we would be better served finding other ways such as help to find work from home and help for the children learning from home. More advice and support for these families is need as it is a deeply concerning time

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Health Financial Mental health

by cmcmillan86 on May 06, 2020 at 09:34AM

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Average rating: 4.9
Based on: 20 votes

Comments

  • Posted by TonyFinn May 06, 2020 at 10:09

    More help, support and advise needed also to build and safeguard the immune system of vulnerable people who need to be shielded like this gents wife

  • Posted by KirstySutherland May 06, 2020 at 10:17

    I am a single parent student with two children in p6 /S5 also in shielding group due to being immunocompromised. My eldest is finding studying at home OK.. whilst it’s getting tricky to motivate my Youngest. I do not mind homeschooling as my children are coping pretty well in regard to shielding - but possibly opening up schools with shielders in mind - for example allowing sheilding families to access school first thing on a Monday as a group to receive work for the week ahead. This could be in addition to joining an outdoor activity once a week with the group.

  • Posted by Jane May 06, 2020 at 10:45

    Fully support finding alternative ways to support families in this situation - personally feel that will need to / should be on a case by case basis to fit individuals circumstances and create best possible outcomes for health and wellbeing.

  • Posted by mmjcase May 06, 2020 at 10:46

    We are in the same position as a family with a clinically extremely vulnerable shielding parent, another parent currently working from home, and two primary school age kids. Our house isn’t big enough for physical distancing at home. The current common assumption that everyone shielding is over 70 is extremely unhelpful. Please include special provisions for home school and working from home guidance for people living with shielded people.

  • Posted by DAP75 May 06, 2020 at 10:59

    We are in a similar position in that my wife is required to shield. We have a 14 month old daughter with no family support in the area. My wife works for the NHS and has been able to work from home. I am self employed and have stopped working to look after our daughter. I echo the thoughts of the contributor. We are extremely concerned on the lack of income that we may face going forward and, more importantly, the ongoing health and well being of our family.

  • Posted by MaryDee May 06, 2020 at 18:03

    Strongly agree with this. It is very difficult to 'shield' anyone without the whole household in isolation and proper care with deliveries to minimise transmission from surfaces.

  • Posted by Iainduff May 06, 2020 at 18:18

    At the moment, for very good reasons, the Shielding category is quite wide and a bit of a ‘blunt instrument’. As things develop and we start easing up on restrictions in would be helpful if the classification could be refined, perhaps in 1-2-1 discussions with the GP to agree the level of vulnerability and tailor restrictions to individual needs

  • Posted by shieldingcarol20 May 06, 2020 at 21:25

    I agree with the fact that the shielded group are all being dumped together as being frail and in poor health anyway, therefore ok for them to be kept 'safe' and given a food parcel. I'm immucompromised the medication I take has kept me in excellent health for years, I usually work as a nurse in a care home running a 30 roomed unit, and the mental /social monetary stimulation that provides. More has to be done long term for this very varied group, hopefully soon

  • Posted by Ali1969 May 07, 2020 at 00:07

    I could not agree more. My husband is shielded - normally fit and active and healthy but has to take immunosuppressants. I am extremely concerned that the shielded will have to remain so beyond 12 weeks and I don’t know quite how we are going to manage with myself and our 3 sons aged 15, 18 and 22. I would ask that the Government provides realistic, practical and scenario based advice going forward. A blanket stay at home and no face to face contact feels difficult when others in the house will have restrictions eased and have to return to school and work, not to mention the challenges of physically distancing in a household of 5.

  • Posted by Argyllmum May 07, 2020 at 10:11

    I totally agree with the original post. We are in a similar situation in that I am a shielded person, and at the moment my husband and child are currently shielding with me. The alternative is that they stay 2 metres away from me for the foreseeable future which is a really depressing thought. Having a long term illness is bad enough, without being excluded from the family group! This way I can still feel like a valuable and helpful member of my family, rather than a patient. My husband is fortunately able to work from home with relatively little disruption, and my child (about to start Highers) is coping very well with online classes and independent learning. That could all be turned on its head if online support is phased out, and a return to school is expected. For those shielding families who are working very hard to keep someone safe, the prospect of feeling compelled to return to school/work is a very worrying one. My child would not be able to concentrate knowing that there was a risk of picking up the virus and bringing it home to me. The government's stance is that anyone who is able to work from home should continue to do so. If this policy was adopted for schools, then the shielding/vulnerable families could stay at home without penalties, and the class sizes would be reduced. A separate thread advocates the idea of the government providing the list of shielded households to employers (with the shielded person's permission), so that family members can continue to work from home. The virus is going to be with us for some time to come, so we cannot just switch focus from online learning once schools begin to re-open. Some children will need to stay at home, and others will need to self-isolate at short notice once the Track and Trace programme is up and running. This may happen multiple times, so we need to provide a continuation of education to avoid catastrophic disruption. If the government provides advice and training to schools and councils during the summer break, the dual learning curriculum could hopefully be up and running come August.

  • Posted by laurahynd1 May 07, 2020 at 11:34

    My partner is shielding and I am high risk. I feel that everyone in the household should be allowed to shield with my partner, otherwise we would not be able to fulfil his care needs thus putting him at risk. This will become problematic when any of us have to return to work or school.

  • Posted by wilson2110 May 11, 2020 at 12:53

    We are in a similar situation. My partner is on the extremely vulnerable list. At present I am working from home, and one of my children is doing school work remotely. The other child is due to start school in August, but I am concerned how the lockdown will impact when it comes time to start, both in terms of risks to shielding partner and lack of nursery routine. I am concerned as to what happens when the lockdown is eased, as if I have to return to the office and my children are at school, we will be putting my partner at risk. My partner's job is unable to be carried out from home, so we are in limbo at the moment. If this continues and he is unable to return to work for the foreseeable, I am worried how this will impact on us financially in the long term, as well as his employment status. Not all extremely vulnerable people are over 70 or were not working prior to this outbreak, and it is an extremely worrying time for many families.

  • Posted by Kerran May 11, 2020 at 20:18

    Completely agree with more support - social distancing at home for an indefinite time is completely impracticable - especially for carers providing personal care for shielded relatives living with them & also impossible for nhs staff or key workers who also have shielded relatives at home particularly with ppe supply issues causing increased risk
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